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Toys for the LSSI kids, a final plea and a vote

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* For the past several years, Becky Carroll has brought a load of toys to my annual City Club “Christmas with Rich Miller” speech to donate to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois. She’s never once asked me to publicly thank her. She does it because she wants to help the kids.

Since I didn’t do the City Club event this year, Becky asked me for a contact person at LSSI so she could donate toys again. She delivered 40 toys and games to LSSI a few days ago.

I neglected to ask Becky to take some pictures of the toys, so I reached out to Joy Medrano at LSSI to see if she had any photographs.

Email from Joy…

Hi Rich-

Sorry for the delay in my response. Here is a small sample of what Becky sent.

I gave quite a few toys away to children at our Visits to Mom party this past Saturday. The Visits program enables children and their care givers to visit their mothers who are incarcerated. The kids were so excited to receive the toys.

This current batch will be going to our Intact South Program. Thankful to both you and Becky for this incredible gift!

More on LSSI’s Intact program is here. Info on Visit to Mom is here.

And here’s one of Joy’s pics…

Thanks, Becky!

* As I write this, we have raised $8,250 for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, most of it donated in a single day. That’s far more than we ever raised at any of my City Club events.

How about we try to reach $9,000 (or even $10k) by this Friday? Let’s help this group. And, remember, we’re doing this in honor of the late Wordslinger, a proud Lutheran who was profoundly disturbed by what happened to social service providers like LSSI during the impasse.

Please, click here. Thanks!

* Speaking of our late commenter, the Wordslinger Golden Horseshoe Award for Best CapitolFax.com Commenter would normally be given this Friday, the last day the blog will be open before Christmas. I’ve been wondering what we should do about it. Should we just give it to Wordslinger in his memory? Or should we open it up to all commenters?

Vote here and debate in comments…

find bike trails

Thanks and don’t forget to contribute.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:12 pm

Comments

So you’re gonna give Vince Lombardi the Lombardi trophy? I don’t see the sense in giving somebody an award that was already named in their honor.

Comment by Excessively Rabid Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:29 pm
Voted to give the award to Wordslinger in his memory. There will never be another one like him.

Comment by Grandson of Man Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:34 pm
===So you’re gonna give Vince Lombardi the Lombardi trophy?===

Your analogy skills are super weak, dude. You have to win a Super Bowl to get the Lombardi trophy. Lombardi is dead, so he can’t win that trophy. This award is for the best commenter of the year, and Wordslinger was a commenter before he passed away this summer. So, he’s eligible to win.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:35 pm
To the question,

What makes Rich’s blog so great, unique, special, is that Rich allows folks to comment and the commenters here, they are the cream of the cream, the best of the best.

First “Bill”, we lost Bill and he was fun and witty and made you think, even when you were in on the joke. It was a big loss here. His ways are still treasured.

Schnorf. Probably the most well-rounded of all commenters, serving multiple administrations, understood policy, politics, the history of both and was the voice here to governing within the doable, and doing what’s right within the politics and what was best for Illinois. A giant. His loss left a big hole.

Jon Bauman. Wordslinger himself told us what he meant to him. “This one really hit me like a load of bricks. I didn’t see it coming, and have been pretty emotional and processing it all day long. It feels like losing JBT and Schnorf. Real, Main Street, Republican, public servant, conservatives, in a time when we all need them so much. I didn’t know Jon, but I knew AA. AA was my great friend on this blog, ever since I got here. He was like my big brother.”

I think of Wordslinger often, if often is daily. What would he say about this, or that, what quip or slice would he say there.

Wordslinger is unmatched.

This year, it should go to Wordslinger. There shouldn’t be a debate, but I’m glad Rich posed the question to have this discussion.

What warms me with this is I do still read Wordslinger, both looking back at his own words, but I read him in so many here, it’s as though his imprint can’t be ignored, but it’s not a shadow, but sunshine, highlighting the best in him.

I read his heart in Honeybear

I read his quips with Michelle Flaherty

I read his pithy snark with @MisterJayEm

I read his realist knowledge of politics and policy with 47th Ward

I read commitment to knowledge and truth with RNUG

I read his compassion with Soccermom

I read his lack of patience of fools with Rich.

Wordslinger is everywhere here, not just in those above but in how we argue, call each other out, laugh, even gallows humor.

This award this year is Wordslinger’s. I’m especially grateful to Rich to be so smart and forward thinking that the award being named FOR him was done before, because he deserved to know that he was the measure, he was the standard we all still try to meet.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:36 pm
Whether a person agreed or disagreed with Wordslinger, his comments made sense, brought insight, always hit the nail on the head, and sometimes even brought calm to a testy conversation. For 2019, I would vote to give it to Wordslinger even though he parted us far to soon.

Comment by Downstate Dem Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:41 pm
Sadly, we will never have another year where Wordslinger would eligible for the award. Honoring him to end the year on a heartfelt note seems appropriate.

Comment by Red Raider Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:41 pm
Five months of wordslinger comments easily beat 12 months of anyone else’s comments. Word for the win.

Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:52 pm
Wordslinger’s absence is keenly felt. There are lots of good commenters, but comments haven’t been the same since we lost him. He should get the award.

Comment by Moe Berg Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 2:54 pm
I was going to vote ‘open it up’ in the vain hope that I might win and receive the gift of the Rich Miller Complete Unabridged Dictionary of Banned Words and Phrases, but I have to much respect for Word and his contributions to this blog. Word can say more in a few posts than most of us can say in a few years worth of posts.

Give it to Wordslinger.

Comment by Tommydanger Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:00 pm
I say you do both kinda.

Give Word the Immortal Golden Horseshoe or something for his contribution to this blog.

Then give the Golden Horseshoe for Commenter of the Year

THEN maybe the Golden Horseshoe for Commenter of the Decade

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:10 pm
What Willy said.

Comment by LakeviewJ Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:11 pm
Oh oh, I think OW is on to something. A memorial post at the end of the decade would be really meaningful. We’ve lost some really important people recently and it would be great to memorialize that. Sorry Rich, I just made work for you but remembering the lessons from a life are something I find meaningful. I’d like that boost going into the next decade.

Comment by Honeybear Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:16 pm
Tony Gwynn won Batting Title even though a little short on plate appearances - cause woulda won anyway and White Sox’ own Frank Thomas got MVP even though Season cut short. So gotta say Wordslinger.

Comment by Red Ketcher Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:27 pm
My vote goes to Emma Oxnevad, who wrote the most authentic comments of the year, by far.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:27 pm
All in on giving it to Word in memoriam.

Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:28 pm
Do both like Honeybear said.

Comment by pool boy Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:39 pm
As someone who went through the PAR (public affairs reporting) program with Wordslinger, I would make a motion that there be unanimous support for Wordslinger on this question. Rest in peace and thanks for all the great, witty writing.

Comment by Porter McNeil Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:46 pm
Easiest vote I’ll take in the next year. Wordslinger RIP.

Comment by ChicagoBars Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 3:59 pm
I voted to give it to Wordslinger, and just want to say what an eloquent, thoughtful, and beautiful note that was Willy.

Comment by perrier Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 4:56 pm
As a a politically aware individual who is retired and living in the boonies, many worthy categories have little meaning to me. This category is one that I do take seriously and one on which I always nominate. This year is especially difficult because Wordslinger and AA are no longer a part of this community.

Willy is correct about the quality on this site. I came on here after “Bill”, but but did come to know and respect Steve Schnorf. AA and I had our concurrent times at the UIUC in common as well as a passion for our Alma Mater. I am constantly reminded of how cogent and concise his comments always were.

But Willy is right - there is a little bit of Word in everyone ( well, almost ) who takes an interest and the time to make us all better informed citizens. And, maybe even my infrequent remarks on those rare occasions the someone else does not beat me to it.

And I agree with Rich - it would be great if that donation to LSSI could continue to grow in memory of Wordslinger,

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 7:20 pm
Sorry, Anonymous @7:20 was me,

Comment by illini Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 7:21 pm
I voted to give the 2019 Wordslinger Award to Wordslinger, it was well deserved … in fact, I think there would have come a time when Word would have had to bow out of the competition altogether, because no one could really compete. Knowledge, wit, a master’s way with words and a moral compass that kept him on point, all the time.

AA and Word were two of my favorite commenters here. They are profoundly missed.

Comment by dbk Tuesday, Dec 17, 19 @ 11:45 pm
I get the Wordslinger idea, but I just have to write that Oswego Willy was on fire this year and that should be noted.

Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Dec 18, 19 @ 12:09 am