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| A Topinka item with no purpose? How appropo! |
Yet
the item that amuses me the most is a glass dish with lid that I have kept on
whatever desk I have worked at since back when I was a Statehouse reporter-type
person in Springfield.
THE
DISH WOULD be ordinary glass, not even tinted any particular color. But it has
embossed on its lid the Illinois State Seal and the name of Judy Baar Topinka –
who back then was the state treasurer.
I
remember Topinka herself giving me the dish, while also concocting a tale about
the many different uses one could put the dish to. Which makes me suspect it’s
really just a less-than-tacky little trinket that serves no real purpose.
I
also recall the reason she felt compelled to give me the dish was that one of
her aides saw all the political junk I had accumulated, and he was offended
that Topinka’s persona was NOT represented amongst the mess.
Including
Judy in the mess was something he thought she would appreciate.
ALL
OF THIS popped into my mind when I learned how Topinka’s family held an estatesale this past weekend; allowing people into her cluttered home in suburban
Riverside to give them a chance to find themselves a great bargain on some item
they could use for themselves.
Considering
that I remember Topinka herself occasionally talking of how she’d shop at
second-hand stores and at estate sales, I suspect she’d find it totally
appropriate that her possessions were disposed of in such a manner.
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| Just a few of the items for sale this weekend |
I
didn’t make it out to Riverside – heck, I already have my Topinka-related
possession (which for all I know will wind up at an estate sale hopefully to be
held decades from now once I pass on). Although I saw the description on
estatesales.net and the photographs of the merchandise that make it clear a
lifetime’s worth of possessions were being unloaded.
It
looks like the ultimate garage sale was held Thursday through Saturday in
Riverside. The perfect place for Topinka-type people to spend an afternoon
rummaging for that item they absolutely had to own.
NOT
THAT I would expect anything of significant value was for sale. For one thing,
Topinka held an estate sale of some of her possessions back in 2007.
The
listing back then said much political memorabilia (including autographed
photographs of her with assorted politicos) was up for sale, with some of the
proceeds given back to the Republican Party that she was a loyal member of for
so long – even though she could also get along with Democrats.
Which
make me think that our state would be so better off these days if we hadn’t
lost Topinka back in December when she passed away just after Election Day but
before she could begin serving the new four-year term as comptroller to which
she had been re-elected.
Thinking
of Topinka and her junk makes me wonder how she’d be reacting to the stalemate
taking place these days between Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic leaders of
the General Assembly in putting together a budget for the soon-to-be current
fiscal year.
I
HAVE NO doubt she’d be criticizing Mike Madigan and John Cullerton for their
actions – she was a GOPer, after all. But I also have no doubt she would be
appalled by the childlike tantrums being thrown by government officials of all
political persuasions these days.
I
don’t think she would have had that same press conference that current
Comptroller Leslie Munger held to blame Madigan and Cullerton for the pending government
shutdown (only 16 days ‘til July 1). She would have been trying to find that
middle ground that would prevent a shutdown from being necessary.
And
she’d probably be the one who – in private – would tell Rauner in rather blunt
language what a knucklehead he’s behaving like and how quickly all of this
could turn the people of Illinois against him if he lets his partisan desires
to whack at the labor unions prevent state government from fulfilling its obligations
to the people.
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