2nd. Ward Alderman John Balen Dies

[winthropharborguy]

Show a little respect! He's not even buried yet!

My wife and mother in law are good friends of the Balens. My wife grew up a few houses away from them. Their families were very close. I have a feeling that if John could talk from the grave the first thing he would say would be "dammit Hyde - get my replacement in there!". That was the type of person John was. Always fighting, always working, all the way up til the end. My political leanings were much more to the right of his but you still have to respect him. He really was Waukegan and he loved that town.