Krug: Illinois has shot at a new start

OK, so we impeached former Gov. “Hot” Rod Blagojevich.

He’s gone.

Gov. Pat Quinn is in.

While we were distracted, Wisconsin did not mount an offensive and invade our state. Our families and children are safe. The sun came up Friday morning. Saturday, too.

And we are free from the possibility that Blago might be concocting something hinky that will come back to haunt us later. So we’ve got that going for us, which is nice.

When U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is finished with our former governor, it won’t be pretty.

But now is no time to be celebrating.

The harrumphing in Springfield last week only proved that we elected a total clown to our state’s highest office. Twice.

And now isn’t the time to start printing “Don’t Blame Me, I voted for Topinka” bumper stickers. I doubt that life with Ms. Judy would have been much better. It almost certainly would have been more smoke-filled, but there’s no way to know whether it would have been better.

Illinois needs to change more than its governor, gang.

Before I go too much farther down this path, let me clarify something: Illinois is not at a crossroads. Sorry, TV bozos and cable-news talkers. Save your clichés.

No, Illinois is right where it always has been as long as I have known it: stuck.

Chicago politics clearly don’t make the state better.

The suburban legislators don’t have as much clout as they should.

Downstate politics are irrelevant and have been for decades.

Quinn is going to get his shot to make a mark. And you can rest assured that he will focus squarely on transparency, if only to establish that he isn’t Blago. Given what we already have seen and heard in the past two months, Quinn should be able to do that standing on his head.

Perhaps Quinn will excel. He just as easily could fail. Right now, the benchmarks are painfully low.

Regardless of what Quinn does for the next two years, the future of our state demands better from everyone privileged to help govern it.

It demands higher expectations from us.

It demands higher standards from the suits and pantsuits in Springfield.

We deserve better. Demand it.

It’s not every state whose residents can say that their governor was impeached.

What say we never allow that to happen again.

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The mighty Quinn: Governing the state is a far cry from photo ops with Eagle Scouts, sampling pies at the state fair, and whatever else lieutenant governors do with their time.

Forty-nine states (yes, even Arkansas) have spent the better part of the past two months laughing at us. And that’s after they finally got over teasing us about how the previous governor was sent to the slammer.

No pressure, Gov. Quinn, but see what you can do about helping improve our image.

Sheesh, not everybody from Illinois is a cretin. Let’s figure out a way to convince the nation that’s truly the case.

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Future concerns: Now that the Vulcan Lakes project appears to be on its way to completion – Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley reaffirmed a summer 2010 opening Thursday – I have grave concerns about the future of these annual Crystal Lake Chamber State of the Community luncheons.

No Vulcan Lakes to talk about each winter? Say it ain’t so.

After what must have been 99 years of showing up specifically for the update on Vulcan Lakes, a huge content gap could loom on the horizon.

Perhaps the next luncheon could be filled with questions about a community center, and then conclude with senior citizens wrestling small children for the upper hand in that great civic debate.

Or maybe Crystal Lake and Lakewood each could agree to resolve the ongoing fire and ambulance service lawsuit there, before Judge Wapner, in the People’s Court. He’s still alive and probably could use the work.

But we can worry about the future in the future, I guess.

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Living in the now: As for Thursday’s state of the community event, here are some key takeaways:

Shepley said crime in Crystal Lake was down nearly 26 percent since 1996.

Carole Robertson, Lakewood’s finance director and treasurer, filled in for Village President Julie Richardson and declared that the village was “strong and stable.”

And Prairie Grove Village Administrator Jeannine Smith said that her community “is in its best state of fiscal growth in years – if not ever,” and that even though this is a “transcendental time,” that more people should have greater trust in their local governments.

“My word is my honor. Trust me,” she said.

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Pause for the cause: Sorry, I just need a moment for myself.

OK, I’m good now.

Let’s press on.

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What’s in a name: There still is time to change the name of Vulcan Lakes to something slightly less Star Trekky. It’s highly illogical, captain, that Vulcan Materials, which sat on the land seemingly forever, should be rewarded with the lakes forever bearing its corporate name.

How about Shepley Lakes?

Shepley has taken it in the grille for months over the “75 percent” increase to the local sales tax in Crystal Lake to fund the Vulcan renaissance. The hopelessly myopic, the cat bloggers and those only willing to set down the remote control for a chance to rally behind the status quo have skewered the mayor mercilessly. But if not for that vote by the City Council, which allowed new revenue to breathe life into the long-dormant project, Vulcan would have remained a giant mud puddle.

Granted, it took long enough, but ...

And if not for Shepley, how about renaming it something a tad less horrific than Vulcan?

The term “great lakes” is taken.

So how about Pretty Good Lakes. Or Far Above Average Lakes. Or Don’t You Wish These Were Your Lakes. Or Can You Believe It Really Opened Lakes.

E-mail, phone or mind-meld in your suggestions. Operators are standing by.

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Winter rules: Holy cow, am I ready to lose it over the misery of this winter.

It’s not the cold. That’s no big deal. We signed on for frosty days when we settled in Illinois.

And it’s not the snow.

No, I am growing tired of watching the mounds as they have turned from white to tan to brown to black. I can even deal with the driving. For the most part, the idiot-o-meter has been relatively low this winter. Nobody in a Hummer has tried to run over me for having the audacity to turn right at less than 35 mph. So far, anyway.

It’s the parking lots that are driving me bonkers. Apparently, because there is snow on the ground, the lines that are partially covered by the remnants of the plows aren’t really there. No, they all magically disappeared.

And now, it’s all-out parking anarchy.

These morons see the lines. They must see the lines – or at least a line segment – and yet can’t manage to pull their cars between them. My favorite is when I park inside the space, go into a store, and return to find that someone has parked a few degrees shy of perpendicular within a nanometer of my driver’s door. And as I step back from this masterpiece of parking excellence, I notice that there isn’t another car for 10 spaces in any direction.

That’s just the best.

Spring can’t come soon enough.

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And finally ... : Just one last reminder for my favorite rodent, Woodstock Willie.

Get it right, pal.

Get it right.

• Chris Krug is general manager and executive editor of the Northwest Herald. Contact Chris by calling 815-459-4122 or via e-mail at ckrug@nwherald.com.