Letters to the Editor

NO TO TENASKAIllinoisans should not be forced to buy overpriced, dirty coal power for the next 30 years. Unfortunately, when the legislature reconvenes for its veto session, they will consider the Tenaska Bill (SB 1653), which would do just that, by building a new plant in Taylorville. A generation from now, our children will still […]

MUSIAL MEMORY Bob Hall’s review of the book, Stan Musial, An American Life, by George Vecsey [Sept. 15] reminds me of a spring day in 1945 when I received generosity from Stan the Man. I was an 18-year-old seaman first class, temporarily stationed at Camp Shoemaker, Calif., awaiting deployment to the South Pacific. Musial was […]

PROHIBITION Currently airing on PBS-TV, “Prohibition” explains how the Volstead Act changed America. One program stated “Prohibition had been enacted to forestall change; to put and end to alcoholism, safeguard the American family (and) to re-establish the moral supremacy of small town Protestant America.” If you substitute “tea party” for “prohibition,” “Barack Obama” for “change” […]

FIRST NIGHT HIP-HOP I am pleased that Illinois Times and the Springfield Community have finally acknowledged what national underground artists have known for years: Torch Tuesdays. [See “Hip-hop in the Heartland,” by Scott Faingold, Sept. 29.] It’s a stop I try to frequent as often as I can. It’s where the Springfield Area Arts Council […]

NONPROFITS STAND TO LOSE Every nonprofit in our area that uses the bulk mail service in Springfield will suffer if the post office closes the mail sorting operations in Springfield. The great service provided by our local postal workers means that mail presented today is delivered the next day or the day after. Our organization […]

ABSOLUTE HELLI was a MacArthur Park resident up until about five months ago [see “MacArthur Park’s Slumdog Millionaire,” by Bruce Rushton, Sept. 15]. I think that it is ridiculous for the blame to be put on the residents themselves or to blame Section 8. I was not a Section 8 tenant and my rent was […]

COUNTY CAT TAXLet’s call it what it is – a tax on people who own cats. The Sangamon County Board needs money for its budget and this is the way they plan to get it. The requirement to register a cat and have it inoculated each year for rabies is ridiculous. For statistics on rabies, […]

PINCHIN’ PENSIONS For the most part, the story on pensions was balanced [see “Pinchin’ pensions,” by Rachel Wells, Sept. 1] although I would like to have seen more emphasis on the full funding by the employees and the partial funding on behalf of the state. You have two misstatements of fact. On the top of […]

SOMETHING NOT BETTER Seriously, when you think of a neighborhood, do you think about a car lot? Why would you? Are you imagining air power tools to drown out those noisy carillon bells? “Neighborhood” is an important distinction surrounding MacArthur Blvd. A lot of research and community input led to conceptualizing quality redevelopment. The idea […]

BUNNIES BACK Welcome back, “Life in Hell”! We have missed you. Break a (rabbit) foot! Chaminade KelleyDecatur P.S. Does this mean that rabbits really do return from Hell? SCHOOLS THAT WORK Congratulations to Iles School for achieving the prestigious International Baccalaureate status. I am a proud supporter of Iles School because my daughter received the […]

TURKEY DAMMayor Houston promised us a balanced budget, but it looks like he wants to spend money we don’t have on Hunter Dam, a project we don’t need. Federal regulators have said three times Hunter Dam is a turkey. And that’s just for starters. If it ever gets approved, it will take years to get […]