The Sunday Cartoon

With Cubs Playing Sox, Peacekeepers May be Needed

The big-wigs from NATO should have brought some of those guys in the blue helmets.

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Jeff Ward: DuPage County Needs to Do Some Political House Cleaning

Ah! But my esteemed Kane Countians get to take the week off!

My fine Kane County compatriots! You’ve done well. Political perfection may be a pipe dream, but I have to say that things are looking a little better out here because of your recent voting proclivities. The sheriff who thought he was king is long gone and Pat Perez has done a phenomenal job in his place. In fact, he’s done so well that I’ve been encouraging him to consider a third term. You might want to do the same thing. Once stripped of her County Board cronies, Chairman Karen McConnaughay fled for Springfield faster than a Rush Limbaugh advertiser jumped ship. She’ll do far less damage down there and fit in perfectly with that group of ineffectual state senators. You saw right through Cathy Hurlbutt’s court clerk makeover attempt, you…

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Under the Tower

If Your Kid Can Bite, Breastfeeding Ain't Right

A controversial magazine cover makes breastfeeding and attachment parenting look almost glamorous—but is it? No. It's not.

Time Magazine’s cover of a woman breastfeeding her son was intended to bring awareness to attachment parenting. Instead it made the long-suffering magazine look desperate for attention, and some poor kid a lifelong subject of playground bullying. I mean, what is the cutoff for breastfeeding, little league? Most of my friends who breastfed didn’t have the cover subject’s fresh “après yoga” appearance. If the article was actually about parenting, why didn’t Time choose someone who looked more like an exhausted mom than a model? Let’s face it, being with a kid 24 hours a day is not relaxing. Attachment parenting encourages practices like co-sleeping (baby sleeps with the parents) and baby-wearing (do I have to explain it?). According to some …

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Paulette Delcourt

9:15 am on Sunday, May 20, 2012

Lynn, thanks for getting my point! That was my issue. And yes, I breastfed both my kids teeth and all, and we still cuddle--even with my teen.   more ›

Lynn Hudoba: You Can’t Spell Mommy Wars Without Mommy

The only people responsible for perpetuating “The Mommy Wars” are mommies themselves.

I’m sure by now that most of you have seen Time magazine’s latest cover story, with its provocative photo of a nubile young MILF breastfeeding her nearly 4-year-old son alongside the headline, “Are You Mom Enough?” The photo and accompanying article have bloggers and pundits everywhere lamenting over this re-ignition of The Mommy Wars, in which mommies are pitted against one another based on differing parenting philosophies, breastfeeding habits, working versus staying at home, etc. But in my experience, the only people responsible for perpetuating The Mommy Wars are mommies, themselves. One of the singularly most miserable experiences of my life was when I decided to join a new mothers’ group shortly after my daughter was born.  I was …

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Patch Poll: Should We Tax Soda To Discourage Obesity?

Recent studies suggest that drastic methods must be taken.

The big news coming out of last week’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Weight of the Nation conference in Washington, D.C., was a public health report that predicts that if Americans keep getting heavier at the current rate, 42 percent of the population will be obese by 2030. Childhood obesity in the U.S. has more than tripled in the last 30 years, according to the CDC, which states that in 2008, a third of U.S. children were overweight or obese. The percentage of children 6 to 11 defined as obese rose from 7 percent in 1980 to almost 20 percent in 2008 And, America’s obesity problem may hinder the number of organ donors. The pool of potential living kidney donors may be shrinking because of the national obesity "…

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Joe O'Donnell

11:49 am on Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Tobacco and alcohol are already taxed heavily, right? How much more egregious would this soda tax be? (I'm not asking sarcastically. I really want to know what people think.)   more ›

For Mother's Day, a Message to My Daughter

Local teen inspires me to think about Ava's future and what I hope she will come to understand.

Editor's note: This column originally ran on Patch on May 11, 2011. I struggled with a bad case of writer's block this week trying to come up with this column. Then I saw Sabrina Wu's video piece Tuesday morning profiling Marirose Weldon, a 15-year-old Hinsdale Central student early on the path to stardom, and I found my inspiration. At the age of 9, Marirose discovered the body of her mother after she had died in her sleep from an undiagnosed brain tumor. Marirose made the best of her tragic loss by channeling her energy into making music. Now she's being featured on Top 40 radio with not only one, but two songs. Marirose's career is taking off at such a young age and I find it to be overwhelmingly inspiring. Talk about overcoming …

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Jeff Ward: For Whom the Toll Bells

Now they're going to turn freeways into tollways! It's a socialist plot!

When former Metra Executive Director Phil Pagano absconded with half-a-million dollars and jumped in front of one of his own trains when he was cornered, I thought Patchland would sit up and take notice. When Metra was caught robbing its capital fund to pay operating expenses, an unsustainable practice that led to a 25 percent rate hike, I thought local folks would start scouring their garages for their torches and pitchforks. When, despite a lengthy history of financial shenanigans, the Illinois Tollway Authority doubled tolls, I thought my column on that topic would incite my Tea Party brethren and sistren into storming that Springfield castle. So, as you might imagine, I’ve been a wee bit disappointed that the best you all could muster …

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Mouse

4:40 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012

Paul C., I'll take that bet, but you can keep the overpriced coffee.   more ›

'Patch Perfect Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad' Coming to 60 Men Who Cook

Vote for Jon and me online, and come to the Kane County Fairgrounds on Friday for a an experience that will delight your senses.

I've always felt that my brother is a bit of a genius. Straight A's in his later college years (after he decided to get serious), degree in aeronautical engineering (he had a super-small role in the design of the DC-10), Jeopardy whiz, horse-racing handicapper (he's got a system) and ametuer golf course architect (he placed second in one of those golf magazine national contests.) He has my dad's ability to design things, build things and fix things. (If you drive through Geneva, you'll see a number of homes my dad built with his own hands.) He has my mom's keen intelligence and taste. But his real genius, in my humble opinion, is cooking. I've waxed poetic in a few of our "You Rate the Restaurant" stories about the artistry of great chefs…

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Paulette Delcourt: Real Estate Squatter Robin Owes Back Taxes (Maybe)

A quirky article, and some fuzzy feel good photos of baby animals means nobody will yell at me this week.

(Note: the following column contains significant amounts of hyperbole, outright fabrication and silliness, none of which we apologize for.) I found an unusually perfect bird’s nest in a planter on my front porch—the kind you could buy at Michael’s for $5.99. It wasn’t until I saw mud splatters around it that I realized the little mass of twigs was organic. The nest and its three perfect, blue eggs were too close to the house. We were one careless exit away from a twig omelet. The proximity unnerved us. My husband was convinced the protective momma would fly through our front door, dive-bomb the dog and strafe our hardwood floor with sticky white dappled droppings. My daughter was afraid of a Hitchcock-inspired ornithological attack. She …

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Paulette Delcourt

9:08 am on Sunday, May 20, 2012

Thanks--beautiful subjects!   more ›