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Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com.
PAY IT BACK!
Just a word of advice to some of last week’s
letter writers complaining about SallieMae: the reason it’s called a
loan is because you have to pay it back! I’ve had the privilege of using student loans to go
to college at two different colleges. It is a privilege, not a right, a
handout, or something to take for granted. My payments did not balloon out
of control and my loans were not sent into forbearance because I started
sending money as soon as it was required. Was I one of the “children
of the rich” referred to? No. Was it easy paying them back? No. After
I graduated I kept driving the same klunky 10-year-old car, lived in a
two-room apartment, and had hand-me-down and garage-sale furniture so that
I could make my payments.
There’s no use looking for your “attorney
who specializes in fighting student loan debt” because there’s
nothing to fight. When you borrow money, you repay it. Plain and simple.
Try taking some responsibility for your actions and debts.
I certainly hope that neither of you were business or
accounting majors.
Kathy
Jones
Springfield
RAPE ISN’T FUNNY
Garrett Moffett’s cavalier comments regarding
his latest walking tour titled “R-Rated Springfield” (Aug. 28)
astounded me. Moffett describes his “entertaining” subject
matter as “murders and some rapes” and remarks that these
accounts will be “told in a lighthearted fashion” and that
“people enjoy that kind of
entertainment.”
As an advocate for justice and compassion for victims
of sexual assault, I would like to inform Moffett that there is nothing
lighthearted or entertaining about the crime of rape (or murder, for that
matter). Characterizations that rape is “R-Rated” (read sexy)
advances rape myths and normalizes a brutal crime. Rape is not about sex
and there is nothing sexy about rape. Rape is an act of violence, humiliation and
control. Narratives that characterize rape as a slice of the seamy
underside of life, a function of the criminal element, promote rape myths.
Indeed, rapists that fit the myth — lurking criminal, crazy low-life
— are more likely to be prosecuted, but there is no common profile of
a rapist.
The “lighthearted” act of criminal sexual
assault leaves pain, emotional trauma, disease and sometimes, unwanted
pregnancy in its wake. Very entertaining.
Catherine
Walters
Prairie Center Against Sexual Assault
Springfield
BOMKE PROPOSES
NOTHING
I was embarrassed for State Sen. Larry Bomke when I
read his four-page, glossy constituent newsletter distributed through Illinois Times. He devoted the
first page to impeaching the governor, but didn’t even commit to
voting to remove the governor from office. The senator also complained
about the governor’s budget shenanigans, but proposed no alternatives
of his own. The remainder of the senator’s newsletter concerned much
less substantive issues, and painted an especially clear picture of his
utter lack of ideas and inability to contribute substantively to solving
this state’s problems.
The budget mess is a particularly difficult one.
Illinois is a blue state trying to provide blue-state services on red-state
revenues. It is clear that some modification of the income tax is
necessary, but only legislators in safe seats will touch that one with a
ten-foot pole. The governor has proposed several fixes using other revenue
sources, but these are too small and too transient to provide long-term
solvency. Sen. Bomke has proposed nothing, while a number of Chicago
legislators are wrestling with controversial bills to raise the income tax.
I was also saddened to read of Sen. Bomke’s
obsession with sex offenses and crimes against children. These are serious
problems, and other states are experimenting with approaches based on
research to identify offenders early and train parents to protect their
kids. The senator prefers legislation to extend sentences and create new
criminal offenses, indicating that he knows nothing about the problem or
how to address it sensibly.
One need not possess a Ph.D. in economics or history
to hold public office, but we should require our public officials to be
open-minded and motivated to address our societal problems seriously. Sen.
Bomke is neither, and I urge voters to reject his reelection bid this fall,
so that we may have a fresh start with next year’s legislature. There
is no reason to go to Iowa or Missouri to help Barack Obama effect change:
campaigning to remove Sen. Bomke from office would be a small but
meaningful contribution to the change Obama endorses.
Eric Fisher
Springfield
GOOD FOOD
Julianne Glatz’s RealCuisine column is one of
the best regular features
(culinary or not) in any of the many publications I
read. It’s simply one
of the most well-written and informative columns
around. I particularly like that she combines information from local,
regional, national and international sources as she develops the
interesting, personal anecdotes that typically provide such an appealing
framework for the column’s cooking content. And what a treat that the
recipe and technique content has such a nice leavening of cultural,
historical and scientific information. I hope that we can look forward to
enjoying this great resource for years to come.
Joe McHugh
Springfield
HISTORIC SIGHS
Close to half of the state’s historic sites will
close on Oct. 1, the result of recent budget cuts by Illinois Gov. Rod
Blagojevich’s administration. Topping the list was Frank Lloyd
Wright’s Dana Thomas House in Springfield — one of the
acclaimed architect’s best-known residential designs. The irony of
this particular closing was that millions of taxpayers’ money was put
into this home during the late ’80s for its acquisition, restoration
and eventual opening to the public in 1990.
Other closed sites range from the grand Victorian
David Davis House to three buildings in Bishop Hill and even the
state’s early Capitol in Vandalia.
Our office is hearing from travelers who arrive at the
doorstep of Illinois historic sites only to find signs stating
“Closed due to budget cuts.” The impact of that very scene is
devastating, not only now, but for the future. Immediate tourism revenue
and economic viability of the state and local communities are impacted.
Long term, the education of our children and ability to recapture
travelers’ attention and dollars are affected. The dominos will
continue to fall.
Many of these sites already suffer from deferred
maintenance. With no staff to care for them, or a capital budget for
support, these sites will slowly begin to crumble. Each one has its own
individual history and architectural relevance. They are places of pride
for communities and destinations for thousands, not line-items in a grand
budget quickly cut for immediate financial relief.
Jim Peters
President, Landmarks Illinois
Chicago
LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION
Your article on prostitution [See “Going to the
Johns,” IT,
Aug. 21-27] completely misses the mark. Laws and enforcement have never
stopped a vice. From alchohol to gambling, from drugs to prostitution.
Never. The problems associated with prostitution exist for one reason, and
one reason only: it’s illegal. You cannot “ban” a vice.
All you really do when you make a vice illegal is drive it underground into
the hands of criminals and all the enforcement in the world won’t
stop it, much less slow it down. The key to solving all the problems
associated with prostitution, from the annoyance of streetwalkers to the
abuse of women, to STDs, is to legalize it and regulate it. Every
area/country that has done just this has watched all these problems
virtually disappear. It is so very sad that we seem to have never learned
the lessons of Prohibition. Meanwhile mindsets like yours just leave a wake
of victims and make criminals and organized crime very wealthy and far more
dangerous.
Kris Gates
Springfield
This article appears in Sep 4-10, 2008.
