Unwarranted criticism of mayor
I’ve known Wayne Motley most of my life. His son worked for me while he was in high school, so I know the family pretty well. In addition, I was a volunteer for PADS for many years, so I’m well acquainted with that organization as well. David Rutter’s comments about the ongoing feud between PADS and the mayor left me with the impression he writing from the outside looking in. Although Wayne was a police officer for many years, he was a never a cop with “an attitude.” He was more an “Officer Friendly,” a role he played well for many years in the Waukegan public schools. I can’t fault him for wanting orderly city council meetings. To allow a disruptive person to open every city council meeting is just counterproductive. Rutter’s view of the homeless that make up PADS as people whose “life has gone wrong temporarily, but they’ll pull it together given a modest boost” is both simplistic and uninformed. There are very few homeless mothers with children at the shelter. The vast majority are, in the words of one of the directors, “mentally ill.” These people are not capable of running their own lives, let alone holding down a job. Most will be dependent on others for the remainder of their lives. If you doubt it, stop by and see for yourself. Finally, Rutter’s assertion that police calls do “not equate to anything” since they’re working anyway is a shortsighted. Multitudinous calls from a single source can exhaust the resources of any police department and, yes, overtime does cost extra money.
Dave LoBue
Legislators should focus on budget, not abortions
Several bills are or will soon be introduced and voted on by the Illinois general assembly. HB 887 attempts to undermine parental authority by requiring insurance companies to withhold sensitive health information from those parents who are paying for their minor and/ or adult children’s coverage. This information covers such issues as maternity, abortion, transgender related care, HIV/AIDS, etc. HB 5576 would require insurance policies to cover over the counter abortive drugs and force employers to participate against their deeply held religious rights. HB 4013 allows taxes paid by Illinois residents to be used to fund organizations that advocate for and perform abortions — our tax money funding the abortion industry. HB1564 has regretfully passed the Senate. It would force pro-life health care providers and counseling centers to promote and facilitate abortion by recommending abortion clinics and presumably pointing out the” benefits” to women. Our Illinois legislators would do well to address and attempt to solve the many problems and crushing debt that is so ruinous to our state and stay out of the abortion business!
Paul Saam
