Our View In times of hurt, all should make sacrifices
If the Kane County Board is going to cut the budget because the county is suffering a revenue shortfall, it's only fair elected officials forgo their scheduled raises.

Drinking age change won't fix underage alcohol abuse
The notion of a drinking age in the United States is a farce. Perhaps that's what a group of university presidents was getting at in signing on to a coalition that has called for "an informed and dispassionate debate" about underage drinking.

Economic woes mean greater need for help
The Illinois Department of Employment Security reports that unemployment in the state rose in July to levels not seen since June 1992. Some 491,300 Illinois residents were unemployed last month. And that staggering figure has climbed by nearly 122,000 since April.

Should convicts continue to pay?
While it's tempting to say, "They're criminals, make 'em pay," opponents of a new fee to be assessed on those convicted of a crime in Kane County raise an interesting point: Are we setting up those convicted of a crime to fail again?

Former rail right-of-way turns into magical path
Last Monday, a national organization called the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy sent out a press release announcing it was inducting the Illinois Prairie Path into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame, the news value of which may be questionable, but gives me a nice excuse to write about a wonderful place to take a bike ride.

911 calls ring up costs for county
The Kane County Board this week is set to spend almost $3.6 million on public safety equipment to handle everything from dispatching police and fire calls to records management.

Gridlock: Politicians, public must set priorities for change
With all due respect to the Metropolitan Planning Council, we don't need yet another study to let us know that traffic stinks. Ask anyone who travels Route 59. Or Route 47. Or Randall Road. Or into Chicago. You get the point.