Letters to the Editor

Scary oversight In last week’s listing of area Haunted Houses, we neglected to mention the Springfield Jaycees Haunted House, a local institution since 1979. Proceeds fund a variety of charity programs, including the purchase of Christmas gifts for underprivileged children. This year’s haunted house will be at the Capitol City Shopping Center, October 15 through […]

A failure to communicate To the editor, We were disappointed with the slant your reporter gave to our union’s role in the merger of the Illinois State Lottery into the Department of Revenue [“Fired,” August 7, 2003]. Contrary to the allegation in the article (based on speculation by unnamed sources), AFSCME never cut any kind […]

Home sweet homely Dear editor: I can help answer the question, “Whatever happened to Scenic Springfield?” [August 21] The article covered a number of events that can help explain it. I wish to add to the list. The first is an expansion of the trash issue. Even though the city replaced trashcans downtown with recycle/trash […]

The state fair is in his blood To the editor: Thanks for the state fair stories [“Our Fair City,” August 14]. From the age of 7 to 13, I always went away for a few weeks of the summer to spend time at my grandma’s house in Somalia, MO . . . home of the […]

Another Findley fan To the editor: During the years in which I served in the public sector, I came to know Congressman Paul Findley on a primarily business and somewhat personal level. I always had a great respect for him as a public official who spoke his mind on the basis always of what he […]

Findley fan Dear Editor, Thanks for the feature on former Congressman Paul Findley [“Our Darkest Time,” July 31]. Paul is a largely untapped treasure of Central Illinois. Oh, that his foreign-policy wisdom would be called upon by today’s decision-makers. I grew up in an avidly Democratic household, and I can remember my father telling me […]

No Tom Tomorrow! Dear Sir or Madam, I grow increasingly tired of the liberal fire-fueling cartoons and articles in your paper. I pick up your paper every week in order to get Springfield information and ideas for my upcoming weekend. However, I am appalled at your partisan beliefs. Yes, you have freedom of the press. […]

Proud to be a local artist To the editor: Your recent story by staff writer Pete Sherman on our movie-in-production, “It Came From the Slurry Pond” [“Hollywood or Bust,” July 17], was outstanding. Yet I wanted to point out a flaw in the characterization of my own life as a local artist, movie producer, and […]

“An opportunity for real change” Dear Editor: I was disappointed by the angle chosen in the article “PR to the rescue: District 186’s plan to rebuild credibility” [June 26]. Headlines such as “District 186 reaches out to community” or “Public engagement: A new start for school district 186” would have better described the intent behind […]

Acting locally To the editor: Peter Sherman’s recent article [“PR to the rescue,” June 26] revealed several reasons why District 186 has credibility issues beyond selling referendums to its constituents. First, the district hired an out-of-market PR firm without sending out a Request for Proposals to local PR companies with employees that pay taxes to […]

Stomp a Success Dear Illinois Times and Dusty Rhodes: Thank you for initially bringing the Duke Tumatoe story to light and for your continued interest in the events surrounding that story. Your coverage of my fund-raiser was the deciding factor in the success of this project. During the course of the evening my belief was […]

Showing God’s will in this moment of “darkness” To the editor, I read your profile of Stephen Brady [“Defender of the Faith” June 19], the Petersburg businessman who has become the world’s most effective force in removing sexual predators from the Catholic clergy, on the same day that the Catholic Bishops of the United States […]