Letters policy
We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime
telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity.
Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois
62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com
HOW TO FIGHT HIGH GAS PRICES
Beni Kitching, in her letter titled
“Fighting for the last drops of oil” [April 21], asks,
“What will you do?” I answer the question this way:
I am encouraging as many people as possible
to abandon automobiles, especially as transportation for work.
Whenever possible, I am encouraging citizens, especially office and
retail workers, to leave cars at home and use bicycles for work and
errands. I practice what I preach: I have been using bicycles to
get around for most of the past four decades.
Of course, I do not expect families with
young children, caregivers, or emergency-services personnel to take
part in this project. But just think of how much money people could
save just by riding bicycles to work, to pay bills, and to [take
care of] various other errands. If only one of every three people
who will read this letter will agree to participate in this
project, how long do we think that gas stations will be able to
keep prices high when they are selling almost no fuel?
On a more positive note, not only would
bicycling lead to far less fuel consumption, but think of what
moderate bicycle riding can do for a person’s health! For
example, during the winter, I gained about 15 pounds from
inactivity. Come spring, and warm weather (and a good number of
salads), I shed this extra weight simply by riding about town to
take care of my errands. Springfield has many wonderful
neighborhoods that a cyclist can enjoy. Sure, bicycles take up to four to five times as long to reach any
destination, but I have to wonder how much time drivers spend cruising
parking lots, using up expensive gasoline, trying to find decent
parking.
Norman Hinderliter
Springfield
APPLAUSE FOR BEAUTIFICATION CONTEST
I have just heard about the “Yard to
Yard Challenge” sponsored by your paper, Ace Hardware, the
Illinois National Bank, and the city of Springfield. It is a
wonderful idea, and the sponsors should all be commended.
I long have been interested in the Main
Street Program, which facilitates downtown revitalization. One
component of the process it developed is “design,”
making the area both attractive and livable. I have also been
interested in Neighborhoods USA, which was founded, like Main
Street, in the 1970s. NUSA offers a network of contacts to inform
various neighborhood organizations around the country about
projects that members have undertaken. The “Yard to Yard
Challenge” is exactly the kind of project that both
organizations would encourage. But, in this case, the project is
citywide. Anyone with a front yard may enter.
I hope many, many homeowners do enter and
that the undertaking is a great success. I shall be keeping an eye
out for changes as I drive down the streets of Springfield.
Sally Robinson
Springfield
NO LICENSE TO DISCRIMINATE
David E. Smith of the Illinois Family
Institute avoids the fact that pharmacists are licensed by the
state [“Letters,” April 14]. Therefore, the state has
the ability to reprimand those who neglect to provide the service
for which they were licensed. If pharmacists cannot or will not do
their licensed job, then they need to find another
profession in which their beliefs do not negatively impact the public.
If we truly embrace a democracy, as defined
in our Constitution, we cannot allow religious discrimination or
allow religious zealots to pick and choose, cafeteria-style, the
parts of the Constitution they will abide by.
George R. Andrews
Springfield
TIME TO STAND UP FOR ETHICS
I am writing to urge U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood,
who represents much of central Illinois, to co-sponsor a resolution
to restore the ethics rules for the House of Representatives. In
2004, the House Ethics Committee — chaired by Republican Joel
Hefley — rebuked Tom DeLay three separate times for his
involvement in these various scandals. In 2005, Tom DeLay got
Chairman Hefley replaced with his own cronies and threw out the old
Ethics rules.
Already 200 members of Congress have signed
on to the resolution to restore the ethics rules, but so far LaHood
has not signed.
We need our members of Congress to stand up
for ethics. I hope LaHood has the courage to do what is right.
Karen Rawlins
Springfield
SHE’S LIVING THE FANTASY
I am happy that Food Fantasies may be moving
even closer to where I live in Washington Park and that it will be
able to expand [see Todd Spivak, “Man with a plan,”
Feb. 24]. Unlike the Wild Oats Market and Whole Foods chains in
bigger cities, Food Fantasies is a friendly store, always ready to
talk with customers about their special dietary needs and always
willing to do special orders.
I gave up sugar and sugar substitutes, as
well as refined flour, two years ago and was amazed at how many
better alternatives there are. At Food Fantasies I can find those
alternatives. I hope that one day they will be able to offer fresh,
organic meats, and fresh fruit and vegetable drinks.
Having an outdoor café will be
wonderful. I am so thankful to have a store like this in
Springfield.
Mary Frances
Springfield
TIME TO STOP ENERGY POLITICS
Another energy bill
is on the table. Failure to pass is not an option. Leadership
demands that the U.S. Senate disregard partisan politics.
Remember MTBE, the gasoline additive?
Liability issues of cleanup from leaking storage tanks killed
previous legislation. The shield provision for MTBE producers is
again in the House bill. Can we bring some common sense to this
issue?
Public health, not liability, is critical. Is
MTBE poisoning sources of groundwater? If so, it must be cleaned up
now. We don’t wait for lawsuits or time-consuming appeals. The
EPA must be proactive. The cent-per-gallon gasoline tax for leaking
storage tank cleanup can be extended for a few years.
Liability can be complex. When a new
substance is to go into a tank, it should be tested and tank
specifications established. Did Congress allow for this? If so, did
MTBE producers purposely falsify holding specifications? A
shield-provision exception will take care of this nicely. Was MTBE
a “flawed” product? Heating oil has toxins and leaks
from tanks, but no one says oil producers have liability for
cleanup. How about tank installers that didn’t perform leak
tests? Did tank owners buy the right tank? Is it coincidental that
some MTBE producers are in U.S. Rep. Tom Delay’s district?
Lawyers and courts can sort this out. Let
leadership first get our energy bill expedited (with ethanol
replacing MTBE as soon as possible) and second tackle MTBE cleanup
on an accelerated basis, if warranted.
Jordan I. Rosen
Springfield
WAR ON PEOPLE, NOT DRUGS
The U.S. is the No. 1 consumer, grower, and
importer of marijuana. The U.S. government has been waging a war on
its own people for well over 30 years now, causing more damage than
the drug itself. This is a war on the people, not the drug. The
government keeps locking up and killing its own people over a plant
that is more abundant now than at any other time in America’s
history. As the marijuana grows, so grows the prison system.
Richard J. Rawlings
Bartonville
CORRECTION
We misidentified Deborah Barone, the owner of
Kickapoo Creek Alpacas, in a photograph last week. Here she is at
her spinning wheel. We regret the error.
This article appears in Apr 28 – May 4, 2005.
