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
A MATTER OF LOCAL SECURITY
I read Fletcher Farrar’s column “Not another Clinton nuke” in the Sept. 9 edition of Illinois Times. It is still on my mind. I finally got a chance to write this letter, sitting on my sister’s front porch overlooking Sacramento — and the closed Rancho Seco nuclear-power plant.
Farrar is absolutely right. People in Springfield and all over central Illinois should be paying attention to the request by Chicago-based Exelon Corp. for permission to build (just in case they want to) another nuclear plant in Clinton. I think we should be doing everything we can to squelch that permit. As Farrar pointed out, a permission to build can be “banked” for up to 20 years under new rules that make things easier on nuclear-energy corporations and harder on the public.
The first way to prevent nuclear proliferation in central Illinois is to vote for John Kerry. He will at least put the brakes on the untrammeled and secretive development that the Bush administration is pushing.
The second thing to do is follow Farrar’s advice and attend the public hearings
on the draft of an environmental-impact report on a second nuclear plant in
Clinton. The article gave this Web address to check for updates: www.nrc.gov.
Every community group in Springfield and other Sangamon Valley cities should
have representatives at that meeting.
Is a second nuclear plant at Clinton a national — and local — security issue? You bet it is. The existing plant is an issue — it’s the nature of nuclear power.
Peggy Sower Knoepfle
Jerome
DON’T REPEAT THE SINS OF THE PAST
I appreciated Yosh Golden’s article on the Japanese-American travesty [“Life interrupted,” Oct. 14]. It is also fitting to reflect on a little-known chapter of American history — that of the internment of Italian-Americans, without cause, during World War II.
Despite the fact that 500,000 Italian-Americans served in the U.S. armed forces, their loyalty was suspect after Italy declared war on the United States after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As a horrible consequence, some 10,000 people were evicted from their homes along the Pacific Coast, in accordance with Executive Order 9066, signed by President Roosevelt on Feb. 19, 1942. Fifty thousand were subject to curfew or arrest, and 600,000 were labeled “enemy aliens.” Scores were issued identity passes that restricted their travel, employment, and ownership of fishing boats and radios. Thousands of Italian families saw their meager livelihoods destroyed when their fishing boats were impounded for naval use. Hundreds of community leaders, newspaper editors, social-club officers, and teachers were summarily removed from their jobs and shipped to Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas.
Let us never forget what people and governments are capable of in times of peril, and let us not repeat our sins of the past.
Valeri DeCastris
Secretary
Greater Rockford Italian American Association
Rockford
BIRD’S-EYE VIEW
This letter is in regard to the article “Trouble in the air” concerning St. John’s hospital and the cancer-causing asbestos particles left exposed on a rooftop of one of the many buildings owned and under construction by the hospital, being spread in the air by the patient transport helicopters flying into and out of the hospital [Dusty Rhodes, Oct. 14].
I was a flight nurse employed by St. John’s for several years and I recall flying directly over the area in question numerous times. A spokesman [Brian Reardon, director of community relations] representing St. John’s hospital stated “I take issue with that” and stated that the helicopters never flew over [the contaminated area] and are “pretty high up.”
Actually the helicopters flew in very low, as we departed or arrived; low enough to scatter dust and debris on Ninth Street. So until St. John’s cleans up its act I would suggest wearing a respirator if you come anywhere near St. John’s.
There certainly is “trouble in the air” at St. John’s hospital, and it is one of Springfield’s best kept secrets, and I “take issue with that”!
Kathy Dunn
Springfield
SUPPORT OUR RIBBONS!
On a recent trip to Iowa City, my wife and I counted nearly 300 “Support Our Troops” magnetic ribbons proudly affixed to the automobiles driven by patriotic citizens.
You can’t drive 100 yards these days without seeing some variation of the aforementioned faux-ribbon magnet on the back of a minivan or SUV (usually three or more per vehicle). Do the people who pay $5 per magnet ever stop to wonder how their purchaseactually supports our troops?
I did, and I decided to do a little research by asking several retailers exactly where the proceeds end up. The results didn’t exactly surprise me. Four of five local retailers said essentially the same thing: The sale of a ribbon is like the sale of a bag of chips or soda; it’s treated as general merchandise. The fifth retailer failed to understand the relevance of my inquiry and promptly sent me on my way.
My research didn’t stop there. A quick Google query of “support our troops magnetic ribbons” yields myriad results that tell the real truth: There is no charity, no troop fund, no “support” for our troops. Ribbons are sold in mass quantities for as little as 40 cents each, and the suggested retail price is $5. Some sites even offer the suggestion that the profits you reap for the resale of the ribbons could be used for a charity — if you want.
Does displaying a ribbon on your car or truck mean you support the troops? Maybe. But who doesn’t? I don’t know of a single person, whether they lean to the left or to the right, who would say they don’t support our troops.
My advice? Spend five minutes online searching for a charity that actually supports our troops in a tangible capacity!
Peter Kullick
Chatham
REMEMBER CLUB 10 ON NOV. 2
With all the attention focused on the presidential race, there are also important political races here that should not be overlooked. The Sangamon County Board wields considerable power here at home and makes decisions on what people can and can’t do with the land they own. This power can easily be abused, and when conflicts of interest arise, the odds can be stacked against the business owner. Over the past summer I witnessed my share of what goes on in zoning and board meetings at the county building over the Club 10 teen center on Bradfordton Road.
Club 10 was blamed for all of society’s ills by its neighbors. The casual observer would have probably dismissed the claims, [but]they couldn’t be dismissed because there were family connections on the board. The voices connected to Tom Fraase were amplified louder, and thus Club 10’s fate was sealed. [For more on the Club 10 controversy, see Todd Spivak, “Unplugged,” July 29 at www.illinoistimes.com.]
Steven Lucas
Springfield
LAST SHOT — FOR BUSH
After foreigners killed thousands of innocent Americans on 9/11, President George W. Bush said the United States would answer these attacks and rid the world of evil. He said anyone who harbored or helped terrorists would be on our list. He’s never once wavered in his stance. John Kerry and John Edwards won’t even admit it’s a good thing that Afghanistan held its first free election in thousands of years or that Saddam Hussein is in prison. I guess they’re too busy trying to blame Bush for the flu-vaccine shortage. Bush or Kerry: It seems a no-brainer!
Robert Wilcott
Decatur
LAST SHOT — FOR KERRY
Before the war on Iraq, George W. Bush would not have had to scratch very deep at the Central Intelligence Agency or Defense Department to find out that there were deep divisions about whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. But he did not, and so, assuming he did not know he was lying at the time, he based his rush to war on false information, which he did not bother to verify for himself. So I say Bush is responsible for his lies before the war, and that’s why I’m voting for U.S. Sen. John Kerry.
Dr. A. Alan Estock
Rushville
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2004.
