Morning musings …

Have you noticed that every four years gubernatorial candidates in Illinois promise to “root out the corruption in Springfield,” but never do?

Wouldn’t it be nice if Democrat Pat Quinn and Republican Bill Brady would offer specific ways they plan to fix the budget mess in Illinois, rather than repeat rehearsed sound bites over and over that play to crowds but are not realistic solutions? Is it because candidates can’t say what they really think because the truth wouldn’t get them elected?

(UPDATE: Seems like the day after telling his Quincy audience that he would balance the state budget in his first year, the Brady campaign is admitting that it would take two or three years to catch up on unpaid bills, so he really wouldn’t be balancing the budget like he said he would. But the statement probably drew applause.)

Most companies offer some sort of sick time provision that allows employees to still get paid if they get sick and can’t work. Quincy police patrol officers and sergeants already are able to bank 720 hours of sick time — the equivalent of 90 days — and are paid 100 percent of every hour not used. And they are asking for 48 hours more per year in negotiations with the city. Police aren’t the only employees on the local, state or national level with this kind of perk, so is there any wonder why governments are going broke?

I’m all for people making as much money as they can. But in a climate with the highest unemployment in a generation, including an estimated 17,000 teachers this year alone in Illinois, and an economy that cannot seem to stay on solid footing, would the Quincy Federation of Teachers actually think about going on strike for more money or benefits? Do they think that’s a winnable public relations battle? Timing is everything in life, and now’s not the time.

Memo to Quincy Preserves and Dr. Louis Quintero: Let’s quit the childish (but amusing) sniping and work toward a solution. Character of the neighborhood should be the prevailing argument in zoning situations like this, but there have been too many exceptions made over the years in Quincy. (Take a look at the strip mall on the northwest corner of 20th and Maine and see if it enhances the neighborhood. And there are businesses on two other corners at that intersection.) So that means developers can buy property in residential areas cheaper than it would cost for the same thing in areas set aside for businesses. And because there always seems to be an except for every zoning rule if you have the right connections, there’s nothing the city can do about it.