About LDN

Letters to the Editor


About LDN

Lincoln Daily News.com
601 Keokuk St.
Lincoln, IL 62656

TEL: (217) 732-7443
FAX: (217) 732-9630

Lincoln Daily News publishes daily news about the Lincoln/Logan County area on the Internet at www.lincolndailynews.com. (We are not a print publication.) All subscriptions are free!

Content:

The articles published in Lincoln Daily News are the result of research, interviews and news releases submitted. Any opinions expressed are those of the writers.

Our staff:

In the office

Managing editor: Jan Youngquist

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com

Technician, photo editor, graphic designer: 
Jeff DeMarco

Text processing: Mary Krallmann

Advertising sales and public relations:

Lucky Eichner:  ads@lincolndailynews.com

Writers
[Click here]

For employment information, contact us.

 

Our mission:

The mission of Lincoln Daily News is to tell the stories of Logan County in a contemporaneous manner, with lively writing and a predilection for simple truth fairly told. Lincoln Daily News seeks a relationship with the good people of Logan County that is honest, neighborly and never patronizing. Lincoln Daily News presents news within a full context that contributes to understanding. Lincoln Daily News is more interested in the marketplace of ideas than the competition of personalities. Without shrinking from the bold delivery of unvarnished fact, Lincoln Daily News operates from the premise that God's creatures deserve the presumption of right motive. Lincoln Daily News eschews malice and cynicism; it approaches every person with dignity and every subject with equanimity. In short, Lincoln Daily News informs, stimulates and entertains.

Corrections:

Please contact us by phone, fax, mail or e-mail with any information about mistakes, typos or erroneous information. If the error is in an item which is still in the paper, we will correct it online immediately.

 

Our services:

Lincoln Daily News provides daily news, sports, features and commentary on Lincoln, Logan County and the surrounding area. 

To promote local businesses, we offer display advertisements at very reasonable rates and links to business websites. Call (217) 732-7443 or
e-mail ads@lincolndailynews.com

To submit classified ads, click here.

"Happy ads" are a special feature to enable our readers to celebrate birthdays, graduations, anniversaries and other good news.  Call us for details.


Letters to the Editor

The Lincoln Daily News publishes letters to the editor as they are received.
 The letters are not edited in content and do not necessarily reflect 
the views of Lincoln Daily News.

Lincoln Daily News requests that writers responding to controversial issues address the issue and refrain from personal attacks. Thank you!

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Please send your letters by e-mail to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com or by U.S. postal mail to:

Letters to the Editor
Lincoln Daily News
601 Keokuk St.
Lincoln, IL  62656

Letters must include the writer's name, telephone number, mailing address and/or e-mail address (we will not publish address or phone number information). Lincoln Daily News reserves the right to edit letters to reduce their size or to correct obvious errors. Lincoln Daily News reserves the right to reject any letter for any reason. Lincoln Daily News will publish as many acceptable letters as space allows.


Views on war

To the editor:

I come from a military family. My grandfather fought in World War I, and my dad served in World War II. My dad was on a Navy destroyer in the Pacific. He is almost 80 now and in a nursing home, and when we talk it is always about the Navy. He remembers every detail, and he smiles as he tells the story again, and again. He is so proud! And I am sooooo proud of my dad.

My son is in the USAF and will have to go to the Gulf if there is another call-up. My heart aches with the thought of that. I am also very proud of my son.

So it should come as no surprise that I cry at the beginning of every sporting event when "The Star-Spangled Banner" is sung.

I love this country. My family has laid their lives on the line so we can all share in the freedoms of this great country.

 

 

[to top of second column in this letter]

Now… I want to express one of those freedoms, the freedom of speech. I resent many people who say if you disagree with this war or take issue with the policies of the Bush administration, that makes you unpatriotic. Being patriotic is loving your country. Disagreeing with the president and his policies does NOT make one unpatriotic.

I fear the policies of the Bush administration in the Middle East will lead to unrest in the world and cause more hate and mistrust of our great nation.

My heart and prayers go out to all the brave young Americans who are in the Middle East and elsewhere, fighting for what they believe in.

I wish to take this opportunity to say "thank you" to all the veterans of past wars.

May God bless our troops and have mercy on us all.

Joyce Gleason

Lincoln

P.S. Thank you, LDN, for this forum to express our views and opinions.

(posted 4-9-03)


Lincoln has a lot to offer

Hello. My name is Stacy Greco. I live in Chicago, Ill. Recently I had to attend a meeting in Springfield, Ill. As I was driving back to Chicago my work car broke down in Lincoln. The experience of my car breaking down in Lincoln ended up being a positive one. I saw how genuinely good the people of Lincoln are.

First, a construction worker drove me to the gas station so that I could call a tow truck. He let me use his phone, and he said that he could drive me to Chicago if I couldn't get my car fixed. The tow truck driver was the second person to be concerned about my situation. He did not just drop me off at the mechanic. He stayed around for a couple of hours to see if he could help me. He drove me to the train station to look at the schedule in case my car could not be fixed. He took me to Duvall Automotive, where I received service that I would never expect in Chicago. Dave Duvall, the shop owner, put everything aside to take care of me. He knew that I had an important meeting the next day, and he did everything in his power to get me on the road again that night.

 

[to top of second column in this letter]

I am very impressed with the people of Lincoln. It is nice to know that there are such good people in this world, especially Dave Duvall. He could have easily taken advantage of me. I was at his mercy and he treated me with respect. The auto repair shop can be a scary place for a woman. He did not take advantage of me and charged a fair price, especially for the fact that he worked so quickly. Once again I would like to say that I am very impressed with the people of Lincoln, Ill.

Thank you,

Stacy Greco

(posted 4-9-03)

 


School funding

'I'm ashamed of Illinois' legislative failure'

To the editor:

I'm ashamed of Illinois' legislative failure to serve the educational needs of Illinois children!

When is "the right time?"

I was one of several hundred people who rallied in Springfield on April 2 to draw legislative attention to the financial crisis that is harming most Illinois schools. On a beautiful day, shadowed by a statue of Abraham Lincoln, school children held signs that read, "Support Our Schools," and "What About Me." One man in the crowd commented to me that "Lincoln would be rolling in his grave if he knew what legislators were doing to Illinois schools and school children."

Illinois ranks 49th of the 50 states in funding to its public schools. Illinois was graded "F" for financing state education. In a shameful show for a state of our great wealth, we edged out North Dakota for the worst ranking in the nation.

Over 80 percent of Illinois schools are in deficit spending. Program cuts are crippling or eliminating fine arts, music, physical education, library and counseling services. There will be larger, more crowded Illinois classrooms. The legislature is in violation of its own Illinois Constitution by not meeting its "primary responsibility" of funding the cost of educating Illinois public school children or by providing an "efficient system of high-quality public education." Suburban schools are being financially bailed out at the last minute to avoid forced closings. We now see reductions in dollars to fund public schools as costs to operate them increase dramatically.

A shell game has been played with voters to make them believe that revenue from the lottery, riverboat gambling, off-track betting, and alcohol and cigarette taxes will save Illinois schools. If it's a questionable activity that the public might have a moral problem with, legislators attempt to make it legitimate by telling the public it will create a tax that will help the schools. Citizen concerns for the plight of schools pass the tax measure, but schools get no income increase. There is only a shifting of dollars that takes away what was originally allocated to schools and sends it elsewhere in the state budget. Then the bewildered public doesn't understand why the school money problem still exists.

Legislators fault the schools when the failure is in their own lack of addressing the problem. I am tired of being misled and having children used by politicians with no resulting benefit. The Illinois legislature is failing to serve the educational needs of children. It's a public disgrace. It's an insult to taxpayers and families. It's a national disgrace that we as citizens should demand our elected officials to immediately correct. I am ashamed of the way the Illinois legislature has ignored the needs of over 2.2 million Illinois students, citizens and future leaders. I am also ashamed that there hasn't been a greater public outcry of anger from parents who see educational resources dwindling before their eyes as they are asked to provide more and more, while an indifferent state legislature tells schools to "tighten their belts." The problem is that the belt is around your school's neck, and the school is being strangled.

The legislative response when they are questioned about why they don't fix the problem is, "It's not the right time." It's the right time to use school children when they are trying to get elected and make promises they know they won't keep. They drag schools and education out of the drawer like an old flag to wave at election time and then forget hollow promises made that help get them elected. Why? Because we let them get away with it. Because to them, as long as schools open, "It's not the right time."

 

[to top of second column in this letter]

One of my local representatives, Dave Leitch, at least had the courtesy to come out to address the rally. His opening remarks included a comment about education being a "priority" as upcoming budgets are developed. In hopeful desperation, I would love to believe you, Mr. Leitch, but lip service that has worked in the past is getting old. It just won't fly, because school children don't need more promises or excuses. They need action, and they need it NOW.

Sen. George Shadid had time during the rally to make a photo-op appearance on the legislative floor to recognize the Peoria Central High School state basketball championship team (Congratulations, gentleman!), but he chose not to come outside to address the rally. Rep. Ricca Slone was nowhere in sight either.

The combined efforts of our legislators have done little to correct this ongoing problem. The problem only worsens. Remember the performance record of your elected officials at election time and what they do to help or ignore the educational needs of your children and grandchildren.

On top of this mountain of apathy, we have our new Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich. Remember him, the "education governor" at election time? He was recently quoted in a WLS-TV interview saying, "I suggest that they (school leadership), read Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on "self-reliance." In response, I suggest that he spend less time reading Emerson and more time reading the Illinois State Constitution, Article 10, Section 1, that outlines the state's funding obligation to schools. It would be refreshing to see the political leader of Illinois take a stand to enforce his own state constitution. This time it's more excuses and hollow words from our new Illinois governor. It sure didn't take him long to turn his back on school children.

Why would new business and families want to come to a state with such a disgraceful record of assistance to schools? Why would families with children being victimized by such a system want to stay in Illinois? Why isn't the grounds of the state Capitol swarming with sign-carrying, angry parents who are willing to demand the rights their children deserve? When is the "right time" for the legislature to stop giving us excuses and start being more concerned about addressing an educational crisis than getting elected?

To the little boy who held the sign that asked, "What About Me?" the answer is: You don't count with the Illinois legislature because you don't vote, because your parents aren't angry and demanding your rights, and because your school doors haven't closed yet because the district can't pay its bills. You won't be convenient to use again until another election year. Until then, stand there and hold your sign. That bronze statute of Lincoln may be the best friend you have in Springfield.

Gene Beltz, principal

Peoria Heights Grade School

Peoria Heights

(posted 4-9-03)

 

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