Your editorial on layers of government missed the point of Judge Robert Anderson’s remarks made in jest to the DuPage County finance committee considering the issue of closing its highly regarded youth home and sending its youth to distant Kane County under a contract.
You called his remarks “overreaction,” but the editorial gave the false impression that Judge Anderson was making a threat instead of a joking comment about sending youths for whom there were no beds to the county board president’s home. Judge Anderson’s comments were all on the record, both video and audio. Several reporters were present and while Judge Anderson was quoted at length in media pieces on that meeting, none reported those comments, nor any threat. In fact, the comments were made with humor and the audience is clearly heard to laugh in response.
It is no secret that as Presiding Judge of the Family Division, and with direct responsibility for detained youth, Judge Anderson vigorously and publicly opposed the plan to transfer juvenile detainees, most of whom have not been found guilty of anything, to Kane County. Sending children an hour away interrupts their family relationships, impairs counseling efforts with parents, disrupts and isolates them from their schools. Your point about waste in government is well-taken, but labeling any opposition “hysterical” is going too far. All budgeting is an exercise in priority setting. Judge Anderson’s priorities are clearly the safety and welfare of youth. For that he should be applauded.
— Thomas E. Callum, Retired Justice, Illinois Appellate Court, Wheaton
