A while back, scrolling through an online discussion of “what Belvidere needs,” amongst the calls for a pool and fancy restaurants was the comment: “A vision.” I agree. If we keep focusing on the problems immediately before us without an idea of the goal we’re working towards, we’ll never get anywhere. I don’t think it’s too much to ask our local leaders to share their vision for Belvidere, so I wrote mine down.

If you're a 21st century parent, you know it's less safe for kids to just play outside than it was for us when we were kids. In 2009 parents in Bristol, England decided that they didn't have to just accept this as a casualty of the modern world.

I think it’s plain that our American idea of infinite growth and progress is hitting its upper limits. Late stage capitalism with extreme wealth disparity. At a crucial tipping point environmentally and running the other way. Our already ineffective governments are being cannibalized. There’s no more graph up and to the right.

Folks are celebrating Stellantis’s most recent announcement to reopen the Belvidere Assembly - and I’m glad to hear it too. Regardless of the type of vehicle produced at the plant, having those union jobs back in Belvidere is a great thing. However, as someone who celebrated a similar win back in November 2023 can attest - it’s not over till the cars roll off the line.

Have you ever been working on a problem - one that really is stumping you? Maybe it’s something you’re really good at - something you do professionally - and you’re sharing your problem with someone and they say “Why don’t you just…?” Most of the time what comes next is something you’ve already tried and ruled out. A helpful phrase I picked up a while back goes “If your suggestion starts with ‘Why don’t you just…’ - then you probably don’t understand the problem.” Of course this isn’t always true - maybe you missed something that this other person sees - but usually you’ve already considered the problem more deeply than others. You know the problem requires a more complex solution.