Potent Quotables: Goats, Parks, Planning, Taxes

"Goats don't move quietly ... Goats are really, really noisy all of the time. They are very vociferous about everything that you do or want to do or think about doing with them." Dr. Colleen O'Keefe, IDOA division manager for food safety and animal protection, on the mysterious pile of goat carcasses in Will County. [S-T]

"It's hard to believe...the Department of Defense didn't have a backup plan. It seems they dropped the ball a little bit." Bret Rumbeck, press secretary for Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif, on the DoD's apparent inability to get soldiers home from the Persian Gulf. FedEx has a contract with the US Transportation Command to fly soldiers home, and they subcontracted that to ATA. But then FedEx canceled ATA's military charter business, and now everyone is grouchy. [Trib]

"No PSLs [personal seat licenses] . . . No sales tax. No amusement tax. No McCormick Place [restaurant] tax. No taxes of any kind. I know that will disappoint the Sun-Times editorial board. But it's the best I can do." Jim Thompson on his apparently magical plan to have the state buy Wrigley without tax money. [S-T]

"The work will include grading of the site and removal of the existing artificial turf. New artificial turf will be installed and surrounded by a concrete curb, better equipping the range for year-round use." The Park District press release on the Diversey driving range. The release doesn't mention that the new turf isn't just replacing the old. It's also going to replace 354,697 square feet of grass. [Park District, Crain's]

Wrigley photo by Joshua Mellin