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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.
WHO’S ON TOP? I just finished reading Jim Hightower’s rant
about Camel No. 9 [“Cancel Camel No. 9,” Sept. 20]. While I
agree with him about the marketing of cigarettes, I am surprised that he
did not check his facts. The No. 1 killer of women is not lung cancer. It
is cardiovascular disease. In the future, Mr. Hightower, please check your
facts before ranting about something.
Susie
Howard Auburn
LET THE FDA REGULATE TOBACCO As a child of smokers, I understand the impact that
smoking can have on the life and health of not only a smoker but the
smoker’s family. In fact, anyone who has lost a family member to
smoking understands the frustration and pain that lasts a lifetime. So why do our kids continue to repeat the mistakes of
our generation? Perhaps one reason is that tobacco companies have free rein
to market their deadly products to our kids and manipulate what they put
into their products to make them more addictive. This has to end.
Tobacco-related illnesses are the No. 1 cause of
preventable death in our country. The U.S. Congress has the opportunity to
reduce the death and disease caused by tobacco by passing legislation to
grant the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco
products. This bill would give the FDA the authority to crack down on
tobacco marketing and sales to kids, require the disclosure of the contents
of tobacco products and the removal of dangerous chemicals, and take other
steps to protect public health. Our representative, U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, can do
something this year to decrease the number of lives lost to this deadly
addiction. As a member of the House committee that will vote on this
legislation, he can ensure that our kids are protected from the greed of
the big tobacco companies. How many more kids have to face a future filled
with the pain and sorrow of smoking-caused disease before Congress acts? Call Shimkus today and urge him to support HR 1108 and
protect our kids from big tobacco. Mary Echols, RN Jefferson County Health Department Mount Vernon
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK I give credit to Mark Mahoney for all the work he is
doing to solve our garbage problems [see Amanda Robert, “Significant
compromise,” Sept. 27]. I still have a problem with the
landlord-tenant laws. Try to imagine this scenario. I am the landlord who
has renters who will not take care of their garbage. They pile it up in
their back yard or even in the house. I will go over there and tell them
they need to clean up their garbage and take it to the alley so it will be
picked up. Garbage service is included in the rent, so they have garbage
service at their address. Now you would think that would be all I needed to
say, because we are dealing with adults. No, I receive a letter in the mail
from Public Works stating I have a few days to clean up the garbage at the
renters’ address or I will be charged the $250 for Public Works to
pick up the garbage. I will go to my rental property to find the garbage
has tripled in size and smells unbelievable. Renters will give me every excuse in the book why they
can’t get the garbage to the alley. I get to the point that I will
kick the renters out because of the garbage problems and damage to the
property. Now I get to go through the courts to remove my renters. I get to
pay $75 to start the paperwork. Because my renters paid their rent each
month I cannot evict them on those grounds. I will have to take pictures
and prove that my renters are destroying my property. While this is going
on my renters are allowed to live at that address. Garbage is still piling
up. I finally get my court date. The judge looks over my
case and decides that they are destroying my property. Then the judge gives
me a date when I can take my property back. Renters have to be served paper
by the Sheriff’s Department, which is usually 30 days down the road.
Garbage is still piling up. Public Works have sent me a bill for garbage
that they picked up at my renters’ house. Renters get a copy of the
violation letter also. They just throw it in the pile with the rest of the
garbage. Some renters don’t think it’s their responsibility to
deal with their garbage. Now my renters are finally moved out. The house is
a mess and they left more than they took. Now I am stuck with the mess.
Renters don’t get their security deposit back. The security deposit
is my only compensation for the mess that was left for me to clean up. We
all know that is not nearly enough money when you have to clean up someone
else’s garbage. The landlord-tenant laws need changing and our
aldermen are the ones who can do it. When, who knows. Look how long it has
taken the City Council to realize there is a problem with garbage. It seems Mark Mahoney is the only one that wants to do
something about other than talk. Keep up the good work, Mark. LaDonna McClanahan Springfield
THE “BEST” SUGGESTIONS I was intrigued by the comment in your introduction to
this year’s “Best of Springfield” edition that the staff
thinks the “best” is when it’s over [Sept. 20]. Perhaps you should shake this annual feature up a bit
by thinking outside of the (suggestion) box and add a bit of whimsy while
still providing useful content.
These three new categories ought to prompt some
creative thinking: Best public-accessible restroom. This is pretty
important to a lot of folks. Best background music (Muzak). There are a couple of
places that come to mind that have excellent piped-in music. Best place for fly dumping. Seriously. Paradoxically,
this will most likely put an end to it. Best of . . . luck. Curt Neitzke Chatham
TALKING ABOUT SERIOUS MONEY In response to Anne Logue’s recent letter [Sept.
20], which asks why Springfield does not have more, and better, bicycle
trails, I say the answer is obvious. First, it depends on whether people still believe that
Springfield is the “capital” of Illinois. Even Illinois Times has mentioned
that most of Illinois politicking is done in Chicago, not in Springfield.
Second, it depends on who and which group pays the
most taxes. Since gas prices remain at near-record-high levels, this means
more tax money for the state. As for the cost of automotive wear and tear,
I can only guess at how much money that Illinoisans are paying out to keep
cars on the road. Add in the taxes on mandatory auto insurance, and I am
sure that we are talking some very serious money. As for bicyclists, walkers, and joggers, just how much
do we pay into state coffers in taxes? For example, because bicycles do not require gasoline to
run, the state is losing money (taxes) on every bicycle that you see in
town. Then there are such costs as tires. With prices at current levels, I
can put two quality tires, and about 16 inner tubes, on my bicycles for the
cost of just one or two car tires (depending upon where one shops). Result,
by my estimate: Bicyclists, walkers, and joggers probably do not pay in 10
percent of the tax money to state coffers that drivers pay in. We do not
pay road-use fees or sidewalk users’ fees, even though we regularly
use these surfaces. We do not pay each year to renew license plates and
stickers. And the list just goes on and on. To Ms. Logue, I say
that these are just some of the many thousands of reasons why Springfield
does not have more and better bicycle routes. Actually, I don’t feel
that we have any reason to complain, because we are not paying for what we
use. If we want more and better paths for our bicycles and our feet, then
we have to find a way to make it financially worth the state’s time
to give us what we want. We must find a way to compete if we want the
state’s attention. It’s a simple, if disgusting, fact of life.
Norman Hinderliter
Springfield
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2007.
