I don’t know how much you all have been following the goings on in Springfield lately, but the state capital has been more of the same that happened last year; childish games played by politicians that we elected to get things done that aren’t accomplishing a thing. We have a governor that thinks he can save the world (at least Illinois) by spending gobs of money that we don’t have and two leaders in the House and Senate that continue to fight to see who has more influence in what really happens. You know the funny thing is, they are all democrats and they can’t even agree on how to fleece the public out of more of our hard earned money! It is both sad and comical at the same time.

One thing that really irks me is that they currently have a constitutional amendment bill before the Senate that would allow the voters of the state to choose whether or not we want the ability to recall elected officials. If my info is correct, 18 other states in the Union have this right, but not Illinois. Frankly I think it is a great idea. Why should the public not have the right to throw the bums out of office mid-stream if they aren’t doing a good job? Take California for example. A few years ago, the populace decided that Gray Davis, then governor of the state, did a terrible job, especially with the electricity debacle that plagued the state at the time, so they organized a recall, got enough votes to have a special election and voted in Arnold (The Terminator) and booted Gray. This is an example of democracy working in my opinion. Let the people decide….and they did!

Now we have a bill before the Senate (that was overwhelmingly approved by the House last week I believe) that would give the citizens of our state the same opportunity. But who is holding it hostage, Senate President Emil Jones and his partners in the Senate. Why are they doing this? Because Jones is big buddies with the Governor and they know if something like this was to pass, they might be in a heap of trouble and lose their jobs. The public is pretty much fed up with the childish antics going on under the capital dome and want something done about it. Governor Blagojevich’s approval ratings are around 13%. Yes, you hear me right, 13%! No wonder they are scared and don’t want something like this to pass.

From what I understand, it wouldn’t be easy to recall an elected official under the plan. It would take hundreds of thousands of signatures to even establish a recall election of a statewide office holder. This isn’t something easily done. But with an approval rating of only 13%, I bet it wouldn’t be too hard if someone or some group wanted to take it on. That is what they are afraid of and why they don’t want to move this legislation.

I say move it. This is a democracy and let the people decide if they want it in the constitution or not. My guess is they won’t move it because they don’t want the public to have any more say in how they run our business than we have to. The problem is they control what decisions we, the public, will be allowed to make on our behalf! Screwy, you bet!

Look at the US Constitution. There is a provision that allows for impeachment. It has been used before, but the steps to get there are very steep and hard to navigate. That is by design. You don’t want it to be an easy thing, but it needs to exist none the less. The citizens of our state need to have the same right. Why should we have to wait for years of bad management and leadership before we can fire someone? We shouldn’t and the state legislature needs to move this legislation out and let the people decide.

If it does and I was the governor, I would be shaking in my boots!

So, before I left, I thought I would offer up a comment about the new Wal-Mart Supercenter that opened here in Jacksonville this morning. While I was a few minutes late for the ribbon cutting ceremony, I did get to walk the store and talk to a few folks. Most seemed to be really happy that it was finally open after years of talk and speculation. One gentleman that works there said that he had been working since 6 a.m. reducing prices in the grocery section. Last minute reductions, I’m sure to impress the shoppers in the new grocery area. I guess this is a good thing. As we talked about Shopko and Festival, he felt that the new store would be a boon to both in the long run because it would bring more folks to that end of town. I think he is probably right. I talked to a lady today that said while she is excited about the new store, she felt she would continue to shop at the other two stores because she likes them and wants them to stay in town. I think that is a good thing, too.

As Festival’s billboard on the east end of Morton has said for a while now, “Competition is good,” and it is. The new Wal-Mart will be the focus of attention and shopping dollars for a while but things will even out and all will benefit by it’s opening this morning. The important thing I think it does is give our town a much needed shot in the arm toward economic progress. Yeah, Wal-Mart was already here and with the exception of the grocery, it’s about the same, only bigger. But the important thing in my mind is that I honestly believe we have finally turned a corner. With the large new store, more improvements are surely on the way. Hopefully this will bring more new stores to our market. Like it or not, in most areas nowadays, when you get a Super Wal-Mart, it means you have “arrived.” Retailers like to locate in markets that have “arrived.” Wal-Mart has become such a force that many now make plans based upon what they do. I really felt that this is what our market needed when I first came here a little over two years ago. Home Depot was a great addition, but the Wal-Mart was the “it” we needed. I still feel that way. I know some won’t agree with me and that’s OK. My hope is that Jacksonville will become more of a destination for the other towns that surround us.

Let’s hope that this will bring more economic expansion in our town and region. Then maybe folks won’t be so quick to drive 30 miles to Springfield. Talk to you all again in a week.

Now, I know school systems can be a bit funky sometimes, especially when it comes to drafting what days they will and won’t have school, but this one caught me by surprise. I had to ask Ron if he was joking when he told me. One of our district sales managers was quick to confirm what Ron was telling me. His wife works for the school system and sure enough, today, March 3, is Casimir Pulaski Day.

Intrigued, I decided to find out more about Casimir Pulaski, given that a majority of school kids got a three-day weekend out of the guy. Here is what I found on Wikipedia (I wanted to make sure the following is attributed to something, so some won’t think I’m making this stuff up…)

“Casimir Pulaski Day is a holiday observed in Illinois on the first Monday of every March to commemorate Casimir Pulaski, a Revolutionary War cavalry officer born March 4, 1747 in Poland as Kazimierz Pułaski. He was a Polish soldier. He is known for his contributions to the US military at the time by training its soldiers and cavalry. The day is celebrated mainly in areas that have large Polish populations. This is a separate holiday from the federal holiday, General Pulaski Memorial Day, which commemorates Pulaski’s death at the Siege of Savannah on October 11, 1779.”

“Illinois enacted a law on June 20, 1977 to celebrate the birthday of Casimir Pulaski and held the first official Pulaski Day celebrations in 1978. The bill was introduced by Senator Leroy W. Lemke (D)- Chicago. Chicago celebrates Pulaski Day on the first Monday in March with an annual parade. Cook County government (which includes Chicago) and the Chicago Public Library also close on this holiday. The holiday is also observed in Wisconsin public schools, celebrated March 4th, as outlined in state statute 118.02 (although this is not universally observed). Indiana also marks the day as a commemorative day by governor’s proclamation (IC 1-1-12.5), although it is not a state holiday.”

In my research, it didn’t appear that all school systems throughout the state observe Pulaski Day. At least I could only find it on a handful of school calendars I could find. Did they think that Mr. Pulaski wasn’t important enough to warrant a day off of school? That’s kind of interesting if you ask me. While I’m sure that those with Polish heritage appreciate Mr. Pulaski’s contributions to both Poland and the USA and school kids and teachers around the state also thank him for the extra day away from the classroom, is this really a holiday that we should include on a school or government holiday list?

So to all those of non-Polish decent, this is who Casimir Pulaski was and why Illinois celebrates him with a “get out of school free” day. And I thought lawyers and bankers had it easy with their holiday schedules. But I did hear of another school district that will remain nameless that moved their calendar around to correspond to the opening of deer season … now there’s a holiday that most in rural Illinois can get their arms around.