We’re confident that Mike Zalewski is a fine young lad. And by the hack standards of the Illinois legislature, he’ll probably be a fine state representative. Make no mistake, the 29-year-old will be representing most of Brookfield and a chunk of Riverside by January. That’s when the charade being played by local Democrats will be complete.
Here’s the current version of the age-old scam among despicable Chicago Dems:
State Rep. Bob Molaro, whom voters obediently renominated in the primary, has had a change of heart, poor baby, and no longer wants to move democracy forward in the crucible of Springfield politics. He needs a rest. Maybe a judgeship, if you believe published reports.
So, lo and behold, there is this gaping hole on the ballot. What to do! What to do! Thankfully, young Mike Zalewski has volunteered to step into the breech and allow democracy to continue. And the grateful Democratic committeemen have clapped Mike on the back, in the usual sign of anointing in Chicago politics.
Did we mention that one of the committeemen happens, coincidentally, to be Mike Zalewski the Elder, the alderman of Chicago’s 23rd Ward?
So Mike Jr. is sliding right into that cozy ballot position running against a doomed Republican and a presumably very earnest Green Party candidate. Our guess is that Mike Jr. will win.
His election can’t come too soon for us. What with Springfield in gridlock, the house under the boot of Speaker Mike Madigan, we need a young buck like Mike Jr. to storm into the capital filled with Mr. Deeds-like political purity to shake things up and convince those darned lawmakers that for once they need to think for themselves and do the right thing.
It is going to be quite the story. We can tell. After all, it has worked out great with Todd Stroger and Dan Lipinski.
Go get ’em, State Rep. Mike Jr.
Make us proud.
Olmsted and the future
Riverside has had a mixed history with the glory that Frederick Law Olmsted created in his master design of our town. There’s pride and pleasure. There has also been tension and pettiness as the challenges of preservation and progress have sometimes collided.
Now, though, we see a way forward that honors Olmsted while also being completely future-focused. It is the unfolding discussion on the village board of a fall referendum asking voters how committed Riverside should be to environmental sustainability.
This, to us, is where Olmsted’s vision meshes with Riverside’s future. How can Riverside’s government work to make its own services environmentally sound? How can it make choices that protect and nurture the natural gifts that Olmsted built in to our immediate environment? How can the village provide residents with affordable options to live green in their daily lives?
These are issues the Riverside can gather round with enthusiasm and purpose.