Judy’s back. And not a moment too soon.
Riverside’s gift to the state of Illinois, Judy Baar Topinka, made official Sunday what she had told The Landmark in the late summer: She’s running for the GOP nomination for Illinois comptroller.
The rare politician with common sense and a common touch, Topinka wants to bring her fiscal conservatism to a state government that is an embarrassing financial wreck. Her brand of financial management is of the kind taught at kitchen tables when the pile of bills and the cash in the checking account are intended to come out even. And when they don’t come out even, you spend less.
As Judy proudly said Sunday in announcing her candidacy, “I’m cheap. Thrift is in my DNA.”
Now that is a radical concept for Illinois government.
In a wide-open primary election that is stacking up in both parties as a bunch of unknowns and unwanteds, Topinka will be a known vote-getter, a brand that people understand and respect.
Beyond that Judy Baar Topinka is simply smart, decent, hard-working, honest, straight-talking and funny as hell. Those would be good qualities in a governor. But, oh, we re-elected Rod Blagojevich. We got what we deserved.
As regular readers know, Topinka once owned this newspaper. But we’d be saying these nice things about her even if she didn’t.
An apple for the teacher
We believe in teachers.
A simple statement. Might seem obvious.
But in a week where we’re reporting on Hollywood School and its laptops, we pause to say that whether the tool is chalk, a mimeograph machine, an overhead projector or an Apple MacBook, that the magic in a school happens when a great teacher steps into a classroom.
That teacher will eagerly adapt to every tool at her disposal. So today’s strongest teachers are ready to fold the technology of the individual laptop into the curriculum. But no matter how creative the software, how nimble the computer, it is still in the connection between a motivated teacher and a willing student that learning leaps forward, that curiosity is enhanced.
So let’s let the Hollywood kids take their computers home, further weighing down their overstuffed backpacks. (Parents, have you tried to heft your kid’s backpack lately? Call the chiropractor!) But let’s focus on the teachers who make this tool work. Let’s focus on how to retain great teachers and slough off the deadwood in the ranks. Let’s be old-fashioned and bring a real apple to the real heroes in education: Our best teachers.