The Hound likes to gnaw on a turkey leg on Turkey Day. There's turkeys and then there's real turkeys and we're not talking about those folks in the country of Turkey. We're talking folks like Sen. Dick Durbin, who some Illinoisans would like to carve up today.
That's because the Illinois Democrat, who just cakewalked into another six-year term, has decided he's thinking about maybe asking President Bush to grant clemency to former Gov. George Ryan, the Republican who's eating pressed turkey today at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind. Maybe Durbin was floating a trial balloon, but The Hound surmises it's turned into a lead Zeppelin --- and we're not talking about the band.
For Durbin's musing about giving Ryan a get-out-jail-free card, he's a turkey.
But then so is President-elect Barack Obama. He's plucking those ex-Clintonites from a government in exile faster than feathers get plucked on turkeys. This is change? If The Hound knew Obama was going to pack his cabinet with former Clintonians, what was wrong with Hillary in the first place?
With the election over, the media are being turkeys over Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She was filmed being interviewed at a turkey processing facility which everyone jumped on. Was it Wattlegate or what? How do you think turkeys get to the Thanksgiving table. They walk there?
Another big turkey is Gov. Rod Blagojevich. What's this plan for carpooling lanes on the tollways? How are you going to police it, Gov. Turkey. With a gobble here and a gobble there? Can 2010 come too soon for this turkey?
There's an old gambling term about putting your money down and taking your chances. That's what Waukegan and its casino partners did Tuesday as they went before the Illinois Gaming Board hopefully in search of the state's 10th and final gaming license.
On top of the $225 million bid for the old Emerald Casino license, Waukegan told gaming board members that in its first full year of operation the proposed site at Fountain Square would generate $379 million in gross gambling revenues. And, those monies would be available sooner than the other two locations, tainted Rosemont and bland and boring Des Plaines. The land is already zoned for a casino in Waukegan, there's hotels already there and plenty of parking. It's also a hop, skip and jump from the Tri-State Tollway.
And, according to a marketing study done by the Waukegan group, the Lake County site would also generate an additional $200 million in additional state and local taxes after factoring our land-based location would not negatively impact riverboats in Elgin, Joliet and Aurora. Also, the study maintains a northern Illinois casino would draw gamblers from Wisconsin.
The Hound won't even mention the number of new jobs --- good-paying union jobs --- for construction of a 50,000-square-foot facility and an accompanying 150-room hotel. Let's not forget the original intent of the state's gaming intent.
But more importantly, does Illinois once again want to go through the question marks surrounding a Rosemont casino? Such as the rumors the entire village is mobbed up.
Back in 2004 when Rosemont was a lock for the 10th license, Attorney General Lisa Madigan --- a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2010 --- questioned whether Rosemont and its then mayor, Donald Stephens, had ties to the Chicago Outfit, something the late mayor denied.
His son, Bradley Stephens, is now mayor and saying the village will adopt all sorts of ordinances in order to win the license with a bid of $435 million. Is this a warning sign or not to the gaming board?
Waukegan should get this license. Then again, this is Illinois and anything can happen. Stay tuned.
For all the moaning about salt supplies and the cost of sodium chloride for county roads, The Hound saw several municipal crews spreading a lot of the dear commodity on barely snow-covered streets on Monday. If it's so expensive and you don't have much, why blow it it on a mini-event?
At the most, the county got a dusting of about an inch, The Hound figures. They have to bring out the big trucks and salt spreaders for that? Perhaps we are becoming too used to down to the pavement roads in winter.
Two inches wouldn't get that much salt if The Hound was in charge of snowplows and spreaders. This is, after all, powdery white gold. Or at least that's what we were all told by public works pros from Antioch to Waukegan and from Winthrop Harbor to Mundelein when bids were being let.
So what's the deal? Why not just use sand at this early stage and hold the salt in reserve for those eight-to-12-inch storms you know will hit us once Old Man winter really starts to dump on us? Can someone enlighten The Hound?
If you watched on the TV what some have called one of the best prep football games, last weekend's Antioch versus Glenbard South thrilling overtime game, you heard one of the announcers time after time mispronounce Sequoits as Sequats --- even after he was corrected by his fellow broadcaster.
Perhaps the pronouncer was confused between Sequats and Sasquatch, those mysterious manimals that supposedly reside in the wilds of Oregon, Washington State and northern California. We know better and know that such creatures do not exist along Sequoit Creek.
It matters little if the Antioch squad are called Sequats or Sequoits. The Hound predicts they will be victorious against a tough and nimble Lemont team known by the not-so-politically correct moniker of Indians. It will be a tough-fought battle and close, but the Sequats, er, Sequoits will make the championship game against Springfield Griffin, which The Hound is also picking to beat Providence.
Antioch defeated Glenbard South 28-27 in that overtime game and has a 12-0 record going into today's game at Lemont. How about a good baker's dozen of victories to take into the 6A championship game?
It can be done and most Sequoit fans will be there to see it as they travel well, even though it is a trek to Lemont. Isn't Kankakee the next stop down that way?
The Hound expects to see a rabid Sequoit defense attack the Lemont Native Americans and stop them in their moccasined tracks. Be prepared for that victory convoy, folks, because The Hound says: Antioch 20, Lemont 14.
The Hound is all a twitter over Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan for "green" lanes on the tollway. That usually means we tollway hikers will pay the green.
The Illilnois Toll Highway Authority on Thursday approved creating high occupancy vehicle lanes, aka carpool lanes at a cost of $400 million. Yikes, that is a lot of green!
The "green lane" concept will convert the left lanes of the tollway's most-congested areas into carpool lanes. Does that mean the Lake County portion of the Tri-State seeing that we're under construction siege? Probably not, knowing the tollway.
Here's the plan: If you're driving with at least one other passenger, you can use these lanes and pay the regular I-Pass rate. If you're driving by yourself, you'd have to pay a higher rate. Um, but how will you catch carpool cheats in these green "free-flow" lanes? Who knows?
The Hound has seen similar commuter lanes in other cities, such as Nashville, where cops have caught some motorists in the "diamond" lanes with those plastic blow-up dolls riding shotgun. What the drivers do with those dolls after they get to their destinations are anybody's guess.
The tollway wants to have 80 miles of these green lanes ready by 2010, which may or may not be the target date when the Tri-State construction ends in Lake County. Speaking of green, wouldn't kicking off the program on St. Patrick's Day 2010 be grand?
Note to the governator: There is no pot of gold at the end of the 2010 rainbow for you.
From the looks of the story The Hound read in the paper, any hope for supporters of Orchard Hills returning as a golf course next year are slim and none. As Dan Rather said in 2000 during election night as Al Gore's hopes vanished: "Slim just left town."
The Waukegan Park District is seeking bids for the first phase of the planned sports complex and they're due early next month. R.I.P., Orchard Hills. The first phase will be preparing the land for the multi-use fields at the site off Green Bay Road. Work begins in earnest come spring with an opening expected in about a year.
If duffers still bemoaning the fact of the golf course's demise need any reminder of why Orchard Hills is being turned into a soccer/baseball/football field destination they got one recently. Bloomberg News Service reported last week that the U.S. golf industry is facing a sense of "urgency" and has embarked on a five-year plan to entice beginners to the game in the midst of an economic downturn.
Part of the lure, Bloomberg says the World Golf Foundation is undertaking, is to have 5,000 golf course across the nation offer $99 introductory packages that include golf lessons, coaching, etiquette of the game, etc. They hope to find 700,000 new golfers to play 5.7 million rounds of golf.
Bloomberg also notes golf participation in the U.S. fell to 26 million in 2005, a four million count drop from 2000. This according to the National Golf Foundation, which also determined about three million golfers quit playing each year and several hundred of the 3,000 new golf courses building between 1990 and 2003 have closed.
Is there any wonder, then, that Orchard Hills was given a death sentence? Oh, and if you want a good fish fry, try The Shanty in Wadsworth. The Hound chews on the bluegill.
In the middle of prep football playoffs and girls' volleyball playoffs, The Hound learns there is a prep bass fishing tournament for high school anglers. Huh? What's next, hunting tournaments?
Perhaps The Hound is old school, but what gives with this Illinois High School Association sanctioning bass fishing. Must have been a big lobbying push by the downstate schools near those big impoundments of Rend Lake or Carlyle Lake. What else could be behind this?
OK, The Hound knows California high schools have surf teams and schools in Wyoming, Montana, Texas and other Western states have rodeo teams which compete in tournaments. Some Western colleges even offer rodeo scholarships.
But bass fishing? This sounds fishy, yet Antioch, Grant, Grayslake North, Warren, Lakes, Libertyville, Wauconda, Waukegan and Zion-Benton are fielding bass fishing teams. Betcha that letterman's sweater is tough to come by.
And what happened to Mundelein High? Diamond Lake has plenty of fish for practice sessions. Or it used to.
The IHSA says 214 school across Illinois have signed up for next spring's bass tourney. Start practicing now, folks, and sharpen those hooks. The Hound knows some preps who might like to see fish finders under the Christmas tree. Even so, it's still fishy.
The Hound surely likes prep football as well as any other mutt, but this football playoff system is causing a case of the fantods. This system is dragging out longer than the NBA playoffs. Or worse, the NHL playoffs. At this rate, Antioch's fine Sequoit squad might be playing in December for the 6A state title.
It's taken the Sequoits several weeks to get to the final four pairings and if they win again on Saturday against defending 6A state champ Lemont, they'll have to play another game for the title. Here's the problem: The IHSA.
The IHSA allows teams who win five games to be playoff eligible. Five games? Who can't win five games? OK, the once-mighty Mundelein Mustangs didn't and haven't for a few years. But what gives with the five games? Less teams in the pool means less games and a quicker route to the championship.
Unless the IHSA is hoping to boost attendance and gate receipts for area high schools. If so, say so from the start and don't dance around the end zone about why these playoffs drag out until the gales of November, along with snow showers, are blowing.
The Hound is in a quandary as winter approaches and the snow and ice begins to fly: How will we salt the kibble with all the warnings about salt shortages? What should The Hound put on the popcorn while watching Animal Planet? More pepper?
While The Hound worries about food seasonings, Lake County motorists should worry about the condition of their roads this winter as community upon community says they're paying more for salt and will have less to spare. Lindenhurst this week adopted a new policy to conserve salt, which the village bought for $138 a ton, compared to $40 a ton last year. Libertyville is the latest to issue a de-icing warning.
Essentially, Libertyville will probably be doing what other towns will do when the snow falls. Arterial, collector and business park roads will be fully salted during an initial callout, according to the village's public works department. Low-volume residential streets will be salted at curves, hills and intersections during initial callouts. After snow events have ended, most streets will be salted again to combat ice buildup.
If you live on a cul-de-sac in Libertyville, they won't be salted during the initial callout unless on a sharp curve or hill. And, the village says they may be forced to use a sand/salt mixture if snow events pile up. That mixture's a throwback to the days of yore! Might as well put chains on the snow tires.
The Hound suggests drivers just trade in their Camrys on four-by-fours or AWDs, especially since gasoline prices have dropped. Dealers are willing to trade and deal. What's that, there's an economic meltdown? Well, hope for a meltdown come snow season, because the salt shortage may not clear the roads, Bunky.
Joe Maddon takes the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series in October and is named American League Manager of the Year. Lou Piniella's Cubs get swept in three games by the Dodgers and the North Siders' skipper is named National League Manager of the Year. What's wrong with this picture?
Shouldn't Charlie Manuel, who guided the Philadelphia Phillies, to the team's second World Series title, have been named NL manager of the year? Piniella took the Cubs to the playoffs for the second straight year and the team got swept for the second straight year, leaving Cubs' fans with the same plaint: Wait until next year.
The Hound says this latest award, Piniella's third --- he won with the Seattle Mariners in '95 and '01 --- certainly isn't for raising the Cubs' level of play in the post-season. Surely, Piniella didn't lobby for it, did he?
Manuel just got the shaft from the baseball writers and Phillies' fans in the City of Brotherly Love should be irate. The Hound is a Cubs fan and is irate at this snub for a job well done by Manuel's labor.
Veterans in The Hound's breed are ready to give the Waukegan guy who claimed he was a prisoner of war of the North Vietnamese a blanket party. These would be The Hound's great-uncle, uncle, second cousin, father and brother. If you were in the military, you know what happens when you get an invite to a blanket party.
For the unitiated, it is for those who don't want to carry their load. Or at least that is what The Hound has been told by the warriors in the clan. Most, they say, would have been Section 8s. Ron Naden would have been one, but he was never in the military.
Naden, a retired janitor at Oak Grove School in Green Oaks, since 1991 has been telling kids at the school and even teachers he was a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War for more than a year after allegedly parachuting into Laos. That was one of the whoppers Naden apparently told anyone who would listen. One teacher even got a POW/MIA flag, framed it and slapped it on a wall at the school in his honor. That is so wrong, Ron.
Naden's downfall came when The News-Sun slapped him in the newspaper after he told his tale of the whale. The Internet is a tool being used by those who sacrificed to expose those who didn't. Why one would want to be known as a POW is beyond The Hound's pecan-sized brain. Has anyone checked to see if Ron's driving around on a free POW license plate? Or if he's applied for veterans' benefits?
When The Hound asked the relatives for a comment, their only reply was: "On the right, sick call!" If you know what that means, drive on warriors.
Today is Veterans Day and if you're not doing anything really important, thank a veteran. Most really don't need it. After all, they know what they've done. But a little appreciation never is underappreciated, as The Hound's mother used to point out.
You may not buy into the current mantra that troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are there protecting our freedoms, but back in 2003 quite a few of you were four-square behind the effort to invade Iraq. Those were mainly the folks who didn't have sons and daughters in harm's way or heading to a war zone.
After all, Iraq and Afghanistan are half a world away and a minority of Americans have been effected by the conflicts. Mainly those serving and their loved ones.
But that's the lot of those in the military. Usually not appreciated until they save your butt and even after they muster out.
So show a little appreciation today and if one happens to be on a nearby bar stool, buy them a round. And offer a toast to absent friends. The Hound will.
We just went through another election, but in Minnesota they're still counting ballots. Comedian and radio talk show host Al Franken and incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman are locked in a dead heat. Who says your vote doesn't count?
As of Friday, Coleman was up 239 votes over millions cast. That breaks down to about a .011 percentage point lead. Um, can somebody say razor thin?
This is the tightest race in the nation and some are saying: "Well, what do you expect from Minnesota?" They elected a pro wrassler as their governor a few years back. Currently, the state is in the midst of a discovery recount. If if's thisclose, expect a full blown recount.
One of the newsroom geezers --- you know the types, always telling us how things were back in the last century --- said this Franken-Coleman contest was like the Thompson-Stevenson race in the 1982 Illinois gubernatorial race when a vote per precinct determined the outcome.
That was when the first Lake County resident vied for lite governor. That was Grace Mary Stern of Highland Park, the county's first Democratic county clerk who went on to become a state senator and running mate of Adlai Stevenson Da Third. Or so the geezer tells us.
Regardless, it's a barn burner in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. It may seem immaterial except Dems are close to marking a majority of 60 senators. That is filabuster proof.
So this contest is one of many voters should take into consideration when somebody says: "My vote doesn't count." Au contraire, mon ami. On any given Election Day, it certainly does.
President-elect Barack Obama promised his two daughters a dog after the election was over. It's over and he says he'll pay up. The Hound is available for first dog status.
Consider living in the White House compared to the Dog House. Sweet! The Hound imagines the first dog would be treated like royalty by White House staff willing to please after years of putting up with President Bush's two mutts, Barney and Miss Beazley, both Scottish terriers. Remember President Clinton's chocolate Lab, Buddy? How about Bush the Elder's springer spaniel, Millie. She even wrote a book!
If rejected for first dog approval, The Hound isn't barking up the wrong tree in suggesting the Obamas' check out selecting a shelter dog --- no, not one of those snooty Shelties. A shelter dog would, after all, be the politically correct choice.
Although, President-elect Obama has tapped Clinton's former chief of staff, Chicago Congressman Rahm Emanuel, as his chief of staff. Might as well opt for the chocolate lab, too. A warning though: Those devil dogs can chew up a storm. Trust The Hound on this one.
The election of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama gives Gov. Rod Blagojevich the opening he needs to make friends and nice with fellow Democrats. The Hound can see those Blago wheels turning: Who can help him get renominated in 2010 and then re-elected?
Blago the Bad wants to be Blago the Good so he's going to take his time and have anybody who's been mentioned as possible senatorial material tell him what can they bring to the table in two years. That's the way Chicago pols operate.
So Blago the Good is going through the motions saying he wants to have a name by December and appoint before the Senate convenes in January after Obama gives up his seat for the White House. Blago the Good says he's looking for candidates who will support the president-elect's agenda; work to represent Illinois (duh!); work with the governor on legislation for the state to achieve shared goals --- affordable health care, infrastructure and the economy.
Sounds like the perfect candidate is...drum roll please: Rod Blagojevich. Appointing his governorship to the Senate would be a way to get out of Illinois and away from the wrath of Illinoisans, but still be here.
After all, Blago has never lived in Springfield since being elected governor. If he names himself to the senatorial post, he won't have to move to Washington, D.C. He can just mail in his votes and depend on Dick Durbin to do the heavy lifting for Illinois. After all, Durbin's been the state's lone senator since Obama began running for president nearly two years ago.
Yup, it's a perfect match. Plus, Blago has Washington experience. He was a congressman at one time.
The Hound had a great live chat today at 3PM. Join me at 9PM for more live chat and your chance to give your two-cents worth about the presidential and local elections and what you think it means for the county and country.
Hours from now we'll know who will lead us the next four years, but more importantly, will today's balloting mean Lake County goes from light blue to dark blue? Will Barack Obama's coat tails turn the County Board more Democratic? Chat live tonight about local election results with The Hound, who has been let loose from the dog house. Here's a hint: The Hound predicts the GOP holds on to the 26th Senate District being vacated by Republican William Peterson of Long Grove. Prove The Hound wrong.
The Hound was dragged to the friendly hardware store on Saturday and was shocked. The Hound says shocked, to discover it's already Christmas time. Yes, the hardware store people were putting up Christmas tree displays, offering outdoor Christmas displays and giving a glimpse of what The Hound may get for Christmas. Are we jumping the gun, or what?
Perhaps The Hound is confused with the change to standard time, but didn't the retailers used to start putting up the Christmas displays around Thanksgiving and not the day after Halloween? If they're selling stuff this early, what will be the discounts come December? Maybe the economy's as bad as everybody says.
Yet, there's still Halloween stuff --- mainly candy --- to dispose of with deep discounts. Where's all the Pilgrim stuff? The cranberries? The Butterball turkeys?
Maybe we should skip Thanksgiving and go right to Christmas. No turkey, just Christmas goose. Yummo!
