Northwest Herald / NWHerald.com • Saturday, February 20, 2016
26
OPINIONS
Kate Weber Publisher
Dan McCaleb Editorial Director
Jason Schaumburg Editor
THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN
Not in spirit of OMA law The Northwest Herald Editorial Board offers this week’s thumbs up and thumbs down: Thumbs down: To Huntley School District 158 for failing to include it was hiring a head high school football coach on its meeting agenda for Thursday, when it decided to approve hiring a head football coach. The district posts a “Personnel Report” with its agenda, including everything from girls assistant track coach to bus driver, but it chose to add an “Addendum Report,” which included the football coach hire, at the actual meeting. The tactic is in direct opposition of the Illinois Open Meetings Act’s intent to provide the public with information on all final actions that will be taken by a board at a meeting. The Northwest Herald has asked the Attorney General’s Public Access Bureau to review the situation, as it did in a similar situation when Johnsburg School District 12 used vague agenda language and voted to hire a football coach in March 2015. Johnsburg later was asked to revote after the attorney general’s office ruled the initial vote had violated the Open Meetings Act. Thumbs up: To the police agencies that took seriously threats made to local schools this week. One incident, in which a former student sent a text saying there was going to be a “massacre” at Woodstock High School, was determined to be a joke that went too far. The second involved threatening comments and social media posts toward Huntley High School that resulted in five students charged with disorderly conduct after school attendance was negatively affected. We appreciate the steps taken by law enforcement to ensure student safety, and we reiterate its advice of encouraging parents to speak with their children about appropriate use of social media and the potential consequences of bullying, harassment or making threats. Thumbs down: To the parking situation at Huntley High School. A lack of space for the student population has resulted in students parking in Sun City. Huntley police proposed a parking ban between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. in certain neighborhoods in response to resident complaints. This is a problem that needs a solution sooner rather than later. Thumbs up: To the village of Algonquin and the Land Conservancy of McHenry County for offering rain barrels and composters to residents through a partnership. Encouraging residents to make environmentally wise decisions without mandating them is admirable.
THE FIRST
AMENDMENT
VIEWS
The fuss over Scalia’s funeral By JENNIFER RUBIN The Washington Post
WASHINGTON – Like the Woody Allen joke complaining about a restaurant with terrible food – “And the portions are so small!” – conservatives have been miffed for days the president was not going to attend the funeral of Justice Antonin Scalia. Can anyone imagine Scalia – one of the least pretentious justices I have observed – was counting on the president attending his funeral? Does it honor Scalia’s work to have the president – whom conservatives consider contemptuous of the Constitution – attend? I sincerely doubt Scalia’s relatives are so fond of the president that they would feel slighted. The president made a lovely statement on the day Scalia died. He and wife, Michelle, are going separately to pay respects. Vice President Biden is going to the funeral. C’mon, isn’t this just another round of phony outrage? I suspect – as the White House
might have – conservatives wanted the peculiar delight of seeing the president forced to be present and respectful while so many prestigious people sang Scalia’s praises and lauded his life’s work. That’s a rather childish motivation, to be honest. The court has been for years highly politicized by public hearings in which lawmakers treat judicial decisions as policy stances. This president – who now says he regrets having filibustered Justice Samuel Alito (really?) – has heckled the court from the sidelines. He has grossly overstepped executive authority, daring the courts to stop him. Obama has not helped, to put it mildly. Much is made of the “conservative” justices, but they are far less predictable than the “liberal” quartet, which votes in tandem and rarely surprises. Congress, with its preference for shunting off legislative details to bureaucrats (whose actions then become fodder for critical cases on hot-button issues such
as climate control), also plays a part in turning the court into a pseudo-legislature. The worst offenders, however, are the special interest groups that declare judges to be “for big companies” or “against clean air” or otherwise politically incorrigible because their legal judgment leads them to certain outcomes. “Borking” – whereby campaigns paint judges as political extremists, racists and partisan handmaidens – may have started matters, but the tactic has continued unabated. So, sure, don’t go to the funeral, Mr. President, but also stop invoking one set of rules for Democrats (must filibuster!) and another for Republicans (must hold an up-or-down vote!), using appointments to gin up the base and trying to bully the court before it rules. Recognize that in the past 50 years, both sides have played the “lame duck” card when the Senate has hoped for a better result with a new president. Fair?
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