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We welcome letters. Please include your full name,
address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters,
Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958;
e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
APPLAUD PRESERVATION EFFORTS I enjoyed reading Amy Karhliker’s recent
article “Uniquely Springfield” [June 21]. Admittedly, I am
biased (my mom is one of the owners of ShoeTopia). But it wasn’t just
Karhliker’s mention of ShoeTopia that made this article enjoyable. I
was delighted by her acknowledgment of the revitalization of downtown
Springfield. I was born and raised in the area and remember when
downtown Springfield was just a place where residents went to work. I have
since moved away, and now, when I come to visit, I’m impressed by the
number of restaurants and shops that have opened up, making the downtown
appear to be thriving and a welcoming space. More importantly, it makes
Springfield appear unique. Downtown revitalization is not just happening in
Springfield. Downtown Champaign, for example, now has numerous bistros,
boutiques, and cafés where vacant storefronts and buildings stood
only a couple years ago. Even the downtown areas of the Chicago suburbs
— Evanston, LaGrange, and Oak Park, to name a few — have come
into their own with art galleries, bakeries, and boutiques. Certainly architecture historians applaud the
preservation efforts made by downtown revitalization as well. Let’s
hope citizens continue to recognize the unique qualities of their downtown
areas and support the local businesses that not only strengthen our local
economies — as Karhliker states in her article — but also help
make our towns pleasant and charming places to live and work.
Kate Fuener
Chicago
UNFAIR TO UNNAMED
BUSINESSES Illinois Times does an
excellent job of covering downtown Springfield. However, in Amy
Karhliker’s article she names not only types of businesses but [also]
specific names of businesses. This seems unfair to businesses left out
— Maldaner’s left out of restaurants and the Blue Door omitted
from artists co-op. I’m sure there were other restaurants and
businesses not included. It seems to me it would be better to list them all
or just say “artists co-op” and do not list any specific store.
Some of these shops not listed could be current or future advertisers in Illinois Times, and slighting
them could affect their sense of loyalty on where to spend their
advertising dollars. As a longtime advertiser and supporter of Illinois Times, I would like
to see the paper continue to grow and prosper. Again, thanks for covering
downtown businesses. Mark Kessler Recycled Records Springfield
NO MORE DEAD HORSES The dead horse you mentioned being beaten to death
(our nation’s Bush-Iraq blunders) is lying right in the middle of my
living room [Roland Klose, “Getting it right,” June 14]. I have
to walk around and over it every day. I don’t want any more dead
horses. Perhaps exhorting the American people to work harder together, look
closer before we leap, and pay attention is a start. It is a very, very
long road in finding our way. Suggesting that Bush’s invasion of Iraq
was well-intentioned? Ridiculous.
Anne
Logue
Springfield
TOO MUCH LIBRARY
SECURITY There are those amongst us who are loathe to express
an opinion for fear that someone might ring up their boss. Unencumbered by
such deterrents, I would like to express my opinion on the security-guard
mess in this town. At Lincoln Library there is always one and sometimes two
guards on duty at any given moment. At the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library, there are always two guards on duty. Most banks only employ one
guard. And bank employees are sometimes on the wrong end of a gun. We had
an example of this recently in Chicago, where there was a robbery in which
one bank employee was killed. And yet our intrepid librarians feel the need
for at least two security guards. I feel that this is a patent waste of
money that should be remembered the next time we are approached, hat in
hand, by the administrators of these two institutions. Darryl E. Fox Athens
BRAINWASH THEM INTO PEACE War in Iraq. War in Afghanistan. Saber-rattling by
Iran. Civil war in Iraq. Civil war in Lebanon. Civil war in the Gaza. The
current Middle East is a flash pan of ever-escalating violence and hatred
leading to a self-fulfilling Armageddon. The United States needs to
acoustically psycho-correct this people into socially acceptable behavior
and peaceful coexistence by way of the psy-ops technology your father used
during Desert Storm, causing the Iraqis to surrender in droves to American
forces. I am speaking of the voice-to-skull (V2K) Lowery Patent 5159703
“Silent Subliminal Presentation System” of Silent Sounds Inc.
of Norcross, Ga. This advanced brainwave-entertainment technology is
delivered via America’s satellite network, supplemented by American
aircraft with no need for ground troops, as all is handled through the
medium of outer space and the sky. This technology is the only way a
peacefully coexistent Middle East is ever going to come about. Gregory Thompson Jacksonville
POLITICIANS DON’T USE LOGIC As I read a recent edition of Illinois Times, as usual something
caught my attention. It was a letter to the editor from Ken Swanson,
president of the Illinois Education Association, urging the Illinois
General Assembly to fix the funding of the education system
[“Letters,” June 14]. Ken, don’t hold your breath
waiting! Fixing the education system has been a campaign
promise of every state and federal candidate, regardless of party
affiliation, since I have been voting. After all those years of elected
officials from both parties, it should be “fixed” —
right? Logically, I can come to only two conclusions: Either
the education system is not fixable or perhaps (sadly) politicians really
don’t want it fixed. I am starting to believe the latter is true. I know
that sounds cynical, and perhaps it even borders on a conspiracy theory.
However, if the education system ever worked right we should ask: When,
who, how, and why is it broken now? If it’s never worked right, then obviously
previous and current elected officials have lied and have no intention of
fixing it. If additional funding is necessary to help fix
it‚ why are the politicians starting additional programs instead?
Doesn’t it seem logical to fix one program before starting a new one?
Oops, I answered my own question. Politicians
don’t use logic — they use our tax dollars. Jeff Davis Dawson
DON’T TRADE AWAY STATE PARKS Illinois taxpayers, please say no to trading off land
in Pyramid State Park to developers who propose to build a Bransonlike
complex in southern Illinois and have their eye on 2,000 acres of the
recently acquired addition to Pyramid State park. Their chosen area is in
the north center of the parkland and includes Super Lake, a 270-plus acre
waterfowl mecca. This trade would break the public trust, as well as ruin
one of southern Illinois’ greatest assets. For those who have not visited Pyramid State Park,
its size, continuity, rolling grasslands, and large, clear lakes make it
unique in the state. It’s what attracts dog-field-trial enthusiasts,
nature watchers, campers, hunters, and fishermen. In the winter, more than
70,000 ducks and geese use Super Lake and the area around it. Swapping the
Super Lake acres, the heart of the new addition, would leave the parkland greatly segmented
and as damaged as when it was originally strip-mined. As someone born and raised in southern Illinois, I
clearly understand the need for jobs and economic development in the
Perry/Randolph county region. The southern 16 Illinois counties are in very bad
shape economically. But allowing this established state-park land to be
traded off to a developer is not the answer. Rhonda Rothrock Pomona
MY THOUGHTS ON THE FARM BILL Giving subsidies to farmers to not farm their land
— what? Did I miss something here [see David Moberg, “Whose
subsidy is it anyway?” June 14]? I read an article about farm
subsidies that listed recipients. The first one on the list was a Texas oil
billionaire. Go figure. The top 20 beneficiaries of subsidies in Illinois
are from Divernon. Didn’t Divernon just lose their school because of
no funding and low attendance? Maybe the two on the list could give some of
their free money to the school.
Essentially we have welfare for the wealthy.
That’s the American way for the 21st century. I just cannot
comprehend this. We have families living without their basic needs being
met, and we have a government that pays farmers not to farm land.
LaDonna McClanahan Springfield
This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2007.
