NO FUN
My opinion is Republicans like to control what businesses and people do, and the fun they have, under the guise of public safety (“Last call is earlier than ever,” July 24).
Marie Carnes
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
TOO MUCH TIME
Most bars have computerized registers, so it should be easy to quantify the impact of shortened hours. The fact is, there are a small number of patrons after midnight. They say patrons don’t come to a bar that isn’t open past 2 a.m., but two drinks in 60 minutes puts you over the legal BAC to drive, so no one needs to sit and drink until 3 a.m. If people can’t make safe, healthy decisions to put the drink down and go home before the wee hours of the morning, the city has to put ordinances in place to force better behavior.
Tiffany Lapp
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
NOT ENOUGH MONEY
People don’t understand that not everyone works 9-5 jobs. I’ve been in the service industry my whole life. On weekends, we don’t get off work until 10 or 11 p.m. most nights. Shouldn’t we be allowed time to have a few drinks and hang out?
As a bartender who has worked at 1 a.m. bars and 3 a.m. bars, (earlier closing times have) changed the business. At the 3 a.m. bars I’ve worked at, we made 75% of our money between 1-3 a.m. The gaming machine revenue is what keeps most of these bars open, so we stay open for the gamers.
Jefferson Sutzer
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes
PREVENTATIVE MEASURES
Every metallic pipe commonly used for domestic water supply is poisonous, given high concentration: copper, the zinc used in galvanized steel pipe and lead (“Protect families form lead contamination,” July 24). Water is the universal solvent, and its powers of solvency are increased the hotter it is and the purer it is. Lead supply pipes become a problem when the water that runs through the pipes is especially solvent, or if it contains certain chlorides. The corrosive water dissolves the lead, causing soluble lead compounds, which are all poisonous.
But there is a prevention, which was known even in the 1870s. CWLP adds lime to the water supply to protect the water in lead pipes from lead contamination. The lime sulphate forms a skin or crust on the inside of the pipe, thus protecting the water from contacting and potentially dissolving the lead. Many, but not all, water supplies naturally contain carbonate of lime, which protects the water against the lead. That is why lead pipes have been used for centuries. In short, it is the chemical makeup of the water supply that largely determines whether lead supply pipes will cause a problem or not.
But we are not all chemists, so what can we do at home? No matter what type of pipes you have in your home, you should make a habit of running the cold water for a few minutes every morning, per Centers for Disease Control recommendation. That will flush the stale water from your pipes which may have absorbed some poisonous substances overnight. Be sure to drain the sediment from your hot water heater tank several times a year, too.
David L. Finnigan
Springfield
This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.
