Chief Who?
I've seen posts on many other blogs about the mascot for the Fighting Illini being retired. Frankly, I don't care. Why don't I care? Mostly, because my school's mascot is not the least bit offensive, and this year, my mascot's basketball team will kick your basketball team's ass!
I'm talking about the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Saluki!
SIU is the only school in America to use a Saluki dog mascot. The Saluki basketball team finished first in the regular season in the Missouri Valley Conference, and they're currently ranked 11th in the entire nation. Woohoo!
While we're on the subject of Carbondale; Sheila Simon finished first in their primary for Mayor, ahead of current Mayor Brad Cole. Cole is considered an up and comer in the Illinois Republican party, so this is a race with statewide implications.
When Sheila, daughter of the late Senator Paul Simon, spoke in Springfield last year, she didn't sound interested in running for anything other than local office in Carbondale, but there are a lot of people like me who would be happy if she changed her mind in the future.
I often say that the easiest way to win a statewide general election in Illinois is to be a liberal from downstate. Being liberal ensures you don't lose the Chicago vote and being from downstate provides a base of support in the part of Illinois where most of the moderate swing voters live.