The ultimate irony of Rick Nielsen's triumphant appearance at the Illinois State Capitol on Tuesday was that the leader of the rock band Cheap Trick is older than the vast majority of lawmakers and staffers who hosted him.For example, Nielsen, at age 60, is more than a decade older than State Sen. Dave Syverson, the Rockford pol who's sponsoring a resolution honoring Cheap Trick.
Somehow this doesn't compute. Aren't rockers supposed to be junior to the grownups in the political establishment? Well, there was a time when that was the case.
