Letters to the editor 2/6/25

We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to editor@illinoistimes.com.

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NO SAVINGS

I retired as the chief deputy recorder of deeds in 2021 with a fair and equitable salary of $71,000 after 11 years of service. My replacement was hired at $60,000, or 15.5% less.

I hope the voters and taxpayers of Sangamon County will take notice of the first official act of the newly elected “hire me to fire me” recorder of deeds, Frank Lesko (“Lesko gives raise to his deputy recorder,” Jan. 23). He wanted to raise the salary of the chief deputy recorder by 15.25% from the current $69,413 to $80,000. This is certainly not consistent with his goal of saving the taxpayer money.

My only hope that this waste can be stopped is for the “taxpayers’ watchdog,” Andy Goleman, to step in and convince our fiscally conservative Sangamon County Board to reject this ordinance. If that is not possible, perhaps Mr. Lesko’s absurdly generous campaign supporter, Frank Vala, will pay the increase as evidence of his strong interest in good government.

Don McCarthy
Springfield

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NO FISCAL CONVERVATIVE

Frank Lesko hasn’t been in the recorder’s position for 90 days yet, and he is already blowing taxpayers’ money like he doesn’t care. The voters are going to regret voting for Lesko instead of Josh Langfelder, and I say that as a Republican. Langfelder did a good job in that department – they were just trying to get all Democrats out of it. Now look what we are dealing with.

Karen LeSure
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes

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NO NEW CRITERIA

I would like to point out a big red flag in the City Council’s proposed changes. One of the steps being considered is: “at the next council meeting, the City Council would vote on the criteria prospective candidates must meet.” Shouldn’t there already be set criteria for the job? Why would the council need to set new criteria each time there is a vacancy? I’ll tell you why: so the majority can craft and bend and manipulate the criteria to fit the person that they want in the job.

I witnessed this trick used persistently during my 30 years of employment at the state of Illinois. Not only is it an easy way to qualify the candidate of the majority’s choice, but also an easy way to disqualify anyone who won’t tow the party line.

Todd R. Becker
Divernon

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NO RESPECT

In the article “City Council to consider changes to appointment process” (Jan. 23), Clerk Chuck Redpath refers to his employees twice as “two girls” while stating “they do the job of five.” It is not the 1950s, and Chuck should know better. No wonder all the other employees left.

Judith Barringer
Springfield

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NO COMMON SENSE

Wow, that’s so big of them – they’re going to make an ordinance to change the process in the future? Where was the common sense the first time around?

Stephanie Campbell-Goebel
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes

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NO SHAME

Ethics, values, morals, reputation – no one cares anymore? Sad.

Tiffany Lapp
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes

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BRING BACK FIXED PRICES

The 217 Burger Week has totally gotten out of control. When the concept started in 2018, each restaurant’s burger choice was capped at $5. Yes, perhaps the portions might have been small, but the concept was to get a diner into an establishment that they might not have dined at. Diners were encouraged to buy additional food and drinks and tip the server generously.

Then the pandemic hit, and the price increased to $7 in 2022. Still, it was a great way to sample restaurants and the atmosphere. Now we have eliminated the one-price concept and allow each restaurant to set its own price. Some are as much as $15. Please bring back the set price. I realize inflation is making food more expensive, but I would rather have smaller portions and try multiple restaurants during the week.

Bob Immel
Springfield

217 Burger Week continues through Feb. 12. See each’s restaurants offerings at 217FoodWeek.com.

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