Mayor’s Row……by Ned Mitchell
“You probably don’t know this” was how the article started out. Intrigued by a writer who challenged me by telling me immediately that I did not know something prompted me to read the entire article. The story was about Lt. Governor Pat Quinn and was not a press release or something written to promote the Lt. Governor, it was simply a column written by a reporter who most of the time is less than kind to politicians.
Lt. Governor Quinn has attended all but three funerals in Illinois (89 total) of soldiers killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Contrary to every politician I know Quinn has not one time talked about his attendance at these funerals until this article was written. When an Illinois soldier is killed in action Quinn’s office contacts the family and checks if it is okay for the Lt. Governor to attend, not speak, not have pictures taken, not have a press conference, just attend.
Quinn has worked hard for Illinois veterans and their families for years. He just recently promoted a new lottery game that will raise an estimated 12 million dollars in Illinois to be used for veteran health care.
Democrats are almost embarrassed by Quinn, after all he is the guy who got petitions signed to whack one third of the Illinois house a few years back. Actually democrats would like to get rid of Pat Quinn, they just don’t know how to do it. He surprised the whole party by winning the nomination for Lt. Governor despite the reformer/unreformer’s endorsement of someone else handpicked for the job.
At one of the funerals Quinn attended he came face to face with the hate/religious group from Kansas that is traveling around the country protesting at the funerals of soldiers killed in action. This group has been in southern Illinois to protest at least one funeral. They claim to know that God is killing soldiers because of America’s tolerance of homosexuals. All Quinn had to say was “it will take extreme self control not to react emotionally to this hateful message.” He further added that he could not think of a worse thing for a human being to do, protest a soldier’s funeral, but that we as Americans should ignore this group.
So in this age of hair perfect television politicians, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn stands out as a giant among them. He represents us well, he has cared for Illinois for a long time and he is not a part of the political combine that reaps the harvest in Illinois.
Speaking of political combine, Chicago Tribune reporter John Kass does a great job of defining the combine in Illinois. Down here we are familiar with a combine as farmers this time of year begin to make ready to harvest the year’s crops. Kass reports from Chicago on a different kind of combine, the political combine that is used by both democrats and republicans to reap the harvest of tax payer dollars on a daily basis. We’ve got some of the best in the business in this state running this combine and the range is wide open. You can tell from all of the indictments being handed down almost weekly in Illinois of corrupt politicians that this is a well oiled machine.
One of the things our reformer/unreformer governor could do to help improve the situation is to begin a new campaign finance strategy. You know, one just like fellow democrats Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Comtproller Dan Hynes, and Secretary of State Jesse White have recently adopted. All three have taken the lead and announced they will not accept contributions from companies who have contracts with their offices. Yet I pick up the Sunday paper and read an Associated Press story that in northern Illinois no bid state contracts worth millions of dollars have been awarded to different firms, and within weeks they have all given sizeable donations to the reformer/unreformer. Don’t get me wrong, this is not illegal in Illinois, but that does not make it right. After all, most of us, me included would give a donation if we thought we were going to make money on the deal. To take that temptation away Madigan, Hynes, and White will not take donations from those companies doing business with the state. Very few people give a donation not expecting something in return.
Now that the election season is nearing it would be a good time to talk to our elected officials and just point blank ask them how they feel about making this change. A few columns ago I mentioned that for the past year and a half the reformer/unreformer has ignored emails, faxes, and mail sent from several people I know and that that would soon change. This past week I have received 5 invitations by mail to attend the governor’s bar-b-que at the Du Quoin State Fair. Now there is a staff that is really on the ball!
Things are in a mess on South Walnut Street in Sesser with the street excavation work going on. We have finished the first block and are now working on block two. We are taking out 2 feet of dirt and backfilling it with two different grades of stone to prepare the base for future asphalt. Sesser, like most area towns for years pulled dirt out of the ditches, added a little gob from the coal mines and sometimes oiled on top of it. I can remember when folks on each block would chip in money to have the city tar the street. The street would be closed for several days to traffic and sawdust was spread out across the road at intersections for people to walk on. What have been faced with for the last 30 years is rebuilding those streets. We have every street rebuilt with the exception of those with curbs and that is what we are doing now. This year we will rebuild four blocks of streets, then do four the next year and a couple the year after that and that will finish us up. By that time our loan should be repaid for the last asphalt work and we will have another street program to asphalt the remaining streets in town. It will have taken us 34 or 35 years to completely rebuild the street system in Sesser. We appreciate your patience and hope that you are content with the results.
City Code Inspector Bob White has been making progress in getting the town cleaned up and we thank property owners who have been cooperating. We have a few who want to try the system and not cooperate and we will be issuing citations and taking those folks to court. Sesser passed an extensive housing code ordinance in 1994 and every year we make more progress in getting rid of problem houses and messes. Trust me, this is not an easy job and some folks just down right resist when we come around with suggestions for cleaning up their messes. By this year’s end we will have removed 5 houses and several mobile homes. This has been one of the most aggressive years we have had in the demolition business, but it is working. We are posting condemnation signs on a lot of vacant houses and that will halt the sale of any property that does not meet the housing code in Sesser. You have three options, clean up the property yourself, deed it over to the city and we will clean it up and sell it, or go to court and explain to a judge why this property looks like it does. Again, we appreciate your patience!
Don’t forget the Billy Grammer “Gotta Travel On” tribute this Saturday night at Valente’s Terrace in downtown Sesser. Dinner tickets have long been sold out but the outdoor concert is still open weather permitting. Bring a lawn chair and $7.00 to attend the concert. You will be amazed by the show!
If you need to talk or give a suggestion to make life better in Sesser give us a call at 625-3611, 625-5322, or 625-5788, email nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org , we are happy to hear from you!
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