SJO senior organizing a holiday parade for Dec. 19

After taking part in the Sidney's Parade of Lights on December 5, Audrey Short thought it would be nice to have one closer to home in St. Joseph.

Mourning the loss of her classmate Nadiriah Edwards, who died from her injuries sustained in a tragic traffic accident north of the village days earlier, the St. Joseph-Ogden senior, like many others in the community, wanted to help the Edwards family. What better way to put the fun in fundraising than to have a St. Joseph parade with decorated golf carts, floats and vehicles making its way through town. Short posed the question on a Facebook, asking for a $5 donation that would go to the Edwards.

The response to inquiry was overwhelming enthusiastic and it didn't take long for Short's idea grow. Within hours the event planned for the December 19th had an impressive level of support from members of the Facebook group.

"The responses have been phenomenal! I love seeing how many people want to be involved in an event that has been planned with such short notice," Short said. "I’m ready for it to be December 19th! I’m so excited to see how everyone will decorate!

"I hope everyone has a good time," she added.

The parade route will start at the Middle School and entries can start lining up at 4:30pm for the 5:30 start.

"Get there early if you want to be in the front," Short said. "We will start rolling out at 5:30pm. Don’t forget your minimum entry fee of $5, there will be someone collecting it as you leave the middle school. We will also have two different vehicles collecting donations from others that are watching the parade"

The parade travel to Main Street and head north to Grand Avenue. Turning east, the procession will head to the St. Joseph Community Park. Short said she can be contacted by text or via messenger on Facebook if any one has any questions.

Organizing an event like this is a pretty impressive undertaking for a high school student. Short hopes the donations collected from participant entries and spectators along the route will help Nadiriah's family through the difficult days and months ahead.

"I didn’t know her that well but I had gone to school with her my entire life," said Short, who has committed to play softball at Spoon River College next fall. "We had multiple classes together and had been partners for various projects. She was such a sweet person to be around."

Photo of the Day - December 9, 2020

Good buddies in blue

Officials John Heap (right), of Rantoul, and Jeff Reese, from St. Joseph, share a few comments between innings during SJO's home softball game against Rantoul in 2004. Reese, who passed away in July of 2018, was a patched IHSA football official for 49 years as well as a softball official for 30. During his career he served as president of the Champaign Officials Association. Reese worked as a softball official for two state championships (2008, 2012) and was inducted into the Illinois Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Heap, a veteran official and also a member of the ICA Hall of Fame, was a regular figure at area basketball, baseball and volleyball games in addition to softball. He worked the IHSA state softball finals (2000, 2002) and was an officer for 12 years in the Champaign Officials Association.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Commentary: Removing Madigan won't solve Illinois' problems

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by Joe Tabor, Senior Policy Analyst
Illinois Policy

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The feds are circling Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan in a bribery investigation involving utility giant ComEd. His allies are facing indictments. Members of his party are publicly demanding his ouster as party chair, and they have the votes to deny him another term as House speaker.

It’s tempting to think just overthrowing Madigan will clean up the mess.

But ousting Madigan won’t eliminate Illinois’ ethics problems or disperse power so the state again has representational government. Illinois leaders must throw out the corrupt system Madigan has built over decades.

Three years ago, Madigan celebrated his record as the longest-serving state House speaker in U.S. history. Today, it looks as if his grip on power is slipping. As of this writing, 19 state representatives have publicly opposed Madigan’s re-election this January. But these lawmakers won’t just be voting on Madigan: they’ll also vote to adopt the House Rules, which help determine how much control the speaker has over the legislative process. These rules, coupled with the lack of safeguards against this steady accumulation of power, have led Madigan to where he is today. Without change, a shrewd politician could simply pick up where Madigan left off.

The House Rules establish how business gets done in the legislature. These rules let the speaker decide which bills get a fair hearing and which quietly die. They allow the speaker to select which politicians receive generous stipends as committee chairs. They allow politicians to gut and replace bills to rush through legislation – such as all 1,581 pages of the $40.6 billion fiscal year 2020 budget, originally a single-sentence bill appropriating just $2.

And, contrary to the Illinois Senate, which sets term limits of the Senate president at 10 years, the House Rules do not limit the number of terms a speaker can hold. Terms as speaker should be limited to prevent another Madigan.

This January, state representatives should reject the current House Rules. They can and should be amended.

But change can’t end there. Illinois needs to reform the way it draws political maps. Every 10 years, Illinois is required to redraw voting districts to adjust for shifts in population. But redistricting in Illinois has been used to keep incumbents in power. Earlier this month, 63 candidates ran unopposed for legislative office, including a whopping 52 of the 118 seats in the Illinois House of Representatives. This result is entirely predictable: Illinois legislators are responsible for voting on the map, so of course they will do what they can to benefit themselves. And Madigan’s bid for a new term has centered on his argument that he has the power to deliver another map that keeps his people from facing opponents.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Illinois could join the 17 other states that put independent commissions or other bodies in charge of redistricting – not lawmakers. Voters should choose their elected officials, not the other way around.

There needs to be more transparency and accountability in Springfield. Sitting lawmakers should not be able to lobby local governments or state executive agencies, and they should have a “cooling off” period after leaving the General Assembly before they lobby their former peers, as is the case in most other states. Lawmakers need to provide more detailed financial disclosures and should have to recuse themselves from voting on legislation in which they have a conflict of interest. Finally, the legislative inspector general needs the authority to open investigations and publish findings of wrongdoing without obtaining permission from lawmakers on the Legislative Ethics Commission, who have a propensity to cover for their own.

Madigan may be down, but he’s not out. Whether he can win back enough votes to get a 19th term as speaker remains to be seen, but Illinoisans deserve ethics reform no matter what. Changing the House Rules, adopting fair maps and instituting ethics reforms would begin unraveling Madigan’s web of corruption.

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Joe Tabor is a senior policy analyst at the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization that promotes responsible government and free market principles.

Ogden business offers new diagnostic service for trucks

Rick's Tractor Services, located at 407 S. Market in Ogden, now offers vehicle diagnosis services for pickup trucks and semis.

"We have purchased the latest computer diagnosis program. We now have the ability to read the vehicle ECM and troubleshoot," says owner Rick Buckley, who started the business in 2000, in a recent announcement on Facebook. "We can also change parameters, such as speed, cruise control settings, and more."

ECMs, or electronic control modules, are miniature computers with dozens of sensors units installed in late model cars and trucks that control and report on essential engine functions such as electrical systems, emissions, ignition timing and fuel economy.

The new service is a welcomed addition to the business which also repairs brakes, offers oil change and lube services and battery replacement.

Open 8am to 4:30pm, Tuesday through Saturday, call 217-202-0715 for more information or to schedule an appointment.

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Photo of the Day - December 8, 2020

Unity defense yields win over SJO

Unity's Ana Deters [right] and Dani Gooch trap St. Joseph-Ogden's Brittani Master at the half court line during their non-confernce basketball game on December 2, 2008. The Rockets defeated St. Joseph-Ogden at home, 44-38. [Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks]

On the fence about getting vaccinated? You might not have a choice

With at least two Coronavirus vaccines available on the near horizon, many Americans may face a new dilemma in the way of a mandated Coronavirus vaccination.

Just as in Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country, General Chang asks, "To be or not to be? That is the question which preoccupies our people...", to vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question that will occupy the minds of millions of Americans, especially those who feel the process to create and supply the COVID-19 to the population was too hurried or those who feel their personal liberty will be infringed upon if mandated by the government to take it.

Unlike Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam, all countries that have successfully lowered their Coronavirus positivity rates without the need of a pharmaceutical solution, the United States and European nations are banking on vaccinating most of the population in order to attain herd immunity. According to experts, the U.S. will need about 70% of the population vaccinated in order to effectively put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a Gallup poll completed between October 19 and November 1, 58% of Americans who responded said they would be vaccinated before Moderna and Pfizer released their preliminary results. The survey suggested that about four in 10 respondents to the most recent survey said they would not.

The Gallup results were nearly identical to The Sentinel's online poll where 38% of the respondents said would not be vaccinated as well. Polls completed by PEW also reflect the same level enthusiasm.

Fortunately for politicians, they will not have to create and vote on legislation that could endanger their political careers. Instead, the government can get the job done by proxy through the workforce.

In most cases, employers can, and most likely will in the months ahead, legally require employees to vaccinated as a condition of employment. Spearheaded by brick-and-mortar business and educational institutions, who desperately want to return to pre-pandemic profitability, an immunized workforce is paramount to make up for losses over the past nine months, to protect employees' and customers' health, reduce the likelihood of transmission on the job and a return to normalcy.

There might be a little wiggle room for those adamant about not getting a shot or two according to Michael LeRoy, an expert in labor law and labor relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

"This area holds some possibilities for vaccine objectors," he told the University of Illinois News Bureau. "However, it’s not as simple as saying, “I won’t vaccinate because of my religion.” The burden of proof is on the employee to show how their religious belief is violated."

The conundrum ahead is similar to that of Hamlet, who at the beginning of Act 3 of the Shakespearean play, contemplated death while lamenting over the suffering and unfairness of life.

"To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep;"

Could being unvaccinated be a far more unpleasant choice?