Speak Out for June 12, 2012
June 11, 2012 4:24PM
Park Forest resident Dave Rudolf will kick off the 2012 Main Street Nights series with a June 13 performance at the Park Forest Aquatic Center. The summer series will continue on Wednesdays through August on the Park Forest Village Green. | File photo
Updated: July 13, 2012 6:17AM
I am looking forward to Park Forest resident Dave Rudolf kicking off the weekly Main Street Nights series on Wednesday. This is one of my favorite summer traditions.
It was such a joy reading about the safe transfer of 126 extremely ill children from Children’s Memorial Hospital to Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. What an amazing accomplishment for all the staff and volunteers involved. I am sure hospital founder Julia Foster Porter is smiling down upon all of you.
Heather from Crestwood
At a recent wedding reception, I was subjected to several hours of “today’s music.” Kids in their teens and 20s liked what they were hearing, but for the life of me, there was no underlying variety in the noise I heard. There is this heavy, four-beat repetition to every “song” I endured. There was no references to romance or love, just ugly lyrics and profanity. No trained voices. No instrumental musicianship. Just electronic noise with staccato yapping. I might be an “old goat,” but this “modern music” is awful. How this stuff passes as music is a mystery to me.
Regarding schools and waste: I see the waste of money every summer when all new computers and fine furniture arrive at the school. The one I work for just had huge wall-mounted flat-screen televisions installed in the cafeteria. Everyone except the administration gets a 3 percent raise.
You can tell the economy is hurting when the largest section of the newspaper consists of ads for businesses looking to buy gold, diamonds, jewelry and anything else suffering citizens are willing to part with.
Roger from Oak Lawn
The more I read the Speak Out throughout the week, the more I realize how angry and fed up people are with the condition of our state. Our whole problem is with our politicians. They have made promises to unions yet they’ve ransacked the teachers’ pension funds. It’s not the teacher’s fault nor the teachers union’s fault that there is a budget crisis. The politicians and lobbyists have ruined our state. It seems like it’s only going to get worse. If I could, I’d move from this state.
Pat from Monee
What is going on in this world? The gays want to get married and the straights don’t want to get married. They just want to live together and have babies. They even have maternity wedding dresses.
Bob from Orland Park
A Speak Out commenter stated that religion is a con game that has tricked billions of Christian and Muslim believers. So it’s your belief against billions of believers? You want us to believe you? Yeah, right.
Don from Chicago
The world of jobs is changing. The new jobs require different skills than in the past. It will take some time for people to catch up. In the meantime, drill, drill, drill.
I will agree that there are some pretty awful foster parents. However, the Speak Out comment that said they receive “way over $1,000 per child each month” is ludicrous. Most people that foster children do so out of love for kids and a willingness to give these kids a better life than what they were born into. I can tell you that the whopping $444 per month doesn’t even begin to cover these kids’ expenses. And labeling these kids as special education doesn’t get you any more money. It simply gets these kids the extra help they so desperately need.
Jen from New Lenox
This 30 percent raise requested for Chicago teachers is just outrageous. The city, county and state are flat broke. Every year the teachers’ pay and pensions contribute to a big proportion of the state’s debt, yet they have the nerve to ask for a 30 percent raise. How about a 2 percent raise? Wake up and smell the coffee, teachers!
RC from Oak Lawn
Instead of a tax increase on stuff poorer people do, like smoking cigarettes, why don’t they pass a tax increase on people who have boats on Lake Michigan, who have cars worth more than $50,000 and who own expensive jewelry worth more than $100,000? How about a tax on anyone who owns a house worth $250,000?
Tinley Park
President Obama has already shown the American people he can sing. Now his latest feat is to show us that he can dance by all the bobbing and weaving he is doing around Congress.
Congratulations to Theo Epstein, Chicago Cubs’ president of baseball operations, on his immediate impact on the Cubs. It’s like a miracle. Epstein should get the Dumber Than a Rock Award for 2012. The Cubs should demand their money back and sue Epstein for impersonating a man who can judge baseball talent. The Cubs wasted a lot of money on Epstein. I guess that’s just the Cubs way.
Alsip Joe
If Illinois had a recall of its governor, would he win again? Maybe Illinois should have a recall of Gov. Pat Quinn, who contrary to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, has kept none of his promises.
Chicago Heights
I had to laugh when I read about how Riverdale wants to help restore blighted areas. I used to live in Riverdale when it was beautiful. Now there are gangs, abandoned cars and scum. The whole city is blighted. What a dump!
Jack from Oak Forest
HBO has brought back its vampire series “True Blood.” How can anybody really watch a TV program like that with people sucking blood out of one another? Oh, I’m sorry. I was talking about politicians sucking blood, with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in the lead role.
John from Bridgeport
