Letters to the Editor
October 31, 2012 8:10PM
Updated: December 2, 2012 6:06AM
Cost of homeless
On behalf of the many concerned residents in the 10th Congressional district, I would urge both candidates, current Republican Rep. Bob Dold and Democratic candidate Brad Schneider, to focus on the expensive problem of homelessness.
Studies have shown that it is a far more cost-effective use of taxpayer dollars to house the most vulnerable homeless people in permanent supportive housing, than to have them caught in an expensive cycle of emergency systems, such as emergency shelters, emergency rooms, detox centers and our county jails.
In addition, the state of Illinois has to create housing for nearly 20,000 supportive housing units for persons with disabilities as a result of three federal lawsuits for the lack of alternatives to expensive nursing homes. Without federal cooperation in the coordination of federal resources, the state of Illinois will only increase its debt.
There is innovative work being done to help the lives of their fellow residents of the district and the state.
John Fallon
Senior program manager
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Treasurer, NAMI of Lake County
Waukegan
Immigrants all
Your recent editorial on immigrants was wonderful.
Having grown up on the South Side of Waukegan and lived so long in North Chicago, I have always been used to hearing different languages spoken in the neighborhoods: Swedish, Finnish, Slovenian, Polish, etc. Many kids arrived at school not speaking English.
The stores catered to different ethnicities. And those kids grew up as American as anybody and often went on to be leaders in the community. In recent years, I used to hear the kids playing in the alley and they were all speaking to one another in English, even though when they went home they probably spoke to their parents in Spanish.
When I attend an English-language Mass at church now, a big percentage of the congregation are young Hispanics. And recently I heard the long-time anchors of Univision say they are going to be doing some of their broadcasts in English because their own kids don’t want to listen to Spanish-language TV.
Immigrants come. Immigrants integrate. We intermarry. We learn to speak to one another.
We find out we’re more alike than different: All Americans in the end. So, I always say, calm down folks. It’s going to be OK.
Virginia Mullery
Gurnee
