Thoughts and squawks about people, places and things in and around Des Plaines...

Word is now that the new downtown four-story, 400-plus car parking garage, behind the Des Plaines Theater, will officially open today (Wednesday) or Thursday. Last week, city officials were targeting Monday morning, Jan. 17 as the official opening day. However, a few more odds and ends remain to be ironed-out before the public can use the facility. No dedication of the garage will take place. There will be a dedication of the new 42,000 sq. ft. food store that will open just a few feet north of the deck, probably this coming spring...

Here's an interesting tidbit we wanted to pass along after it first was reported last week in our sister publication, the Park Ridge Journal. In November, when the Maine South varsity football team was bussed to the University of Illinois stadium in Champaign to play in the Class 8A championship game, members somehow forgot to bring along all the necessary kicking tees and footballs used during warmups. It was too late to turn the bus around. So what did they do? They called the police department for backup. An unmarked police car loaded up the equipment and drove the 135 miles south to make the delivery. It then turned around and headed back for Park Ridge.

Last week, after hearing that the Illinois Senate had voted in favor of gay rights legislation after a decade of indecision, we contacted State Sen. Dave Sullivan (R-33d) of Park Ridge to see how he voted. As Sullivan told us, he didn't vote, not because he didn't want to but because he was on an airplane returning from Ireland where he celebrated his 40th birthday. He explained that he was surprised that the legislation was even brought up.

"It was a great birthday present that my wife planned for me," said Sullivan explaining that he spent 10 days on the Emerald Isle. He did not say how he would have voted if he had not gone to Ireland...

Des Plaines city leaders are in the process of exploring going into the billboard business much in the same fashion Rosemont has been doing for years.

Behind closed doors, officials have been discussing inking a deal with a private billboard company to allow it to erect one or more large advertising signs on city-owned property. If such an agreement can be developed, the city will generate money from the leasing of its property where the signs would be located.

In Rosemont, the arrangement is a little different. Rosemont not only owns the land where the billboards are located, but the signs themselves. The village has hired media giant Viacom to maintain the signs which overall generates well over $1 million a year for Rosemont.

A "couple of spots" have been identified in Des Plaines where a sign or two can be erected. Those spots are in the vicinity of Mannheim and Higgins roads. Nothing's been finalized yet.