Unfunded Mandates Suddenly OK with Chicago Tribune

I must admit that I had not figured out that Crystal Lake High School District 155 was one of the districts that got an exemption from the new law requiring six hours of behind the wheel driver education.

Tuesday's lead editorial in the Chicago Tribune informed me of that fact.

Every year school districts get the chance to ask for exemptions from state mandates imposed upon them by the legislature or the state board of education.

This past year a couple of school districts targeted the behind the wheel mandate.

The Tribune said the schools' officials “went whining to Springfield.”

The General Assembly never got around to voting on whether that was wise or not.

Add it to the list of things the General Assembly hasn't gotten around to.

The Tribune does not mention that Operation Click (first called “Operation Cool”) started in District 155.

Its editorial is an attempt to make it sound like the listed school districts have no interest in traffic safety.

A bit over the top on the Tribune's part, I would say.

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You can see 2007 winner Kate McNamee getting out of her new car, donated by Crystal Lake Pontiac dealer Sam Oginni. High school students are encouraged to buckle their seat belts through positive re-enforcement. I wrote this article in February, 2007, after the horrendous Oswego crash. You can see how Operation Click has changed teenage driving habits since its initiation in 1998.

Published first on McHenry County Blog.