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
TOWER POWER: WHY STOP AT ONE?
In regard to your recent reporting on the
possible building of a tower high above the old train station, what
a great start! [See Todd Spivak, “Back to the future,”
Jan. 20.]
It has always been my contention that despite
the enormous weight of our collective values, Springfield is nearly
bereft of any spirituality. If we understand that “spiritual
health will bring well-being to a town,” then it would seem
that a simple tower in the new center of town might just introduce
the possibility of realizing our future spiritual needs. At the
same time, it would offer us a real connection to a Springfield
that is long past.
What I envision is that this would be but the
first of a series of 100-plus towers that would spiral through the
heart of our city, culminating with the Carillon, high above the
hill in Washington Park. Each would offer a solitary space for
personal contemplation, as well as a collective source of civic
pride.
John Emis
Springfield
HER ACCOUNT RAISES QUESTIONS
I am not going to sit here, on the outside
looking in, and dispute any woman’s claim of rape. But there
are more than just a few details of “Jane’s”
story that have left me in a quandary [Dusty Rhodes, “The
survivor,” March 3].
After being brutally raped, Jane dials 911 to
calmly report “a whole bunch of black guys” at her
door, but never during the call does she report the
“actual” rape.
If the police officer (Renatta Frazier) drove in
and out of the lot without seeing Jane, or blatantly ignored her, why
didn’t Jane pick up the phone when the dispatcher called back?
Did the real “Ace” actually
borrow the screwdriver but give it to some other black guy who
looked like him? Did the other black guy who looked like Ace return
the screwdriver (along with his accomplice) and commit the crime?
Is the real Ace culpable at all?
Are any of the men on whom Jane performed
oral sex in August 2001 (according to the account Jane’s
ex-boyfriend “G” gave to police) the same men who raped
her in October?
Jane says she broke up with G in August 2001
because she discovered “crack cocaine” in his pocket
but says she had consensual sex with him in October in her
apartment, just hours before her brutal rape. Were the perpetrators
acquaintances of G’s? Is he somehow culpable?
I find this part very unsettling: The brutal
and hostile Ace uses Jane’s phone to invite another
individual in on the rape, yet the “first” thing she
does after the assailants leave is get online with a friend who is
“hundreds” of miles away.
Even if poor decisions were made, it is still
no justification for a woman to be brutalized! Yet I can’t
help but wonder how a lawsuit seeking monetary damages against
Frazier, Lt. Rickey Davis, and Courtney Cox can help unravel such a
tangled web.
A.J. Woodson
Springfield
GUESS WHO IS BEING SNOOKERED
At the risk of raising the specter of class
warfare, let me just say that the middle and working classes are
being snookered thrice by the Bush administration’s tax and
budget policies.
Here’s how: First, these classes think
that Bush’s tax cuts have been benefiting them when, in reality, the cuts are benefiting
the rich. Second, by cutting taxes on wealth and investment, Bush is
putting the tax burden on the middle and working classes because, then,
the chief mode of raising revenue becomes taxes on payroll or on labor.
This latter move is cynical, done, in part, to give these classes the
perception that taxes in general are too high and should be cut.
Last, in the coup
de grâce, the Bush
administration advocates cutting or “reforming”
social-benefit programs such as Social Security (the linchpin of
the welfare state), Medicaid, Medicare, housing, home-heating
assistance to the poor, and food stamps — effectively
eliminating the safety net that protects the middle and working
classes, as well as the most vulnerable members of our society,
from extreme economic distress and insecurity.
Beni Kitching
Springfield
TRUST ME: I WORK FOR TV!
OK, I know it’s for their own
protection, but is anyone else tired of handing a cashier your
money, only to have the cashier whip out the pen that detects fake
bills? As [this happens when] I’m leaving work and headed
home, I’m usually wearing a shirt and a coat bearing the logo
of the TV station where I work. Oh, sure, I’m passing fake money
— and I’m in a handicapped parking space, too! Yeah, I
know they are just following policy, but one day soon I am going to
start demanding that they use the pen to check the change they give
me. It would just be my policy.
Mitchell Morrison
Decatur
THANKS FOR SUPPORTING WIC PRODUCTION
Recently the University of Illinois at
Springfield Women’s Issues Caucus presented The Vagina Monologues in
conjunction with V-Day events. It was an amazing success as we
joined more than 700 colleges and universities nationwide who
participated in the College Campaign.
The event benefited Prairie Center Against
Sexual Assault, Sojourn Shelter, the Women’s Issues Caucus,
and Operation Women’s Freedom in Iraq. Almost 250 attended
the performance, which set a record for a student event in the
Studio Theater. Early indications show that we raised more than
$3,000 for the four groups!
Our success would not have been possible
without the support of several individuals and entities.
First we must thank our media sponsor, Illinois Times, for
its tremendous coverage. Second, we must thank the UIS
Women’s Center and the UIS Women’s Studies program for
their support. Additionally, we must thank UIS Housing and
Residential Life and the UIS Inter-Club Council Board, whose
monetary support provided a marvelous reception at which
the audience and cast members were able to interact after the show.
Thanks to all who assisted behind the scenes — especially our
stage manager, Natalia Vera. The show would not have been possible
without her hard work.
Finally, thank you to the entire community
for your support. By working together to raise awareness, we can
end violence against women and girls.
Candi Clouse
President, Women’s Issues Caucus
UIS-WIC V-Day College Campaign Coordinator
DISCLOSE OUTPATIENT SURGERY PRICING
As members of the Illinois HealthCHECK
Coalition, we believe strongly that empowering consumers with
access to price and performance information is a major step forward
in lowering costs and improving access to quality care.
Recently, Sen. Susan Garrett and Rep. Julie
Hamos unveiled legislation called the Illinois Health Care
Consumer’s Right-to-Know initiative (House Bill 2343 and
Senate Bill 1863) that would make that step a reality in Illinois.
Our coalition of civic, business and labor organizations throughout
the state demonstrates broad-based support for this important
consumer-protection initiative.
This legislation builds on a bill passed in
2003 that requires the Illinois Department of Public Health to
publish hospital inpatient price and performance information on a
government Web site. However, most surgeries today are
performed on an outpatient basis, either at hospitals or at
ambulatory surgical treatment centers, also known as outpatient
surgery centers.
The Right-to-Know initiative would expand the
2003 law to include the average prices for 30 outpatient procedures
along with the number of times each facility performs those
procedures. This will allow consumers to make an
apples-to-apples comparison on price and quality for outpatient as
well as inpatient facilities.
With more than 63 percent of surgeries now
being performed on an outpatient basis, it is critical that
Illinois consumers have access to this information. We urge the General
Assembly to provide consumers with the information they need to
make informed health care decisions and pass this legislation.
We encourage you to learn more about this
critical issue, and join us by visiting www.ilhealthcheck.com.
The Illinois HealthCHECK Coalition
Springfield signers include:
The Rev. Jerry Doss, Abundant Faith
Ministries
Rita Tarr, Contact Ministries
Kenneth L. Page, Springfield NAACP
Nina Harris, Springfield Urban League
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2005.
