Here’s news that will make you give up that double mocha latte for breakfast: We’re getting fatter in Illinois.

According to the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, obesity is growing at an alarming rate right here in our state.

By their estimate, 43 percent of adults in Illinois will be obese by 2018, up from 31 percent only last year.

At that rate 103 percent of the people in the Land of Lincoln will be overweight by the year 2063. Imagine that: 103 percent! That’s everybody, and then some.

Wheww! I’ll be gone by 2055 so at least I’ve got a chance. (I always said I wasn’t lucky enough to get to 100.)

I don’t put too much stock in percentages – especially ones that put too much stock in my own stockiness.

However, I do look in the mirror every day and conclude that I’m not much better than the 31 percent now running around Illinois (or at least walking slowly) with too much weight.

It could be worse, though. If I lived in the most blubbery state, Oklahoma, I’d be among the 56 percent too fat by 2018. I’d have to consider moving to the thinnest state, Colorado, where only 30 percent of the people will be obese by 2018. What do they do in the Rockies? Drink Coors instead of Bud?

This is certainly an eye-opening study and it basically tells me something I already knew: If you’re not responsible enough to take care of yourself, you’ll only have yourself to blame when the end arrives.

In 2055, 2063 — or 2010.

Here is an interesting article sent to me by the Better Business Bureau.

I routinely get calls from people wanting to tell me about getting scammed and what follows is a perfect example of why most of these come-ons are obvious on the surface. Unfortunately technology is making it harder to tell what’s phony and what’s not.

I always tell people to call the police and if there is a rash of these things happening the police will generally tell us. There are so many people trying to take advantage of each other out there that it’s hard to report them all.

FROM THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU:

ST. LOUIS - When the St. Louis Science Center received a letter claiming that someone there had won $85,000 in the Super 7 Canadian lottery, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the mailing was a scam.

Not only was the notice sent to 5050 Oakland Ave., the Science Center’s address, but museum personnel took note of the name of the supposed winner printed on the outside of the envelope: John Doe.

“The red flags went up immediately,” said Tom Jaskiewicz, chief financial officer of the Science Center, who instructed that his staff contact the Better Business Bureau about the mailing. “We thought this is awful, absolutely ridiculous,” Jaskiewicz said. “Obviously, we caught this, but older folks who get something like this at their homes may think, ‘Oh, my goodness, this is legitimate.’ We don’t want that to happen.”

Nearly every day, the BBB receives inquiries about similar schemes in which consumers are targeted in lottery or other fake check scams. Typically, a consumer receives notice that he or she has unclaimed money or lottery winnings. Often, the mailing is accompanied by an official-looking check. The notice instructs the recipient to send a wire transfer, sometimes for thousands of dollars, to cover taxes and handling fees.

By the time the recipient learns the mailing is a scam and the check a fake, his or her money is long gone.

In the case of the Science Center lottery notice, the mailer sent “John Doe” a bogus check for $4,885 (a portion of his “winnings”) and asked him to send a MoneyGram or Western Union cash transfer to Canada to cover “applicable government taxes” on the winnings.

When a BBB investigator called a phone number in the letter, a recording responded, “Sorry, there’s no more room to record new messages.”

Michelle L. Corey, president and CEO of the BBB, said that advances in printing technology have made it difficult to tell the difference between real and fake checks. If the recipient of a mailed check is asked to return a portion of the money via some form of wire transfer, the notice is almost certainly a scam, she said.

“It can be practically impossible to tell a fake check from a real one using only the naked eye, because fake checks can be printed in full color and even include watermarks,” Corey said.

The Consumer Federation of America estimates that 1/3 of all adults have been approached by a thief trying to pass off fake checks or money orders. At least 1.3 million people have been victimized by the scams, losing an average of $3,000 to $4,000 each. Corey said many of the schemes are the work of thieves operating in Canada, Jamaica or Africa, which makes it difficult for law enforcement to track them down.

The same day the BBB learned of the bogus lottery mailing to the Science Center, a Florissant woman reported that she had received notice that she had won $65,000 in a “Readers Digest Sweepstake.” In addition to a letter informing her of her good fortune, she received a genuine-looking check for $3,055. All she had to do to claim her winnings was send payment, in the same $3,055 amount, to an address in Quebec.

The woman said she initially was excited at the prospect of the windfall. “I thought it could be. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.” Still, she said, she decided to contact the BBB who warned her against following up on the notice.

The BBB received a copy of yet a third fake check last week - this one sent to a consumer in Collinsville, as part of a bogus “mystery shopper” job. That check was for nearly $4,000 and the offer asked that the consumer send MoneyGrams totaling more than $3,000 to an address in London, England.

In addition to lottery and mystery shopper scams, consumers also are victimized by so-called “overpayment scams.” In those cases, consumers selling items through a newspaper classified ad or an online site like Craigslist are contacted by “buyers” who ask to pay by check. But when the buyers send checks for more than the agreed-upon purchase price, they ask that the sellers wire back the amount of the overpayment. The original check, of course, is fake and the consumers are out their money and, potentially, the item they had advertised for sale.

The BBB says there are several warning signs of fake check scams and tips for avoiding being taken in:

o You’re told you won a lottery or received a grant you didn’t apply for. If the lottery is from another country, it’s illegal for a U. S. citizen to receive any money.

o The name on the check does not match the name of the company or individual you are supposedly dealing with.

o You’re given instructions to deposit a check into your account and then asked to promptly wire part of those funds back to the sender or another specified company or contact.

o Don’t be fooled by a phone call. Just because you’ve spoken to someone over the phone, does not mean they are legitimate. Scammers also routinely use e-mail to communicate with victims.

o If you have additional questions, please check out the BBB’s Web site at www.bbb.org or call (314) 645-3300.

Don’t look now, but the number of catalytic converters being swiped from beneath local vehicles has just skyrocketed.

Sources are telling me that at least two dozen cases have occurred in Madison County in the past week or so.

Two of them occurred in the parking lot of ShowPlace Theater in Edwardsville in broad daylight on Friday, police said.

Apparently, these things must be good for scrap. And apparently the thieves must be good with cutting tools. And apparently there are no job openings at the local muffler shop.

Personally, I couldn’t find the converter with an instruction manual, but I know it’s part of the exhaust system and I know your car makes an awful noise when it’s not attached.

The Telegraph was the first to report the trend was underway, in a story in midweek by reporter Linda Weller, detailing three thefts out of Alton — all on the parking lots of big stores and in the middle of the day.

Stay tuned. If you know of anyone who’s been victimized, shoot me an email at dennis_grubaugh@thetelegraph.com

My wife, who works in a high school attendance department, sometimes gets tripped up when she recounts her various memories of the day.

“I saw three deer on the way to school today,” she’ll tell me.

“Oh?” I respond. “And why would three deer be going to school?”

That conversation has taken place multiple times across my kitchen table, to the point where it’s kind of an inside joke.

I bring it up only because astute reader Norm Stephenson managed to turn the tables by calling us to task on a photo caption that made its way into the newspaper. Several eagle-eye journalists missed it along the way.

The caption read:

“Curtis Washington baits a hook for another round of fishing next to the Grafton Ferry Landing recently. Washington said he enjoys his retirement by going to … different spots along the Mississippi River to see how many fish — especially big ones — he can catch with his faithful Shih Tzu, Lucky.”

“Lucky” was nowhere in the photo, and after reading that caption one could assume he might have met an unlucky end. Reader Stephenson picked up that theme in an email:

“Reading your paper today I had to ask myself some questions about your article, ‘Fishing at the Ferry.’

“1. Isn’t a $400 Shih Tzu, even if his name is Lucky, a little expensive to use as fish bait?

“2. What kind of big fish are biting on the Shih Tzu? Japanese carp?

“3. What does PETA say about all this?”

I recognize playfulness in a reader pretty quickly, so I sent him back my own tongue-in-cheek reply:

“As far as bait, I’d say we were trying to put on the dog, wouldn’t you? Good catch, Norm.”

The Telegraph’s best copy editors are its readers. That was true when we were founded, and it’s never been more true than it is today.

What great pride there is in a community like Alton, which so quietly and capably came up with a way to honor Vietnam War deceased. We shake our head in amazement at the marvelous accomplishment we experienced this past week.

A special salute is in order to those whose efforts led to the new granite bench outside the front door of Alton Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1308. It is engraved with the names of almost three dozen Alton area servicemen killed in Vietnam.
The bench was dedicated last Friday, amid emotion that was appropriate for the moment. Many family members appeared. Some were overcome. Several veterans were on hand.

It only occurs to us now to ask, why did this take so long? The answer may hearken back to the war itself. As unpopular as it was at the time and as bereft as the nation felt, it took a long time before anyone was in a mood to recognize the heroism that went into the conflict.

That changed with time. In 1974, a bronze plaque with the names of the war dead was dedicated at Rock Spring Park in Alton, but as things sometimes occur, a thief walked off with it shortly after it was in place. Today, its whereabouts are unknown, but we hope the possessor wears a crown of guilt. This memorial belonged to the public and the names are a part of history.

Publicity is driving renewed attention to the locals who lost their lives. Since our initial stories we have heard of others who died in the war and we’re now researching to see if they, too, are in line for this special recognition.

It is amazing to see how this has developed. It began as a church conversation between Jo Lee, who lost her brother in the service, and military veteran Buck Hamer, who agreed to help find a way to honor veterans. Along the way, the idea of the bench surfaced.

Aided by the personal financial contributions of Alton’s two elected state leaders, Sen. William Haine, and Rep. Dan Beiser, the bench was completed, at a discount, with the able work of Fred Haney of Alton Memorial Sales.

This was an effort that involved many other individuals, all of whom deserve our thanks - but none deserve our thanks more than the names on this bench. Nothing holds us so rooted as the memories of loved ones we’ve lost. And nothing is as worth saluting as those who’ve lost their lives at war.

Jim White only came out at night.

But for the denizens of the dark, who cared about such things, we happily tuned him in on KMOX radio, “1120 on your dial.”

He was the bridge between the end of the Cardinals game and the rousing morning voices of Bob Hardy and Rex Davis. He was a man who took great comfort in quietly discussing the issues of the day with thousands of callers –  a man who took oddities and made them seem normal simply by talking about them.

White died Tuesday at the young age of 73 and news of his passing caused me to think back on all those great voices who were once a part of so many lives.

For me, the most memorable moment didn’t even come on the radio. Some years back, my wife and I and a party of people descended on the old Three Mile House restaurant outside of Edwardsville, and White was doing a remote broadcast, focusing on the supposedly haunted restaurant. I think he went there several times on one of his famous ghost searches, the kind of thing that made him refer to “things that go bump in the night,” and led to that famous nickname, The Big Bumper.

The Three Mile House, an old stagecoach stop along Illinois Route 159, is sadly gone. Now, so too is Mr. White. But with the likes of Jack Carney, Jack Buck, Davis, Hardy and now the Big Bumper, I’m sure there’s quite a broadcast going on overhead.

***

Here’s the official dispatch:

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Jim White, a retired KMOX radio personality who was a well-known fixture in St. Louis for three decades, has died at the age of 73.

White, known on air as The Big Bumper, died Wednesday morning of complications from surgery, KMOX said.

He joined KMOX as an assistant news director in 1969. He was number one in the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. time slot for 20 years before he retired in 1999.

White was known for begin gruff and hanging up on his callers, but friends and colleagues say he was soft spoken in person.

Survivors include his wife, Pat, and two daughters. Funeral arrangements are pending.

I’m not sure when it happened. One day I was a seemingly intelligent adult, given to profound thoughts of life and living, and the next I was reduced to baby babble.

Suddenly I break out in nonsensical talk.

“Wheeeeeere’s my widdle giiiiirrl? Wheeeere’s my baaaby? Theeere she is! Grandpa’s gonna get you!”

And then I drop to all fours and charge after the little bundle in front of me, who is giggling and doing her best to stay in front as she scoots along the floor. In the end, I catch her — or she lets me — and it ends with a hug.

It always ends with a hug.

Today, Aug. 28, 2009, marks the end of the first year of what are certainly going to be the best years of my life. Grandchildren will do that to you, and first grandchildren do it better than all the others.

My wife and I used to live for our next vacation. Now we live for our next cross-town visit to see “you know who.” The heck with Hawaii, we’d rather see baby Kinley.

We love to see this perfect child break into laughs. We love to hear her say “Whaazzzaaatt??”  at least once a minute.

Oh, and dare I say her first word was “grandpa?” At least that’s what it sounded like to me. But then, my wife always told me I hear what I want to hear.

“Grandpa” used to be my dad’s dad. Then, it was my own dad. Today, it’s me. Never in a million years did I see it coming. I’ve been knocked completely senseless by a 22-pound  merrymaker.

Much time has been spent by Grandma and me finding the ultimate first-birthday gift. But what do you buy the baby who has everything?  What do you get for a child with two great parents, two strong sets of families, all the built-in babysitters than one could need and an endless supply of Puffs, Pampers and pampering?

I suppose what you give her is a little something of yourself, something more than the requisite DNA.

You give her a pledge, put it in writing, that you’ll do the best you can to make her life better than your own. That’s every parent’s promise – it might as well be a grandparent’s, too.

And so I say, happy birthday, Kinley.  August 28, 2008, may have been the beginning of your life, but it was the start of the best of mine.

Love, Grandpa

After weeks and months of urging an overhaul of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, journalists now have their legislation. More importantly, the public in general has it.

Gov. Pat Quinn signed the measure on Monday.

I’ve personally written about the measure, about the need not to water down what the Illinois Press Association had weighed as a successful bill coming out of the General Assembly earlier this year, after a long period of negotiation. It appears the final result was pretty much what we news types had hoped.

A key provision makes official the Office of the Public Access Counselor, a legal body that can issue binding opinions to public bodies in both open meetings and Freedom of Information Act disputes.

There are other important passages, including some that clean up the exemptions under which public bodies can keep from disclosing information, based on the idea of confidentiality or privacy.

There is also an interesting provision, one I wasn’t aware of until a full reading this week, that specifies training regarding information access on the part of employees of public bodies (school districts, city halls, townships, park boards, etc.)

I would suggest a read of the new law, which is detailed in this link:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=09600SB0189enr&ga=96&sessionid=76&doctypeid=SB&legid=40663&docnum=189&gaid=10&session=

And here is the press release issued jointly by the governor and Attorney General Lisa Madigan upon the signing of the bill. Madigan deserves much of the credit for passage.

******

Governor Quinn Signs Major Legislation to Increase Transparency in State Government

Launches Web site to make state spending information accessible

CHICAGO — Gov. Pat Quinn joined with Attorney General Lisa Madigan and members of the Illinois Reform Commission to sign bills to increase transparency and accountability in state government. The legislation strengthens the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and ensures the state’s boards and commissions are open and accessible to the public.

“The people of Illinois deserve an open, ethical and transparent government,” said Governor Quinn. “This legislation provides greater oversight to ensure our government complies whenever possible with the Freedom of Information Act, protects the integrity of our boards and commissions and makes state government more accountable to the people we serve.”

The FOIA legislation (Senate Bill 189), sponsored by Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, and House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, rewrites the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to give the Attorney General’s Office authority to decide disputes between those requesting information and governmental bodies.

“Today, Illinois comes out of the Stone Age and into the modern era of transparency and openness,” said Attorney General Madigan. “By creating a public access counselor with binding opinion authority to fight for an open and accountable government, Illinois is now at the nation’s forefront. With this new law, the people of Illinois will now have a greater ability to know what their government is doing.”

In addition to creating a permanent public access counselor within the Attorney General’s Office to oversee enforcement of the act, it strengthens fines for noncompliance. The legislation also allows fewer exemptions to the act and shortens the time for a government to respond to a request.

Gov. Quinn also signed Senate Bill 1602, sponsored by Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, and Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock. This bill establishes strict ethics requirements and restrictions for current and prospective members of state boards and commissions appointed by the governor and calls for the creation of a Web site that provides information about board and commission membership.

At a meeting of the Illinois Reform Commission in April, Gov. Quinn launched Appointments.Illinois.gov. The site allows Illinois citizens to access information about membership and vacancies in the state’s 300 boards and commissions and fill out online applications for those appointments that are made by the Governor. Thousands of applications have been filed since the site’s launch.

The legislation also requires each board and commission with a Web site and full-time information technology staff to make information regarding its meetings available online.

Today the governor also launched the Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal to provide Illinoisans with access to state government spending information. The Web site makes the state’s expenditures and employee pay data available through a single, searchable portal: Accountability.Illinois.gov.

The tidy sum of $1,000 is being offered by a New Mexico company as the grand prize in what it calls the Michael Jackson Poetry Contest.

With the endless eulogies that have poured forth since his death on June 25 I’m sure somebody is going to muster the effort to salute him in sonnet.

But I have to tell you, as sick as I am of hearing Jacko tales, as a newsman I feel duty bound to give you details should you choose to enter.

Send one poem 21 lines or less to Free Poetry Contest, 1600 31^st St. SE, Rio Rancho, NM 87124. Your name and address must appear on the page with your poem. You may also enter online at www.rainbowpoets.com

For now, I invite readers to send in their own creations. Feel free to post them here or email me at dennis_grubaugh@thetelegraph.com . I’ll give you some inspiration by concluding with some of my own.

Michael Jackson’s short life is o’er,

‘Twas drugs that went and freed it.

The King of Pop, he could not stop,

Too “Bad” he could not “Beat It.”

A man few knew, a “Thriller” true,

“Why?” we’ve asked and queried.

Yes, gone, it’s so, and yet we know,

A long time till you’re buried.

Have you ever watched in amazement as somebody takes a cell-phone call in quiet surroundings and makes it into a public spectacle? I have, many times.

“Yes, I heard about Aunt Martha’s spleen!” they’ll exclaim. Or, “I told you not to bring the mower into the house!” Or, “What do you mean, you forgot to pay the cell-phone bill?!”

The worst of the offenders do it in the least-appropriate places — the movie theater, church, the library, the office. (Not my office, of course.)

You hear every word, at least on your end of the conversation, and you wonder just why someone would want to share their personal peccadilloes in such a discourteous manner.

Apparently other people have noticed all this, too. Recently, the good folks at The Hauser Group, a St. Louis-based public relations firm, called me to pitch an idea on a story about July being Cell Phone Courtesy Month. When company rep Susan Clark suggested it, I laughed out loud, which wasn’t courteous on my part, except that at the time I was thinking they have a month dedicated to just about every conceivable topic, and I thought I’d already heard them all.

Once I got to looking at her subsequent email, I was convinced the material was worth sharing.  And since I can’t rely on a cell phone to tell everyone, I’m going to use this column to get the point across.

Herewith, seven tips from U.S. Cellular on something that more than 270 million Americans should try to start practicing:

1.     No need to shout:  Despite the smaller handsets now available, people hear you just as well on a wireless phone as on a regular phone.  Keep your voice to a low, conversational tone. In some situations, texting may be the most polite way to stay in touch.

2.     Watch your tone: Downloading the latest ringtone has become extremely popular among wireless users, and you can still keep your personal style without distracting others.  Turn down the ring volume or place the handset on vibrate when in public settings.

3.     Put people in front, first: Put the people you’re with first – not the person calling you.  If you absolutely must take the call, be sure to let people know in advance that you’re expecting a call and excuse yourself for the conversation.

4.     Mind your multitasking: Wireless phones are great tools for living and working more efficiently.  However, it can also be discourteous to chat on your cell phone when people are assisting you in stores, banks, restaurants or other locations.

5.     Keep it private: Personal and business conversations are better off remaining private, especially when emotion is involved.  Don’t forget to pay attention to your surroundings and be discreet.

6.     Mind your manners: If you forget to turn your phone off or set it to vibrate in a quiet zone and it begins to ring, don’t be tempted to take the call.  Simply turn your ringer off, or let the call go to voice mail and apologize to those around you for the mistake.

7.     Watch your socializing: Social networking applications such as Twitter and Facebook are extremely popular ways to keep up with friends and family and available on many models of wireless phones. Remember, the information you’re sharing is being broadcast out across the Web and consider what you’re sending before it leads to an embarrassing situation for you or others.