* Editorial: Stroger should take cue from snub by other county officials
Perhaps most astounding of all, Stroger himself admits his new tax would raise far more money than the county needs. The anticipated shortfall in 2008 is $239 million. But rather than cut his $3.2 billion spending plan, Stroger wants his constituents to give him more than he needs today, so he can continue spending more next year and the year after without having to come back and ask for more in 2008 and 2009.
* Editorial: Don’t panic over Med Mal ruling
* Schoenburg: Blago’s deputy governors, Giannoulias, DeJong
* Pace, Union meet to avert strike
* Opinion: CeaseFire will not surrender fight against violence
* BP yet to find way to cut discharges at Indiana refinery
* LaHood working with writer on memoirs
* Chuck Sweeny: Iowa still has more clout than Illinois primary
* Schoenburg: After getting an earful, Versace talks about issues
DICK VERSACE is answering questions now, and that sure makes him seem like a better candidate than he appeared to be when he made his formal campaign announcement for Congress in early October.
Versace, a former Bradley University and NBA basketball coach making his first foray into politics, said at his Statehouse announcement back then that he wanted to go out on what he called a “common-sense express” RV tour and visit voters in all 20 counties that make up the 18th Congressional District.
Versace refused to answer issue questions then, and it didn’t make for a pretty scene.
* Press Release: Lauzen wins Ben Franklin award
* Laesch wants Oberweis to withdraw ads
* Editorial: Hastert resignation will create a mess
But Hastert is silent on his reason. … Hastert owes an explanation to his constituents and to all taxpayers in Illinois, who will help foot the bill for the likely special primary and special election that will determine not the 14th District representative for a number of years, but for a number of months.
This all strikes us as a ridiculous waste of time, energy and money that could have been averted had Hastert been willing to complete the promise he made to voters when he accepted his latest term.
* Tribune Editorial: Adolescent Errors
The moment offered a rare opportunity for Giuliani to side with Obama, saying that “we are all human beings” and should avoid any “pretense of perfection.”
Not a bad idea, since that quality is no more common among politicians than among the rest us. And there’s something else to be said for politicians acknowledging youthful mistakes rather than claim to have led saintly lives: The kids might actually believe them.
* Panel looks for help on wage issue
An ad hoc committee of the Quincy School Board will send a representative to Springfield to learn how the Illinois Department of Labor sets the prevailing wage rate.
The committee hopes that through learning about the process, Adams County might be able to set its own rate that would save money for the Quincy School District on construction projects.
“We want to know how they do it,” said Dennis Gorman, the School District’s legal counsel. “I hear a lot of questions about the validity of that. There’s an option there that we can do it.”
* Wisconsin News: Are MADD’s recommendations feasible?
* Illinois drivers among worst in the nation test says
* 87-year old labor leader is tireless
The winner of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the East Central Iowa-Northwestern Illinois AFL-CIO Hall of Fame is 87 years old and still hasn’t slowed down.
“He’s on the go every day from 9:30 a.m. until midnight,” Jerry Messer, head of the Quad City Federation of Labor, said Friday of the award recipient, Dick Fallow of Davenport.
* Peoria requests cash for taser cameras
* Not just surviving, cancer patients are flexing some
* Opinion: Illinois plan could cut costs for consumers
Under legislation passed last year, Ameren is required to offer this optional program that allows participants to take advantage of the electricity market’s hourly ups and downs to cut power bills while reducing demand for electricity and preventing pollution.
* Firm exploring Chicago naming rights, sponsorships
Might visitors to the Windy City someday ride the Lowe’s Chicago El, shop on the Microsoft Magnificent Mile and tour Old Navy Pier?
What’s in a name for the future isn’t clear, but the city has hired a marketing firm to explore the potential for naming rights and sponsorships as a way to bring in needed revenue, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.