Mayor's Row...by Ned Mitchell

            The bad news is the state legislators adjourned from their perch in Springfield last week without taking any action to lower the utility bills that are creating havoc in households and businesses of this great state.  The good news is they did not do anything else to us for the time being!  Sometimes inaction can be a good thing and for that we should all bow down and be grateful.

            This is not a tale of two cities as the story goes but it could be described as a tale of two states, Illinois and Missouri.  Our neighbors to the West, those from the "Show Me State", seem to have a better grasp of the utility issue than we do, or at least their elected officials seem to be doing a better job than ours.

            In 1997 our state legislature decided to freeze the electricity costs for the consumer for 10 years and at the end of that time allow deregulation to come into play in the hopes that it would create competition among the power producers and providers.  I suppose that everyone in Springfield went into a trance for those 10 years because all of a sudden we, like Rip Van Winkle, awoke on January 1 of this year and found out that our cost for electricity was going to the moon.  Where were all of the experts that we rely on to advise us about such matters?  Surely someone noticed that no competition was forming several years ago and that perhaps this deregulation was not working.  Surely someone took the time to look at other states who had tried the very same idea only to see that fail also.  Surely someone noticed the Enron fiasco and drew a comparison to Illinois.

            Getting back to the tale of two states as described by a St. Louis newspaper we find that in Missouri electricity rates are determined by state regulators.  In Illinois those rates are determined by the market price.  In Illinois I am sure that legislators rolled the dice and thought that the market price would be a lot less than what it was.  Our legislators lost our socks on that roll of the dice.

            The Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief law of 1997 has not even come close to living up to its' intended purpose.  Our bills for electricity have gone up drastically and we still have no choice in providers.  Experts in this field say there is no state, not even one, that has tried deregulation and saw it work like it was supposed to. Now folks, here is a big old clue, it has not worked anywhere, nowhere, yet our legislators are scrambling to re-freeze the rates, set up not for profit bureaucracies, or other pie in the sky ideas to help them get re-elected in two years.  Could it be that our neighbors to the West have outsmarted us?  They still have a state agency that must approve rate increases.  Utility companies in Missouri still have to appear before that state agency and make a case for a rate increase.  Rates in Missouri are much lower than they are in Illinois even though in some cases the same company is providing power to customers in both states.  Could it be we have been duped by the millions of dollars the utility companies have poured into our politician's pockets?  Are we that stupid in Illinois?  Perhaps we should repeal the law of 1997 and get back into the regulating business in Illinois.  Legislators, are you listening to the voters? 

            One thing we can pat almost all of our local State Representatives on the back for is their no vote on the idea to give illegal immigrants a valid driver's permit in Illinois.  This law was passed recently in the Illinois House and every State Representative in our area, except Kurt Granberg (D-Carlyle) to the north of us voted against this bill. Where on earth do we come up with such ridiculous ideas?  First of all, every one of these illegal immigrants are just that, illegal!  Why would we determine that it is in our best interest to reward someone for an illegal activity?

            Once again a neighboring state has tried this and found that it was a huge failure.  In this instance it was Tennessee and legislators down there have repealed that law after figuring out it was a hotbed of fraud and did nothing to make the roads safer.  Our ancestors just about all came here from another country.  There is nothing new about immigration.  Because we have millions of illegal immigrants in this country does it mean that we should just ignore the law?  Our ancestors came to this country for a better way of life.  They learned our language and they took the steps to become legal citizens in this country.  What is so difficult about that concept?

            Could any of us go to Mexico or Canada illegally and get a permit to drive?  I doubt it so I am curious as to why we would think it would work in Illinois.  It really bugs me something awful to dial a business phone number to ask a question and I am told by that obnoxious robotic voice to push #1 if I want to hear the response in English or # 2 if I want to hear it in Spanish.  I have visited Mexico several times and once while there I needed to make a phone call back to the U S.  Since my cell phone would not work down there I went to the nearest pay phone and guess what?  You're right; I was not offered the choice of placing that call by an operator who spoke both English and Spanish.  It was their way or the highway and since I don't speak Spanish I could not complete the call.  I had to wait until I got back in this country to make the call.  I understood and did not complain, nor did I promote the idea that perhaps Mexico should print government documents in both English and Spanish.  It is their country and if I were to move there, I would need to learn the language and become a citizen.  What would be wrong with folks who immigrate to this country to learn our language and become citizens?  Why is it necessary for us to tolerate dual languages in our government?  Millions of folks have immigrated to this country for a better life and they have learned our language, kept their own language, and became productive citizens.  It should be required!

            We hope that you have an enjoyable Easter holiday with friends and family and that you attend the church of your choice if that is your desire.  The Sesser-Valier Ministerial Alliance will hold their annual Good Friday community service this year at the Valier First Baptist Church.  Sesser's Apostolic Church pastor Brad Dunning will be bringing the message.  The service will begin at 7:00 pm and the public is invited.

            Sesser's Hazel Dell Free Will Baptist Church is undergoing a remodeling project that will include a new fellowship hall built to the West of the present church.  One of the members explained that due to the age of some of the congregation, the steps to the old fellowship hall were getting hard to navigate and a new larger fellowship hall on ground level was needed.  I'll not make any wise remarks about the age thing as I am starting to relate to stairs!  We applaud their expansion efforts and wish them well on their work.

            Bill Crocker is home recuperating after a hospital stay with pneumonia.  Josephine Goessman is recovering from surgery in the Heartland hospital in Marion.  Jim Kelly will have surgery Tuesday in the Carbondale Memorial Hospital.  All of these folks and others not named covet your thoughts and prayers.  A card, visit, or phone call would certainly brighten their day and help in the recovery process.

            If you don't have any plans for Easter Sunday dinner, the historic Sesser Opera House Café will have an expanded buffet dinner available.  On the menu will be their famous fried chicken, smoked turkey, carved ham, and smoked pork chops.  There will be an abundance of vegetables and desserts too.  Both downstairs and upstairs dining will be available for you and your family.  Reservations may be made by calling 625-6300 and the cost is $11.95 for adults, children age 4-12 for $5.95, under 4 eat free.

            If you need us give us a call at 625-5322 or 625-3611 or write nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org or P. O. Box Sesser, Illinois 62884.