| « Something I do like about Mark Kirk | Homero Tristan and Scandal Fatigue » |
Illinois Fri Jul 10 2009
Tearful Words from Downstate
Here in Chicago, it's easy to forget how big Illinois really is, and unfortunately, how the same state budget cuts affecting us are also affecting people living 300 miles southwest of the city, in cities like Alton, Edwardsville and Collinsville, which are all considered suburbs of St. Louis but are in Illinois. This column by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Pat Gauen -- about state budget cuts affecting the little guy and gal -- made me get some watery eyes. As Gauen eloquently writes:
In our mind's eye, we often think of people in need of such services as looking strange and acting oddly. When we notice them, it's usually at a physically safe distance through some kind of glass -- a car windshield, perhaps, or a restaurant window or a television screen.
Looking at ordinary Sharon is emotionally dangerous, because the glass you're using could be a mirror.
*Sniffles*
