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Still Waters,
the
em space, Where They Stand,
By
the Numbers,
How We Stack Up,
What's
Up With That?
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Statue
thoughts
Are we
ready to swallow our pride?
By
Mike Fak
[JULY
6, 2001] Bear
with me for a moment. I want to tell you a little story and then tie
it in with a point I am trying to make. At least that is my plan as
I bang on the keys.
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Three
decades ago, Walt Disney stood before the administrations of Orlando,
Fla., and the surrounding counties. He proposed to take several
thousand acres of unwanted property and turn them into what is now
Disney World, Epcot Center, MGM Studios, et al.
Now
if people care to delve into history, they will find that Walt wasn’t
the kind-hearted sweetheart he portrayed to millions of Americans each
and every Sunday night for two decades. Walt, when it came to
business, was as subtle as Vito Corleone was in "The
Godfather."
During
those meetings with officials, Disney promised to put the entire area
on the world map. He promised to make the entire area an economic
boomtown for years to come, with no costs to the taxpayers of the
area. Disney did have a set of stipulations that were tough for local
administrators to swallow. First, Walt wanted a promise to be left
alone. He would handle security, ala a police force. He would have a
fire department. He would even have his own sources of generating the
incredible amounts of electricity needed to run Disney World on a
day-to-day basis. Walt wanted no red tape. He didn’t want inspectors
breathing down his throat as he built thousands of condos and hotel
rooms. In short, Disney promised a gold mine to the area residents,
but he wanted to be, in effect, his own little country.
By
margins as close as 5-4 and 7-6, Walt was allowed to have his way.
What has happened to Orlando and all the towns within a three-hour
drive of the megalopolis is, of course, history.
To
anyone who has visited the area — I have been there twice in the
last five years — it is apparent that a once-docile part of Florida
is now an economic Valhalla replete with low property taxes, ample
jobs and affordable housing.
[to top of second
column in this commentary]
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Now
let me make my point. I believe the talk about building a giant Abe
statue complete with theme park is a great idea. In the event nothing
comes of it, the concept has still been an incredibly positive force
on the beaten-up psyche of the inhabitants of Logan County. Talk of a
major tourist attraction that won’t cost the taxpayers a dime can do
remarkable things for an area just waiting to enter the good times of
economic stardom. In the event something actually can come to pass,
the effects, such as lowering taxes, increasing services and property
actually going up in value like the rest of the state, would be
enormous.
But….
And this is a very large but. To assume, as the committee now seems to
do, that they will be able to maintain control of what will eventually
be created is not being realistic. The committee is saying they want a
corporation to dole out up to $150 million, plus be on the hook for
monthly expenses that will be millions and then not have complete say
in what is to be…. Well, that is pushing the envelope way past
actuality.
The
committee needs to understand that in the event they find a player to
harvest their dreams, the final result will be what the donor decides
and not what they wish. It is the corporation’s money and reputation
on the line, not a group of citizens who are trying their best to help
Logan County grow. It is the wealthy benefactor who will say the
statue is too big or too small. It is this infuser of capital into our
economic blood who will tell us what they will and will not do.
I
hope the committee understands this. Orlando almost didn’t 30 years
ago. Imagine where they would be if they hadn’t swallowed their
pride back then. Everyone in the world could be booking reservations
in Marietta, Ga., right now.
[Mike Fak]
Reply to
Fak
(not for publication):
mikefak@msn.com
Response
to Fak's commentary:
ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com
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Sen.
Madigan’s replacement:
A nobody or nobody at all
By
Mike Fak
[JULY
3, 2001] We
no sooner got over the rumors, stories, and twists and turns of
discovering who would replace our state representative, John Turner,
than we were met with another revelation, that Lincoln’s own
senator, Bob Madigan, was resigning the Senate to fill a lucrative
position in the state’s hierarchy.
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Being
a neighbor of Madigan, I personally was delighted to see the man not
only get a better-paying job but also get out of the dog-eat-dog
Illinois Legislature. This is a terrible thing to say, but Bob Madigan
is too nice a guy to have to spend his time with some of the
individuals who work the machinery of Illinois law.
While
many of you were starting anew the rumors, stories, twists and turns
of who would replace Madigan, I was spinning my own scenario.
I
have been saying that no one will. No one past the redistricting
determination, that is, will take the senator’s seat. Now it seems,
the State Journal-Register’s Doug Finke is stating the same
possibility out loud. Hey, Doug, wait for me.
The
idea is basic. Illinois must lose a downstate senator due to the
latest census information showing there are fewer Illinoisans in this
area. I don’t know why we had to spend millions to prove that, but
we did.
Now
with Madigan’s district centered in a part of the state that fields
Republican senators who think the sun rises and sets on the governor’s
backside, who should be sacrificed as the one senator asked to bid
fond adieu to the likes of Ryan, Philip, Mike Madigan and the others?
Could it be a senator who had the guts and intestinal fortitude to
vote "no" to the governor’s Illinois FIRST program and may
still be in George’s doghouse? It is only conjecture on my part, but
rumors to the effect that Gov. Ryan keeps a list in his breast pocket
of who said "the heck with him" concerning the $12 billion
bilking of Illinois taxpayers are as common as flies during the county
fair.
[to top of second
column in this commentary]
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Madigan,
a good, honest man with 14 years of service to his constituents,
couldn’t just be sent to pasture without screams from constituents
that even the deaf ears of the governor would hear. So what does Ryan
do? How about appointing Madigan to an important job with higher pay
and no need to worry about one’s own political backside.
What
makes this possible situation all the more interesting is that
regardless of the possibly shady reasons for moving Bob Madigan out of
the Senate, Illinois residents will still be the winners. Time will
show Madigan as a champion of the residents of Illinois. In his new
capacity, it is possible he will have a potentially greater positive
effect on our way of life then he ever could have as a senator who
rubbed Ryan the wrong way.
In
the event this situation comes to pass — and realize this is just my
opinion — someone will need to temporarily fill the senator’s
seat. That is, until redistricting says that the chair is now being
folded up and placed in the legislative closet. To accept a political
appointment that has the same duration of life as a mayfly is not an
enviable position. The individual will show by his or her interest
that the good of this area is at heart. I will remember that, in the
event the person decides to run again someday for a seat that hasn’t
had three of its legs already sawed off.
You
know, somehow, although I am truly happy for both Turner and Madigan,
I find myself grimacing at the future of Logan County residents.
We
have lost two exceptionally honest representatives. Jonathan Wright
and somebody, or perhaps nobody at all, will have a tough time filling
their shoes.
[Mike Fak]
Reply to
Fak
(not for publication):
mikefak@msn.com
Response
to Fak's commentary:
ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com
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Districts:
We get what we wished for
By
Mike Fak
[JUNE
30, 2001] So
there you have it. For the first time in the storied history of
Logan County, those few of us who vote for county board members will
see our options dwindle even further in future races.
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I
was never too excited about picking six out of seven candidates. I
look forward with even less anticipation to picking two out of three.
For good or bad I enjoyed knowing that everyone on the board had my
endorsement over others. Well, most of the time, that is. I find no
serving of the public good with a new system that allows 10 members of
the board to care little if any as to how I feel they are voting on
issues that affect me as well as all of you.
Thursday,
June 21, the board changed our system of representation from at large
to districts. It was the proper thing for the board to do since it was
mandated by the voters in this county. Well, it was mandated by the 20
percent of the voters who got off their kiesters on Election Day, that
is. I fear we all now get what we wished for.
Six
districts with two representatives each is how the ballots in Logan
County will be prepared for at least the next decade. I have serious
doubts if that will be a good thing.
Proponents
of going to districts are quick to point out that nearly all of
Illinois’ counties already are districted. My Irish grandmother used
to tell me: "If everyone jumps off a cliff, it doesn’t mean you
need to." I wonder what wisdom she would tell me if still alive
today?
The
new board setup will mean a little more rural representation, but will
it be a mandate from the people or simply more "pick me or
nobody" as we just saw in the last Lincoln City Council election
that presented five candidates to fill five district seats?
I
have stated repeatedly that in the last 20 years, 82 percent of the
rural candidates have been elected to the county compared to 74
percent of the urban candidates. Those statistics are indisputable and
irrevocable. To date, no one who supports districts has debated these
findings. Instead, like a federal politician, they ignore these facts
and go on with their own diatribe of how rural Logan County is being
left out in the cold.
Look
at the last several elections and notice if you can a candidate
running from Mount Pulaski.
How
about an Atlantan running after Darrel Deverman decided to retire? How
many New Hollanders besides Rod White have been a part of the
selection process? Until Roger Bock, who initially was appointed, how
many Elkhart residents have we seen on the ballot?
[to top of second
column in this commentary]
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Lloyd
Hellman from the tiny town of Emden was the top vote-getter in the
last election, but still I hear that rural residents don’t think
they have a chance to be elected.
We
can all pretend this isn’t the truth if we want to, but the aim of
districting was promoted by rural proponents to get a larger foothold
on the board. That isn’t a bad thing, but it could be in the event
rural members become increasingly negative to urban initiatives and
are not answerable to a full 50 percent of the constituents. The coin
can also become reversed, with rural residents feeling they are still
being left out of the process with no future chance of voting rural
candidates into offices held by urban members.
The
board, I believe, was required to adopt this initiative because the
voters of this county said so. In a democracy you have to follow the
will of the people, regardless if it is the best thing to do or not.
No
one wants to say it out loud, but the board is breaking into rural and
urban factions. With a 12-member board, split evenly between rural and
urban, I fear a great deal of deadlock on important issues is just
over the horizon. I hope I am wrong.
Time
will also tell if a field of candidates worthy of spending a minute in
a polling place will be available to voters. I stand on record that in
the event every district has more than two choices to pick from, I
will apologize in this forum. In the event I do not see failures to
progress due to where a board member lives, I will again apologize.
Fair warning: In the event my fears on what will happen does occur, I
will not be afraid to tell you: I told you so.
[Mike Fak]
Reply to
Fak
(not for publication):
mikefak@msn.com
Response
to Fak's commentary:
ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com
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The em
space is a staff writer's commentary section with observations about life experiences in Logan County and
beyond.
—
Mary Krallmann
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Life without links?
Links
are much more common than page numbers in my everyday work. It’s routine
to make links, check links and fix the ones that aren’t connected to the
intended places.
The
first few days of this month, several other kinds of links also came to my
attention, some of them on a holiday when I didn’t look at a computer
screen and didn’t visit a golf course either.
The first
connection was at church on a morning when the Genesis record of creation
was emphasized. I’m not sure if the phrase "missing links" was
used, but that’s what came to mind when the sermon referred to long-term
gaps in evolutionary theory.
A couple of
days later, the links in question were not just theoretical, and they were
only a few hundred years old at most. It was the best impromptu
entertainment I’d had in days when I found out about an exhibition and
sale of these links. Since I don’t want to offend the devotees, I should
explain that it was the first thing in the morning and not at all the sort
of material I expected to see just then. The more I read about all
highlights of the event, the funnier it sounded. Until then I hadn’t
heard of collecting cuff
links.
I shouldn’t
have been surprised at the idea, because people collect almost anything. I used to
know of someone at work who collected pencils and attended conventions
with other pencil collectors. If more than one of something exists, they
can be collected.
 Cuff links,
of course, come in pairs, so one function of related organizations is to
locate missing links and match up any singles. People can also get
appraisals and find out whatever the experts know about cuff links.
Since they’re
small, cuff links are easy to store, and they’re made of a variety of
materials in a variety of designs for added interest. Collecting cuff
links is described as affordable and as a hobby for successful people.
A late-night
television screen brought up the next kind of link, the weakest one. I
gathered that a person wouldn’t want to be that kind, unless he or she
enjoys unceremonious dismissal from the game.
A few links
in my jewelry box had long since proved to be the weakest ones, but they
weren’t cuff links, although I did own a pair once by informal
inheritance. I originally bought them myself in downtown Lincoln to
fulfill a gift suggestion. When the sentimental value waned, I gave them
away again, along with the shirt they fit, which didn’t really fit me.
The only links remaining in the jewelry box were in the chains of
necklaces, two of them broken.
 On the
afternoon of the Fourth of July, those inexplicably became my top
priority. Sitting with a pliers in hand, a magnifier nearby but no spare
hand to hold it, and a bright light on the desk in front of me, I intended to put those broken links back together or at least give it a
try. To justify the importance of the job, I had notes from a doctor’s
bulletin board copied on a piece of paper in the desk drawer.
One of the tips for reducing stress and leading a healthier life is to fix
anything broken. Never mind that these chains had been broken for months
and that I had almost discarded the one my aunt brought back from Austria.
Trying to
focus on those tiny metal connections and trying to hold my hands steady
under the light bulb, I felt the perspiration running down my arms and
noticed a big drop of sweat on the glass desktop. Talk about stress. At
least half a dozen broken links later, both necklaces held together. (I
didn’t pull too hard when checking them.)
The money I saved by not buying
a new chain could go toward a set of cuff links of my choice. I already
decided against the $2,200 pair in gold and ruby. I didn’t care for the
appearance. Of course, there is one other fundamental problem. I don’t
have any cuffs that need links.
[Mary
Krallmann]
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Where
They Stand
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Where
They Stand is a commentary section that poses a question about a
specific issue in the community. Informed individuals present their
position with facts, opinions or insights on the issue. The
following commentaries have been printed, unedited, in their
entirety, as they were received. If you have further comment on the
issue, please send an e-mail message, complete with your name,
address and telephone number to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com.
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By
the Numbers
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Motor
fuel taxes paid in August 2000
Local
figures are as follows:
Logan
County = $44,078.23
(Counties
receive an allocation on the basis of motor vehicle registration fees, with the
exception of Cook County, which has a percentage allocation set by law.)
Townships
and road districts = $90,973.85
(Townships
and road districts are allocated an amount computed on the basis of mileage in
their jurisdiction.)
City
of Lincoln = $38,003.84
(Cities
receive an allocation based on population.)
[Source:
Economic Development report]
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Population
estimates in Logan County
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| 30,798 |
Total population,
1990 |
| 15,380 |
Rural population -
49.9%, 1990 |
| 15,418 |
Urban population -
50.1%, 1990 |
| 2,875 |
Projected births,
1990-1998 |
| 2,736 |
Projected deaths,
1990-1998 |
| 3,143 |
Persons below poverty
level - 11.8 % |
| 258 |
Average marriages per
year |
| 135 |
Average deaths per
year |
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Alexis Asher
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| Logan
County high schools: 1960-2000 |
| 1962 |
Middletown
High School consolidated with New Holland |
| 1972 |
Atlanta
High School became part of Olympia School District |
| 1975 |
Elkhart
High School consolidated with Mount Pulaski |
| 1979 |
Latham
High School became Warrensburg-Latham |
| 1988 |
New Holland-Middletown
High School consolidated with Lincoln Community High School |
| 1989 |
San
Jose High School consolidated with Illini Central (Mason City) |
|
Alexis Asher |
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Lincoln High School history
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1859
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Lincoln School
District
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5
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School buildings in
1859
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1
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"Grammar
school" in 1859
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1
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High school teacher,
Mr. January, in 1859
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1870-71
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Central School opened
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1898
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High school building
started
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1900
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High school dedicated,
Jan. 5
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$20,000
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Cost of new high
school
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1920
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Election authorized
community high school District #404
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1958
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Dedication of new
Lincoln Community High School, 1000 Primm Road, in auditorium, on
Nov. 9
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Alexis Asher
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Lincoln/Logan
County numbers
(2000) |
| 5 |
Wards
in Lincoln |
| 17 |
Townships
in Logan County |
| 29 |
Officers
in Lincoln City Police Department |
| 20 |
Officers
in Logan County Police Department |
| 22 |
Firemen
in the Lincoln City Fire Department |
| 16 |
Rural
Fire Departments in County |
| 13 |
Members
of Logan County Board |
| 10 |
Members
of Lincoln City Council |
| 3 |
Colleges
in Lincoln |
| 44,850 |
Volumes
in Lincoln Public Library |
| 40,000 |
Volumes
in Lincoln College Library |
| 126,000 |
Volumes
in Lincoln Christian College Library |
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How
We Stack Up
|
This feature of the
Lincoln
Daily News compares Lincoln and Logan County to similar cities
and counties on a variety of issues in a succinct manner, using
charts and graphs for illustration.
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Racial
makeup of selected Illinois counties
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What's
Up With That?
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[Road construction is taking place up and down
Woodlawn Road.]
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