Does your child's school get a passing grade? A new survey suggests most parents give their local schools either a B or a C when it comes to the quality of education their kids are receiving. Less than 10 percent of those surveyed said the schools in their community deserve an A.
Where do you think Fox Valley schools rank?
These results aren't terribly surprising given how often we hear from parents who are involved in their kids' education that there's room for improvement. But the study also suggests a majority of people want school funding to increase, a slight surprise considering how difficult it is to pass a referendum in the Fox Valley (perhaps the distinction is which pile of tax dollars the increase comes from -- the state or local property taxes).
The first of dozens of Aurora cold-case murder trials starts today, which will be fascinating to watch because of its potential implications for prosecuting the other 31 suspects rounded up earlier this summer.
Jose Salinas wasn't arrested in the huge sweep at the end of June, but rather was charged in March with the 2000 shooting of Luis Donatlan. The charges were the first to come out of the formation of the Cold Case Task Force, which is now responsible for arrests in 23 previously unsolved murders (and counting).
The outcome of the Salinas trial could predict how successful prosecutors will be in the other cases. It will also provide insight into how police went about piecing together evidence in killings dating back as far as two decades.
Chicago Tribune magazine had a piece over the weekend about former Kane County Drug Court Judge James Doyle, who retired from the bench a year ago after a state investigative panel accused him of repeatedly violating the rights of defendants in his courtroom.
The story, largely a rehash of the events leading up to Doyle's stepping down, is fairly sympathetic toward the judge. For the first time that I've seen, however, Doyle used the media to defend himself and clarified why he chose to retire over fighting the Judicial Inquiry Board charges.
The abortion battle is about to flare up again in Aurora, as a Planned Parenthood clinic that flew under the radar until last week gets closer to opening in September.
The protests have already been organized for next month at the facility under construction on the far East Side of the city. Opponents have promised to bring their graphic signs and leaflets that display aborted babies. Planned Parenthood officials, who managed to keep the exact medical use of the clinic quiet for months after getting city approval in November, say they're locating here because the region lacks women's health services, particularly abortion providers.
This raises an interesting question within the debate over abortion itself: Is it important that abortion be easily accessible, or should providers be rare so that it isn't a convenient option?
A federal judge's ruling Thursday that struck down an anti-illegal immigration law in Hazleton, Pa., illustrates just how urgent an issue reform should be at the federal level.
Left with no guidance from Congress, towns across the country have been struggling to figure out how they can best control at the local level the problems that come with illegal immigration. Among them are Carpentersville, which is waiting to see how the Hazleton case plays out before drafting its own law, and Waukegan, which earlier this month passed a controversial measure related to the deportation of illegal immigrant criminals.
Is this how we're going to address the immigration crisis in this country, by allowing federal judges to rule on individual cities' attempts to offer solutions when the federal government itself hasn't done anything to solve the problem?
Lawmakers on Thursday approved an electric rate relief package -- largely along party lines -- that will give ComEd customers on average a $7 monthly credit for the rest of the year. Republicans (who are both right and wrong on this argument) balked that the rebates aren't enough.
Under the agreed measure, Chicago area Commonwealth Edison customers would receive a one-time average rebate of $50 and an approximate $7 monthly credit for the rest of the year. Several Republicans mocked the seemingly paltry payout.
"It will be wonderful when they get their $8, and $10, and $12 checks. They'll be so happy," state Rep. Mike Bost (R-Murphysboro) said sarcastically. He nevertheless voted for the plan.
According to The Swamp, the Tribune's Washington blog, Dennis Hastert has once again found his voice.
In a House Energy and Commerce Committee meeting today, the former speaker let the Democrats have it over a proposal to expand a children's health-care program. It's been awhile since our congressman made headlines, but he apparently is also ready to take on the Dems over energy policy.
Is Hastert gearing up for one last fight, or is he finding causes that will fuel a run for a 12th term?
Too often, media are obligated to report on bad news. But here's some good news to pass along.
Loyola University Medical Center says it's a pioneer in a procedure that will allow an Aurora 2-year-old to have hearing on both sides. The hospital will host a press conference today.
Doctors will "turn on" a stimulator that will help the boy, Tom L., combat single-sided deafness in his left ear.
The Federal Election Commission has fined Aurora dairy magnate Jim Oberweis $21,000 for using his ice cream company to promote himself during his failed 2004 U.S. Senate bid, the Trib's Rick Pearson reports.
Some Democrats also had complained of Oberweis "illegally using his company's corporate treasury funds to influence his election."
OK. So the fine isn't all that interesting. $21,000? Please. But the timing is delicious. Just as Oberweis is considering a run for Hastert's seat (assuming the former House speaker steps down) I see Oberweis again popping up on TV ads for his ice cream shops. Does this set him up to get slapped again? This guy's timing is impeccable.
If you're black or Hispanic, here's more proof you're more likely to be pulled over by the police than a white motorist.
The data, collected by the state for three years now, also shows that minority drivers are 13 percent more likely to be cited during a traffic stop than whites and 3 times more likely to be asked for consent to search their vehicles.
State Rep. Monique Davis said the study proves that racial profiling “is not a myth, that it actually does occur.”
HEATHER EIDSON / THE BEACON NEWS Crosses serve as a reminder of lives lost in the washing machine-like boil of the Glen Palmer Dam in Yorkville over the past 30 years as construction work began last year to make the dam less hazardous.
BY MIKE CETERA
The state's Capital Development Board last week announced completion of a long-awaited study of some of the state's most dangerous dams. The findings come more than a year after three people drowned at the Glen Palmer Dam in Yorkville. Thirteen others have perished in the violent undertow of this Fox River dam during the last four decades.
The report makes a compelling financial argument that all Fox River dams should be removed.
With eight days left before the money runs out in Springfield, we could be facing a state government shutdown next week. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing.
The Legislature in June passed a month-long budget that will run out July 31. This time around, it looks like rank-and-file lawmakers might not grant a temporary reprieve because they're as sick of the Democratic leaders' antics as the rest of us.
Rep. Tom Cross of Oswego, the House minority leader, thinks a shutdown might finally force a budget compromise after months of childish behavior and political grandstanding.
A local blog predictably bashed Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner recently for pushing a $95,000 bronze sculpture to honor Marie Wilkinson. Nevermind that it was a City Council committee that gave its blessing to a taxpayer-funded tribute to Aurora's icon to civil rights.
While the blog was busy attempting to spin some sort of quid pro quo argument -- she supported Weisner so she gets a statue -- it never got around to clearly stating the question: Should taxpayers fund public art?
The social service agencies now stuck with empty pockets won't say it, so I will. Hogwash.
Fox Valley United Way officials say the agency won't be handing out funds for the rest of the year. They say this has been part of the plan since April, and agencies shouldn't be surprised that their funding has dried up.
But the agencies are surprised, and so are a lot of people at this newspaper. Why? Because despite their assurances to the contrary, United Way officials didn't tell people about an allocation freeze.
Former Time magazine reporter Mike Allen writes this morning on the upstart political Web site The Politico that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert might be leaving office sooner rather than later.
Allen says columnist Robert Novak plans to report this weekend that Hastert may resign before his current term is up (bottom item).
Despite Kendall County being one of the obvious next places to locate a landfill in the Chicago region, developers can't seem to get it right. In the latest setback, a County Board committee recommended that the Waste Management proposal be rejected because the company hasn't done enough to protect the public's health and safety.
After the fiasco in Yorkville that ended in defeat a few months back, only one developer remains. At least for now.
The gang problem is overblown. Communities aren't doing enough to support their children. Gang busts don't decrease crime.
These are three of the conclusions formed in a new report by a Washington think tank. Some cops dismiss the report by the Justice Policy Institute, claiming it was written by "thug-huggers."
The city of Aurora is now considering 13 options presented by Allied Waste for its next garbage contract. No matter what happens, we'll be looking at a price increase.
Pick your poison. Higher sticker prices? A flat fee? A property-tax increase? A recycling fee? There's a lot here to discuss, with the most important issue being fairness.
After yet another near miss with what appears to be a second explosion related to the downtown electrical outage, city leaders -- and ComEd -- are going to have a tough time convincing people it's safe for anyone to be in downtown.
Tuesday night more smoke poured out of a manhole cover downtown before a light fixture exploded at Millennium Park, scattering glass pieces more than 50 feet.
No one was injured. Good thing. Once again timing played a role in minimizing the risk.
What if that light had exploded during lunch? What if it had exploded during Downtown Alive?
CRAIG WATSON / BEACON NEWS Flying manholes could have killed someone Monday,
but ComEd hasn't said anything to assure the public
that downtown Aurora is safe.
BY DAVE PARRO
Mayor Tom Weisner criticized ComEd on Monday for not being forthright with information about an underground explosion that disrupted downtown Aurora. What, the initial explanation from the company that "something happened" wasn't good enough?
ComEd spokesman John Dewey would not even confirm that an explosion occurred, but he did say that an underground cable lost power and "something then happened" that launched manhole covers 15 feet into the air.
Local police departments generally are wary of getting involved in the messy business of illegal immigration even though legally they can. But one Illinois town has taken a stand, authorizing a partnership of sorts with the federal government.
Waukegan on Monday moved a step closer to giving its cops the explicit authority to conduct immigration violation investigations. Should Aurora be next?
Lynn Sweet this morning reported on her blog that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert has a campaign warchest of just $75,000. His coffers are nearly empty, in part, Sweet writes, because of legal expenses associated with the Mark Foley congressional page scandal.
The good news is, if I ever turn up missing, there's a better than average chance the press will be all over my case like peanut butter on jelly. I'm a white, middle-class suburban mom, after all. (It would probably help if I were a little younger or richer, but I guess you can't have everything.) Sorry, guys, you may have the edge on a lot of things in life, but I'll end up on Larry King Live.
STNG Photo A cross that was placed outside the Plainfield home of Lisa Stebic
on Friday morning was removed and held by a neighbor.
BY DAVE PARRO
The debate over the crosses in front of the Vaughn house in Oswego last month was one thing. It involved some neighbors who understandably wanted to grieve over the violent deaths of three children and their mother and others who simply wanted to move on. The house was a gathering place for a community searching for answers and healing. The crosses represented something meaningful.
But Sugar Grove carpenter Greg Zanis went too far in getting involved in the Lisa Stebic case. He had no right to place a white cross on the Stebics' lawn without permission while the missing Plainfield woman's husband and children still live there. Apparently his sense of entitlement knows no bounds.
Since forming his campaign committee in May 2003, Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner has accepted almost half a million dollars in political contributions. In the six-month reporting period that ended Dec. 31, 2006, his fund-raising machine was still going strong, bringing in almost $42,000 midterm.
But in his latest semiannual report filed this week, Weisner reports ZERO contributions. He still has more than $40,000 in the bank, but it's curious that he didn't report any new cash. Does this mean Weisner doesn't plan to run for re-election in 2009?
CRAIG WATSON / BEACON NEWS Bigelow Homes will donate 5 acres off of Montgomery Road
to the East Aurora School District.
BY DAVE PARRO
More than a year after promising the East Aurora School District 8.3 acres of land in exchange for the demolition of the Hi-Lite 30 drive-in theater, Bigelow Homes this week instead delivered 5 acres worth about $1 million.
It turns out the original promise included more than 3 acres of detention pond, which the School District understandably doesn't want because of concerns about liability. Funny how that was never mentioned until now, especially because the developer claims that was the plan all along.
While the local malcontents always scream about scams and lies, it does seem like this deal was at the very least deceptive.
A new poll shows Dennis Hastert remains a popular figure in these parts, but he is far from unbeatable should he decide to run again.
Hastert would start out with a 63 percent approval rating and 55 percent of the vote, Lynn Sweet reported in the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday.
The poll, conducted by one of the Democrats vying to replace Hastert, also shows things look particularly grim for the GOP if Hastert decides to retire.
For the first time in years, someone has made a pro-death penalty argument that actually makes some sense. Is it enough to make me think the capital punishment system is fixable? Probably not. But Joe Birkett makes a good point nonetheless.
It's a sad commentary on the state of education funding in Illinois when an unexpected tax windfall of more than $2 million doesn't buy a struggling school district any more teachers or programs.
The cash-strapped East Aurora School District announced this week it will receive $2.2 million more than budgeted in property taxes this year from Kane County, an increase of 15 percent. But instead of reinstating some of the $2.4 million in cuts planned for this fall, the School Board plans to just put the money in reserve because the district’s financial picture is "nowhere close to being a healthy-type of situation."
Five years ago, you had to leave Yorkville to buy a new pair of shoes. Now all of a sudden, the city that never met a development it didn't like is courting a second mega-mall.
The first one, by the way, isn't even built yet. Sure, Yorkville is growing fast, along with the rest of Kendall County. But is a combined 1.8 million square feet of new retail space at one location too much too fast?
Beginning Tuesday, July 10, Aurora resident George Hood will attempt to break the world record for consecutive hours on an exercise bike. His goal is to spin for 100 hours, well over the current mark of 82 hours. Hood begins his quest Tuesday at 7 a.m., and expects to finish Saturday around 7:30 p.m. While we will be keeping up with Hood via stories in our print edition, we’ve asked Hood to provide us with Internet updates throughout his ride. He agreed and will post updates in the “comments” portion of this blog every day in the morning, afternoon and evening.
Hiram Wurf over at Wurf While blog points out that the Democratic primary in the 14th Congressional District could be a real record-breaker.
In the race to replace U.S. Rep Dennis Hastert, who hasn't declared his intentions, Wurf says at least one Dem -- Fermilab scientist Bill Foster -- already plans to
