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"In God We Trust" is good enough for the federal government, but apparently not so in Waukegan where the city's new mayor has banned an opening prayer at City Council meetings, instead opting for a "moment of silence." Wouldn't it be nice to silence politicians for a long time, instead of just a moment?

After having a prayerful invocation since the 1990s, Mayor Robert Sabonjian has made the City Council ungodly by removing this usually uneventful paen to the Almighty. Prayers for public bodies usually don't cause a stir. In this case, the mayor's heavy hand may do the opposite. Just another case of Christians being pushed to the background. Next thing you know, there go the downtown Christmas decorations.

The Hound doesn't recall getting rid of the opening prayer as one of the mayor's campaign platforms. Perhaps this is part of his cost-cutting moves, because the city paid $50 to Bishop Joseph Coburn of the All Nations Church of God Holiness in Christ for each of his twice-a-month invocations.

If saving money is the ultimate goal, then perhaps the mayor and City Council can call dial-a-prayer to petition the Lord. That's free.

Forget the tax rebate from Uncle Sam. What are you going to do with the money-saving credit that will appear on your May gas bill?
Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas announced this week that the credit will be shown on customers' bills as something called a Volume Balancing Adjustment.
North Shore Gas serves 158,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in 54 communities in Northeastern Illinois. Peoples Gas serves 840,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers, mostly in the city of Chicago.
The total amount of the credit is $1 million. Divided by 998,000 customers, your credit will probably amount to a buck.
Spend it wisely.