opinions
Letters to the editor
Drug legislation a bad idea for everyone The Illinois Legislature is on the verge of putting thousands of Illinoisans with mental and emotional conditions at serious risk if it passes legislation allowing non-medically trained psychologists to prescribe powerful and potentially dangerous psychotropic drugs. The proposed …
Letters to the Editor
Don’t redefine marriage We, like many others, are concerned for the dignity of every human being, including those who experience same-sex attraction, and who must be protected against any and all violence and hatred. The marriage debate is not about equality under the law, but …
Firefighters in Aurora live a very busy life
A question often asked about firefighters is what is a typical day like? Well, first off there is no such thing as a typical day in the fire service. Covering 46 square miles and protecting a population of close to 200,000 citizens brings the opportunity …
Letter to the editor
First step for safe communities: Provide early childhood aid Police chiefs, sheriffs and state’s attorneys from across the state have been fighting hard to keep funding for preschool in the state budget. It may be surprising to hear that many law enforcement leaders, including me, …
Practice fire drills at home on a regular basis
I was 18 years old when I was attending the Oak Lawn Fire Academy. Instructor Tom Shervino had the class stand up and form a circle in the center of the training room. He then ordered us to turn to the right and look at …
Flooding can be an emotional experience
Flooding isn’t any easier the second time it happens to you. In fact, I think it may be worse because you remember the trauma of the earlier experience. When I saw the water sloshing against the bottom of our basement steps on Thursday morning I …
Dealing with the deluge, and a flood of bad memories
There were plenty of nervous people in the Fox Valley watching the rain continue to fall from the skies Thursday. But perhaps no one was as apprehensive as the residents of Sans Souci and Cherry Hill subdivisions on Aurora’s far West Side. Homes here got …
State lawmakers target teachers’ cost-of-living adjustments
Branded with “pension fraud” on March 11 by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, one Illinois response consisted of new misdirection legislation that pushes teachers toward poverty by phasing out their “cost of living adjustment” (COLA). Social Security’s COLA is basically a monetary raise tied …
Aurora’s new 10th Ward alderman has guts, drive
First time out, on a low-budget, high-enthusiasm campaign, Plainfield kindergarten teacher Lynne Johnson is the newly elected alderman of Aurora’s 10th Ward. Luck of the Irish? I don’t think so. I know it is cliché, but folks, Johnson is definitely was not your run-of-the-mill candidate, …
Letters to the editor
Vital housing assistance imperiled by sequester The sequester — coupled with years of inadequate of funding and longer-term spending caps established by the 2011 Budget Control Act — threatens to cripple vital housing programs such as public housing, Section 8 and CDBG (Community Development Block …
Hot Sandwich; Sour Sugar Grove
Nothing like small-town politics if you’re looking for some election drama. The 2013 mayoral races, for example, made for a hot Sandwich, while things turned a tad sour in Sugar Grove these past few weeks. No doubt board meetings could be tense for a while …
An apology can lead to remarkable healing
When a person does something wrong, the thing we most want to hear is an apology. We place a great amount of value on someone who can face us and utter the words, “I’m sorry.” When politicians and heads of state are caught in a …
Letter to the editor
Salute bus drivers Thank you, local bus drivers. You bring kids to school safely day after day. Parents let go of their control for that brief ride to school or for a field trip and trust you with our greatest gifts. You do not receive …
Taking stock of where Aurora stands after Tuesday’s vote
What President Theodore Roosevelt said about politicians still rings true. When Roosevelt asserted that, “the most successful politician is he who says what everybody is thinking most often and in the loudest voice,” I wonder if he was referring to himself. Like modern-day politicians, Roosevelt’s …
Quality time spent with a beautiful man named Roger
“I Ain’t A Pretty Boy No More” said the No. 2 most unforgettable newspaper headline to run above an autobiographical essay by Roger Ebert. True, no longer a ”pretty boy.” We could see that as we grimaced at the photo of a man whose lower …
