If you ask me...

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Chuck Wenk

Updated: January 16, 2012 8:26AM

Well, if I can pull for Ron Santo to get what he deserved many years earlier, I can take a careful shot at U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel! Of course I believe the things former Gov. Rod Blagojevich did to himself, and the state, are despicable. But 14 years? He didn’t kill anybody and didn’t even steal anything. (He did just about everything else with the laws he broke while in office … agreed!)

I never met the former governor, and I certainly wouldn’t vote for him.

But why does Judge Zagel have the sole, final word on the guy’s sentencing (without apparent consultation with other judges), when so many other marginal characters have been involved, (some possibly still to be identified!) When I returned from a meeting and heard the length of the sentence, a few friends asked me what I thought, I told them that honestly, I don’t think the sentence was fair and I don’t think it was properly thought out — even if the judge did marry Pam Zekman, way back in the 1970s. (They split in 1975).

But if you ask me, and I know nobody asked … it just seems unfair! While I was typing this, a friendly longtime buddy of mine walked into the office to try to stop me!

“Charlie,” he muttered. “Stay away from this topic. You won’t find much agreement and readers will wonder if you are losing it! At the very least we live in a state that houses a handful of former politicians who went wrong and you seem to be friendly with several of them! Write about the Sox or Cubs and how unfair baseball was to Santo. You could also write about the ex-athletes that didn’t vote for Santo when he was alive and kicking!”

I guess I had better do that! Sorry readers! Can’t help how I feel, though. Try serving 14 days in a jail someplace and then let’s hear about the one person who socked you away for 14 years!

The ice rink in downtown Highland Park is a good choice to attract shoppers during the holidays and beyond! My daughter, Wendy, was always a stylish figure skater and figures to be out there every day, if we give her a coffee break!

Downtown Highland Park has lots of sparkle for the holidays, and the Chamber of Commerce and the Alliance should take a bow! They have both labored for weeks to make shopping easier and more fun for residents, and the results will show up for sure!

Wendy learned her skating style from the Kormylo Family who were our next door neighbors for many years in Highland Park. Wally Kormylo and his brother Steve taught thousands of skaters in the area, many of whom went pro. And there were lots of future Blackhawks in that group! The Kormylos are now up in Kenosha, Wis., but they remain legends in Highland Park and in the Chicago area.

Finally … as a guy who always signed his name to any column or essay all my life, I normally prefer not to run anonymous letters. But I’ll let you be the judge of this one that came in to me just today, in hopes that it allows someone to “vent” and feel better for the holidays!

Dear Chuck: I work for one of the many cash-strapped charities in Highland Park and was shocked to see that the Highland Park Historical Society received $20,000 from the city out of this year’s budget. I have nothing against the Historical Society and respect what they do, but my organization received $2,000 to $3,000 per year to help children.

The Historical Society was in the same boat, never receiving more than a few thousand. What really stinks is that the mayor’s husband is the chairman of the Historical Society Board. This is unethical and not fair. Because I work for an organization that must deal with the city, I cannot come forward. As a regular reader of your column I would hope you can help shed light on this unfair and unethical use of our tax dollars

Signed, “Angry Resident.”

See you next week … maybe!