Lawmaking running amok

It also was refreshing to read that State Representative Dan Brady from Bloomington is going to introduce a bill that will eliminate double-dipping into state pension funds and to bring the pensions for lawmakers more in line with accepted guidelines. It is ridiculous to allow our lawmakers to make more after they retire than while they were working. Some served for only a few years to qualify for a full pension. I will be surprised if the legislators actually do something. It is kind of like having the fox guarding the chicken house.

It did not surprise me that a report of the state health inspections of local restaurants revealed that Woody's Restaurant at the Shell Truck Stop had the lowest rating of any Minonk restaurant. Just look at the garbage floating behind the building and the general unkempt condition of the building and you can understand why they received a low rating.

While health inspections are probably a good thing, I think that the state has gone overboard in its vigilance in monitoring our eating conditions. The Village of Colfax had to close down its weekly potluck dinners at a local meeting hall because the state will not allow people to bring in food from the outside to be used for public consumption.

This is an example of big brother overstepping its boundaries. A local teacher told me that they are not allowed to bring cookies to school anymore because it violates the law that requires all food to be prepared on the premises.

It's bad enough that television has made recluses out of most people. Now the state is discouraging social gatherings of people in public places. Potluck dinners have always been a mainstay in the fabric of American life. Does the health department plan on eliminating memorial feasts after a funeral where most of the food is brought in?

Lawmakers find it easy to sit in their plush seats and push a button to vote yes on a law that they have no idea what ramifications it might have. In many cases, they vote because they are pressured by a lobbyist or because the law might create more patronage jobs for the state.

A law that has affected our school system is the "No Child Left Behind" law that President Bush pushed through Congress last year. Its original purpose was noble in that it was intended to help bring less fortunate students into the main stream of education. But as usual, it was an unfunded mandate that most school systems cannot afford. Now Congress is looking into ways to watering down the requirements of the law so as to lessen the economic impact on local school systems. It is another example of high minded principles overriding the realities of implementation. Unfunded mandates are placing an undue burden on our local school systems.

Without unfunded mandates, the Fieldcrest school district could have decided to rearrange classrooms in order to accommodate a handicapped student instead of spending $250,000 to install an elevator. In a richer school district, the decision may have been different. Until the state decides to give each school district the same amount of money per student, it should lay off the heavy handed control it has over our budgets and let each school district decide for itself what is the best solution for its situation

Our lawmakers have gone too far in their attempt to regulate our lives. Each community should be left to decide its own customs and laws as much as possible. That is why I feel that it is so important for citizens to become involved in their community. An involved citzenry results in establishment and enforcement of local norms and customs. If Bloomington wants to have a law that prevents food brought into public places, that is fine with me. Just don't expect small towns like Minonk to adopt a similar law. We don't need Springfield nor Washington controlling every aspect of our lives.

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