There must be some bad juju surrounding us to get the weather hand we were dealt the past few days. Talk about a weird and wacky weather zone.
First, we get a week of heavy snow, ice and below zero temperatures. Then comes a high Saturday of nearly 60 degrees in Lake County accompanied by a ton of rain mixed with fog coming off the snow left on the ground. If that was snow on Saturday, The Hound would still be digging out The Doghouse. Yowza! did it pour. And, with the ground frozen, there was little places the rain could go.
Area streams and rivers rose rapidly, although you certainly can't tell what the flood levels on the Des Plaines River at Russell and Gurnee were. The gauges which measure rising levels have been on the fritz, of late.
Then it was back into the high 40s and into a fairly quiet week, if you consider near-single digit temperatures quiet for the new year. The Hound does.
You know it's a slow news day when the Zogby Poll is looking forward to New Year's Day. Whoa, that's a week down the road. But the topic of the poll is who will you be kissing as the digital clock slides into '09. According to Zogby,
"more people will kiss their pet at midnight than will kiss a friend." You can't make this stuff up, folks.
The poll also finds that women are 4.5 times as likely to spend New Year's Eve with a pet than men are. That's because men will be out looking for those women who are staying home drinking Cold Duck with their pet.
And, the topper: Democrats are more likely than Republicans to spend New Year's Eve with a pet. That's because Democrats don't have any money to spend. They've been laid off. Their pets won't be judgmental because the laid-off Democrats don't have jobs going into the new year.
And to prove it really is a slow news day, the Zogbv poll also asked folks who they'd like to spend New Year's Eve with, Sarah Palin or Tina Fey. Thirty-nine percent said they would spend it with Palin; 39 percent with Fey. The Hound also hears the Sarah Palin calendar is No. 1 on the Amazon.com list for calendars. President-elect Obama's calendar is No. 8.
Does The Hound detect some gag Christmas stocking stuffers were purchased at the Alaska governor's expense. You, betcha!
Geez, give them two inches or more of the white stuff and Lake County motorists seem to become wheel jockeys bent on proving they're the dumbest drivers in the world. Or at least the dumbest driving in snow.
Lighten up folks. Driving around the county the past few days during these serial snowstorms, The Hound noticed a number of vehicles in the ditches and witnessed one Cadillac go sliding into a snowbank. What's with you drivers? Whiteouts be damned! must be your rallying cry.
The Hound was passed several times by cars, not 4x4s mind you, which looked like they were going faster than a dry pavement speed limit. The Hound could tell that because they were fishtailing, slipping and sliding, with the pedal to the metal. Yikes!
These bumper-car drivers apparently have a death wish. Just don't take The Hound and other unsuspecting drivers with you. And merry Christmas, snow jockeys.
Well, actually The Hound does call this bit of frigid air the first day of winter cold, very cold. Arctic, bitter, bone-chilling, you supply the adjective. At Waukegan Regional Airport the low was -7; the high -3. The high last year Dec. 21 at the airport was 50; the low 36. That's not cold.
At 3 p.m., two of us compared our in-car thermometers at a local watering hole just before the Vikings/Falcons game got interesting. One said -3; the other -4. They were parked next to each other. Go figure.
The Hound doesn't mind the cold weather, but not this early. Not in December. January, OK. You can't even spread salt when it's below zero; doesn't work. And, man, that wind howling through The Hound's dog house caused a mean headache. Or perhaps it was the Black Haus schnapps, something every should imbibe during a cold spell. Brrr!
Remember, though this is only December. The really cold stuff is still in store.
Too bad Illinois Gov. "Lightning Rod" Blagojevich didn't take any questions at his proclamation Friday that he is innocent of trying to peddle a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. Most proud Illinoisans would have liked to hear why he thinks he shouldn't have been arrested by the FBI. It took 10 days to come up with a portion of a poem from Rudyard Kipling and his statement? He must be a slow writer. And, who are these "powerful forces" trying to oust him? Illinois voters?
Instead, the governor came out swinging, like a member of the battling Blagos flying out of a rugby scrum. "I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath," the governor said breathlessly to an assemblage of reporters. How many times have we heard that from pols caught by the feds? Let's see, you do the math: There has been about 1,000 Illinois officials indicted for official corruption in the past few decades.
The Hound will lay odds now that Blagojevich will never take the witness stand in his own defense if the case goes to trial. He'll let his paid mouthpiece tell his side of the story rather than subject himself to a grilling from federal prosecutors.
And, with the defiance in the governor's voice during the short press conference where he took no questions, it would appear Blago is going nowhere fast. Or at least not leaving the governor's post. Looks like we're stuck with him for quite a while, maybe even until 2010. Oh, the horror!
We've certainly become a group of nervous Nellies. From the warnings dished out from Wednesday to Thursday and today, you'd think the sky was falling rather than a winter snowstorm. The Hound was never mollycoddled which meant even during blizzards accompanied with what seemed to be mile-high snowdrifts, it meant loping nearly a mile to school, uphill both ways.
Schools across Lake County began canceling classes Thursday morning in preparation for a doomsday scenario snowfall. Lighten up, folks. Winter doesn't begin until Sunday. That in itself is something to worry about.
But what if those weather prognosticators are wrong? And so if they're right? It's snow, not nuclear fallout.
One forecast The Hound saw predicted up to 14 inches for Lake County. Sounds like a snownormous weekend of sledding.
Until then, drive slow, hope your local public works department hasn't run out of salt yet and break out the sleds, snowshoes or cross-country skiis. You can't stop it, so just let it snow and ponder the wonder of a white Christmas this holiday.
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The Hound watches with amazement as President-elect Obama is packing his cabinet with two more Illinosans. This in the midst of the state being the butt of every late-night comedian. Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan was tabbed Tuesday as education secretary, while retiring Republican Congressman Ray LaHood of Peoria is expected to be named transportation secretary today.
But, The Hound is more interested in Mr. Duncan, who has run the CPS for the past seven years. Let's all bring what we've learned in the Chicago school system to Washington, D.C. This is a school system where kids get shot going to and from class; where state Sen. James Meeks told students to boycott classes this fall because funding is nowhere near the levels of suburban schools, most notably New Trier High School.
Of anyone, Duncan should know that if Chicago parents could enroll their kids in suburban schools, they'd do so in a New York minute. The district is top-heavy with administrators and beholden to the teachers' union. Sort of like the U.S. Department of Education.
The Hound is certain there were probably more-qualified candidates for the education job --- like Paul Vallas, Duncan's former CPS boss who also has headed Philadelphia and New Orleans school systems. But only the Harvard-educated Duncan plays a mean hoops game, which the new president enjoys engaging in. Let's see if Duncan can slam-dunk the nation's educational problems.
Looks like Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran would rather switch than fight, as he bolted to the Republican Party on Monday. Bet county Dems are really, really perturbed. And can it get any whackier when County Board member Bob Sabonjian, a Waukegan Democrat declares himself an independent. Is he the next Joe Lieberman?
Surrounded by a roomful of Republicans at the party's Libertyville headquarters, Curran left the Democratic Party and is now a rock-ribbed GOPster. With him leaving the party of Obama, Curran joins Circuit Court Clerk Sally Coffelt in making the switch. Coffelt was elected as a Democrat in 1980 and became a Republican in 1982.
Odd how in just two years, joining the Republican Party becomes a matter of conscience, as the sheriff listed as the main reason for jumping to what Demskywalkers consider the "dark side". But the crimefighter pointed to the corruption apparently rampant in Democratic circles, or at least those whose last names begin with Blagojevich. The Hound also bets the sheriff didn't like Gov. "Lightning Rod" Blagojevich's cursing a lot while being wiretapped by the FBI.
While losing Curran to the GOP is a blow, county Dems might consider it an even trade with Sabonjian dumping the party and going his own way, which he normally did. Who's next in line to jump ship?
For some time there has been a feeling in this country that language discourse has dropped to a level befitting Cro-Magnon men and women. Teachers have blamed television for this and now have a new culprit in the cell phone and text messaging. Yet, they need look no further than our politicians.
Consider the salty language used by "Lightning Rod" Blagojevich as heard by FBI agents who taped the governor's devious and many shake-down conversations. Talk about your f-bombs. Several longshoremen at the Port of Chicago were appalled at the governor's art of swearing. Even U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald parsed the "bleeping" words during his press conference earlier this week.
While certainly our public officials can swear with the best of them, it is slightly shocking to hear our governor call our next president a dirty name. He has to do something bad to get called that name. The Hound has heard George Bush called nasty names on numerous occasions by people whose IRAs and 401 (k)s are sinking faster than the soon-to-be-ex-president's legacy.
But it seems not only does the governor --- a graduate of Northwestern University --- have a potty mouth, but so does his lovely wife, Patti. Hope they don't use that type of foul language around their kids. That would be a real class in language arts .
The Hound has never been a laughingstock. Well, there was the time of mixing Red Bull with a high-octane beverage, and then butchering "My Heart Will Go On" from "The Titanic." But that was only at a karaoke bar in the county's nether regions. But Gov. Rod Blagojevich will be a laughingstock for some time, as will the State of Illinois.
Blagojevich, along with the state and us by proxy, were pillioried Tuesday night by David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien and Stephen Colbert, to name just a few. Wonder what "Saturday Night Live" has in store for Gov. Rod "This seat's for sale" Blagojevich?
The late-night talk show hosts probably will continue on Blagojevich who was nailed by the FBI for trying to peddle the open seat of President-elect Barack Obama for some six-figure coin. Guess he must have watched "Rome" on HBO. The Romans used to sell Senate seats to the highest bidders, so the guv figured he could get away with it, too. Except this isn't Rome. Heck, it's not even Rome, Ga.
His coming indictment will bring more shame and guffaws about Illinois and our corrupt governors and public officials. What's not funny is we deserve it. We're the buffoons who keep electing these political grifters.
You know the "Land of Lincoln" slogan on Illinois license plates? The Hound suggests we replace it with "Land of Thieves".
It's more appropriate, don't you think, especially after Gov. Rod "The Mod" Blagojevich was charged Tuesday with criminal conspiracy, mail fraud and anything else the U.S. attorney's office can muster between now and when Blago and his chief of staff, John Harris, go to trial.
The Blago charges are the latest in what makes The Hound proud his doghouse is in the Prairie State and not in Wisconsin. What fun do they have in the Badger State with their politicians? How many of their governors or ex-governors have done jail time? Hah! Take that Packer fans.
So to advertise our support for continued political corruption in Illinois, we should all lobby Secretary of State Jesse White, who probably will never be indicted, to change the license plate slogan to "Land of Thieves".
While some may cluck-cluck over the governor's charges of allegedly trying to sell the open U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Obama to the highest bidder being a new low in Illinois politics, The Hound says we tout our sprees of corruption proudly. There's no better place to do so than squarely on an Illinois license plate.
Besides, The Hound thinks "Land of Thieves" has a better ring than "Land of Clout".
The Hound has been watching retread Clintonistas being appointed to cabinet posts in the Obama administration with a jaundiced eye. After all, if you wanted a third Clinton administration, we should have elected Hillary, right? But, finally, the president-elect tabs a winner in retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to be the new secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It's a good pick.
And, at the same time it is vindication for the former Army chief of staff. It was Shinseki, the 38-year Army career man, a decorated and wounded veteran of the Vietnam War, who warned that several hundred thousand troops would be needed to secure and keep the peace once Iraq was defeated. That warning caused him to be swift-kicked by such warriors Vice President Dick Cheney, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Secretary of Defense, Illinois' own Don Rumsfeld.
Neither of those three went to West Point, nor did they ever have boots on the ground in any infantry capacity. Shinseki also cautioned to "beware a 12-division strategy for a 10-division army." For such forthrightness, Shinseki was not reappointed by the Bush administration to a second tour as Army chief of staff and forced into retirement. As we all saw, those happy warriors in the Bush administration had to eat crow and put more troops into Iraq in what now is known as The Surge.
Now, Shinseki has to go into the VA and straighten out another mess leftover from the Bush administration --- providing benefits and medical care to veterans, and especially the nation's newest veterans coming home from the Iraq War. At a time when budget constraints are even greater.
The Hound would expect the new secretary to be easily confirmed by the Senate and probably will be in Lake County to tour the soon-to-be-ready Lovell medical center in North Chicago, the first sharing of VA and Navy facilities. He will be heartily welcomed.
As a hound, The Hound is irate over poor Rupert, the Chinook sled dog who got caught in a trap somewhere in either Vernon Hills or Libertyville. Whoever put that trap in a place where dogs and kids may play should have his or her nose placed in one of those traps to see how it feels.
The Hound actually is dumbfounded that trapping still exists in parts of Lake County, especially those urbane areas of Vernon Hills and Libertyville. Who knew there was enough wildlife left to trap, considering developers, with the help of municipal officials, have paved over most of the ground cover for fur-bearing animals which once were trapped for a living.
Granted, the way this economy is going, many of us may be taking up trapping to pay the bills. That and poaching deer out-of-season to make venison sausage to tide us over until we can grow vegetables. Or shoot doves or ice fish.
While The Hound is concerned about other canines who might be caught in traps, if The Hound lived in Libertyville or Vernon Hills, The Hound also would be worried about little children who could find themselves caught in the trap. And, The Hound isn't talking about a mouse trap.
Where were all those folks pushing for a charter high school in Waukegan the other night when the District 60 school board quashed opening one in the city? Supposedly, hundreds of parents wanted their kids to attend this charter school proffered by a Chicago-based charter school group. From the picture in The News-Sun, The Hound has seen more people at a cat fight.
Rejecting the charter school was no surprise, but one would think there would have been voices raised at the school board session in its defense after officials released their 21-page analysis of the proposal. After all, who wants to lose tax dollars?
Time will tell if this was a good decision. Certainly, the folks who were backing it will think twice about asking the state to go ahead with the project. After all, why would you work to get a charter school in a community that doesn't want you?
The grand "small learning communities" plan has been touted as a better alternative than a charter high school. Let's see if this plan raises test scores and gives the city's students a better education than a charter school. As one parent told The Hound: "The city has to do something to make the schools inviting so people stay in the community and want to move into the community."
The ball is now in the "small learning communities" court, so to speak.
Those Gurnee folks sure are a hoot. Last year, their public works crews forgot how to plow the streets in winter. This year, residents are all of a sudden up in arms over Waukegan getting the state's last casino license. Where have they been?
Waukegan has been working to get a license for a number of years and while they're one of three vying for the gaming license, there's no guarantee they'll get it, even though the state law allowing for casino gambling is written for towns like Waukegan.
The city has a spot all set to build on if the Illinois Gaming Board awards the license to Waukegan. It is at Fountain Square. That's what has homeowners in Providence Village and Providence Oaks, which are off O'Plaine Road, south of Route 120, upset.
They're worried about traffic and property values. This from homes that are just down the street from a sewage treatment plant. The Hound has smelled that plant on a couple of occasions and on summer days. It sure can get ripe.
Did they think of the property values of those who live in trailers --- oops, mobile homes --- when Gurnee annexed that tire recycling place? The Hound doesn't think so.
Then there's the traffic issue. Are they kidding, or what?
Didn't Gurnee lose the traffic card years ago. First there was Six Flags Great America, then Gurnee Mills and then the Grand-Hunt Corridor. Ever try to get from Lindenhurst to Route 41 using Grand Avenue at rush hour. It's not a hoot.
Besides, Gurnee could piggy-back on a Waukegna casino: "Here kids, go to Hurricane Harbor. Dad and I are going swimming at the slots." And, if Gurnee had a shot at getting a casino, they'd be right up there elbowing for position.
These folks may give a game attempt to stop Waukegan from getting a casino at Fountain Square, but they're doomed, hoisted on their own petard of suburban sprawl. Besides, only the gaming board can quash the city's gaming attempt.
It's taken a year, but the government finally admits what most of us have thought all along: The United States is in a recession. Ah, but according to the announcement Monday from the National Bureau of Economic Research, we've been in a recession since December 2007.
The Hound certainly must have a recessive gene and be a little slow on the uptake, but it's taken some Washington economic think-tank policy wonks this long to determine we've been in an economic downturn for that long? Maybe they have the recession gene because the usual definition of an official recession --- if The Hound remembers Econ 101 correctly --- is that gross domestic product declines for two consecutive quarters. Last quarter GDP, the nation's total output of goods and services , declined. We'll see what happens this last quarter.
But if we've been in a recession since last December, this would be the second economic downturn on George Bush's watch. No wonder Republicans got clobbered in last month's election. And, it would be just one more notch in Bush's presidential legacy.
