Too Many Topics Not Enough Space

I normally don't have a problem writing this column. But tonight as I sit up past midnight, I have started and stopped writing so many times, I lost count. I am never at a loss for words. But this week I waivered and changed the subject so many times, if I were using a pen, I would have run out of paper and my pen would be empty of ink. I haven't ranted in a long time and since I can't seem to settle on a singular issue, I'll just let off steam on a variety of items.

I gotta start with the news that was late hitting the airwaves Tuesday night. The allegations, if true, should have every resident of the West Side up in arms and demanding a resignation. Fox Chicago News is alleging that newly appointed State Senator Annazette Collins doesn't live in the apartment she has used as an address to run for office. She owns a condo in Hyde Park, and it is there that she has claimed a homeowner's exemption. Say what? Here we have a prior state representative who gets appointed to fill the vacated seat of Rickey Hendon, and now we learn she doesn't even live in her district? Give me an expletive deleted break.

The West Side neighborhoods and residents suffer from a lack of so much, and now we hear that those who claim to have our best interests at heart don't live here? Well her immediate reward, if true, should be to lose her office, be stripped of her retirement fund and to be tried and incarcerated for having lied and stolen from the people of the 5th state senatorial district. There will never be any real improvement and changes on this side of town if we continue to tolerate those who want to be our elected representatives but don't want to live with us and therefore are not truly interested in changing the status quo.

Speaking of things involving this state, I have noticed that something strange is going on with the numbers on some license plates. At first, I thought people were doing something to their plates - like coating the numbers with reflective paint to throw off the red light cameras. But I looked at my own plates and they are rusting/corroding near where the numbers/letters were pressed and then painted onto the plate.

For the amount of money we have to pay for a renewal sticker and the cost of the plates, someone needs to investigate why the quality of this last set of plates seems to be deteriorating much faster than other plates. There is a tremendous danger if the plate can't be accurately read or if they can be easily altered.

And speaking of things that are easily altered, I swear there must only be about 10 of those temporary Illinois license plates, and they are being shared by everyone who gets a new/used car. I have never seen so many battered and old looking temporary plates as I am noticing mounted on vehicles driving around this city. I don't think those temporary plates are any better than the old "License Applied For" pieces of paper that used to dot the back windows of too many cars. It would seem to me that with current technology, we can have a better system of putting a plate on a new/used car. The abuses of the old system appear to still be occurring with this new one.

Lastly, we are not even into full-blown spring, and the shootings (especially the number of young children under 12 being shot) are an absolute disgrace. Our governor signed a bill to end the death penalty, but the criminals don't seem to have the same mindset, as murders occur like the rising and setting of the sun. Every day the number of people shot approaches double digits. Those killers/murderers walk among us and even when people know who did the killing, they are silent. It is time to write an anonymous note or buy a burner phone and use it to call the police and turn in the killers.