September 2008 Archives

The Hound has been living in a recession for most of the past decade. If Republicans in the House want to take you all into one, as their president has warned, let them do it. Hope they and their party are ready to face the consequences in the failure Monday to protect the financial basics of the U.S. economy.

Unless you can't add, the financial markets have been taking a beating the last few months or more because of bad mortages, bad debt and bad management. It's a disaster movie befitting a Hollywood blockbuster. Trust me, feather merchants, this could get ugly. Better yet, don't trust me, trust your president, the Fed chairman and every banker from here to What Cheer, Iowa.

The consequences for Republicans, especially those who voted against the $700 billion bailout package is they get voted out and become the minority party for the next 30 years as they were until the GOP revolution of the 1980s. They can run, but they can't hide.

And, don't give The Hound the baloney about nobody bails out the taxpayers. When the taxpayers hold the power to issue business lines of credit, mortgages, car loans, just to name a few financial uses for lent money, then your opinion counts.

Besides, the government does bail out taxpayers. There's unemployment insurance, food stamps, disaster relief. This wouldn't be the first financial bailout. Remember the Resolution Trust Corp. of the '80s and the savings and loan debacle. The Hound was told several Lake County savings and loans got caught up in that financial nosedive.

Looks like the Republicans are holding pat in their crusade to save Main Street from the ills of Wall Street. Good luck because it's a little late for that. Hold on to your wallets folks, it'll be show time today on the Big Board.

Those Antioch officials sure don't know which way to turn. Faced with a revenue crunch, village trustees are expected to adopt an ordinance next month making homeowners responsible for clearing snow from their sidewalks within 24 hours of a two-inch snowfall. Yea, let's get those senior citizens out there clearing their sidewalks after a heavy snow, the type meterologists dub "heart attack" snow.

Who's advising these yokels? Wait till AARP hears about this law. Some communities recommend clearing sidewalks by residents and even have hold-harmless laws in case anybody slips and breaks a hip. What about those "snowbirds" who take flight to Florida, Arizona or Hawaii at the first sign of freezing precipitation. If you're not home, how can you clean your sidewalk?

Why stop there? Get those shovels and snowblowers out and have residents start sweeping their streets during snowfalls. Won't have to worry about snowplows or salt or snowplow drivers. Just one more way for Antioch to save money.

In the summer, same drill except without the snow. The Hound has been told the Europeans do this all the time. They wash down their sidewalks and streets. And, nobody makes them!

Think about all the tax revenue which will be generated by residents buying all those new shovels, brooms and snowblowers to Antioch's brigade of street sweepers. That's one way to balance the books.

The Hound was expecting a breakthrough performance from Illinois' favorite son, Sen. Barack Obama on Friday night in the first of several presidential debates. Didn't happen, did it? The Hound didn't think Obama looked that sharp. Hey, he didn't know it wasn't debating Tom McClain, whoever he is.

As for John McCain, he knows the difference between strategy and tactics. His strategy is to win in just over a month. His tactics are making Obama look like he just left the sandbox. That didn't work so well,either.

So, what can we learn from Friday's faceoff? There's two presidential candidates who know their stuff. At least when it comes to foreign policy. Neither were too sharp when discussing the financial market meltdown. Guess that comes from being blindsided by fast-moving events of the day.

The Hound is waiting for the Palin vs. Biden bout. Talk about ultimate fighting. Which one will tap out? Any bets?

At one time, Chicago was the city Billy Sunday couldn't shut down. It was hog butcher to the world, city of big shoulders as Carl Sandburg said. Right now, it once again is the laughing stock of the National League. For a change, it's not because of the Cubs.

Chicago officials, led by by Mayor Richard M. Daley, want to cap the serving of alcoholic beverages during "clinch" games from the seventh inning at Wrigleyville saloons until the end while the Cubs burn their way to the World Series this October. What are they thinking?

Once again, they're not. These are the same people who have made Chicago a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants. These are the same people who banned foie gras. These are the same people who banned gun ownership. These are the same people who have turned nearly half the city's taxable property into tax-increment districts.

What a bunch of party poopers. What are they afraid of? Chicago has some of the meanest cops --- at least when they're off duty and beating the you-know-what out of barmaids and suburbanites. Put some cops in the area around the ballpark and let them beat up on any drunkards who decide they want to rip off some World Series souvenirs. Let's face it, Chicago cops haven't had a chance for wholesale beatings and the possibility of getting away with it since the 1968 Democratic convention.

Besides, what does this say about the city hosting a world-class event, like the 2016 Olympics? You think Cubs fans can get out of control? City officials obviously haven't met European soccer hooligans.

The Hound needs a bailout to get out from under a car loan and some increasing credit-card debt. Certainly Uncle Sugar can spare a few bucks to help out. What, uncle? You say The Hound isn't a financial institution and isn't covered by the near $1 trillion the Treasury Department is going to be pumping into Wall Street to save a sinking system. Boo-hoo.

Thomas Jefferson warned of this financial debacle under a central banking system when the nation was formed. That was one of the constitutional arguments between John Adams and Jefferson. If you don't remember, catch HBO's "John Adams" again.

But this is what we're left with and one plays 'em as they lay, and that includes devalued
mortgage-related assets, even those held by foreign banks doing business here. So how did we get to this point, within several days of the entire financial house of cards coming down? Oh, there's plenty of blame to pass around.

There was deregulation of the financial industry, which kept on coming up with new casino games to play, as one wag pointed out. Just what is a credit derivative swap? Is it like keno?

A lot of mortgages at variable interest rates were given to borrowers who were not qualified. The Federal Reserve held down interest rates. Consumers with existing mortgages were encouraged to borrow more. Mortgages were consolidated into securities. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

And where's Gordon Gekko when you really need him? Or Charles Keating. We need a villain here and The Hound is waiting for someone to parade one out. The sooner, the better.

Cub Nation is ebullient today after the team clinched the Central Division championship for the second year in a row and for the first time in a century. Does anybody see destiny here in '08? Don't get your hopes up, Cubbie fans.

The Hound's relatives always talk about what could have been back in '45, '69, '84, '03, '07. The only year nobody gripes about is '89. How come? As most of you Cub fans sober up today after a clinch party happening rave-up, remember several things.

Clinching the division is just one goal. Last year the Cubs won the division and then went on to lose to the Arizona Diamondbacks three straight. It's called focus, folks. That's what Lou Piniella gets paid for. Let's see if he's better this year, than last when the post season begins.

And, let's ignore those Central Division champion hats. Those are UGLY with a capital u and g and l and y. Who designed those hats with those colors? During the celebration, were some Cubs wearing Sarah Palin glasses? After watching the party a dozen times, The Hound can attest those were snorkel glasses and not dental hygenist specs.

The Hound, though, is behind the Eddie Vedder song to take the Cubs to the World Series. Yet, it stlll doesn't match Chicago Shorty's ditty. If you don't know who that is, ask your older brother or an uncle. Go Cubs!

Now that Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran has kick-started the area debate on illegal immigration with his broadside at "sanctuary city" Chicago the other day and his figures that one in five jail inmates is an illegal alien, it's time for problem solving. The Hound favors the Spanish solution: Pay immigrants to leave.

The federal government is bailing out failing financial institutions, the feds can write a check to send illegals home --- if in fact we really don't want them. After all, one of the major jobs of the federal government is protecting the nation's borders, which appear to be as sturdy as a sieve.

Spain's unemployment currently is running nearly 11 percent on the Iberian peninsula. That jobless rate is the highest in the euro-driven European Union. So, Spain's government has decided to pay the tens of thousands of non-EU people --- mainly North Africans, Turks, Slavs --- in the country to go back to where they came from.

Those that leave get a lump-sum payment of 40 percent of unemployment money once they renounce their residency permits and the rest once they get home. They also have to agree not to go back to Spain for three years, although after the three years they can recover their work and residency permits.

Sounds like a plan to The Hound. What say you, presidential candidates?

Forget that fence the feds are building along the Mexican border from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas. After seeing what Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran had to say about the region's immigration policy, let's build one right here along Lake-Cook Road. Curran, who just spent some time in the Lake County jail, says nearly a quarter of the inmates there are illegal aliens or aliens of questionable status.

And, he blames Chicago and Illinois authorities for letting illegal alien criminals stay in the U.S. even after they do the time for their crimes. Curran says he's had enough --- as have right-thinking people --- and wants to deport any and all illegals who happen to be patrons of the Lake County hoosegow. So far, he's convinced immigration agents to place 75 on a hold status for deportation. The overwhelmng majority --- 105 of the jail's 137 foreign-born inmates --- are from Mexico.

Wonder if Curran has discussed this issue with tough-talking Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz.?

At least this may touch off the long-awaited debate over illegal immigration some have been waiting for in this presidential election year. So far, both John McCain, who hails from Arizona, and Barack Obama, who hails from the "sanctuary" city of Chicago, have dance arm's length on the topic. They need to let voters know where they stand.

In the meantime, get the post-hole diggers ready.

Usually, gubernatorial or legislative proclamations are reserved for special occasions. The Hound isn't sure if pitching a no-hitter is one of those times. But Gov. Rod "Cuckoo" Blagojevich thinks so.

That's why on Tuesday he proclaimed Carlos Zambrano Day in Illinois. Those downstaters who are St. Louis Cardinals' fans might recall the Z-Man threw a no-hit game Sunday against the Houston Astros at Milwaukee's Miller Field. That proclamation must grate those folks in Belleville. The Hound believes if you get south of Kankakee the rest of Illinois might be a red state for Cardinal red.

OK, so Zambrano broke a 36-year dry spell of no-hitters for the Cubs. It is a milestone and it was the first neutral-site no-hitter in history. But does it deserve a gubernatorial "atta boy"? Did Milt Pappas get a proclamation from Republican Gov. Richard Ogilvie back in September 1972 when he threw his no-no? No, no. Ogilvie actually was running the state back in the day.

What is it with these pols who will stoop to this kind of pandering? Some Democrats might wish Sen. Barack Obama would have pandered to Cub Nation.

If the Cubs make the post-season, The Hound suggests Obama stay close to Cellular Field. It might be embarassing to get booed in your hometown and find that on the highlight reel of the evening news.

The Hound originally thought Gurnee was Skunkland, but it appears Zion is starting to rank right up there on the smell-o-meter. But, wait. There's also been complaints from Green Oaks residents about skunky smells. What to do? What to do?

Skunks smell. There's no getting around this fact of animal life. The Hound has had run-ins with skunks and can testify they smell --- bad. There's no correct way to describe the smell of a skunk. It is a mix of urine, ammonia, burning rubber and, well, skunk. It is one mean cologne. It can make one's eyes water and have one embark on a coughing fit.

How to get rid of skunks in your neighborhood? Good luck. The Hound has seen humans try soaking rags in ammonia and laying them around their lawns. Doesn't work. The reason skunks are around is the grubs under one's lawn. The nicer the lawn, usually there's more grubs.

What Zion, Gurnee and Green Oaks needs are more owls. Skunks are a delicacy for owls. They can't smell the creatures. And, since both are night-time predators, well, you get the picture. Give a hoot, invite an owl to dinner. And not takeout at Hooters.

The Hound has heard some lame excuses over the years, but the reason Waukegan High School postponed its non-conference tilt Saturday with Maine East was the district didn't want to tear up Weiss Field. The district's groundskeeper must be The Turfinator to run that one by school officials and get it approved.

The reasoning, The Hound was told, is that playing in the drenching rain would devastate the field for the rest of the season. Twenty-two players would chew up the turf, leaving it a grassy, muddy mess. So. If it's that bad for the next game, just spray paint what's left. Start thinking out of the box. After all, you are educators.

The Hound didn't notice a whole lot of dry grass on Monday afternoon, when the rescheduled game was played. So instead of playing in the rain, the molly-coddling district turned tough high school footballers into a bunch of namby-pambies.

The Hound can hear future opponents: They were afraid to get wet! They're afraid of mud! They might have wrecked the field! And that's the clean ones.

Then again, this might have been a field of dreams. The last time The Hound checked, the Bulldogs were pummeling Maine East on Monday afternoon by a score of 41-7. Maybe two-and-half-days of rest was good for the players and for the sod, which wasn't busted.

Whoa, aren't we supposed to get the type of rains we got Friday night into Saturday once every 100 years? Guess not, right sump pump watchers?

Blame it on global warming, climate change or just the odd happenstance of wierd weather. Whatever, we certainly took a deluge.

For a while on Saturday, The Hound was worried the dog house would have to be evacuated. Roads were closed due to flooding, sump pumps were working overtime and Hurricane Ike's rain has yet to hit. Are we doomed or should be start building an ark? But not that ark Steve Carell built in "Evan Almighty."

As for The Hound, it's time to put the dog house on stilts, like they do in some barrier islands which get hit by hurricanes, which may occur here on Sunday. Stay high and dry.

Isn't it about time the apologists for pit bulls in what is becoming Pit Bull County start to admit there's a problem with this breed. Oh, you can blame the owners, but these dogs are running wild in the streets and elected officials need to start biting back.

What has the hair on the The Hound's neck up is the latest mauling by members of the breed which took place the other day in Waukegan. A 19-year-old woman was attacked by three pit bulls which ripped off a part of her ear and chewed on her arms and legs. A relative described Kiara Lynn's arms as looking like "they were stuck in a meat grinder." She had gashes as wide as three and four inches to her skin and remains in stable condition in the hospital. She was attacked while walking past the dogs which broke free from their yard.

Officials must take action. Either banning the breed, as North Chicago has done, increasing fines for owners of the breed, making them register the dogs or keeping a bond on file. And, The Hound doesn't want to hear about how any dog could bite someone. They don't attack as viciously as the pit bull breed.

And, let's not forget the two Round Lake Beach residents who were arrested the other day after police discovered 27 pit bulls at their home. Guess they own a pet store, huh? Not! They were charged with animal cruelty for allegedly running a dog-fighting pound.

If these two mopes represent the pit bull owners of Lake County, it's time to put these folks away for along time and get tough on the breed. Sorry, pit bull owners, your friendly and lovable dogs are no longer wanted here.

School District 128 officials are proposing to drop the class ranking system at Libertyville and Vernon Hills high schools. That's it, just keep mollycoddling these kids to believe that out there in the big, bad world that there's no rankings. Somebody should pull rank on these boneheads.

District 128 officials aren't the first ones to go to this "everybody's special" philosophy and they probably won't be the last. Carmel, Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Forest and Warren Township high schools in Lake County already have moved to this one-size-fits all system.

District 128 officials think that having class rankings puts Wildcats and Cougars at a disadvantage when applying for colleges and universities. The focus should be on grade point average, they say, because class rank only compares students to their fellow students. The logic is that elimination of class rank will improve students' opportunities in the college admissions process.

Well, if that's the case, just don't have them take the ACTs or SATs. Then they can get into college with their charm and good looks. It's not like there aren't rankings when they get into college. Or, how about job rankings, team rankings and military rank.

The Hound can't believe Libertyville and Vernon Hills high students are under-prepared and can't compete with the creme de la creme for the top spots at the nation's universities. Parents pay enough taxes to ensure that, don't they?

With no ranking, that means no valedictorian and nothing to work to achieve, except those straight A's and four-point averages in advanced placement courses. That'll show those college placement officials. And, it sounds like high school counselors won't have to do the math to figure out class rankings. Now, that's the ticket.

It must have been Lake County State's Attorney Michael Waller's legal arguments --- the one's he uses in court all the time --- which swayed Sheriff Mark Curran to endorse his re-election bid on Wednesday. Or maybe it was that jail stint that caused Curran to see the GOP light. That would be after he connected with the Almighty.

Besides that, what is it with this election season?

First, Iowa Republican Congressman Jim Leach endorses the Democratic presidential ticket. Then, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who ran for vice president as Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000, takes the podium at the Republican convention to support the McCain-Palin ticket. Now, Democrat Curran, who once worked for Waller, crosses party lines and backs his former boss and the boss of his wife, who runs the State's Attorney's child support division. Maybe it was that jail stint that caused Curran to see the GOP light.

Will Curran's next step include going Republican? He wouldn't be the first Democrat in Lake County to switch parties, The Hound has been told by older and wiser folks. Let's see, Circuit Clerk Sally Coffelt was elected in 1980 as a Democrat and switched to the GOP; then there was Circuit Court Judge Charles Scott, who couldn't get elected as a Democrat, but once he turned, he went on the bench.

Or will Waller repay the favor and endorse Curran in two years? Waller two years ago stayed with the party line and endorsed then-Sheriff Gary Del Re. That took political fortitude.

This must be a stinging rebuke for Lake County Democrats. And, memo to Pete Couvall, the party's vice chairman and hatchetman: The Democratic Party didn't elect Curran in 2006. Del Re did. The voters got that sheriff then.

Waller got his sheriff this time around. The Hound will guess Dem party chieftain state Sen. Terry Link is starting the vetting process for a primary opponent for Curran in 2010. Elephants may never forget, but mules pack one nasty kick if crossed.

There's a whole bunch of fantasy football owners who are hurting today and for the rest of the season. The reason? Tom Terrific of the New England Patriots is out for who knows how long.

The Hound hasn't understood fantasy football --- it's obviously a human thing --- but there's enough fantasy fans to make it a multi-million dollar industry, perhaps more. There's Web sites galore for fantasy geeks to judge their draft day picks.

The Hound knows several fantasy players, including one Lake County league where the second overall pick was Tom Brady, he of the left knee operation which leaves the Pats without the signal caller who took them to three Zuper Bowls. If you picked Brady, your season is over, bolo boys. By the way, first overall pick was LaDainian Tomlinson of the San Diego Bolts.

In that same fantasy league, one lucky guy picked up Michael "The Burner" Turner, who ran wild once left to his own devices in Atlanta and not a backup to Tomlinson. By the way, Turner was a North Chicago Warhawk and went to Northern Illinois University, that windswept school in DeKalb. This same guy selected Brett Favre, seeing that he is now a Nuevo York Jet and not a hated Packer.

How many of you picked Aaron Rodgers? Suckers. Does The Hound feel sorry for you who jumped on the Brady bandwagon? Nope. It's just a fantasy, fools.

Here's a shocker: A new study shows that the leading source of personal bankruptcies in recent years is caused by...overspending. If that's the case, we're living in a bankrupt country.

A professor in the graduate school of management at the University of California-Davis said that while illness and unemployment were the previous primary reasons for filing bankruptcy, Americans just like to spend and spend and spend. No, duh.

Now the government is bailing out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or back about half the nation's mortgage debt, with a plan to inject up to $100 billion
in each of the government-chartered mortgage financiers. That helped the stock market on Monday, which saw stocks rise nearly 300 points. Nothing like gov'mint money to warm a banker's steel heart.

Back to the bankruptcy study, though. The study, which calls for bankruptcy law reform to prevent Americans from just running up debt, says such debt caused half of all recent bankruptcies, while being out of work caused 13 percent of filings and medical calamities, 5 percent.

The study also notes bankrupt households have bigger mortgages, bigger car loans and bigger credit card balances --- and earn half as much money --- than those who are solvent. Sounds like beside an obesity problem in the nation, we have a spending problem. But, then, so does the government.

All of you who we're watching the Cubs game Saturday night, after that grand slam in the bottom of the ninth: Did you think the Reds were going to come from behind and extend the Cubs' losing streak to seven games? If so, you're a Nervous Nellie, which is not to be confused with Nervous Charlies.

But, the Cubs prevailed and stopped their skid at six games, blasting out of their slump with a final score of 14-9. The North Siders still have a four game lead on the Brewers with less than a month to go in the season. OK, there is some nervousness at The Hound's doghouse over the arm of Carlos Zambrano.

Perhaps that feeling in the ninth inning is from years of being disappointed by the Cubs, which have broken more hearts than teen Lotharios and turned hundreds of youngsters into Sox fans (at least in 2005). Kids love to back a winner. At least this kid does.

So there's a one game winning streak. It could be two after today. Go, Cubs.

It wasn't until the end of Republican presidential candidate John McCain's acceptance speech that The Hound awoke from a snooze. That man's timing was horrific. You'd think after talking to David Letterman a week ago, Dave would have given him some tips.

But as The Hound's grandfather noted, Dwight D. Eisenhower's syntax also wasn't the best and we know what happened then when the last Illinois egghead ran against a war hero. Must be something at those military academies. They probably needed some close-order marching from a drill instructor to get that cadence.

So now it begins. A sprint to the White House beween McCain-Palin and Obama-Biden. The Hound saw the first "Nobama '08" bumper sticker on a Lake County road. McCain must be the first candidate of either party to have a country/western song penned for him --- "Raisin' McCain" by the Rich part of the Big & Rich duo. And what's with the ticket borrowing "Barracuda" by Heart. At least one of the Wilson sisters is a working mom.

And, what does McCain need to win in November? 1) Win the same states President Bush captured in 2004; 2) Unleash Sarah Palin on those smug Democrats; 3) Ignore the media elites; 4) Keep those country singers around because in the states he needs, country stars trump Hollywood; 5) Make sure your people vote; 6) Unite the party's factions; 7) Pander to Cub Nation voters.

Sounds simple enough except Democrats who have had enough of eight years of a Republican in the White House.

If Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's firebrand speech Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention is any indication, Democrats may have underestimated this self-professed "gal" from the 49th state. She sure whipsawed the Democatic ticket and perhaps hit a nerve with women across the nation.

She didn't stutter and didn't look like a moose in the headlights. She looked and sounded like she's been doing this campaign thing for awhile, certainly much to the chagrin of Democrats. But what's with those names of her kids: Piper, Willow, Bristol, Trig, Trak? Sounds like those hippie kids our parents warned us about.

Besides that, Palin certainly spelled out where the GOP ticket is heading --- Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Michigan. And, she sounded like she's going to be a happy warrior in this political fight in battleground states our Illinois Sen. Barack Obama failed to win during the Democratic primary season.

John McCain's choice of Palin could be a gamechanger this election season. This is just getting interesting.

There must be some mean gris-gris in the New Orleans area when it comes to those European names the hurricane center gives to mean tropical storms. Katrina was the worst natural disaster to hit the U.S. --- $41 billion damage. Looks like the Gulf dodged a bullet with Gustav, but there's still major damage.

Seriously, is it voodoo or what? Hurricane Hanna is heading for the Southeast and on the eastern horizon is Ike and Josephine. Let's not even remember Camille. Perhaps that Texas lawmaker was right when she suggested names more reflecting Africa. After all, most of these hurricanes are coming out of the African Atlantic.

Besides those Germanic and Frankish hurricanes, what's with all these network and local news guys going to hurricane city? Katie Couric was down there, obviously expecting the worse. WLS-TV in Chicago even sent Chuck Goudie down there. Was he looking for Mob bodies in the French Quarter?

We certainly don't see that type of coverage when we have snow storms here. Where's The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore when there's a foot of snow headed this way? Safe and sound in Hotlanta, that's where.

Hey, Chuck, have a Hurricane for The Hound on Bourbon Street. And, toast Herr Gustav, paisan.

Didn't we just see this movie? You know, "Juno", about the 17-year-old who is preggers (as the Brits like to say)? Turns out life imitates art once again, this time in the household of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, Republican vice presidential candidate.

Unlike Hollywood, looks like Bristol Palin will be getting married and not giving her baby up for adoption, as in "Juno". Looks like she also won't be singing any goofy "dah, dah, dah" songs with her future husband. Or maybe this is more on the line of "Knocked Up" where Katherine Hegl marries Seth Rogan in the end?

Whatever, welcome, Palin family, to presidential politics. The Hound has a hunch that if Palin stayed as governor of Alaska, her daughter's pregnancy wouldn't be making cable talk shows and "Good Morning America." But, that's just a hunch.

But it's not like this is 1958 and you hide your knocked up daughter in the closet or send her off to stay with relatives on another coast. If Bristol Palin was a Hollywood star, the birth announcement would come with a three-picture package or say, Ashlee Simpson, a three-record deal. There's a lot of Bristols out there in America. Granted, most of their parents aren't running for vice president.

The McCain camp says the senator knew of Bristol's impending motherhood and it didn't bother him. Maybe. But this has got to be one of the biggest political surprises among Republicans since George H.W. Bush found that Dan Quayle couldn't spell.

This election season is getting whackier, The Hound thinks, than a Bill Engval episode. Dems are just glad theirs isn't an Obama-Edwards ticket!

State Sen. James Meeks, D-Chicago, continues on a mission to bring Chicago Public School students to New Trier High School on Tuesday to register for school. If this guy is any indication of where the Illinois Legislature is at, he's already failed. Classes started two weeks ago at New Trier. Trying to enroll two weeks behind at New Trier is like a four-year-old enrolling in second grade.

OK, so Meeks, who also is a preacher, really doesn't want to enroll 70 busloads of CPS students at New Trier. He just wants to make a point about school funding and how Chicago students don't get the same amount of funding as does a New Trier. Isn't this the same politician who was going to challenge Gov. Rod Blagojevich two years ago, but dropped out after getting a promise more school funds for the money pit that is the CPS would be forthcoming? Well, that didn't happen.

Meeks went to Denver last week to save face if a handful of CPS students line up for the buses on Tuesday, which also happens to be opening day for them. Community leaders and school officials are urging students to ignore Meeks' plan. That sounds sound to The Hound because these kids are merely a pawn in a political game.

Meanwhile, New Trier officials say they are ready to welcome the CPS students who will be playing hookie. Knowing those folks in Winnetka and Wilmette, they'll have finger sandwiches and iced tea waiting for those who want to sign up and figure how they'll get to class from Chicago.