Government: April 2008 Archives

The Hound used to think the Illinois Legislature was moronic. Now in first place in that dubious contest are Florida lawmakers. Legislators in the Sunshine State have approved a measure outlawing replicas of bull testicles on private vehicles in Florida.

The Hound's Daytona Beach correspondent is just giddy over this waste of taxpayer-paid time and money down South, especially when Florida is right about where Illinois is when it comes to funding public education, infrastructure and a huge deficit.

But that's how lawmakers spend their time, whether in the Prairie State or the Sunshine State. The proposal would ban the display of "reproductive glands" on vehicles. Truckers and bikers could face fines of $60 if they keep these replicas on their vehicles.

Let's not get into a debate over why someone would want to put such things on the back end of their Tahoe hybrid, but apparently they do. The Hound has seen such things, mainly on tricked-out Harleys.

Opponents argue that approving the measure would lead to cracking down on bumper stickers and those mud flaps on some trucks which feature the silver outlines of nekkid women. Here's something else to consider: Don't Florida state troopers have more than enough to do besides writing tickets for a vehicle transporting a fake bull's package? They do in Illinois.

One last thought: Aren't bull testicles considered a culinary treat in some parts of this great land? Seems like there's other things to attack than fake glands on one's vehicle. But then again, it is Florida.

Isn't it about time Waukegan 2nd Ward Ald. John Balen turn in his spurs and resign from the City Council? His latest antic about stopping people from discussing issues of the day at City Council sessions proves one thing: One doesn't get wiser with age.

At one time, The Hound has been told, Balen was a rebel rouser. Whether on the shop floor at the old U.S. Steel wire mill or the Lake County Board, of which he was a chairman, he was for freedom of speech. Matter of fact, Balen, a World War II veteran fought for freedom speech in this country.

In the past week, though, he decided that audience time at City Council sessions have become a "soapbox for activists." Seconding his motion to seek input from his constituents was another geezer alderman, Larry Ten Pas of the 6th Ward. Wonder what his one-time fellow union brothers and sisters (Ten Pas was a teacher, Waukeganites should remember) think about that.

The Hound hears Balen was, in fact, an activist when he was a member of the United Steelworkers of America, at one time one of the strongest labor organizations in this nation. Perhaps when one drives a Mercedes-Benz, which the last time The Hound checked, wasn't made by union workers in America, one forgets one's roots in the American labor movement.

The Hound began this with calling for Balen to move on to retirement. Perhaps Ten Pas should follow suit. Waukeganites should expect more from two aldermen who fought for the right to veer from the path of the maddening crowd.

Somewhere, Joe Hill is turning over in his grave --- once again.

The Hound was having his usual Leinie's Honey Weiss (with lemon) on draw at a local watering hole on Monday. Lost in the golden taste and admiring the deep-grained mahogany bar --- which certainly could tell a tale or twelve --- when a grizzled senior citizen said: "Seventy-five years ago you would be drinking your first legal beer in 13 years."

Excuse The Hound, but paying attention to 75-year anniversaries isn't yet on my MySpace account. But the senior was right.

On April 7, 1933, the taps were reopened after our great social experiment (or failure depending if you were a wet or a dry) and beer flowed for everyone when Prohibition ended. For some in Lake County, such as the good citizens of Zion, which went wet just a few years ago, there were some holdouts to returning to selling booze. Beer was legalized first; then distilled spirits and wine a year later.

It was a dismal period, if watching "The Untouchables" on "ME TV" is any indication.

"And," the senior noted, "you can thank a Democrat for that. Now buy me a beer."

The Hound has a couple nephews who will be graduating from Lake County high schools this spring.
One will graduate May 25 from Warren Township High School. Graduation will be held on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston
Another will graduate June 5 from Libertyville High School. Graduation will be held -- you guessed it -- on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston.
What's wrong with this picture? It's a civic shame that Lake County does not have a facility to house special events such as these. Between concerts, conventions and graduations, a 10,000-seat arena would be in constant use.
We should push hard and do whatever it takes to get an arena in Lake County. There's no excuse for a county of 725,000 people to be without one.