Schweighart at odds with citizen wishes

Last month something unfortunate happened to my hometown. Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart won re-election with no opposition. In a city filled with leaders in business, medicine and education, no one stepped up to oppose him and a man who has repeatedly demonstrated his lack of regard for what the citizens of Champaign want was given a free pass.

The mayor demonstrated what he intends to do with that power last week when he helped overturn a smoking ban the majority of Champaign residents favored. He wasted the city council's time and taxpayer money to overturn the ban until Jan. 1, 2008, when he will no longer have any say in the matter. Apparently suffering a life-threatening smoking-related illness didn't change his mind about smoking.