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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
DO YOUR JOB, JOHN
John Schmidt’s ignorance about the prosecution of domestic-violence cases
is appalling [Dusty Rhodes, “No protocol, no dough,” April 1]. Casey Gwinn,
city attorney of the highly acclaimed prosecution project in San Diego, Calif.,
believes that having a protocol and a cooperative relationship with law enforcement
and the domestic-violence program effectively reduces domestic-related homicides,
decreases the severity of assaults, and protects the victims and their children
by enforcing orders of protection. Gwinn’s project in San Diego has been so
successful over the past six or seven years that President Bush has chosen to
replicate it in 12 other places. The incidence of domestic homicides goes down
when prosecutors actively prosecute domestic battery, repeat assaults, violations
of orders, and stalking.
Domestic homicides take a terrible toll on communities. Schmidt should follow
the numbers. There were 11 domestic homicides in four years in Springfield.
These affected approximately 1,485 family members, friends, neighbors, fellow
workers, and schoolmates. According to national sources, the expected average
value of lost earnings that those victims would have contributed to society
was $713,000, so Springfield lost at least $7.8 million dollars in business
revenue. Each domestic homicide costs each law-enforcement agency approximately
$50,000 to respond and investigate, which is equal to the personnel time of
one full-time officer. So those 11 murders cost the Springfield Police Department
$550,000.
The Sangamon County state’s attorney’s record on effective prosecution of
domestic-violence cases is dismal at best. His lack of commitment to engage
in meaningful efforts with law enforcement and Sojourn is frustrating.
Thanks to the Illinois legislature over the last 10 years, Illinois has one
of the most comprehensive sets of laws with respect to domestic violence. We
do not need more laws. We need prosecutors who are educated about issues and
who set up practices and procedures (protocols). We need prosecutors who support
the efforts of law enforcement to fight crimes of violence. We need prosecutors
who take seriously their duty to uphold and enforce the law.
Cheryl Howard
Executive Director
Illinois Coalition against Domestic Violence
FOR THE RECORD
Thanks for the generous coverage of my efforts to save architecturally
and/or historically worthwhile buildings. Todd Spivak produced a fairly thorough
and well-written text [“To the rescue,” April 8].
Some comments:
While I’ve made some noise about preservation and have been involved in some
restoration projects, the true preservationists in Springfield have been Carolyn
Oxtoby, Denny Polk, Bud Farrar, the Gerbers, Dick Hart, and the late Doug Brown,
among others, each of whom have heavily invested time, money, and effort in
saving multiple significant structures. And Wally Henderson’s major role in
the restoration of the Old State Capitol places him in a preservationist pantheon.
Ted Day has been the most active volunteer on the Judge Taylor project, but
many others have contributed in various ways, including the former Historic
Preservation Association of Springfield, Tom Bundy, Fred Prillaman, David Parker,
Faith Logan, and Dennis Christensen.
Rather than “battling the city for control of the [Judge Taylor] property,”
Save Old Springfield has been working with outstanding cooperation from the
Building and Zoning Department and the Code Enforcement Division.
Many Springfieldians would join me in questioning the characterization of
the Bunn Warehouse as an “eyesore [whose] rehab would have cost millions.” This
was one of a small minority of Springfield buildings to be listed — for both
its architecture and its history — on the city’s historic-sites registry by
City Council ordinance. It also was deemed eligible, by the staff of the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places.
Although the Judge Taylor House is the first preservation-rehab project I’ve
headed, I previously teamed with Dick Hart and others in developing German Settlers
Row on West Cook.
Jerry Jacobson
Save Old Springfield
BUILD A SAFE HOUSE
Thank you for highlighting the plight of the Bishop family’s struggle
with lead poisoning [Todd Spivak, “Lead alert,” April 1]. This is just one example
of how families in our own community struggle with unsafe housing conditions
and the devastating effects, particularly on the children. As the Family Selection
Committee Chair for Habitat for Humanity Sangamon County, I often find that
while people are familiar with the Habitat name, they are not aware of the three
simple criteria for homeownership. Perhaps the Bishops, or other families like
them, would be interested in applying for our homeownership program.
To become a Habitat homeowner, you must meet the following guidelines:
1. Currently living in substandard housing and/or paying more than half of
your income in rent,
2. Able to make a monthly mortgage payment but unable to quality for a conventional
bank home loan,
3. Willing to partner with Habitat to complete monthly classes on homeownership,
budget counseling, and 250 “sweat equity” hours (per adult in house over the
age of 18).
Although the homeownership program does not provide an immediate solution
to one’s housing problem, more than 50 families in Sangamon County alone have
been able to realize their dream of homeownership.
If you would like to find out whether you might qualify for the homeownership
program, or if you are interested in volunteer opportunities with Habitat, our
next informational meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 27, at Westminster
Presbyterian Church, located at Walnut and Edwards. You can also call the Habitat
office at 217-523-2710 for more information.
Karen Davis
Family Selection Committee Chair
Habitat for Humanity of Sangamon County
WHEN EVERYBODY’S GAY . . .
I am writing in response to William Fromm’s letter [“Lifting the curse,”
March 18]. I did agree with some points of his letter; however, I am compelled
to argue against his view of same-sex marriage: “On the issue of homosexuality,
if marriage for same-sex [individuals] is allowed, within 100 years the earth
will be devoid of human beings.” This claim is preposterous. In order for this
scenario to play out, every single human being on the planet would have to be
homosexual (and just waiting for that all-too-important legalization of gay
marriage), and science’s advances in the reproductive field would have to be
reversed.
Perhaps Mr. Fromm has been hiding under a rock somewhere, but we here in the
21st century know that heterosexual intercourse is no longer necessary to procreate.
Now, just for the sake of argument, let’s say that everyone suddenly turns homosexual
and science is lost and forgotten. I’m fairly sure that there would be homosexuals
having heterosexual sex in order to have children. This would probably be for
the sheer pleasure of raising children as opposed to an effort at keeping the
human race alive. But we needn’t even take it so far. Given that there are heterosexuals
in existence and science is alive and well, we needn’t worry just yet about
the survival of the species.
Amanda Hagney
Springfield
This article appears in Apr 15-21, 2004.
