Untitled Document
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.
I WANT MY VOTE TO COUNT Thomas J. Immel sets a scene that if the states move
away from electoral votes to popular votes it would be like pulling a
thread, unraveling the makeup of the U.S. Senate and leaving small states
ignored and underrepresented [“Letters,” Jan. 31]. He writes,
“Presidential candidates in the National Popular Vote scenario will
necessarily spend all of their campaigning efforts in major population
centers and the largest media markets. Thus the smaller states will be left
out in the cold altogether and their electoral votes will be automatically
cast for the NPV winner. . . .” I have to question how valuable state
loyalty is versus making everyone’s vote truly count. What is wrong with the person who gets the most votes
winning the office? I like having my vote count, and it certainly
didn’t in 2000. Why couldn’t we find a way to go with the
popular vote in the national elections without changing the entire U.S.
Senate structure? Something else we have the power to change is how each
candidate ends up selling himself to the highest bidder to get elected.
That definitely needs to change. Many say our current political system is
broken. I don’t think it is broken; it is just that as our society
grows and changes so must our political process. Anne Logue
Springfield
GIVING THE GOP AN ADVANTAGE Contrary to what Thomas J. Immel writes, the National
Popular Vote initiative is constitutional. The 12th Amendment says that a
state’s electors will be determined in a manner chosen by the
legislature. What’s scary is that any state legislature can appoint
its own electors, with complete disregard for the popular vote.
That’s why we need to abolish the Electoral College. The problem, right now, is that all the states that
have joined the NPV effort are Democratic-leaning states, giving the
Republicans an unfair advantage in all future elections. Until
Republican-leaning or swing states come on board, I think NPV in Illinois
should be put on a back burner and the other states that have approved it
should suspend implementation. The current situation is unacceptable, and I
do not support it. Martin Celnick Springfield
WISHFUL THINKING The election in November will be a repeat of 1980.
Many Democrats crossed over and voted for Reagan. There are a lot of
Democrats who don’t like Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
They’ll cross over and vote Republican. The backing of the Kennedys
won’t help Obama because a lot of people don’t like the
Kennedys. The fighting between Clinton and Obama isn’t going to help
the Democratic Party. They need to stick to the issues. People are turned
off by dirty politics. If I were going to pick a winner, I’d pick
U.S. Sen. John McCain. Danny Faulkner Springfield
ANOTHER HARD LOOK A recent article, which focuses on hiring practices
in Springfield government, raises a concern in my mind about fair play. It
reports the Republican aldermen as promoting fiscal restraint in the city
[Amanda Robert, “Hard look,” Jan. 31]. They have done so by
questioning the need for the mayor’s office to make new job hires in
these depressing times. It is difficult for me not to suspect that their
effort includes at least a trace of political guile. What they have done is to first recognize three newly
filled positions and then publish the names, job titles, and hourly pay of
the holders. Taking both steps in my opinion goes beyond the requirements
of the matter. One can accept the fact that an administration is
fair game for questions about its spending on employment. That officials,
however, would publish the names and salaries of the occupants of these
jobs at the same time as they act to determine the jobs’ necessity
wobbles pretty close to slander. The sight of the jobholders’ names
in print within the text of the article mildly implies political
shenanigans on their behalf. By its organization the article hints that
these new employees are not qualified for the job, that they got hired by
virtue of a special relationship with the right people, rather than
competence. I consider myself a friend to one of the three
persons named, a graduate of the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, I know that he has worked with the Chicago police in
community affairs for a number of years. As a result, he has expertise
working with the homeless and in addition is an experienced office manager.
In my opinion the city is fortunate to have his services at the pay level
quoted. He is underpaid, since he does a job that frees up a uniformed
policeman who would earn more in that post. I believe him far removed from
being some political hack, hired because of political identity, as your
readers might infer.
Whoever approved the publication of that article
should apologize for mentioning names and salaries in the contest between
aldermen and the mayor. Robert Crowley Springfield
DON’T MESS WITH THE TRUTH At first I was amused as I read Maurine
Richter’s letter about not messing with a woman’s hairdresser,
plastic surgeon, or dog groomer [“Letters,” Jan. 31]. As I
continued to read, amusement turned to concern. I am an employee of the
“west-side grooming business” Richter berated in her letter.
The truth be known, the only phone number my employer had for Leslie was a
personal cell-phone number. No business could legally or in good conscience
freely give such information concerning current or past employees. As for
Leslie’s new address, it had not been provided to us. No one at our
business was involved in providing misleading information to our clients.
The bottom line: Hairdresser, plastic surgeon, and dog groomer aside, you
really shouldn’t mess with the truth.
Judy Robertson Springfield
WE DIDN’T DECEIVE ANYBODY I, too, was amused at the letter to Illinois Times written by
Maurine Richter. The facts surrounding her allegations are not aligned with
her assumptions. During Leslie’s final three months of employment
with our business, she told me of her intentions to open her own grooming
business. I even offered her my insights and advice for a successful
business enterprise. As a business owner and adjunct professor for two
local colleges where I teach business management, I felt I could help her
avoid some pitfalls associated with a startup business.
Leslie never provided me or my staff with the address
or business telephone number of her business. Moreover, as a matter of
policy, we do not provide personal information to callers. Our response to
clients requesting Leslie’s services was “She is no longer with
us, and she has started her own grooming business and it is located
somewhere on South Grand, and that is all we know at this time.”
No member of my staff ever deceived any of our
clientele with respect to Leslie’s employment with our business. She
is an excellent groomer, and we wish her the best of luck in her endeavors.
Integrity is the hallmark of any successful business owner, and we take
this obligation very seriously. Mark Lipe General Manager Pampered Pet Center
SEARCHING FOR LOST RELATIVES I have been searching for my uncle and aunt who were
born in Scotland but went to Illinois in 1921. My uncle’s name is
Thomas Davies, born Sept. 18, 1918; my aunt is Mary Ann Davies, born May
26, 1920. Both were born in Philpstoun. Their mother was a widow named
Isabella Shaw (née Brown); their father (my grandfather) was Joseph
Davies. Isabella and Joseph married in 1918 in Edinburgh. Thomas and Mary Ann may not have known of me, as my
late father, their half-brother Alex, was put in an orphanage along with
his sister, my Aunt Janet. Alex and Janet were not allowed to go to America
with their siblings. Isabella may have stayed at a residence on North
Walnut Street in Springfield with her grandfather Thomas Brown. Any information, however small, I would dearly love
to have. Do I have any American family living in Illinois? Jean Petrie (Davies) 9 Headwell Ct. Dunfermline, Fife KY12 OLH Scotland, United Kingdom
CLARIFICATION During the race riot of 1908, a mob intending to
lynch two Springfield men stole rope and other supplies from a store. A
news story last week may have left the incorrect impression that the
store’s Jewish owner cooperated with the mob.
This article appears in Feb 7-13, 2008.
