Editorials

Last month, we criticized the Illinois General Assembly when it adjourned its lame duck session without offering a solution to the state’s out-of-control finances.
They failed to address the chronic overspending. They failed to take any action to rein in the $96 billion pension deficit. And they failed to grasp the impact their irresponsibility was having on the state.
Those failures have now come home to roost in Vandalia.

For most area residents, the only view of the Vandalia Correctional Center is the one they get from driving past on Ill. Route 51.
From that vantage point, they can see the fences, the buildings and the 1,500-acres of land on which the facility is located. They may occasionally observe inmates in the exercise area, when the weather allows. But those superficial glimpses are about the extent of the contact most residents have with the county’s largest employer.

The Illinois General Assembly’s lame duck session ended Tuesday with a whimper, as legislators once again refused to deal with the state’s out-of-control finances.
After failing to come up with a plan to begin fixing the $96 billion (billion!) pension shortfall, the house and senate adjourned – kicking the can down the road to be dealt with by the next legislative session.
Or the next. Or the next.

It’s Christmas time!
With Christmas only days away, we hope the hustle and bustle of the holiday is largely behind us and only the warmth and wonder remain.
Though the holiday is primarily a celebration of the birth of Jesus, it also is a time of giving and hope.
And it’s an annual reminder of the generosity that makes Fayette County such a special place. As always, the citizens of our area have been amazing in their response to the needs of others.