Letter to the editor and response--Peotone Airport legislation

Letter to the Editor: by Herbert Brooks, Jr. Will County Board Speaker



June 7, 2013

To the Editor:

At the end of the legislative session, Springfield lawmakers quickly and quietly passed Senate Bill 20, giving governance to the South Suburban Airport to the Illinois Department of Transportation.

This legislation runs contrary to the established positions of the Will County Board. Furthermore, the legislation was moved forward without the opportunity for a comprehensive review and discussion of its merits.

Nevertheless, I believe it is vitally important for Will County to remain fully engaged in the development process to ensure that it is transparent, responsible, and respectful of our county’s residents. If managed effectively, the airport can be an economic engine for Will County and the whole state of Illinois. However, if the process is mismanaged, those of us that call this county home will suffer the most. Therefore, the Board is moving forward with a full and thorough analysis of the bill and will schedule public meetings to reveal our findings and make recommendations. We are hopeful the Governor, IDOT, and our elected officials will listen and strongly consider our concerns.

Sincerely,

Herbert Brooks, Jr.
Speaker of the Will County Board
815-726-7080

Reponse: 

I appreciate Herbert Brooks, Jr. taking the time to comment on SB20 with regard to the Peotone Airport.

I have never agreed with the Will County Board's position on the proposed Peotone Airport. Will County officials have, since the inception of the project in 1985, to play both sides against the middle, seeking whatever potential economic impact possible at the expense of so many voices of opposition. It isn't just the people of eastern Will County that oppose the airport. Surveys have indicated that a majority of residents of Will County oppose it. The airline industry opposes it. Only those that stand to benefit monetarily by it favor its development.

That said, I agree with the speaker's desire to ensure transparency, responsibility, and respect for the residents of Will County. However, I must caution him that such behavior has never been associated with this project. 

I applaud his call for a full analysis of the bill as well as public hearings, which voting members of the State of Illinois have foregone. I too hope state officials will listen to what Will County has to say.

It must be made clear that Brooks, Jr. has been a member of the county board only since 2008, so my comments are not directed at him. But prior to his time on the board, the Will County Board has done none of those things he suggested. In fact, the Will County Board has done just the opposite, with just a few board member exceptions. 

After devoting so many years to my own study of the proposed Peotone Airport, I wish the speaker good luck in trying to do the right thing. However, I urge caution, since IDOT has a very long history of not listening to anyone that disagrees with its views.

Illinois government rejoices over its 'duh' moment

News reports now indicate that a major hurdle has been cleared to make way for the Peotone Airport. The House and Senate have approved legislation, as part of a whole package of pork, to pave the way for a public/private partnership to build the once-named third airport at Peotone. IDOT (Illinois Dept. of Transportation) will be the governing body. IDOT will hire a developer to build the new airport some 40 miles south of Chicago. All that is needed is the signature from Gov. Pat Quinn. That is pretty much a given since he seems positively elated about it all. This is so much for fun for Quinn than paying the state's bills and honoring promises made to state workers. 

This is just another chess move by the state that can't even capture the queen, let alone checkmate the king. It really isn't much of a revelation. In fact it is little more than a "duh" moment. IDOT has been pushing, sometimes all by itself, the Peotone Airport idea since the latest round of talks first began, twenty-eight years ago. The notion of a third Chicago-area airport has been on the table far longer, since the late 1960's. IDOT has tried to get the airport to become a reality through every means possible, but always to no avail. The thing is, it is not a very smart idea, and does not have widespread support. Even the airlines are against it. 

So now, we are to believe giving IDOT control is clearing a major hurdle? 

Farmland speaks to the sentiment of eastern Will County
residents who for years have said NO AIRPORT!

While it is true, this is the first time legislation has actually been approved to build the project, it hasn't even been cleared for takeoff by the FAA, (Federal Aviation Administration). That approval is up to two years away, if it comes at all. 

IDOT has used all of its dirty tricks, including taking private property through eminent domain. A Will County Court claims there is nothing wrong with taking some of the best farmland in the state, decimating a once thriving farming community, and making big plans for an airport that has never been deemed doable or desirable. It would have been interesting to see an unbiased verdict in a courtroom not in Will County where deals have been made for years on behalf of this project and the political figures involved. 

This new round of legislation awaiting Quinn's ready hand, is making the taking even more of a nightmare for property and farm advocates. The legislation authorizes quick take--the state's buy now, pay later plan. 

There is no revelation here. Giving IDOT authority over airport governance is akin to hitting someone in the head with a two-by-four. They can only fight for so long. Do it long enough and they will eventually crumple into a pile of dead flesh and simply taken away. 

Anonymous comments no more; Anonymous protester encouraged!

anonymous (Photo credit: the|G|™)

Anonymous comments have never held much weight with me. I have long believed that if you care enough to formulate an opinion, you should be proud enough of it to put your name to it.

Therefore, I am no longer allowing anonymous comments on my blogs. You don't want to identify who you are, you no longer exist in my world, no matter how much you compliment my superb writing skills and excellent points. Besides, I'd like to thank you if you really mean it.

Most times though, posts that sound too good to be true usually are. Flattery will not get your link out there, especially when it has to do with selling pharmaceuticals, enhancing your penis, or inviting views of your ample breasts. I'm pretty tired of all you people.

That said, I would be honored to receive a visit from Anonymous, the guy wearing the above mask, the internet version of Robin Hood. I like that guy! He can comment on my blog anytime. When it comes to protesting evil for the sake of good, I'm all in!

Peace must be built on truth nurtured by reality

Boston Marathon Bombing Memorial (Photo credit: AnubisAbyss)

Once again, life in our seemingly peaceful nation has been shattered. This has to stop. Perhaps it would if we could just start being honest with ourselves. Perhaps we aren't living in a peaceful nation after all. Perhaps life in 2013 America simply isn't what we perceive it to be. Just like the alcoholic, we must first recognize that we have a problem before we can ever begin to solve it.

One thing is for sure--our problems will not be solved by censorship--not by the media and certainly not by our elected officials. The notion that a few have the authority to 'protect' the rest of us is just, plain wrong. We are all in this together. Give us the information and we will make our own sense of things. 

People should have choices. If some want to live in a bubble where life is beautiful all the time, so be it. They have that option to simply turn off their television sets, not read newspapers, and not contribute anything to the life we all share on this planet. Personally, I think that is irresponsible, but that's just me.

It has been nearly two full weeks since the Boston Marathon bombing and I am still trying to sort out how I feel about it. I know I want my psyche to forget the images I've seen. I don't want to revisit them  uninvited in my sleep or during quiet moments. I don't want to close my eyes and see a person grimacing in pain, dazed by the horror of seeing his own legs ripped apart from a bomb blast. I don't want to see a bloody sidewalk where lives were lost on what began as a pleasant spring day. I don't want to witness the face of an attractive young man only to learn that his is the face of a terrorist bent on killing innocent people. I don't want to hear the deafening explosion that changed lives forever or the cries of the wounded. I don't want to hear the hail of gunfire on a suburban street in a seemingly civilized country. But that was the reality of April 15, 2013 in Boston. 

What I want is for these kinds of things to never happen again; I want no one to ever have to suffer. Reality has been much too ugly of late, but it doesn't have to stay that way if we all work together to change it.

As much as I deplore the raw scenes I hate seeing, I know they were necessary to convey the story--a story that must be told. If we are ever going to change today's reality, we have to be inspired to change. There is no denying that we were inspired to catch and punish the perpetrators. Like darkness brings light; our pain must bring about our peace. 

News isn't always pretty, but it is reflective of life, which isn't always pretty either. So just what kind of responsibility does the news media have to present information to the public? That question has been made much more difficult with the advent of cell phone cameras and social media where everyone thinks they are a journalist. The phenomenon has even been given a name--citizen journalism. I'm here to tell you that everybody isn't a journalist. Everybody isn't a photographer. Most of the people driven to play Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen are more akin to the National Inquirer than the New York Times. Don't quit your day job folks--even good journalists are out of work these days.

How to handle graphic images are just one more topic for the staff in newsrooms across the media spectrum. Their decisions are compounded by knowing the images will be caught on somebody's cell phone and posted on Facebook, Twitter, and elsewhere. Raw footage is hard to compete with, so some professionals don't bother trying. 

Some get around it by completely doctoring images to make them appear less violent. Isn't that dishonest? In my view, that is a cowardly and untrustworthy manipulation. It shows a complete lack responsibility and shows no respect for its audience.   

Other more professional journalists might consider cropping such images, artfully, while not taking away from the story that needs to be told. I believe that is honest. Even knowing that images are available, if I ran a newsroom, I would never try to compete with on-the-scene photographs. If professional journalism is ever going to stand above the online picture-takers, there is going to have to be an adherence to trust, accuracy, and all the other tenets of journalism that have earned credibility. 

I think we need to have it both ways. I believe the truth can be conveyed without quite so much shock value, yet this incident took place in full view of thousands of people who were horrified by them. Telling a news story is to convey that horror to viewers and readers. Often times the words can be just as telling as the pictures, as was evident during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Dec. 14, 2012 when 20 first graders and six adults who worked at the school were assassinated by a crazed gunman. Pictures of the tiny bodies were not seen, but the horror was just as palpable. 

For me, the bottom line is that news must never be censored, even if photographs depicting the reality of a scene are considered offensive by some. 

The same is true for suggestive images or specific words. Network television is the worst. I am here to tell you there is no need to protect us from the things that we see and hear everyday. 

One thing that comes to my mind about censorship and the lengths the media will go, is the time delay on live television ever since Janet Jackson's 'wardrobe malfunction' during the half-time show at the Super Bowl a few years ago. The network went half crazy because Janet Jackson's boob was seen on television. Everybody has boobs. We've all seen them. What is the big deal? 

Then there are those seven dirty words http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbZhpf3sQxQ the late, great George Carlin talked about. Have you heard what kids say on the playground lately? We now use the term 'f-bomb.' Oh please, can we grow up now? 

I'm not sure just what it says about a society that will accept seeing a man's extremities blown to bits, but Janet Jackson's boob better not be out there for public consumption. Except that it is! Just google it. We cannot say 'fuck' on television, but we can sing it in songs? 

Our society needs to grow up. If we cannot solve these little things, how are we supposed to be able to keep ourselves safe from people who want to do us harm? 

I think our first task is to recognize there is indeed a problem. Before we start worrying about other people, we need to look to ourselves. The very least we can do is attempt to be honest with ourselves. And by all means, let's keep it real.

Jesse Jackson, Jr. deservedly disgraced

English: Sandi Jackson and Jesse Jackson (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some of the dastardly deeds of Jesse Jackson, Jr. have finally been noticed and acted upon--at least some of them. Good! Too bad he will likely never pay for all he has done.

The disgraced congressman from Illinois second congressional district has now been indicted for misusing campaign funds to the tune of $750,000. The actual indictment is shown here. Jackson's shame is also shared by his wife the former Chicago alderman, Sandi Jackson. As a result, the two of them could end up in jail, the place for plenty of other Illinois political figures before them.

If only the former congressman would learn his lesson. If only his situation could serve as an example to others who believe they are better than the rest of us and thus deserve more than the rest of us. If only the world could see that working hard is the way to get ahead, not gaming the system.

Sadly, that will likely never happen.

From what I have observed, and I have written about it numerous times in this very blog, Jesse Jackson, Jr. will stop at nothing to get what he wants, despite who or what gets in his way. He plays the game to win. He ignored all the rules and made them up as he went along, never considering that he wouldn't always come out on top.

He is in my view, a classic narcissist, which is a personality disorder that showcases ego and makes a person pre-occupied with all things self. Such personality types have seemingly filled our government at all levels. It has to be a real kick for people like Jackson to have tens of thousands of virtual strangers throw money and support your way in a campaign, but politics only feeds the disorder. Jackson and his famous father seem to share similar entitlement DNA. The difference is that Jesse Jackson's issues have been tempered with performing some outstanding work on behalf of others at times. I wish I could say the same thing for his son.

I know Jesse Jackson, Jr. had the potential and likely still does to be an excellent public servant. If only he could have gotten beyond serving himself first.

Watching Jesse Jackson, Jr. compromise all principles in his effort to sacrifice  the homes of landowners and farmers in eastern Will County where the state has been trying to cite an airport that has no logical purpose. The airport is evidence that he would stop at nothing. This is a man who cannot admit he is wrong. Yet, it was wrong when Jackson, the good Democrat, joined the efforts of the late Republican Congressman Henry Hyde, the man who was behind President Bill Clinton's impeachment. Hyde wanted to build an airport far away from O'Hare as a means of curtailing and possibly replacing it. He and Jackson teamed up with then Governor George Ryan, to form a trifecta of support for the ill-fated project. Hyde is dead; Ryan is currently under home confinement as he finishes his 6 1/2 year prison sentence for corruption; and Jackson--well he awaits his fate after his indictment. So much for Illinois' airport scheme...

The really sad part about Jackson is that he got people to believe him--to buy his snake oil--even though pathological lying is a symptom of narcissism. He lied to the U.S. Congress about the potential benefit of an airport in the cornfields and he lied to his constituents. He lied to south suburban mayors and clergy who still don't realize it was all smoke and mirrors. He got them to believe the hype--that an airport 40 miles away from Chicago was going to be their salvation.

It is too bad Jackson didn't enlist their support for some kind of real economic development project that might have helped them. In all Jackson's years in congress, some of the towns he represented remain the poorest in the state. It is too bad Jackson didn't use his talents and skills to make something happen that was doable and beneficial rather than merely to look at becoming an airport kingmaker to benefit himself.

When it came to the proposed Peotone Airport, Jackson would say anything to get it built. Never forget, he did it for himself. So many people over the 40-year history of the project have tried to get the unneeded, unwanted airport built. Remember Illinois is a pay-to-play state. Politics there isn't for the good of the people; it is for the good of the politicians who can wield contracts and control votes and campaign cash. No one has been able to build another major airport in Illinois, because right and reason really does trump wrong and foolish. In the end, the project will never be built because it really has no purpose. Air travel is never going to grow so much that O'Hare will be inadequate. It can always be expanded if need be.

I have no idea how long it will take for others just like Jackson to accept that, but one day, the beleaguered project will finally fade away. Jackson breathed the last dying gasps into it. His life will have to take a new turn now.  

The momentum he started more than a decade ago will have to slow at its own pace, but I predict it will, providing someone else doesn't follow in his footsteps. There is always someone willing to put themselves first in Illinois.

Sorrow of loss; lives remembered

These times are hard.

Not only is the world seemingly falling apart around us, but my personal world isn't faring much better. So many people I have known and cared about are dying.

The sadness I feel is like a brisk wind on a hillside, eroding me. I have long believed that what eventually kills us is the act of living. With living comes pain.

I'm almost starting to regret having worked at a job I loved; I was a local reporter in a small town for more than 20 years. I got to know so many people that I likely never would have met otherwise. I had the privilege of really getting to know them, their families, their life stories. I grew to love many of them, who have become lifelong friends.

My interviews were generally so much more than merely a question and answer session. They were usually an emotional, conversational experience for both of us, that included sharing intimate details of life. So much more was said than what could ever have appeared in print. 

My goal was to capture the essence of a person's story, why and what they cared about, as well as what inspired them. To write about them, I wanted to get to know them. Ultimately it was the detail that grew out of those conversations that made the story. More often than not, the exercise resulted in friendship. 

When my husband and I retired and moved away, it was hard to leave all those friendships behind. I have stayed in close contact with many. 

A funny thing happens when you leave a familiar place. Memories remain indelible, unchanged by time or circumstance. It is as though time is irrelevant. I imagine people and places to remain exactly as they were when I last saw them, though the reality is that time has its way with us all.

Time and reality can be cruel. So many of those people have died in recent weeks and months. There are almost too many to count. Just before Christmas, there were five deaths of people I had known and cared about. So many good people have left behind families who grieve for them and sadness to those of us whose lives were touched by them. 

Despite the pain of my own sorrow, I'm grateful that I knew them. I didn't just write about these folks, their life story danced with mine. The dance will stay with me forever, etched in a moment of time. 

So many good souls...

George Ryan finally gets Illinois' get out of jail free card

Disgraced, convicted felon
ex-Illinois Gov. George Ryan

It has taken six years for former Illinois Governor/attorney Jim Thompson to get his client, the disgraced ex-Illinois Gov. George Ryan, out of a federal penitentiary. This week he finally pulled it off. Ryan had about nine months left to serve on his 6 1/2-year prison sentence, but is now home again.

Ryan was not just Thompson's client and member of the Illinois governors club; Ryan was Thompson's Lt. Governor from 1983 to 1991.

Thompson represented Ryan pro-bono; he was first hired in 2002 during the 'license for bribes' scandal that ultimately resulted in Ryan's conviction of multiple counts  of racketeering, conspiracy, mail fraud, obstruction of justice, money laundering, and tax violations.

In the case against Ryan, Thompson's defense included every trick in the book. From hardship to appeal at every level, to requesting clemency of two U.S. Presidents, Thompson tried to get Ryan to remain a free man. He cited Ryan's health, claiming he could die in prison. Ryan did go home briefly to be with his late wife Laura Lynn, who died of lung cancer in June 2011.

Who knew halfway houses were equipped with revolving doors?

Today Ryan is practically a free man. He was released Wednesday, Jan. 30 from the federal penitentiary in Terra Haute, Indiana where he has lived since Nov. 7, 2007.

He was enroute to a halfway house in Chicago where he was scheduled to serve the remainder of his prison sentence. But just hours after arriving, he was on his way home to Kankakee. Ryan will remain confined in his spacious riverfront home until his sentence officially concludes.

Thompson told reporters he was surprised by the decision to allow Ryan home confinement, claiming that Ryan received no preferential treatment despite Thompson's own extraordinary measures to see his client and friend free from incarceration. Thompson claimed he did not arrange for his client's release, but that prison officials made the decision.

I wonder who will release those still suffering from Ryan's decisions. Two instances come to mind.

One is a family--the Willis family--whose six children were killed in a horrific traffic accident; killed by a man who obtained an illegal drivers' license when George Ryan served as Illinois Secretary of State.

The other is a group of residents in eastern Will County that still face a threat of eminent domain proceedings to make way for the Peotone airport that will probably never be built. It was George Ryan, the ex-governor who opened that Pandora's box when he ordered the first parcel of land to be bought for the project, even though it wasn't even in the airport site. It was close enough to begin panic selling that began in 2002 and continues to this day.