mikebfull Mike Bailey
       "Nobody ever died wishing they had spent
         more time at work."
Mike Bailey is a career journalist, ending a 37-year career at the Courier News where he was Managing Editor for 15 years. Bailey wrote about 1,500 columns titled "Reporter's Notebook" which won numerous awards from the Associated Press, Northern Illinois Newspapers Association, The Illinois Press Association and many others. He has been retired for the past 3 years which he enjoys immensely because, as he puts it, "every day is Saturday." He is contract writer and newspaper consultant through his business Ghostwriter Media. Do not judge him solely by his hat. Reach him at mike@bocajump.com or mike.latenite@gmail.com

Columnists/Mike Bailey


Young people would give Elgin the vibrancy it sorely needs

Universities conduct studies and urban planners attend seminars to determine what makes a city vibrant. Vibrancy is hard to quantify and harder to define; you know it when you see it. Vibrancy is an energy, a sense of purpose that pulsates through the community and, in many successful cities, through the central business district. Vibrancy is a quiet energy, a drive, a feeling of impending success. It is an expectation of excellence that one contributes to and benefits from. The secret that all urban planners seek and for which consultants are paid millions is not a complex algorithms or delicate balance of socio-economic factors. It is not more parking decks or condominiums. It is not pedestrian malls, covered malls, mini-malls, enclosed walkways, better lighting, dollar days, more fairs and festivals, brick paved crosswalks or tax incremental financing districts. It is youth. Young people. People who have hope and expectations and embrace hard work and the rewards they believe should come with it. Young families, young college students, young businessmen. Young people bring vibrancy. I came to this simple but somewhat astounding conclusion as I sat in a coffee shop in Columbia, Mo., home of the University of Missouri, a city… Full Story

The commencement speech I've never given

I've never been asked to speak at a graduation ceremony. If I were, I might say some things that were not expected, like the following:

1). In the business world, no one cares about your GPA (grade point average). It was of vital importance to you for so long this seems like an impossibility. The known universe revolves around that GPA, right? Wrong. It may help you get into a better college and it may help you get or keep your scholarship, but when you walk into an employer's interview, it will never come up. Don't bother to put it on your resume. It won't help.

2). For the most part, graduate school is a waste of time and money. If anything, it can actually hurt you in some cases. Don't assume that a Master's degree will automatically push your resume to the top of the pile. Real world experience is better than an advanced degree. How can it hurt you? First, if an employer assumes you will bolt for a better job the first chance you get he will pass on you. Second, some people are book smart and street stupid. If you interview like you are… Full Story

Downtown Elgin an example of what happens when municipalities, not businesses, make development decisions

Elgin City Councilman Richard Dunne voted against the location of two churches in the central business district, because churches generate no tax income for a city sorely in need of it. He is right. Mayor David Kaptain supported the churches because while they are tax exempt, in one case, it was best for the neighborhood. He is also right. And so goes the dilemma of what downtown Elgin should ultimately be. Each decision affects all of the ones to come. Disputes over non-profits and non-taxpaying bodies which occupy prime retail or development space is not new. In the 1980s, the city council was treated to a 30-page treatise, read to them word for word during a committee of the whole meeting about the inequity of charging downtown businessmen more for improvements when the area was replete with non-taxable entities. Elgin was once known as the city of churches because of the large number of houses of worship here, which embraced just about every conceivable belief. In fact, splinter groups formed their own churches and met in homes, storefronts, factories and just about any location where space could be located. But this latest dispute is a new development and spotlights the… Full Story







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