Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 4

HeraldSReview 1 1 i OPTNION DMVP IMfR Thursday, August 19, 2004 www.herald-review.com OUR VIEWS Complaints over theater funds don't ring true 5 i I HeraldflReview EIIII Publisher IMlBawsoii Managing Editor Circulation Director Gsry Sawysp Editor Kareii Scu.1cr.2r Community Member DOWNTOWN DECATUR'S historic Lincoln Square Theatre has received half of the $3.5 million pledged by the state of Illinois to renovate the theater. While that news is good for supporters of the theater, downtown Decatur and the community as a whole, it has dismayed Rep. Bill Mitchell. Before we get into Mitchell's complaints, let's spend a few moments relishing what a renovated Lincoln Square Theatre could mean to the community. Renovated historic theaters have been key to downtown redevelopment efforts in a variety of cities, including Anderson, and Galveston, Texas.

In both of those communities, restaurants, shops and offices have filled buildings near the renovated theaters. The initial $1.75 million received by the Lincoln theater will be used to complete heating, ventilation and air conditioning work, address accessibility issues and restore the auditorium and proscenium, the frame around the stage that separates it from the auditorium. Carla Brinkoetter, chair of the Lincoln Square Theatre Board, said people will be abje to see real progress being made with this project. A renovated theater, combined with the opening of the new Avon Twins movie theaters, Mayor Paul Osborne's plans for the downtown area and a development in the 300 block of North Water Street, could spur a revitalization of the downtown area. It won't all happen at once, but developments tend to build on each other.

It should also be noted that the state money for the theater was pledged a few years ago, but the funds have not been released until now because of the state's financial woes. That's the crux of Mitchell's complaint. He has written a letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich asking how the state can afford to release the theater money while failing to appropriate $2.5 million promised to help nine school district consolidations, including the newly created Sangamon Valley School District. Mitchell also said there were important life-safety projects included in past budgets, but those funds have never been released.

Funds for school consolidation are important, and so are life-safety projects. But the Lincoln Square Theatre funds would never have gone for education fund or life-safety projects. In the somewhat bizarre way the state budgets and distributes money, the funds were going to go for something supporting the arts. In that case, it's better the funds came to Decatur than head off to Chicago. Mitchell's complaint also rings a little hollow because he knows how the state budget works.

We would support his efforts to get the consolidation funds restored, but pitting them against the Lincoln theater isn't the way to get it done. Mitchell also questioned the governor's office for not announcing the release of the funds last week. That is curious, because normally the governor's office is only too happy to make such announcements. Of course, we could ask the same question of Mitchell: Why hasn't he raised the school consolidation funds issues earlier? The answer, on both sides of the aisle, is politics. But politics aside, the bottom line is a good one for Decatur.

The long-awaited Lincoln theater funds are in the bank. Soon, we'll be seeing progress made on a vital part of downtown Decatur revitalization. When that happens, the political gamesmanship of the past few days will be a distant memory. The Herald Review believes in the Seven Pillars, a process for building a shared vision of our future based on discussions of issues of common interest. Those Pillars: Government and Infrastructure; Education; Jobs and Economic Development; Image and Appearance; Health and Public Service; Diversity and Culture and Recreation, Tourism, Arts and Entertainment, are intertwined and cut across all others in our community.

Unsigned editorials are opinions reached by consensus of the Herald Review Editorial board. All other articles on this page are the opinions solely of the authors. We encourage readers to offer opinions on information provided by the Herald Review. LETTERS WHENEMCMVIANDEP It -IN-CHEFIVWIIFKHr I twwuMuaiK. V.

Ip AMORESBSmVE I fSSS 1 MS? FRETTYFISGE It's not Election Day anymore How long until Election Day? More than two months, you say what remains of August, plus all of September and October and one day in November. Wrong. The election starts well before Nov. 2. Voting begins in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Sept.

13, barely three weeks from now. At least 17 other states will open their polls before the end of September. By Oct. 18, voting will have begun in all but six states. And you can vote early in 29 states without providing any reason for your choice.

The early votingabsentee voting phenomenon is altering campaign strategies for President Bush and Sen. John Kerry and for independent groups supporting the rival candidates. The data just cited comes from the Business Industry Political Action Committee, which has launched a major effort to mobilize member companies to persuade employees to fill out their ballots at their convenience, well before Election Day. "OUR MESSAGE," the committee's Bernadette Budde said at a recent briefing, "is that Nov. 2 is the last day to vote." The goal, she said, is to reach 20 million employees with mailings that include the voting records of the candidates on "business issues" and thereby produce 711,000 extra votes in 18 target states.

The business side is far from alone in going after the early absentee votes. When the Democratic National Convention met in Boston late last month, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack reported that his state party already had collected more than 30,000 absentee ballot requests. As more states have opened up their voting laws, more and more people have availed themselves of the option. Oregon is the only state where all elections are conducted through absentee ballots.

But the custom has spread in California, where voters may request that they automatically receive absentee ballots for every election, and others from Arizona to Wisconsin, where no-excuse absentee voting stretches Election Day to a full month. THE COMMITTEE cited Census Bureau statistics to show the potential for increasing turnout through early voting. In 2000, the post-election Census survey found some 19 million registered voters did not cast ballots. Only 10 percent of them said out-of-town travel on Election Day was the problem. More than twice that number said they were too busy to vote, and almost 15 percent blamed it on illness or some other unexpected emergency.

Weather and transportation problems accounted for a few more. By focusing on those nonvoting but registered citizens, the barriers real or imagined to their casting ballots can be overcome, and elections can be won. Of course, there are disadvantages to the early voting as well. People who fill out their ballots in September or early October do not have the full period of the campaign to inform themselves. There may be late developments that could cause them to switch their support.

A Business Industry Political Action Committee memo offers suggestions of circumstances when a campaign ought to promote early voting. They include situations where the polling suggests the opponent is about to overtake the candidate, when some item of late-breaking negative news is anticipated or when some development gives the candidate "a temporary buzz." ALL THIS suggests lengthening the voting period does not eliminate efforts to manipulate the results by rival campaigns. But signing up absentee voters is a healthy form of participatory politics, and when it comes to elections, the more participants, the better. It's a good thing both sides have discovered how to stretch Election Day into election weeks. David Broder is a syndicated columnist I do not need a thank-you, I need someone to hear about the good things we as American soldiers are doing here.

Larry Underwood Bethany Overtime hours are a safety concern for firefighters Contrary to what some people who live out of the city think and believe, Decatur firefighters' No. 1 job is providing the best possible service to our citizens, and I believe we do this very well and effectively. Decatur firefighters provide many valuable services to our community, including advanced medical care, fire protection, fire prevention, technical rescue services and hazardous materials response. There are very few departments in Central Illinois that match our quality of service. In 2003, more than 7,000 alarms were answered by Decatur firefighters, for an average of about 20 alarms per day.

That is why we are a paid department. We work 24 hours on a shift and 48 hours off a shift, which adds up to a 52-hour workweek, not a 40-hour workweek. As far as overtime, when you add another 24-hour shift, a firefighter goes from a 52-hour workweek to a workweek. This is great for the pocketbook; however, an issue of safety is created by working that many hours. We are not crying about overtime.

We are simply concerned about it. I am proud to be a Decatur firefighter, and I will continue to serve the citizens of Decatur the best I can. Tony Vespa Decatur News doesn't give whole story of Iraq situation Hello again. My name is Staff Sgt. Larry E.

Underwood. I am currently stationed in Iraq around the Tikrit area, about four hours north of Baghdad. Recently, my parents sent me an article about a young man who had just came back from here and was asked about what things were like in Iraq. Well, I can tell you this much about Iraq, I have been here for about six months and, other than the heat, I am OK. I go out on convoys almost every week to many of the hot zones.

I have been to downtown Baghdad, Tikrit, Sammarra and Najaf. Yes, they are war torn and a little scary at times. But I think that is because of the fact that I watch the news and I get the feeling from them that everyone wants to kill me in those places. I would like people to know that some of these people, if not most of them, are happy to see us. I would also like to let everyone know that I have been to schools to deliver books and soccer balls.

I have given food to the people of Iraq and talked to the little children. If I listened to only what the news had to say, I would be scared to leave my home every day. Every time I call my wife and family, they are worried about what they have seen on TV because that's all they know and see. What you read or see on the news is not everything that is going on here. Most of the military personnel are safe here and not fighting every day.

believe Topinka didn't consider race in her attempt to challenge Obama. Could it be her only concern was to get a name to head up the Illinois ticket? Her pursuit of Mike Ditka should have been an embarrassment to the whole party. Too bad "Ahnold" was already employed or Topinka would have been calling. Solid experience must have counted for nothing. Other, more qualified, Republicans must be feeling the slap in the face right now.

Keyes has already shown himself to be sorely lacking in integrity for running in a state in which he doesn't live and admitting that's wrong for him to do. And the early days of his campaign have shown he's more interested in shocking Illinoisans and grabbing national headlines than in running for senator. I know the poor Illinois GOP is busy trying to rebuild its shattered image, but this is ridiculous. I'll say this for Illinois Republicans: I admire their loyalty. Loyalty has to be all that's keeping them with Topinka and their party leadership right now.

Brian Isaacs Lovington The Herald Review welcomes letters to the editor from readers on topics of general interest and public policy. Letters must be signed with the writer's full name and contain a current mailing address and telephone number (daytime and evening) for verification purposes. Letters must contain 300 words or less. Writers are limited to one letter every 30 days. Letters that are libelous, of limited interest or in poor taste will be rejected.

Letters may be sent via mail, fax, e-mail or hand-delivered. Contacts are listed at the bottom of the page. The Herald Review reserves the right to edit, condense or reject any letter. caloric food ingredients fats, proteins and carbohydrates promote obesity when consumed in greater quantities than required. High fructose corn syrup is a food ingredient valued not only for its ability to sweeten, but also for its unique functional properties.

Because this is such a sensational issue, opinions and conjecture abound. What is lost in this debate is perspective and fact. Your readers need to know that much of the reported opinion and conjecture is completely unfounded and does not represent the consensus opinion of main-stream nutritionists. High fructose corn syrup was awarded "Generally Accepted as Safe" status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after exhaustive review of the scientific literature.

John S. White Argenta Republicans should be ashamed of Keyes choice What were Judy Baar Topinka ana the Illinois GOP leadership thinking in picking Alan Keyes for their Senate candidate? It isn't because Keyes is a lifelong Illinois resident who understands I1U-noisans' concerns. Nor does Keyes hold views compatible with most Illinoisans; he's far too right-wing. And it isn't that Keyes has any serious chance of winning; he barely registered a blip on George W. Bush's radar screen in 2000.

Topinka says it isn't because Keyes is black. I'd be more likely to believe in oceanfront condos in Springfield than A few points need clearing up on corn syrup debate Congratulations to Amy Hoak for her article, "Corn Syrup Debate." She did a commendable job summarizing an admittedly complex topic. As one who has participated in the national debate and studied the issues for 25 years, I feel there are a few points that need clarification or elaboration to give your readers a clear picture of the science behind high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup, sucrose, honey and fruit juices all contain fructose and glucose and are used to sweeten foods and beverages. The ratio of fructose-to-glucose is approximately 1-to-l in high fructose corn syrup, sucrose and honey and also in many fruits and juices.

Substitution of high fructose corn syrup for sucrose has not increased fructose in the food supply The pathways by which fructose and glucose are metabolized by the body have been known for decades. Though they are regulated differently by the body, their pathways share many steps and a common purpose to convert sugars to immediate energy or to store that energy for later use. The supposition that high fructose corn syrup plays a unique role in promoting obesity is unsupported. All OPINIONS? CONTACT US: FAX: 421-7965 E-MAIL ddawson PHONE: 421-6979 or 421-7980 WRITE: Herald Review Letter to the editor Box 311, Decatur, II 62525-0311 ,1.