Just five days into the new year, the Naperville City Council will be back in session (this Tuesday) determining new ways to spend money, generate cash flow, add more ordinances, increase more fees, infringe on our privacy, mandate our behavior, regulate our life style, and basically add more confusion and stress to our daily lives.
The State does it, so why not on a local level. In Illinois a person can be in our country illegally, yet obtain a license to practice law in Illinois. I wonder how that works.
Another Illinois law makes it a Class A misdemeanor for pet owners to leave a pet outdoors (including a vehicle) in extremely hot or cold weather. Offenders can be fined up to $2,500 and spend a year in the slammer. I fully agree with this law, however no one can tell me what’s too cold or too hot, or how long is too long to be outside. I called the Naperville police department and no one could give me a clear answer, yet police are expected to enforce this law. Will police now be required to carry a thermometer and a stop watch. If I can qualify for a year in the slammer, or have $2,500 extracted from my bank account, I’d like to know the specifics of the law so I can be sure to follow the law. The Naperville police department said I “should use common sense”, but what’s common sense to one is not common to another.
This law is important for me at many levels including the fact that my dog (like most dogs) loves to go on a car ride. She knows she gets one ride a day and comes running when she hears the car keys. If I have a short list of errands to run, I’ll take her with me, if I know each errand-stop will take less than five minutes. Like most folks, I’m happy to follow the law if I know exactly what the law is.
It appears one of the first ‘welcomes’ to the new year from the Naperville city council will be a huge increase in electric rates, followed by a myriad of ‘welcomes’ during the year from the council.
Some of the mainstays we can expect from Naperville city council members will be, as they sit from left to right at the dais:
- John Krummen: looking at everything analytically, which can be a good thing.
- Kevin Coyne: saying very little but making a whole lot of sense.
- Rebecca Obarski: openly admitting she knows very little about what’s being discussed, but more than willing to learn about it.
- Judith Brodhead: looking for more time to say less during a campaign year.
- Mayor Steve Chirico: striving for unanimity versus consensus on votes.
- Paul Hinterlong: verbalizing before thinking things through, while on camera.
- Patty Gustin: talking more and making less sense as she talks even more.
- Becky Anderson: saving emotion and energy for online taxing issues.
- Kevin Gallaher: being even more comfortable and casual than usual.
It will be an interesting year, beginning with those sky-rocketing electric rates.
I have the same concern about the extreme weather law. I agree it is important, to many idiots leaving pets and children in vehicle unmonitored resulting in unnecessary tragedies. But the lack of clear definition will make compliance, enforcement and prosecution under this law difficult if not impossible.
But then again maybe that was the point of the crowd down in Springfield, pass an ambiguous law that appeases some vocal groups but does little to actually change the status quo.
I must say the Judy Brodhead comment is humorous, mainly because the best comedy has roots in the truth …