‘Roads to nowhere??’ My first encounter with Sen. Kirk Dillard

(Editor’s Note:  I noticed today that state Sen. Kirk Dillard announced that he will run for governor in Illinois next year.  Back in 2006 I read as story where Sen. Dillard made a remark about funding for Southern Illinois highways and referred to them as ‘roads to nowhere.’  At the time I was a columnist for the Southern Illinoisan and fired off a column taking the Senator to task while asking for an apology. I didn’t expect I’d get one.  Nevertheless, it was the kind of moment a columnist lives for and I relished the opportunity.    Two days later Dillard called me and apologized for the comment and then wrote a letter to the editor at the SI and apologized (again) to the folks in Southern Illinois.  I felt it was a classy thing to do, something he clearly didn’t have to do, and I have had a high opinion of him since.  We’ve crossed paths a couple times since the incident and always share a laugh about it.  I believe Dillard is a good man and I am glad to see him in the race.  Illinois certainly needs some good, solid leadership.  I hope you enjoy this column that ran in the Southern Illinoisan on May 6, 2006.)

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Memo to Sen. Kirk Dillard:

Good morning Senator and greetings from beautiful Southern Illinois.

You’re probably wondering why a small town, ink-stained wretch like me is writing to a well-known Chicago-area state senator like yourself. Well, it seems to me you have your foot wedged in your mouth and I want to give you an opportunity to pull it out. I also hope that you’ll overlook the fact that I’m not one of your constituents from DuPage County and read through this memo.

My concerns are about a comment you made in a story in the Chicago Tribune. I’m certain you’re quoted often on a variety of subjects, so let me refresh your memory. The story involved a proposed lease on the Illinois Tollway to a private company and detailed how you and fellow Republican, Sen. Peter Roskam, drafted legislation that would require two-thirds of the lease price – estimated to be more than $14 billion – go to projects that benefited counties the tollway crossed through.

The story went on to say that you felt Gov. Rod Blagojevich must be watched closely about how the revenue from the proposed lease is spent. Well, I certainly can’t fault you in keeping one eye on the Guv, but in all honesty your quote caused the hair on the back of my neck to stand up.

The quote reads like this:

“I just want to make sure they (Blagojevich and Democrats) don’t raid a suburban asset to bail out the Chicago Public Schools or to give even more money to Downstate roads that lead to nowhere.”

Roads that lead to nowhere?

With all due respect, Senator, I beg your pardon.

Truthfully, after reading that statement my first thought was to call you on the phone and give you a piece of my mind. But, my good Southern Illinois upbringing made me realize that it would be impolite to take out my anger on a person who is obviously ill-advised, misinformed and uneducated about Southern Illinois.

So, instead of spewing out a few expletives I decided to take you on a tour of Southern Illinois. And let’s begin with a little geography lesson, all right? You should understand that Southern Illinois is not, let me repeat ‘not’ everything south of Peoria, so for arguments sake, I’m referring to the bottom (that’s Southern Illinois lingo for southern) 20 counties in the state.

Obviously the scenic roads here in Southern Illinois are too many to name, but let me tell you about some of the beautiful places those roads that you say go nowhere, will actually lead you.

In fact Senator, it would be to your advantage to take a few days off from the northern Illinois rat race and travel roads that lead to Giant City State Park, Rim Rock, Pounds Hollow Lake, Cache River Refuge, Lusk Creek, One Horse Gap, Burden Falls, Glenn O. Jones Lake, Garden of the Gods, Shawnee National Forest, Rend Lake or any of two dozen wineries.

We also have roads that lead to Trail of Tears State Forest and Park, Bald Knob Cross, Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, Fort Massac State Park, Dolan’s Lake, Ferne Cliff State Park, Trigg Tower, Inspiration Point and the Southern Illinois Wine Trails.

While there are a gazillion roads in Southern Illinois that lead to beautiful and historic places let me explain the one thing about your comment that ticked me off the most, Senator.

You see, there are roads all over Southern Illinois that lead to small communities like Dowell, Vergennes, Makanda, Elkville, Royalton, Orient, Hurst, Buckner, Percy, Dubois, Macedonia, Simpson, Muddy, Raleigh, Tamaroa and Valier. And the roads to these communities, roads to nowhere as you called them, lead to good, honest, hard-working folks that go to work every day, pay their bills and stand amazed at the shenanigans we see from our elected officials in Springfield. You should also understand that these folks would not consider living anywhere else but right here in Southern Illinois.

I applaud you efforts to keep a close eye on how the revenue from the proposed tollway lease will be spent but you certainly erred in trying to toss out a clever quote at the expense of those of us here in Southern Illinois. In truth, your comments showed just how little you know about Illinois because all roads in Southern Illinois lead to the most beautiful, picturesque God’s country in the state.

In short Senator, I believe you owe the good folks in Southern Illinois an apology and I’ll be anxiously waiting for that to happen. And if you ever want to visit Southern Illinois and take a tour on all our roads that definitely lead to ‘somewhere’ give me a call. We’ll hit the ‘road’ and make our first stop Blake Burton’s Restaurant in Whittington where we’ll have a piece of white pie. I guarantee it’s better than any piece of pie you can buy in DuPage County. And it’s my treat of course.

And oh, by the way, if you really want to look for a ‘road to nowhere’ you might want to look a little closer to home and consider Waveland Avenue – you know … the road that leads directly to Wrigley Field. The way the Cubs are playing these days, now there’s a road that leads to ‘nowhere.’

Best wishes,

Jim