GI Bill 2008

Friends,

Normally I use this space to talk about issues related to McHenry County. However, I’m stepping outside that role to speak about an issue that is important to all of us.

A new GI Bill is before Congress. This bill will provide a much greater range of benefits for the men and women serving in the military. While this GI Bill falls short of the one our veterans received when they returned from World War II, it is far better than they are currently receiving.

I believe we, as a people, owe our returning veterans a debt of honor that can never be fully repaid. This bill makes an important start on repaying that debt.

I urge all of you to go to GI Bill 2008 and learn about the new GI Bill 2008. I hope you will all find it in your heart to add your name in support of this bill and to contact your representative in congress and urge him / her to add their name as sponsors to HR.5740.

Reflections on Election Day

As I watched the election unfold Tuesday, I was struck by the significance that Tuesday was also Mardi Gras. As voters in McHenry County and 20 states were choosing their future, the people of New Orleans were defiantly celebrating their beloved holiday.

Before I explain the significance of this in relation to McHenry Country, permit me to recite a quote:

“I want to shrink government to the size that it may be dragged into the bathroom and drowned in the bathtub.”

Grover Norquist

The author of this quote is the Karl Marx of neo-conservative thinking. Reflecting on that philosophy, I am reminded that government at the hands of its adherents is more bloated and unresponsive than ever at all levels. Yet on August 30, 2005 we were presented with incontrovertible evidence of just who would be doing the drowning. Abandoned and left to die, the crescent city continues to struggle back to its former greatness. Its people paused amid the massive reconstruction to revel in their carnival as much to hoist a one finger salute to the administration that turned its back on them as an expression of joie de vivre.

McHenry County is undergoing its own Katrina moment at this time. And, while it lacks the visual immediacy of bodies floating in the streets, it is none the less devastating to the people of McHenry County and has cost lives. While the immediate cause of Katrina was a natural disaster, the McCullom Lake disaster is entirely man made. Both Katrina and McCullom Lake share the proximal cause of neglect. In the case of Katrina the resources to maintain and improve the levees was withdrawn. In the case of McCullom Lake the government simply neglected to monitor an industry long known to deal with toxic chemicals.

The McCullom Lake cancer cluster spot lights a county government that has failed to protect the two irreplaceable resources vital to the existence of the county – its people, and its ground water. Rather than address the problems and resolve to change the failings that allowed this disaster to occur, a dysfunctional county board, Board of Health, and Health Department spin in a desperate attempt to evade responsibility.

The selfish philosophy that pervades Republican thinking is bereft of social conscience. Through their words, they claim to serve the greater good. However, through their actions they serve only themselves. It is the philosophy of entitlement. It is the philosophy of the sinking ship. Its authors lack the intellectual capacity and desire to examine their manifesto through to its larger implications. It is destructive, not only to the populace subjected to its arrogance, but to itself as well. The ever expanding spiral of neglect that is the heart of neo-conservatism will ultimately consume it and lead to its own destruction. Like communism and fascism, neo-conservatism too will be relegated to a footnote of history with the rest of a long list of failed political ideologies.

In both New Orleans and McCullom Lake government failed to rally to the defense of the people when the crisis was revealed. Long term, in both examples, was the failure to manage and protect the commons. The most damning sin, however, is the refusal to examine their own conduct, to learn from their mistakes, and to devise and implement remedial solutions so that others need not suffer the same fate.

I opened with the contracted and disconnected Grover Norquist quote. I’ll leave you with a different view of our society - one that binds us and unites us in mutual respect and support.

"All mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated...As therefore the bell that rings to a sermon, calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come: so this bell calls us all: but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."

John Donne

Newspaper Endorsements

Northwest Herald

The Northwest Herald endorsed Robert Ludwig for the Democratic candidate to the McHenry County Board in District 6. The article http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2008/01/22/opinion/endorsements/doc4796b530765a8371209526.txt dated January 22, 2008 endorsed Robert Ludwig for the February 5th election. The questionnaire posted by Robert Ludwig was printed in the article http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2008/01/29/politics_and_elections/questionnaires/doc479faeeb2f08f580218462.txt on January 29, 2008. Read what the Northwest Herald has to say.


Daily Herald

The Daily Herald endorsed Robert Ludwig for the Democratic candidate to the McHenry County Board in District 6. The articles http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=124642 and http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=120485 dated January 31st, 2008 and the article http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=123124 dated January 29th, 2008 endorsed Robert Ludwig for the February 5th election.

McHenry County College

The commissioners of McHenry County College want to build a minor league baseball stadium and events center. The major problem with this plan is that the land they want to use is a sensitive watershed. Paving over this watershed would adversely affect the people of Crystal Lake and all the communities down stream.

After the zoning board voted to deny permits for this project, MCC went to the Crystal Lake city counsel. MCC failed to muster the votes necessary to override the zoning board, twice. Somehow, like the mythological hydra, no matter how many times the head is cut off this monster, it seems to rise again. In a final act of petulance, the MCC commissioners disgraced themselves by voting to censure two of its own members that oppose the plan.

MCC’s charter, as I understand it based on my yearly property tax bill, is to provide higher level and continuing education to the people of McHenry County. MCC should confine themselves to this theater of operations.

I understand MCC’s desire to put this otherwise idle land to some productive use. In the spirit of doing more than just complaining, here are some suggestions for use of that land that would be consistent with McHenry County College’s charge to provide education and would not devastate the watershed and the communities that rely on it.

The University of Illinois has an extensive curriculum in agriculture both in terms of crop management and animal husbandry. McHenry County College could partner with the U of I to bring some of these classes to the area. Given that the county’s primary industry is agriculture, who would benefit from such a program?

MCC could use the land to experiment with, study, and teach classes on alternative energy production. Wind, solar, and alternative fuel generation experiments could be studied and developed. Given the rising cost of petroleum, who would benefit from a program like this?

Another suggestion would be to operate both of the above programs together. Demonstrating ways the green energy production can coexist with agriculture would go a long way to advancing alternative energy, making it more attractive for farmers to get double duty out of their land.
Who in this area would benefit from that?

A fourth suggestion would be a different pilot program to produce electricity from bio sources. Dennis Haubenschild's dairy cattle produce 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to run his farm plus 78 average homes. The manure from the cows is used to generate methane which in turn is used to run generators to produce electricity. The entire operation is carbon neutral since the CO2 produced burning the methane is offset by the CO2 consumed producing the cattle feed. The farmer gets a secondary source of income and the cost of producing dairy products is reduced since the farm doesn’t have to pay for its electricity. Who would benefit? I can think of about 300,000 people – the farmers and anyone that consumes dairy products.

These are just four suggestions on how MCC could put that land to use in a way that would be beneficial to all. MCC could take a leadership role in providing superb educational opportunities to McHenry County – opportunities for their students, and for the community at large. Opportunities that could be the starting point for whole new industries and a whole new economy. MCC could set the stage for their students to make that life changing breakthrough that all educators want to see in their pupils. All it takes is a little imagination. Or, they can destroy a watershed and build a ball park.

Which legacy would you want to see on your tombstone?

McHenry County Convention and Events Center

The idea of a convention and events center for McHenry County has been raised. While I first had misgivings about the plan, on reflection I find it has merit. However, the proposal currently being pursued is not workable. An ecologically sensitive watershed is not the place to put a convention center, or a ball park.

McHenry County College’s mission is to provide higher level education to the McHenry County area. It is funded by property taxes for that express purpose. MCC should not shift its focus from this to commercial activities of a minor league ball park. MCC should stick to its original mission and consider expansion in that arena.

There is, however, a venue that is perfectly suited to support a convention center and hotel - one that has already been prepared for commercial use, with water, sewer, electric and telephone services already in place. I refer to the former Motorola building in Harvard.

The vacant Motorola building is perfectly suitable for reuse as a hotel and convention center. It is an open design with a large factory space that could easily be adapted to the new use. The site also has ample, well lit parking lots. Even if additional structure had to be built, it would still be better than destroying the Crystal Lake watershed.

Another advantage to the Harvard site is its proximity to the Metra commuter rail. The Metra rail not only carries passengers from downtown Chicago, but is also used for freight traffic. The addition of a freight yard in Harvard would allow for delivery of containers to and from the convention center.

The addition of east and west exit and entrance ramps on I-90 at Route 23 combined with improvements to Routes 23 and 14 would make the site competitive with the Stevens Center in Rosemont, the Allstate Arena, McCormick Place, and the new Sears Center. Harvard has easy access to O’Hare field via the Metra train service. It is also within easy reach of the Rockford and Milwaukee Airports. And it is within close proximity of Wisconsin’s tourist attractions.

Building a convention center in the Motorola site would provide much needed relief to the Harvard community, which was hard hit by the departure of Motorola. It would provide much needed long term employment to residents of Harvard and the surrounding communities. And it would stimulate the development of ancillary businesses to support and complement the convention center.

I cannot support the destruction of the Crystal Lake watershed. However, I can support the adaptive reuse of the Motorola site in Harvard.

Seasons Greetings

Sherrie and I wish everyone the Merriest of Christmases and a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.

May peace and love fill your homes now and for all time.

In the immortal words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone.”

Bob and Sherrie Ludwig

McCullom Lake

The job of protecting the water supply in McHenry county falls to the Health Department. These are the people that say your septic system has to be 75 feet from your well to keep you from getting sick.

It is also their job to verify that companies operating in McHenry County conform to standards that protect the air and water from contamination. Roam Haas maintained an unlined open lagoon as a waste pit for their chemical plant. It was the job of the Health Department and, by extension, the county board to insure the water supply for the surrounding communities was protected.

The “market is the cure for all ills” has been the ongoing mantra for more than 25 years. The theory is that market forces will protect us from abuses of business. The reality is far different. Market forces only guarantee that companies will do everything in their power to maximize profit. In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with that. But there is a far older and long tested adage that applies in the market place, “trust everyone, but count your change.”

The job of government is to level the playing field, to insure that the rights of the individual are not trampled by the forces of money and power. It is no accident that the first three words of the Constitution are “We the People.” The purpose of government, stated eloquently in the first paragraph of the Constitution is: “to form a more perfect union; to establish justice; to provide for the common defense; to promote the general welfare; and to secure the blessings of liberty onto ourselves and our posterity.”

One aspect of establishing justice, and promoting the general welfare is to insure that no person or group of people regardless of station or wealth is allowed to trample the rights of another. The companies in question have been operating in McCullom Lake for decades. The cost of a few wells to monitor the condition of the ground water surrounding these businesses would have been insignificant, especially compared to the cost of cleaning up contamination or the loss to the families in question.

Every four-year-old learns – you mess it, you clean it. The cost of holding these companies to the standards that would have prevented the contamination in the first place would have been far cheaper than the legal battle about to be played out. But none of this was done, so we are left with a bitter lesson, and the need to insure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated.

The determination of the responsibility of Roam Haas and Modine and the other companies involved in the McCullom Lake tragedy is now in the hands of the courts and twenty-twenty hindsight. Except, in this case, hindsight isn’t twenty-twenty. Time and changing circumstance have distorted the situation. An exact determination of responsibility will be difficult and expensive for all parties concerned. An answer is years and maybe decades away - too far removed for the satisfaction of the victims or their families. Rohm Haas will lose regardless of the outcome of the court case. The victims will lose because no amount of compensation will restore their lives. And the people of McCullom Lake will lose because of the cloud that now blankets their community. Only the lawyers will win.

It is unreasonable to expect that any kind of market force will compel business to protect the residents of a community, especially when the owners and operators of the business are remote from the community in which they operate. It is the job of government to defend the residents of the community.