“The public?”
Despite my innumerable flaws as described by my readers on a daily basis, I’ve always thought I was a cut above the rabble if for no other reason than the bar isn’t set very high. But it isn’t until you’re lumped in with the peasantry that you realize just how insignificant you really are.
Case in point!
You’re already well aware that, propelled by a great source, your favorite journalist was the proximate cause for shutting down Hy Massage at 410 E. State Street in Geneva on prostitution charges. But when it came time to recognize the individuals who made truth, justice, and the American way possible, the city and the police department thanked “the public for reporting suspicious behavior.”
“The public?”
Not the best journalist Illinois’s ever produced, or the man with his finger on the pulse of a nation (we won’t say which finger), or even a real pain in the ass that’s occasionally right, but “the public!” Oh, the ignominy! And to be cast into the category of the Geneva proletariat only adds further insult to that massive injury.
All kidding aside, I’d love to give my source credit for this one, but if I did acknowledge them in that manner they wouldn’t be a source anymore.
And while I’ve certainly enjoyed the jokes about “ruining everyone’s fun,” let’s not forget that massage parlors, particularly the Asian variety, are hotbeds of human trafficking that cannot and should not be tolerated.
Keep those stories coming sources!
The Illinois assault gun ban holds up
Well, maybe “holds up” is too strong a term because the U.S. Supreme Court simply refused to weigh in on a petition file by state rep Dan Caulkins (R-Decatur) to overturn a ruling on a previous lawsuit. It’s the second time the SCOTUS has essentially let the AR-15 ban stand in the last two months.
And the loony gun-right-at-all-costs sect of the Illinois Republican Party loosely led by failed attorney general candidate Tom Devore are
becoming increasingly desperate.
So, even though the fat lady hasn’t sung on this subject yet, my prediction that the ban would hold up is looking better every day. And if those NRA bought conservatives had half the sense God gave a Billy Goat, they’d let this one go because NO ONE needs to own an assault rifle. What? Is Bambi going to fight back?
I’m just fine with my Glock, thank you very much!
The vast irony is, since these Second Amendment misinterpreting bleeps insist on appearing to be absurdly unreasonable, their take no prisoners approach is going to lead to the further erosion of gun rights in this demonstrably Democratic state.
Compromise is the only effort that’s ever truly moved the political needle.
State rep Hanson pleads guilty
When we last left off, we were considering the possibility that, having hired heavy hitting attorney Brick Van Der Snick, Illinois state rep Matt Hanson would fight his recent charges on the grounds that private property DUI arrests are always a perilous proposition.
But in the end, and to his credit, Hanson pled guilty in exchange for the typical first-time sentence of deferred prosecution. That means, as long as Hanson:
- Pays the $3,555 fine
- Attends counseling and receives treatment
- Performs 100 hours of community service
- Attends a victim impact panel
- Maintains a clean driving record until the end of the year
he ultimately won’t be convicted.
But let’s clearly stipulate for the record that, while this may have been the first time Hanson got caught, it wasn’t nearly the first time he’s done this. Anyone who can blow a .185 and still drive home isn’t nearly an amateur drinker.
Though I’ve generally given it up, I used to be able to drink with the best of them, but I would’ve never been able to blow a 0.185, or over twice the legal limit, because I would’ve been comatose at the time.
I’ll say it again, had a Republican elected official been arrested for this heinous breach of the public trust, Hanson would’ve been the first to call for their head. Put more simply, you need to step down from the legislature NOW, before you’re forced to do it, Matt.
The Geneva creep
Getting back to my hometown, though a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request email discussion with city manager Stephanie Dawkins, I learned that, in addition to Monday the 25th, Geneva employees were given Tuesday the 26th off, too.
Why?
I understand granting the preceding Monday or ensuing Friday off when Christmas falls on a Tuesday or Thursday because no one will show those days anyway. But adding Boxing Day to the mix? Perhaps mayor Burns had a little too much “holiday cheer” (he’s done it in public before) and now he harbors the mistaken notion that we actually live in Ontario.
I understand that, on the surface, this kind of seeming picayune proposition puts me on a par with an infamous Dickensian character, but it’s just another indication of what I like to call “the Geneva creep.”
No, I’m not referring to mayor Burn’s creepy behavior with young women at city council meetings. It’s his and Ms. Dawkin’s propensity to give city staffers anything and everything they want so they’ll work as his unpaid campaign team at election time.
The mayor, city manager, and some aldermen are also particularly fond of saying “Geneva needs to come in line with surrounding communities,” especially when that means tax, fee, or utility hikes. But I checked all of the surrounding communities and none of them provided a December 26th holiday.
And just where was our fire hydrant loving city council in all of this? Instead of being faithful stewards of our hard-earned tax dollars, they seem far more predisposed to be spendaholic enablers. I wonder how many of them got the day after Christmas off.
Of course, when I asked the mayor and Ms. Dawkins to explain their largess, they became strangely silent because they don’t have to answer to the likes of you or me, do they! I’d be willing to be it’s just another union concession in a very long line of Burns/Dawkins union concessions.
