The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Responsibilities Shape Us

by Dessa Rodeffer
Quill Editor/Publisher

22 March 2000

Leadership: we are about to select it this November but already candidates have been narrowed down to one or two picks. Only a select few made that selection for us.

I was reading in the Illinois State Bar Association Judicial Advisory Poll and found that a few of the candidates who were running for the prestigious position of Circuit Judge and Appellate Court Judge were not even recommended to us to vote for. Some scored as poorly as 21 points (out of 100) in their "Legal ability" and in "Meeting the Requirements for the office."

What a shame that more voters didn't take time to make sure unqualified people were not selected to run for office.

No wonder we find offices not up to high standards we think they should be, when we fail to select good leaders and lawmakers.

In one Judicial race in the 12th Circuit, I found a candidate for Judge rated with only a 12 for meeting the requirements for office, a 13 for temperament, 21 for legal ability, 23 for impartiality, and 25 for integrity. Her highest score was a 77 for having good health. Now that's pretty scary. Hopefully, she wasn't voted into office by the select few who went to the polls.

For the record, all the supreme court candidates in our 3rd district came recommended by the Illinois Bar Association.

Out of 802 ballots, Senator Carl E. Hawkinson (R) received the highest marks, but Judge William E. Holdridge (R) was not too far behind.

Tom Kilbride (D) was third but received a high mark in Sensitivity to Diversity and Bias (90.85).

The quote for the day from my daily calendar says:

"The difference between a politician and a true leader: a politician thinks of the next election and a true leader thinks of the next generation."

It's up to us to get involved enough to find out who truly are the good leaders:

:who are truly interested in running good ships....

:who are truly thinking of our future and the next generation,

:who are not just lining their own pocketbooks.

To be an informed voter it takes some reading, some asking questions, some traveling to see candidates in action.

Attend public events. Put candidates to the test. Attend board meetings, ask questions. Tell your neighbors, bring your neighbors. Encourage others to do the same.

As we look for good leaders to select in November, be a good leader yourself in your home. Encourage participation and selection of those who govern us.

Enough about the 21 percent voter turnout at the polls.

As I was thinking what I would write about for this week's editorial I was staring at two pictures I had chosen for my office walls.

They are:

#1: "LEADERSHIP

Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage."

#2: "Do not pray for an easy life.

Pray to be a strong person."

That gives us something to think about, doesn't it. It would be so much easier to pray for an easy life with lots of money to go with it.]

But it seems that easy lives and lots of money does not build good character, but many times does just the opposite.

Life is full of rocks to stumble on, mountains to climb, obstacles to overcome.

But it is these types of things that shape us and mold us into hard working individuals.

It's not until we face a hard challenge that we develope our skills, many of which we didn't even know we possessed.

As a young married wife, challenges were all around me, as a mother of six, I felt untrained, as a newspaper publisher, the jobs were unreal, when my friend left me her job as choir director, I thought I couldn't possibly do it, but I did.

And now, of course, I have the challenge of taking care of my wonderful mother.

I know I will stretch and grow because of each challenge.

Am I praying to be a strong person? You bet I am. Am I praying someone will take this challenge from me and give me an easier life? You bet I'm not.

If we hand all of our challenges over to someone else, think of what we would be missing, and what we might become instead.

It's pathetic, isn't it. Just pathetic!