VOLATILE WEATHER
The bio identifying the author, Don Hanrahan, tells the reader all they need to know about this longtime opponent of Hunter Lake (“Say no to Hunter Lake,” Aug. 24).
We’re currently facing volatile weather conditions nationwide like we’ve never seen, and it’s not out of the realm of possibilities we have a severe drought within the next five to 10 years. As times change, we need to adapt, or we’re going to face the brunt of letting those opportunities go by the wayside as we continue to push the status quo of being the same old Springfield.
The author handpicks facts to create a narrative to fit his longtime opposition to Hunter Lake. Why not publish excerpts from the studies that have been completed by experts that show the current need for a secondary water source for Springfield and surrounding communities?
Arthur Dunkin
PAYS FOR ITSELF
A CWLP graph shows Springfield has the lowest water rates in the state, and Chatham’s rates are almost 4.5 times higher: $14.80 compared to $64.84. So is it worth a minor water rate increase to get a 7,800-acre state park that will border our city limits and also solve our secondary water supply issue?
One University of Illinois study estimates that the economic impact to Springfield from just the aquatic aspects of the lake alone would be $7.2 million per year and could be as high as $11.6 million. This doesn’t include the economic impact from the 5,000 acres of ground surrounding the lake and activities such as hiking, biking, camping, birding, hunting, etc.
When built, this project could possibly pay for itself in economic return to Springfield within 15 years, and then Springfield will reap the profits forever.
Reg Davis
FORGET IT
In reference to Don Hanrahan’s excellent remarks on Hunter Lake, for a bad idea like this one to persist for so long, despite growing opposition and better alternatives, it’s certain that someone stands to benefit from it, and I don’t mean the people.
It’s foolish to insist on digging a new lake because certain people just prefer to let the existing lake fill up with sediment. I’m sure there’s more to this than meets the eye. The responsible policy, however, is stewardship, not brinkmanship. Maintain Lake Springfield, and forget about Hunter Lake already.
Jeffrey Hobbs
Springfield
KEEP STANDARDS
Now I have heard it all (“Debate over non-citizens becoming police officers,” Aug. 10). The so-called leader in the Illinois Republican party is no leader at all. House Leader Tony McCombie is instrumental in total misinformation. I am very tired of hearing the opinions of these elected officials instead of what is lawful and constitutional.
You would think lawmakers would at least take time to check with lawyers or other immigration experts as to what will hold up in a court of law. But instead, Leader McCombie would rather vote what she thinks, rather than what would support our Constitution.
I did my due diligence and checked with immigration lawyers in Washington, D.C., who actually do this for a living. The lawyers said DACA recipients are not on a pathway to citizenship. Their deportation has merely been deferred and DACA can be revoked at any time, making them deportable.
A law enforcement officer generally has to take an oath to uphold our Constitution and our laws. If the individual is an illegal alien, he or she cannot take that oath.
There is also no way to definitively determine who that individual is because they were not vetted or admitted into the country.
Standards should not be changed because more police are needed. Would you allow nurses to practice medicine because there is a shortage of doctors?
Rosanna Pulido
Springfield
This article appears in Tough choices at Memorial Health.
Did you know that 30 percent of CWLPs claimed “need” for Hunter Lake water is so they can sell it to a private equity capital firm that says it’s building a gas power plant that will compete with CWLP electric? That’s in CWLPs own statement of need.
How is it in the public interest for its municipal utility, designed and built to provide Springfield residents with water, to charge ratepayers $153 million to build a lake for a private equity firm to build a power plant that competes with ours?
I think Mr Hobbs is sadly mistaken on several points, and especially “ growing opposition and better alternatives “ The vast majority of everything else he says is nothing more than speculation, conjecture, unsubstantiated insinuation and/or an opinion.
To Mr Hanrahan’s comment here, I will explain how I think it’s in the public interest. First, when someone builds a $Billion dollar power plant around here it will create a huge amount of local construction jobs, material supplier jobs, and a fair amount of good paying permanent jobs after it’s finished. Second, it will set up the CWLP water division with a permanent 300,000 gallon a day water customer which will help keep Springfield residents water rates down. I hear they have future plans for expansion, so it could be much more down the road, and by building this project CWLP will have enough water to supply them, and more. Third, a power plant valued at over a $Billion dollars will bring in a massive amount of property taxes to Sangamon County every year and help keep everyone else’s property taxes down.
CWLP is so busy thinking of how to spend more money all the time. Once they get their rate increases, the funds are never used to do what they were originally intended. ie: remember when the rate increases were to replace all the pipe systems throughout Springfield from a long time ago, to prevent flooding. My water line to my house blew right before Christmas a few years ago, as soon as it was replaced, guess what, the CWLP pipe on street side blew! They must have forgotten to replace that one. That is just one example of not using funds for what they were intended or at least what we were told they were going to use them for. How about the most recent storm, out of power for 5.5 days. I was told they don’t charge when the meter doesn’t run, however, my bill was the same as previous month and it was cooler this year than it was last year during that same time frame according to Noah Weather at Lincoln.
If you do not believe that water will be an important resource for our community in the coming decades, then you probably believe because the rain falls down and water is abundant and everywhere.
Water will be the most important thing in the life of a community because without it, there can be nothing.
We have seen the lake levels so low the power plant was watching when it had to shut down. We have seen lake levels so low that we had to pump water from the Sangamon River and if I recall the waste water plant to try and keep levels up.
So the issues to me are :
1: We DESPERATELY need to dredge Lake Springfield ($100 million)
2: If we want to bring in more business to Springfield, we need more water.
3: It will be too late if we wait for when we need it.
Like Spaulding’s folly, which turned out to be pretty great, Lake II has the potential to make Springfield incrementally better. More water, more recreation, more nature, more buffering for farm runoff.
For those who think climate change might happen here, beat the drum for an additional lake. If the climate gets hot enough for a draught, your voice will be too dry to be heard.