Still Waters,  Bird’s-Eye View,  the em space,  Where They Stand,
  By the Numbers,  How We Stack Up,  What’s Up With That?

Commentaries posted do not necessarily represent the opinion of LDN.  Any opinions expressed are those of the writers.

[DEC. 10, 2001]  Friday, Gov. Ryan breezed into Lincoln for a surprise executive visit to the beleaguered Lincoln Developmental Center. Accompanied by new facility director Peggy Davidsmeyer, the governor, by his own statement, visited "four or five of the buildings." George H. Ryan is an intelligent man, so I find it hard to fathom why he didn’t recall if it was four or five, since he had just concluded his tour. Perhaps it was because employees blessed enough to see the whirlwind of suit coats, ties and bodyguards go flying by believe it could be difficult to determine what he visited at such a great rate of speed.

The Courier headlines blared that Ryan was not pleased with what he saw. According to my sources he must have reviewed it later in slow motion. One employee of the center looked for a number on the back of the governor, assuming he was an entrant in some marathon in Lincoln that no one had told him about. By all accounts, the 35-minute drive from the executive office to LDC lasted longer than the governor’s visit. By all accounts, this executive "dog and pony show" would make the Animal Planet channel blush with envy.

The governor was quick to point out he saw a resident chewing on a pen. He went on to say the resident was unattended as he snacked on the Bic Click. It seems that "resident" actually was an employee of the institution. Cruising by, Ryan didn’t stop to ask, and the new director didn’t recognize the individual as a staff member of the institution.

Actually this error by both could be construed as a good thing for employees of the center. In the event Ryan wants not only residents but employees under constant supervision, LDC has a whole lot of hiring to do in the next few months.

[to top of second column in this commentary]

All the details of the visit were supplied by the governor, of course. Davidsmeyer, who was hired to replace an ill-suited corrections department official, has been as quiet as a church mouse through this entire ordeal. This constant silence and lack of openly defending her new employees asks this observer to wonder if part of her new job description wasn’t to remain mute while all around her was assaulted as a debacle of human consideration. The previous administrator received a promotion for her lack of activity. One has to wonder what has been promised to Davidsmeyer for keeping an open ear but a closed mouth to the outlandish accusations draped on the shoulders of LDC employees.

It seems a shame that a few of the clipboard carriers were not present as the governor and director made such a serious mistake as judging an employee as a resident. I would have loved to have seen that write-up hit the newspaper. Hey, maybe it just did.

[Mike Fak]

Reply to Fak (not for publication):

mikefak@msn.com

Response to Fak’s commentary:

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com 

[NOV. 30, 2001]  There are times when my wife says I have too much time on my hands. Don’t most men? That being said, I thought I would put into words some recent thoughts of my past graduate school days when I really had too much time on my hands!

My recollection of those days was refreshed recently when watching a PBS program on urban renewal. Author Roberta Brandes of "Cities, Back From the Edge" was being interviewed. She spoke to the "rules of growth" which any city of any size should address if it wishes to grow and prosper. These rules of growth are nothing new, and it was in my environmental biology class in my graduate school days of 1974 where I first heard them.

I bring them to your attention hopefully to spark some debate on their relevancy to Lincoln! These factors, when just merely thought through, become common sense to the average person if one is willing to listen and open one’s mind. What I have always found interesting is that in all the political debates at our local level these issues are never brought up with any significant discussion.

There are seven basic factors why businesses or people move to communities. Having all seven is helpful but not mandatory, and any one of the seven may be why a person or business chooses to come or to leave a community. In no particular order of importance, they are the following: crime, education, transportation, taxes and taxing bodies, zoning and codes, amenities, and finally housing and housing costs, such as utilities.

The category of crime includes dollars spent on law enforcement and equipment. Is there an appearance that the community is safe? Has anyone really asked if this community is prepared for what the prisons have given us or their impact on us? Do we know if our city demographics have changed significantly to warrant any change in our tax structure or the crime in Lincoln? What does the five-year plan and 10-year plan forecast for these needs? Do we even have any five-year or 10-year plan?

Education: When a realtor promotes our community, is education at the top of the list? The interesting factions of multiple school districts are hurting our community’s growth. Let me suggest to you that if our school system in Lincoln were the ideal model, then the Department of Education and every politician would be citing it as an example of what education should be in America, and they’re not!

How does a realtor sell a home in our community when they virtually are on the edge of practicing "red lining"? (I believe this is the term used to show bias in the area of segregation and racism by telling a client where they should live based on color or creed.)

These factions place such a heavy burden on our high school, but no one seems to want to address this argument. In this area, education places a very interesting toll on our tax base. This lack of uniformity presents Lincoln, not as a community, but virtually a collection of villages.

On another note, it would be interesting to see if other towns our size offer the number of parochial schools that we do. Admittedly, it is nice to have the four schools, but this does paint an interesting picture as to what we are really saying about our public education! Someone looking at our town as a place to live might like the idea of having the choices, but they may ask why.

Districts have consolidated strictly out of financial needs and not out of academic needs. A recent survey shows our high school needs should be addressed. The report card issued by the state comparing our high school to others throughout Illinois reflects for the most part that we are at best an average school and that our dropout rate is no better than other historically weak schools in the state. Suppose these statistics were turned around and improved. In other areas it would be safe to assume that there would be a positive impact on growth.

[to top of second column in this commentary]

Transportation: This for the most part is self-explanatory. We are fortunate to have good roads throughout the area. The industries that require this asset need to be lured.

Taxing and taxing bodies: This category seems to have a life of its own in Lincoln, with multiple schools districts, fire districts that appear to overlap in function, a park district that allows for a non-district member to participate cheaper than a homeowner or serves some constituents and not others (I have a daughter and son in the wrong sport of choice), a library district that does a great job of service but whose district is not all-encompassing to its immediate service area. Did I miss anymore? Is anyone really in charge of assessment? How are the numbers configured? People discuss property values and taxes. In turn, these numbers all influence property and consequently growth.

Zoning and codes are actually fairly intertwined with the preceding topic. Variances must be the solution of the day around Logan County. It is the only way one could explain the lack of any organized scheme. Is there a plan? Then where is it? And who is enforcing it? We have subdivisions that are in both the city and county. We have subdivisons that split school district boundaries.

How can we leave unoccupied buildings unattended? Examples: the old Heritage Restaurant across from the Tropics; the burnt-out Kentucky Fried Chicken. It is easy to go on; take the tour with me… How inviting can this be to someone looking at our community for the first time?

Amenities are like "beauty"; it is up to the beholder. I personally feel we probably get above average grades in this area, although I do wish the YMCA and the Rec Center would unite forces because, once again, it has all the appearance of fractionalization for such a small community. The Elks has certainly "stepped up" their facility, and I do think it fits the mold of not being too exclusive for our demographics if a person were to compare it with private clubs elsewhere.

Housing and housing costs deal with affordability and availability. Quality is only re-enforced by codes and zoning being properly enforced. Appraisal of property and the complicated impact of these values really have a tremendous influence on the growth of a community. One of the areas of popular growth is always moderate-cost housing. Only witness the fear of the west side expansion several years ago when moderate housing was chased away — because of fear?

Solutions:

•  Honest, objective assessment of these areas.

•  Committee formatting to look at these issues without some self-serving purpose.

•  A five-year plan that is properly reviewed. A 10-year plan that complements the five-year plan. (Please don’t tell me we have anything close to a five-year plan or a 10-year plan.)

Answer:

LEADERSHIP

[Daniel P. Freesmeier, D.C.]

[NOV. 26, 2001]  Dozens of e-mails, letters, phone calls. I have had the privilege this past month to hear from over a hundred supporters of the Lincoln Developmental Center.

Many of you have asked that your names not be mentioned. Fear of reprisal seems to be genuine, so I will honor your requests. Some of your comments to me, however, are so important and sincere that I feel compelled to relay these thoughts to all the readers.

Yes, it seems that one resident was sent out of his home of three decades and sent to another institution. After his arrival there, not being able to understand where he was and why he had lost all that was familiar to him, he became violent. This poor soul has now been sent to the Chester facility, which is in effect a maximum-security prison for mentally handicapped individuals. The man’s crime was that he wanted to live out his life in the place he called home. Chalk up a real victory for the Arc on this one.

Yes, it seems that employees and residents of LDC are scrutinized constantly by state officials walking around with clipboards under the guise of helping the situation. No, I find no problem believing these overseers run like scared rabbits if a patient tries to approach them. 

Yes, employee guidelines have been changed and re-changed so many times this past month that it is difficult to know the operating procedures currently being required of employees.

Yes, I noticed that the anti-LDC news stories made the front pages of the State Journal-Register and Bloomington Pantagraph, but pro-LDC news almost fell out of the back of both newspapers. Don’t forget that Channels 20 and 25 found a full-segment slot for the anti-LDC press conference but barely could muster 30-second spots for the pro-LDC rally on their weekend newscasts — newscasts that were filled with fluff and rehashes of old news. In the event something terrible happens to LDC, I can see them running around town trying to get the story of what happened. Personally, I will tell them to read the archives of the Lincoln Daily News and watch reruns of the Fak’s Machine to find out what they already should be learning.

[to top of second column in this commentary]

Yes, I find it amazing that LDC employees have been there for 20, 30 years or more. More amazing is that so many of them are second- or third-generation employees. So many caring individuals coming from such caring families is a foundation of why this community is filled with so many good and honest people. It wouldn’t be a shame to lose these special people in our community. It would be a disaster.

Yes, the silence coming from LDC officials is deafening. I can promise you that an individual sent to correct a situation and keep a center open should be everywhere on the news telling the story. Has there been a silence imposed from the governor’s mansion? Would press releases telling of the attributes of LDC and the callousness of the governor be counterproductive to the plan? It would if the plan is to close Lincoln Developmental Center.

Finally I would like to make an observation about all of you who are trying to keep LDC open. Throughout all of this you have all been nothing but ladies and gentlemen. That’s your biggest fault.

[Mike Fak]

Reply to Fak (not for publication):

mikefak@msn.com

Response to Fak’s commentary:

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com 

[NOV. 24, 2001]  I had the privilege of being one of 200 residents, employees and supporters at the LDC rally this past weekend here in Lincoln. It was a privilege to be there, but more than that, it was a privilege to meet so many good and caring individuals.

The rally was simple. All those who wished to speak were allowed to talk. This most basic of American freedoms made me proud of my heritage and the country I live in. To be honest, I found it terribly difficult to not step forward and tell all of those gathered how much I admired their efforts and compassion for those of us whom God has designed as different. The time and place were not appropriate for my words. Saturday was their day. Today, however, is mine.

My heart went out to the parents and guardians who earnestly said: "Don’t close my child’s home." I listened as employees reiterated the same thoughts that their notes and calls to me had conveyed.

I have been told how residents had been moved to improve a ratio that has no human factor involved in its computation. I had already heard from many employees at LDC as to how difficult and sad it was to watch as residents of the institution were forced to leave the only home they had known their entire lives. I could find no justification for humanity’s sake in these blessed souls being uprooted amidst tears by them and their supervisors as the buses left the beautiful grounds of LDC for the last time. The last time, at least, in the resident’s lives, and isn’t that what is supposed to really matter?

As I listened to the sorrow and hope in so many voices, I wondered why so many of those who hold the answer in their voices and pens were not at this rally, or at the very least why they had not forwarded communications to be read to the crowd. Outside of state Rep. Jonathan Wright and a spokesperson for Sen. Bomke, only a few local politicians found the possible loss of LDC important enough to attend the rally.

I wondered why only two major television stations in the area found it appropriate to send crews to the rally. They came late, by the way. All the time, I knew most of their footage would end up on an editor’s floor, and it did, as only a brief segment aired on their nightly news.

I understood again the frustration of so many just and noble causes. Majorities are quiet too long while minorities guide the impetus of the news. Then, when those who have been silent finally realize that they, the majority, are not being heard, and they react, their reaction falls on near-deaf ears. Criticism, it seems, carries greater news value on television than someone saying things are good the way they are.

As I continued to listen, I worried if the governor, having a $500 million deficit facing his administration, has not already determined that closing this institution will ease the burden of what and whom to cut from next year’s state budget without hurting any lawmaker’s pet projects or pork barrels. He seems to have positioned himself to just such endeavors.

The Illinois FIRST website consistently carries the disclaimer that payments out of this fund have nothing to do with general revenues or expenditures. With this disclaimer it is possible to give millions in funds for golf courses, swimming pools and baseball diamonds, while institutions such as LDC remain understaffed and under-funded. Respectfully, I wish to remind the governor that Illinois FIRST funds can be earmarked for "quality of life" situations. Isn’t what the residents and parents of LDC are fighting for a quality-of-life issue?

The governor is fielding reports that the employees of LDC have failed on occasion to do their job properly amidst allegations of abuse of power. I submit to Gov. Ryan that under those guidelines, the Illinois House and Senate should also be disbanded.

I also found myself wondering why organizations such as the ARC are so bound and determined to close LDC. In their website they profess their chief goal is to de-institutionalize all mentally handicapped individuals into group home settings. I wondered why no representative of their organization was at this rally.

[to top of second column in this commentary]

I wish one of their representatives would at least visit Lincoln just once. I would like to ask them why they want to close LDC and institutions such as ours, when their website readily admits there are 271,000 individuals that they know of on waiting lists to receive housing and adequate care for their disabilities. Why, I need to know, do they wish to close institutions when, by their own admissions, they state that there are not adequate alternatives available to mentally disabled Americans.

Closing LDC only means uprooting decades-long residents from the place they call home and placing them in another institution far away from the employees they lovingly call mom or dad or aunt or uncle. How many more numbers need go on a waiting list that bears numerics but no names… no humanity.

I would like to hear the ARC rebuttal to a six-article expose in the Washington Post that told of horror stories in community-integrated homes in their own area of the country. Community-integrated living is another positive possibility in caring for mentally disabled Americans. It is not, however, some type of perfect answer.

Again, from the ARC’s own website, I would like to relay a paragraph that proves they are erring in demanding the closure of LDC. I quote: "The Americans with Disabilities Act calls for services to be provided to individuals with disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, regardless of disability and regardless of whether they live in an institution, a nursing home, or the community. The community is the most integrated setting appropriate when the state’s treating professionals have determined community placement is appropriate for the individual, AND THE INDIVIDUAL DOES NOT OPPOSE COMMUNITY PLACEMENT." (my bold print, not theirs)

I have talked to enough residents of LDC to know that where they are, inside these lovely grounds with people who care for them, is where they want to be. To remove them or close the home they have known for decades is in fact against the very law that was enacted to protect their interests.

Oh for the want of a good attorney or disabled Americans group who would like to champion the rights of the LDC residents and bring the issue of the Americans with Disabilities laws into this foray.

This issue shouldn’t be about special interests. It shouldn’t be about special circumstances. This issue should be about special people. Why is it that no one who demands the closure of LDC has ever asked the residents for their opinion? What the graduates and residents of LDC have told me should mean more than all the letters and websites and rhetoric that all of us outsiders muster. It should unless special interests care more about an issue than they do about the residents. And isn’t that what the real truth in all this is?

Politics have superseded the well-being of the lives of special people. That is one lesson I wish I hadn’t learned last weekend. In a democracy all the lessons are important, even if some of them are tough to accept.

[Mike Fak]

Mike Fak, a free-lance columnist, hosts a live call-in show on cable Channel 15. His address is 221 N. Union, Lincoln, IL 62656. His home phone is (217) 732 9561. His e-mail address is mikefak@msn.com. His commentaries can be seen regularly in Lincoln Daily News. 

Reply to Fak (not for publication):

mikefak@msn.com

Response to Fak’s commentary:

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com 

[NOV. 20, 2001]  I know I’m a wishful thinker. I always hope that things will get better. Although they rarely do, I seem to just continue to believe people will become involved in the processes that control their lives.

This past Saturday, nearly 200 employees, parents, guardians and supporters of keeping the Lincoln Developmental Center open gathered on the grounds of this landmark of more than a century in our community. Organizers were pleased by the turnout at the event. To be honest, I was not.

I am certain that on any given weekend some people are busy working. Others may be on vacation or at a family affair such as a wedding or perhaps a funeral. Still others may already have promised commitments to be another place when this rally occurred.

Keeping all these points in reference and not singling out any one individual, I was still dismayed to see only one city councilman and one county board member at the rally. The life of LDC is being threatened. Seven hundred jobs are on the line, and yet only one councilman and one county board member think showing their support is worth a few hours of their time.

I have heard all the issues regarding the lives of the residents and employees being adversely affected by the closure of the institution. But we have to be honest enough to admit that closing LDC also might ring a death knell for an already dormant economy in this community. Yet, at the rally I saw few business owners who depend on the income of this center being used in their establishments. I have to ask if $20 million in wages taken out of their sales will not direly hurt their business.

I have not heard a word about LDC from any of the gubernatorial candidates, have you? They will whistle-stop through Logan County in the spring and tell us they want our vote. They won’t get mine. If they can’t stand up for us now, I can’t imagine them standing up for us later. They have been so quiet that, in fact, I would respect them more if they honestly said we should close LDC. At least then I would know that they recognize the situation. I don’t need a governor who hides in the political closet whenever a tough local issue appears in the campaign.

[to top of second column in this commentary]

When John Turner was appointed to the bench, a half dozen strong candidates filed to become his replacement as our state representative. At the time Jonathan Wright was not my choice to replace Turner. I will go on record as admitting I was wrong in my choice. Wright has done nothing but impress me as a good, honest man with the needs of his constituents dear to his heart. Jonathan was there Saturday. He was one of the few to whom we have given the power to represent us who seems to take that concept seriously. The young man in his efforts to defend us and LDC is fighting a near impossible battle against those who look at the developmental center as just another way to trim state expenditures by writing LDC and Logan County out of the budget. Wright is fighting this uphill battle because of all of us.

A small county of 10,000 voters, we have shown that on any given election only a third of that small number will go to the polls. Logan County has no political might in Springfield anymore. Our district has been sliced, diced and spread into others, making it nearly impossible to have homegrown representatives or senators in the statehouse. This isn’t Jonathan Wright’s fault. It is ours. We showed on Saturday that we don’t even have it in us to gather to show support for an institution that pumps the life of economic stability into our community.

Other rallies being planned by the LDC proponents are coming up in Springfield. We as a community will have another chance to show we support and will defend what is ours. Another turnout like there was Saturday and we all might as well turn out the lights on an institution that has been a part of us since the beginning of our history as a community.

The effort might not matter, but I promise you, once the decision comes out of the governor’s mansion, any complaints will not only be too little, they will be too late.

[Mike Fak]

Reply to Fak (not for publication):

mikefak@msn.com

Response to Fak’s commentary:

ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com 

Bird’s-Eye View

"Love is an exploding cigar which we willingly smoke." — Groucho Marx

[NOV. 1, 2001]  Walking along the city streets of Lincoln, there’s nothing greater than a man and a woman, hand in hand, alone, with only the company of warm smiles and fast-beating hearts to surround them. Nothing greater. Unless of course the above-mentioned man isn’t me… in which case: I hate them. And I hope "Captain Cupid" switches over to a pellet gun and starts chasing ’em up and down Woodlawn for at least eight hours.

Since the conception of love back in the early 1950s, many men had known no greater joy. Due to the fact that, that is when the remote control was invented. But this resulted in the sparking of a pivotal chain of events all of which lead back to the fact that men still forget to buy flowers on anniversaries. What happened first was in Webster’s Dictionary. People instantly removed the phrase "Extreme Male Bliss" out from under the word "Super Bowl" and over to a new word that was created by those friendly, non-bitter ladies at the National Organization of Women. That word was LOVE. Which, I should like to point out, stands for "Losing One’s Vital Enjoyment." Thus expiring the chain of events, along with those men’s ability to ever again watch televised sports with their friends.

This has not deterred me. I have found out through my time in Lincoln that the relationship process here goes as follows: Man meets Woman; Woman ignores Man; Man meets Emergency Backup Woman; Initial Woman smacks Man upside Man’s head; Man falls in love with Initial Woman. …It’s true. I actually know this couple. They are extremely content now, currently living more happily than ever in separate states.

So I decided that road wasn’t for me. Instead, I myself have taken on the role of Cupid, and here’s how it works. We’ll be dining out, my date and I, at one of Lincoln’s fanciest eateries. Then typically only a short while after I order our Happy Meals, she is suddenly overcome with an unexpected epiphany: that there has not been, nor will there ever be, any greater love in her life than that of her former boyfriend or any future prospect she may have been considering. Often prompting her to hail down a cab, right there in the Playland, leaving me behind in a cloud of love-dust, wondering if I spelled epiphany right.

But now I’m faced with two problems, coinciding. The first being that I have met someone in town that I, in the future, may consider being left by. The second is that I’ve been repeatedly identified by many highly paid therapists as being dense. A rare disorder, they tell me, that only affects me when I’m thinking. Although recently, I was more accurately diagnosed by a good friend of mine from Springfield, Greg Hoffman, who is both my life insurance agent and my banker (thus making him more than qualified to make fun of me publicly), as having two forms of "Colin-itis."

[to top of second column in this commentary]

The first form is "Normal Colin-itis." This variation causes me to (even though I am, by my own admission, in no way capable, or even willing, to maintain a relationship that involves any more depth than that of having random discussions on the vast, ethnical differences between the smooth and the crunchy peanut butter) think that every time I meet someone new, an enduring love is in the air. The second form is "Acute Colin-itis." This is when, 30 seconds after basking in the air of newfound enduring love, I happen upon somebody new, and for whatever reason, cannot for the life of me recall a single thing about the previous, potential-enduring-love person. …I have issues.

This is not something I’m proud of. In fact, at times, I can downright loathe it. Partly because as I grow older, I find myself enjoying less and less the prospect of potentially eating my Happy Meals alone.

Over the past few months I have seen an elderly couple walking Lincoln’s city streets, holding hands, redefining love. Perhaps you’ve seen them as well. Beautiful, aren’t they? Yes. Except I think they’ve been hired out by my mother, who has all but threatened me at gunpoint to get married and provide for her the World’s Record for number of grandchildren to spoil.

I admire that couple. I took a picture of them the other day while they were walking together at sunrise. It reminds me that this prospective "someone special" I’ve stumbled upon… well, just might be worth overcoming the fear I own. The fear of following these feelings I’ve slowly been allowing myself to experience. Is she the one? Is Lincoln where I’ll find her? Who knows? But one thing is certain: Captain Cupid is apparently packing.

[Colin Bird]

This is the em space, a staff writer’s section with observations about life experiences in Logan County and elsewhere. Enjoy your visit.

— Mary Krallmann

[Mary Krallmann]

Where They Stand

Where They Stand is a commentary section addressing specific issues in the community. Informed individuals present their position with facts, opinions or insights on the issue. The material is posted unedited, in its entirety, as received. If you have further comment on the issue, please send an e-mail message, complete with your name, address and telephone number to ldneditor@lincolndailynews.com.

Local teacher announces her candidacy for regional superintendent of schools

By Jean Anderson, candidate

[OCT. 31, 2001]  My name is Jean Anderson and I am announcing my intent to be a Republican candidate for the office of Regional Superintendent of Schools for Logan, Mason, and Menard counties.

[to top of second column in this section]

By the Numbers

Alexis Asher

Alexis Asher

Lincoln High School history

1859

Lincoln School District

5

School buildings in 1859

1

"Grammar school" in 1859

1

High school teacher, Mr. January, in 1859

1870-71

Central School opened

1898

High school building started

1900

High school dedicated, Jan. 5

$20,000

Cost of new high school

1920

Election authorized community high school District #404

1958

Dedication of new Lincoln Community High School, 1000 Primm Road, in auditorium, on Nov. 9

Alexis Asher

How We Stack Up

Racial makeup of selected Illinois counties

What’s Up With That?

Back to top