Eye On Illinois: If we get a new state flag, who pays to replace the old ones?

I always appreciate a reader who finds a new angle on a topic.

Responding to a June 8 column about Senate Bill 1818, which would create a commission to consider new state flag designs, GJ writes: “The only ones who will benefit are flag makers. With more than 7,000 units of local government and thousands of others having to replace their flags of all sizes, many with ceremonial fringe costing more than $100 each. And left holding the tab for more most of the new flags will be taxpayers.”

LONG TIME COMING: Gov. JB Pritzker signed dozens of bills into law recently. One worthy of note is House Bill 3680. State Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, filed the bill Feb. 17.

Benton said the law requires that any individualized education plan includes information on accommodations for emergency situations at schools. Benton has been to IEP meetings as a parent and said “it really upset me when I heard from advocates and constituents that kids with disabilities often aren’t prioritized when an emergency happens at their school. I even heard stories of vulnerable students being forgotten or helped last, and that’s when I knew I had a responsibility to step up.”

IEP parents have long wondered if their students’ needs are properly addressed during things like fire drills or lockdowns. These plans must account for physical mobility, effective communication, stress, sensory overloads and more.

Clearly we all hope these situations never present beyond a training exercise, but if tragedy actually strikes this advance work could save lives and reduce additional trauma.

ON THIS DAY: Two accomplished Illinoisans were born this day in Jacksonville. Born in 1918, Edward Giller was a decorated fighter pilot who rose to the rank of major general in the U.S. Air Force, landing influential roles in the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the Air force Special Weapons Center and Project Orion. One year older was the writer J.F. Powers. He won the prestigious National Book Award for Fiction in 1963 for his novel “Morte d’Urban,” which, like most of his novels and short stories, examined with humor and faith the post-war lives of American Catholics, notably priests.

Consider reading a 2009 Portland magazine essay by one of Powers’ students, John Rosengren (johnrosengren.net/powers) who reflected on the author’s life, work and philosophy.

“He admitted to me that he didn’t enjoy going to Mass,” Rosengren wrote, setting up a quote from his mentor: “I figure you have to make a bet,” Powers said. “You can’t go to the horse races and not make a bet. You can’t go through this life and just be a spectator without ever laying it on the line. I’m betting on God to win, not to show.”

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.