Saturday, December 10, 2016

December 10, 2010 -- Hey, Neighbors -- Drop that Suit



December 10, 2010 – Following a federal judge’s refusal to close Chicago’s locks as a result of an emergency suit five Great Lakes states have filed out of concern over Asian carp, the Chicago Tribune offers this opinion, “We hope this ruling . . . will persuade our Midwestern neighbors to abandon their money-wasting, finger-pointing lawsuit.  It isn’t helping anything.”  [Chicago Tribune, December 10, 2010]  The paper concedes that the fish do pose a threat although there is little evidence that they have made it close to the lake – or that they even want to head there.  Yet, the editorial states, “The consequences of closing the locks, meanwhile, would be devastating and immediate.  More than $29 billion in goods move through the locks each year on barges.  Tour boats and recreational boaters also pass through on their way to and from the lake . . . Nobody on this side of the locks wants the carp to get into Lake Michigan, either.  Illinois has spent more than $13 million to keep them out, not counting the resources wasted on this ridiculous legal fight.  We’re all in the same boat, neighbors.  Drop that suit.”

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