I share the outrage expressed by Kathleen Colton of St. Charles (Voice of the people, Sept. 23), who recalled her father’s smoking-related death and rejected as “blood money” a tax rebate siphoned from Illinois’ share of the national tobacco settlement.
A 50-year tobacco habit has shut down my mother’s circulation, resulting in heart-bypass surgery, strokes, amputations and hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs.
At 68, she is physically and intellectually disabled, unable to walk unassisted or get through the day without pain medication. It’s a condition I wouldn’t even wish on a tobacco executive.
I offer a suggestion for all those similarly appalled that our legislators would try to buy votes with a spurious tax “rebate” on the eve of an election: Donate your check to the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association or a local hospice, and write to tell your legislators what you have done and why. Our votes can’t be bought so cheaply.
