BERRY FORTUNATE
So what if we call bloggers a gaggle of pantless,
basement-dwelling nerds? Cap City still logs in to cyberspace every now and
then to see what our favorite newsgatherers are doing.
Imagine our surprise this week when we stumbled
across a fledging site dedicated to a topic we’re very much
interested in. It’s Springfield’s first beer blog, redcobblers.blogspot.com. Gish,
the site creator who labels himself as a beer drinker and a beer maker, but
not an author, says Springfield “is mostly a barren wasteland for
beer connoisseurs.” He intends to highlight local restaurants and
bars for their attention to specialty draughts and to spread brewer
knowledge to other craft beer lovers.
Gish established a ratings system, from bad to
excellent with various stages in between. Bad means the establishment only
carries BMC products (Bud, Miller and Coors), while excellent status is
awarded to those who carry beer unencountered by the majority of the
population.
So far he’s deemed Corner Pub
“good” for its stock of Sam Adams Oktoberfest, Spoetzel
Breweries Shiner Bock, and New Belguim’s Mothership Wit. We’re
curious to see where he goes next.
BLACK THOUGHT
A male resident of Illinois is less than two months
away from becoming the first African-American president in U.S. history and
one in nine black males in the state between the ages of 25 and 29 is
incarcerated. So what do these facts say about state of black men in our
state? The question may be answered at one of the seven town hall meetings
going on across Illinois that are exploring issues facing African-American
men.
Last year Gov. Rod
Blagojevich established a state Task Force on
the Condition of African-American Men in Illinois under the Department of
Human Services. Chicago Democrats state Rep. Marlow
Colvin and state Sen. Kwame Raoul drafted legislation
directing the panel to focus on child welfare, education, income,
incarceration and parole rates, life expectancy, and healthcare. DHSsecretary Carol Adams says Illinois
“must work hard to address the disparities and lack of opportunities
that create barriers to success in our communities.”
Springfield hosts its town hall on Thursday,
September 18 at 6 p.m. at Southeast High School, 2350 E. Ash Street.
Meetings are also planned for East St. Louis, Urbana, and Chicago. The task
force is scheduled to report its findings to the legislature by the end of
the year.
VOTE SMART OR NOT AT ALL
Apparently we’re not the only ones who blow off
the Project Vote Smart people when they call.
On Sept. 9, the Montana-based national research
organization that lists former presidential contenders Barry Goldwater and George McGovern as
founding board members, released its 2008 Political Courage Test, a
biennial survey started in 1996 which asks candidates and officeholders one
question: “Are you willing to tell citizens your positions on the
issues you will most likely face on their behalf?” If the answer is
yes, the officials are presented with follow-up questions.
Most Illinois pols didn’t make it that far,
however. Just 16 percent of candidates in Illinois legislative races and 39
percent of congressional candidates responded, according to Project Vote
Smart. Nationally, about half of candidates answer the questionnaire.
QUINN IN CYBERSPACE
Hey,
when ya can’t beat — or convince the General Assembly to
overturn — ’em, start a petition. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn this week launched a
campaign to block the governor from shutting down 11 state parks right as
the foliage is turning. The online petition can be found at
www.saveourstateparks.org. Quinn has a thing for petitions, apparently.
Last month he asked citizens to log on to stop lawmakers from taking a pay
increase. “All of us have a duty to maintain and protect our state
parks for the next generation,” Quinn said in a statement. “We
must leave no child inside.”
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2008.
