Letters to the Editor

GLASS RECYCLING In response to Mary Perkinton’s recent letter questioning glass collection in Springfield, allow me to offer a few thoughts. It is very easy to recycle glass in Springfield. Glass bottles and jars that contained food or drink, of any color: clear, brown, green or blue, are accepted in the regular citywide curbside recycling […]

DON’T BLAME PARENTSThis is in response to the article a couple weeks ago about the schools and what they do to get children to do the schoolwork for them [see “Trusting to miracles,” by James Krohe Jr., Sept. 9]. I am sick of the parents getting the blame for poor performance in school. You implied […]

HOW TO GET GREENERI’m suprised to read that Springfield and Mayor Davlin are receiving credit for being a “green” city [see “Greener than thou,” by James Krohe Jr., Sept. 16]. Some initiatives that might help Springfield become a greener city are sometimes thought of as being impossible, yet other cities seem to do them well. […]

CITY’S BAD ATTITUDERegarding “Storm over sewers,” by Rachel Wells, Sept. 16: I have fought this battle with the city public works department for about a year and I can tell the poor people who are having this problem what they will hear from Mr. Norris: “Plug your drain and pump your sewage to the sanitary […]

NOT THAT OLD I enjoyed your article, “Goodbye, Kerasotes,” in the Sept. 9-15 issue of IT, however I feel a correction is in order for the photograph of the Esquire Theatre, “circa 1934.” I feel that the photo was taken much later than that date since the autos shown appear to be of 1939-1940 vintage, […]

GIVE QUINN A BREAK“Nice guys finish last.” That’s not a very nice headline for the chief executive officer of the State of Illinois in my opinion. I am not necessarily a Pat Quinn proponent. I think Pat Quinn is an OK guy, though. Although he’s not the answer to all of our problems (and who […]

THANK A BUILDERWhile our local media outlets often cover the many contributions made by our community’s working men and women, I hope that for Labor Day we can highlight the efforts of a particular group that sometimes goes unnoticed – the construction industry’s craft professionals. Construction is one of our nation’s largest industries. The evidence […]

COAL ISN’T THE ANSWERThe Taylorville coal plant [see “The dirty business of ‘clean coal,’” by Rachel Wells, Aug. 19] costs are high both in terms of government bailout money in the form of grants, tax credits, and loans seldom repaid, but also in terms of the fact we would be investing in a project that […]

WHO’S THE BACKUP?Today’s IT mentions The Who was at the State Fair in 1968 [see “The Grandstand: 50 years of entertainment at the Illinois State Fair,” Aug. 12]. They were actually the backup band for The Association. I remember being there. We paid $1 for a ticket, stood next to the fence for hours till […]

SHARE THE TRACKSWhile the author of “Slower than a speeding bullet” [by James Krohe Jr., Aug. 5] makes salient points about the competing concerns of passenger versus freight rail, he overlooks the fact that freight and passenger rail have successfully coexisted on the same infrastructure for more than 150 years. Development of high-speed rail in […]

PUPPY LOVEThanks for the wonderful article on the wonderful work that Wade Kammin is accomplishing [see “Sit, stay, go,” July 29]. Being a puppy raiser is a task much like raising a child. You’re “on call” 24/7 for the entire time the puppy is with you. Wade is to be commended for taking this task […]

OPEN BIRTH RECORDS No state has ever guaranteed, by law, the anonymity of relinquishing parents [see “Birth records opened, but not enough,” by Jackson Adams, IT, July 15]. But all states do have laws to protect every individual’s privacy, which is a different thing entirely from anonymity. The vast majority of birth parents and adoptees do […]