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We welcome letters. Please include your full name,
address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256,
Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
SOCCER STORY KICKED UP MEMORIES OK, I admit it — I was Googling myself. And as I was scrolling past things I knew about
myself and Bob Lehrmans who weren’t me I almost missed a Bob Lehrman
and — Aydin Gonulsen? So almost six months later, thanks to Google, I could
see Stan Zielinski’s letter, read the Ed Cunningham article, and have
my own memories overwhelm me [see Ed Cunningham, “Bringing soccer to
Springfield,” Oct. 4]. Yavuz, Aydin, the Eck brothers, the
Christofilakos brothers
. . . Do you remember the night we poured into the school-board
meeting — using the organizing skills we’d learned in the
Walker campaign — to get soccer into the public schools? And I remembered more than soccer. I wrote for Illinois Times. Does anyone
still remember Alan Anderson, Bill Friedman, Claudia Dowling, and Victoria
Pope? They’d fled Time magazine for Springfield, where they wouldn’t just be
writing for a magazine but creating one. Once I handed in a feature I
really liked — about Morton Sobell, one of the people convicted in
the Rosenberg case. The words were mine, but the piece looked —
weird! Yeah, we were experimenting, Alan said. He’d
justified the left margin but not the right.
To some people Springfield is the city of Lincoln. To
me it’s the city of Yavuz, Aydin, Illinois
Times — and a governor who ran into
problems later but was a great reformer then. It’s that earnest young
Walker worker Pat Quinn coming home after basketball, being able to see my
words in print (not my margins), and celebrating with a double helping of
mushrooms at Denny’s after beating Lincoln. Bob Lehrman
Washington, D.C
PAYDAY-LOAN ARTICLE WAS BIASED It was evident that staff writer R.L. Nave did a good
deal of research with the opponents of payday lending before writing the
cover story in the April 10 edition of Illinois
Times, a usually well written newspaper that I
try to enjoy every week. I was disappointed by the biased reporting. While he
took a great deal of time researching and interviewing the opponents of
payday lending, nowhere in the three pages of the article did he find room
to include an interview with, or a single comment from, the industry.
Astonishing! Just about every other person or group involved in
this issue was quoted. Why not the industry? And, more importantly, in the
three pages of this story, no comments from customers? A balanced story
would have included comments from customers, the industry, and the
opponents. Not so with this article. Really, really poor journalism here. I
expect more from Illinois Times. Not only was the article biased, it was inaccurate
and incomplete. Fact-checking is one of the hallmarks of good journalism.
Where was the fact-checking in this article? The claim by Nave in the ninth
paragraph that there are 38 payday-loan stores in Springfield is ignorant
of the facts. A simple check of the Illinois Department of Financial and
Professional Regulation’s Web site would have shown that there are
only 12 payday-loan stores in Springfield, not 38.
And had he bothered to contact the industry, the
story could have included the lengths at which the industry has gone this
year to reach compromise with our opponents and with the Legislature. The
article could have discussed the compromise plan that focuses on adding
important new protections for those customers in most need of financial
help. Instead, Nave wrote a hatchet job and Illinois Times published
a hatchet job. Finally, the article completely ignores the hundreds
of pages of study, much by the Federal Reserve of New York, dozens of news
articles, and a Wall Street Journal op-ed by [former U.S. Sen.] George McGovern, all
proving that payday loans are the preferred, and cheaper, alternative to
bank overdraft fees. Our customers know this. This article was an extremely good example of
sensationalism but a very poor example of journalism. As editor, you should
be ashamed.
Steve Brubaker, executive
director Illinois Small Loan Association
Springfield
Editor’s note: Our story reported that there
are 38 CILA-licensed lenders and 12 PLRA-licensed lenders in Springfield.
The story also reflected the views of the payday-loan industry, including
the Community Financial Services Association.
WHYSONEGATIVEABOUTOBAMA? I found the cover story about U.S. Sen. Barack Obama
to be very stereotypical [Jeannette Cooperman, “Demonizing
Obama,” April 3]. Cooperman obviously doesn’t know all the facts
about Obama. How is he racist against whites when his own mother is white?
It’s not right to make accusations against someone because of the
church they attend. The only reason she’s saying he welcome
terrorists is because his middle name is Hussein. I am a Democrat and I
think it’s unfair of her to say that Obama is for abortion,
homosexuality, and obscenity. Not all Democrats have the same beliefs. She
is not basing the whole article on her experiences but rather on
second-hand accounts. Also I’ve noticed that a lot of your articles
are very negative towards the Democratic Party. It goes to show how
single-minded Illinois Times really is. Inez Potter
Springfield
WHYSOANGRY ANDLEFT-LEANING? Over the years I have tried to read Illinois Times, but it was so
angry and left-leaning I could never get through one. Recently, however, I
read the article about Barack Obama and felt I needed to respond [Jeannette
Cooperman, “Demonizing Obama,” April 3]. Christians have taken a pounding for a long time now,
so I wanted to give you some insight into how this Christian lives. I have
never been in trouble with the law; do not smoke, drink, or swear; and
don’t do drugs. I give 10 percent of my income to charity, including
$50 a month to Africa; donate blood; and volunteer my time. I do not own a
TV, computer, or CD player and haven’t been to a movie since 1991. I
try to conserve energy and water and am an avid recycler. Don’t you
wish more people lived like this? Forgive me if I come across as conceited and
self-righteous — that is not my intention. I just wanted you to know
that most Christians live clean, decent lives. As far as Sen. Obama is concerned, I am not going to
vote for him, but if others do, that is their choice. Tod Adamo Springfield
WHY DOWHITELIBERALSGETAPASS?
Ronnie Booth was right on target in stating that white
conservative Christians oppose Barack Obama simply “because of his
pigmentation” [“Letters,” April 10]. The same can be said
for white liberal Democrats who voted against Michael Steele, Ken
Blackwell, and Lynn Swann. The white liberal Senators who opposed the
nominations of Clarence Thomas and Janice Rogers Brown were a bunch of
closet Klansmen. And I am sure that Booth will rail against any white
liberal Democrat who opposes the election this year of Florida
congressional candidate Allen West. Just so there is no confusion, I am being sarcastic
to make a point. White liberals vote against black Republicans (who run
against whites) and get a pass. White conservatives vote against black
Democrats and are vilified as narrow-minded bigots. I guess it never occurred to Booth that people can
oppose Barack Obama because of the positions he takes on the issues and
because he has the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate.
Conservatives oppose Obama for pretty much the same reason they oppose
either of the Clintons or John Kerry or Rod Blagojevich or Dick Durbin or
any other liberal Democrat. From our perspective, there is no difference
between Obama and Clinton. They are two sides of the same coin. They appear
to be more focused on Obama because he is seen as having a greater chance
of winning in November than does Clinton. It’s simple electoral
politics. Nothing sinister about it at all. Isn’t this what liberals want? Don’t they
want us to judge candidates based on their records and positions? Yet, when
we do that with Obama, we become 21st-century Archie Bunkers. One more question. When did the right ask God for a
presidential candidate whose voting record is to the left of Ted Kennedy? I
must have missed that prayer meeting. Robert Huck
Springfield
This article appears in Apr 10-16, 2008.
