Open your eyes Vandalia. We don't have to live in poverty. Yes the economy is bad but there's City's around us that have flourished. Our City is dieing. I know there's an effort to try and bring in jobs.

A year has past and what do we have to show for it? Nothing but a hopeless pipe dream that has cost us money. I'm talking about the stadium deal.

We desperately need new leadership in this City. I don't know who that person could be. Hopefully not a pal of the incumbent Mayor. We need fresh leadership with some good ole business common sense.

When the ball team keeps loosing game after game it's time for a change.

Can you handle three more years of this?

Start talking to your neighbors and friends, it's time.

I know I've hammered our Mayor pretty hard. It's hard for anybody to take criticism.

My criticism is directed towards his performance, lack of vision, leadership, incompetence and overall judgment.

I don't know him personally like many of you do. He is obviously a very good people person or he wouldn't have been elected three terms. Goodness and sweetness are wonderful virtues for anyone to have, including our Dear Mayor.

Another good man who was known for goodness and sweetness was Captain Edward J. Smith. Capt. Smith was a flamboyant man who was known as the millionaires Capt. He had very good political skills. He had a following even though he was responsible for tearing off a section of the HMS Hawke. That wreck severely hurt his employer.

Most Ship Captains don't get promoted for tearing up ships in violent wrecks. Captain Smith was promoted when he should have been fired. Apparently politics was far more important than competency.

On April 14th, 1912 the ship he was responsible hit a Iceberg and sank. Out of 2,223 passengers only 706 survived. That ship was the Titanic.

When I fly, I don't want a Pilot that's in the Captain seat because of politics. I want a Captain that knows what the he** he's doing. Can he/she transport passengers from point A to point B without killing everybody. If something does go wrong will he/she make the right decisions and get us on the earth safely.

Making bad decisions that result in over a million of our tax dollars being thrown to wind is not being competent. I don't know about you but being a "Good Ole Boy" isn't getting the job done anymore.

Competency, Competency, Competency!

On April 16, 1846, nine covered wagons left Springfield, Illinois on the 2500 mile journey to California, in what would become one of the greatest tragedies in the history of westward migration.

This was known as the Donner Party Tragedy.


The Donner Party was a group of California-bound American emigrants caught up in the "westering fever" of the 1840s. After becoming snowbound in the Sierra Nevada in the winter of 1846–1847, some of them resorted to cannibalism.

The travelers followed the California Trail until they reached the Little Sandy River, in what is now Wyoming, where they camped alongside several other overland parties. There, those emigrants who had decided to take a new route ("Hastings Cutoff," named after its promoter, Lansford Hastings), formed a new wagon train. They elected George Donner their captain, creating the Donner Party, on July 19. At its height, it numbered 87 emigrants with 23 wagons.

This tragedy occurred because George Donner & James Reed relied on a Book by Lansford Hastings. Mr Hastings wrote the book, "Emigrants guide to Oregon and California." The route in the book had never been used even after the book was in publication.

At Fort Laramie James Reed ran into an old friend from Illinois by the name of James Clyman, who had just traveled the new route eastwardly with Lansford Hastings. Clyman advised Reed not to take the Hastings Route, stating that the road was barely passable on foot and would be impossible with wagons; also warning him of the great desert and the Sierra Nevadas. Though he strongly suggested that the party take the regular wagon trail rather than this new false route, Reed would later ignore his warning in an attempt to reach their destination more quickly.


Of the original 87 pioneers, 39 died and 48 survived. Five died before reaching the Sierra Nevada, 14 at the lake camp, eight at Alder Creek, and 12 while trying to escape the mountains.

How important is competent Leadership? This is not the year 1846 but this is Illinois 2010. Incompetent leadership can be costly. In our case not so much from the loss of life but the loss of a quality of life.








(Information came from legendsofamerica.com & Wikipedia.org)

Which alderman is resigning and why?

Maybe Homey should organize a shoe throwing event for the next council meeting. We could see if the mayor can dodge shoes as fast as the questions.




He could sell tickets and the event could be classified as a fund raiser for the Motown Folly.

The theme can be IF THE SHOE FITS!