NECCESSARY NEGOTIATIONS
Since Abraham Lincoln’s time, Springfield residents have relied on local newspapers to provide information and insight about local and state matters.
Because Springfield is home to state officeholders and their staffs, these newspapers had substantial influence on the debate of issues affecting all Illinoisans.
The State Journal-Register (SJ-R) is the last daily paper standing in Mr. Lincoln’s hometown and it is crucial the SJ-R remain viable, employing first-rate journalists and presenting high quality news and analysis.
To achieve that goal, there must be a fair settlement of the contract between Gatehouse Media, owner of the State Journal-Register, and newsroom employees represented by the United Media Guild.
For more than three years, the employees have been trying to negotiate a contract to allow the SJ-R to continue to publish a high quality newspaper and, over time, boost circulation to the point that reporter positions eliminated since Gatehouse bought the paper can be restored.
Many of these employees have logged decades of service to the SJ-R and its readers, remaining loyal despite Gatehouse’s elimination of the copy desk and other important newsroom positions.
We urge everyone who believes a great city deserves a great daily newspaper to call the publisher and insist that the SJ-R negotiate a fair contract with the newsroom employees.
Cinda Klickna – President, Illinois Education Association
Dan Montgomery – President, Illinois Federation of Teachers
Michael Carrigan – President, Illinois AFL-CIO
Pat Devaney – President, Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois
Roberta Lynch – Executive Director, AFSCME Council 31
Sean Stott – Director of Governmental Affairs, Laborers’ Midwest Region
Alice Johnson – Executive Director, Illinois Nurses Association
Christine Boardman – President, SEIU Local 73
Sean Smoot – President, Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association
Mike Stout – Business Manager, Illinois State Employees Association
WRONG EXPLETIVE
In his Sept. 10 article, “Off the menu”, James Krohe Jr. wrote of his disappointment at the closing of the Marquette Inn and the new fare being offered by its replacement, The Marq. When I see starving children, terrified fleeing Syrians, victims of abuse, I might say, “Good God!” It was hardly necessary for him to write, and you to print “Christ” because his favorite diner closed. Mr. Krohe needs to broaden his vocabulary and find an expletive which doesn’t dishonor a figure many consider sacred.
Marion van der Loo
Springfield
CIVIC-MINDED COFFEE
Although I usually enjoy James Krohe Jr.’s column, I took issue with his statement in his Sept. 10 column “Off the menu” where he states that, “Starbucks founders Baldwin, Siegl and Bowker deserve a Medal of Freedom for liberating America from Bunn-O-Matic coffee.”
As a devout coffee lover and a former Bunn-O-Matic employee, I wonder if Mr. Krohe knows just how much Bunn-O-Matic has done for coffee worldwide and the Bunn family has done for Springfield?
Melinda McDonald
Springfield
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2015.
