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5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. CHRISTIANS, CONSERVATIVES PLAY DIRTY I just read the article “Culture
Wars” [R.L. Nave, April 6]. I was happy that a new generation
of GLBTQ students is paving the way for other open-minded students
at UIS. I am also angry that the conservative students continue to
show intolerance, only to backtrack when they’re caught
red-handed. As a former UIS student and facilitator of
SASSI (now the Queer-Straight Alliance), I’ve witnessed the
Society of Conservative Students and the Christian Student
Fellowship play dirty by mocking other meaningful causes. They do
it not out of necessity but to cause more problems in an extremely
immature fashion. Instead of making their voices heard in a
civilized manner, SCS and CSF attack the moral character of those
who work hard to make UIS a safe, diverse environment for GLBTQ
individuals. What bothers me the most is that these two
conservative groups — and the conservatives who take part in
the madness — don’t take full responsibility for their
actions. Both back themselves into corners by stating they
“meant no harm” and were “being humorous.”
The people involved knew what they were — and are —
doing when encouraging fellow students to spread ignorance. The
least they can do is admit to their part in the war between GLBTQ
and conservative students. I am so very proud of the new generation of
GLBTQ students — and allies — for standing up for
themselves. These people will truly make a difference at UIS, a place that’ll always need a lesson in
equality and diversity. Shermeeka Mason Rochester, N.Y. SYSTEM NEEDS REFORM ON BOTH SIDES Let me tell you about “tort
reform.” Sometime again, the insurance companies pooled all
their money and hired expensive lobbyists to generously spread that
money around in the form of trips, tickets, vacations, and perks
and convince the various legislatures that the tort system was out
of control and needed reform. Their version of reform was to limit
their liabilities and raise premiums. They then used their record
profits to further invest in the public-relations machine,
indicating that we need more “tort reform.” What it has done is embolden the insurance
companies to simply stiff deserving plaintiffs. For instance, my
client, let’s call him George, after recently having a lens
implanted in his cornea, was struck from behind at a stoplight on
the afternoon after the aforementioned implantation. The force of
the impact dislodged the recently implanted lens and caused George
to retrace his route to the doctor’s office (having just left
from a checkup). The force of the impact also caused severe
shoulder pain for several weeks. The wrongdoer’s insurance company paid
for the property damage to George’s car. When George
requested $1,000 because the impact caused the lens to dislodge and
because of the shoulder pain, the insurance company said,
“No, nothing.” [The insurance company denied the
request because George’s doctor didn’t charge him for
the second visit.] Upon George’s filing a lawsuit for the
maximum amount in small-claims court, the insurance company hired
an attorney and then ridiculed George and said his case was worth
nothing and offered 5 mill (a half-cent). The point is, the tort system needs reform on
both sides. The news about outrageous rewards for slight injuries
is headline news because it happens so seldom. Think about it: Who
do you personally know who got hundreds of thousands of dollars or
even millions of dollars for little or no injury? I’m sure it
happens, but it is rare. Insist that the tort system be made fair for
people like George who was perfectly willing to settle for $500
— and indicated that to the insurance company on several
occasions. He just wanted something because somebody knocked the
crap out of him and sent him to the doctor. William T. Panichi Attorney at law Springfield BE PROUD OF THE ILLINOIS GUARD Last week, I returned from a weeklong trip to
Iraq, where I visited our Illinois citizen soldiers serving there
in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. We currently have nearly
1,000 soldiers serving in Iraq. The purpose of my visit was to see
firsthand their living conditions, assess the progress they are
making, and, most important, to gauge their morale. I visited
soldiers from Illinois Army National Guard units based in North
Riverside, Urbana, Urbana, Effingham, Litchfield, Lawrenceville,
Crestwood, Milan, and Beardstown. While no denies that Iraq is still a very
dangerous place, where many challenges still remain, let me tell
you what I observed in meeting with and talking to these great
Illinois Guard soldiers who answered their nation’s call to
duty. Despite the danger and challenges, to a man and woman they
are proud of what they are doing for their country. To talk about
all of the fine work and accomplishments of these brave and
patriotic Illinois Guardsmen would take too long, but here are some
notable examples. Our medical company based in Crestwood is
running the medical clinic for a huge logistics base and is the
first-line sick call for the forces there. They have done
extraordinary work and have improved inventory-management practices
and reduced shelf stock from a 45-day to a 15-day supply,
eliminating expired medical supplies. The more than 450 members of
our infantry battalion are providing base and area security for a
large Marine logistics base. Although these soldiers from units in
Urbana, Effingham, and Litchfield are in a very dangerous area of
the Sunni Triangle, they patrol their sector daily and have built a
level of trust and cooperation among the local Iraqi population.
The engineers from Lawrenceville, stationed at a forward operating
base, are helping to build Iraqi bases and are now turning parts of
their sector to the Iraqi Army. Fewer than 50 soldiers from our
Milan-based artillery unit are in charge of a huge base along the
Iraq-Kuwait border. They serve as the “mayors” of this
base, which is the crossing point for units and convoys transiting into and out of Iraq. It was both awe-inspiring and humbling to see
what these amazing Illinois citizen soldiers are doing in Iraq
under very trying conditions. The people of Illinois can be
justifiably proud. Randal E. Thomas Adjutant general Illinois Army and Air National Guard Springfield OUR NATIONAL LEGACY AT RISK The hot issue at hand seems to be the debate
over illegal immigration in the United States, and people on whose
backs this great country was built seem to be losing the battle.
Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents came to this
country in search of the American dream — some by choice and
some so young that they had no choice. The malls we shop in, the
schools we learn in, the churches we worship in, and the buildings
we conduct business in all have a piece of the “illegal
immigration” within their walls, and there will never be any
escaping it. These workers have shed their blood, sweat, and
tears in the midst of a hot summer day or freezing-cold night to do
the jobs that “legal” Americans would not. In Southern
California and Florida, they’ve stayed in the fields and
orchards for 20 hours a day, picking the fruits and vegetables that
so many of us throw away when our kids tell us they do not like
them. And let us not forget the workers employed in dingy, unsafe
factories to produce a button or a zipper or, even worse, clean the
insides of an animal that was slaughtered for our fancy five-course
meal at a five-star restaurant off the floor. These jobs —
all jobs that our average “legal” immigrant would never
dream of touching — may be too tedious or too disgusting but
are graciously accepted by fellow immigrants to provide for their
families. And I wonder who was it that defined
immigration into this great country as illegal? Simply because we
have not obtained a visa or some red-tape document that gives us
“permission” to enter a country that was built on immigration
— this makes it illegal? Should we be knocking on the doors
of every individual — other than our Native American friends
and African-American friends who were forced to give up their land
and who were forced here through slavery — and ask them for
their papers or green card? Perhaps they should be considered felons. Christina Martinez-Romero President, National Image Inc. Central Illinois Chapter Springfield CORRECTION The correct number for Thirsty’s
Playground on Wabash Avenue is 217-787-7273. The number was
incorrect in last week’s “Now Playing” column.
This article appears in Apr 13-19, 2006.
