Copyright 2002 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.  
Chicago Sun-Times
March 12, 2002 Tuesday
SECTION: EDITORIAL; LETTERS; Pg. 28

LENGTH: 1588 words

HEADLINE: Wake up and smell the CAFE Regressive system Shameless pandering High-tech bandits QT needs a clue 'Me first' syndrome Church off base Let them pay Classroom insanity Glaring omission

BODY:
The Senate will be deciding the fate of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and fuel economy standards within the next few weeks. In this time of uncertainty, Americans are yearning for security, and for good reason. But if it's energy security we're hoping for, then our government and automakers need to take responsible steps toward reducing our dependence on oil. The United States accounts for 25 percent of worldwide oil consumption, yet only 3 percent of the world's oil reserves lie within our borders. We can't drill our way out of this pickle; we've got to do more with less oil.

American technological innovation could lead the way to vehicles that go farther on a gallon of gas. Already, foreign automakers have technology on the road that allows cars to get 55 mpg. It's time America's Big Three caught up. If the vehicles produced by the Big Three don't meet the needs of an American consumer looking to save gasoline and save oil, then Congress needs to step in and raise Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. And they can do it safely, too.

Since 1975, CAFE standards doubled fuel economy, and the rate of highway fatalities fell by 50 percent. That's because both safety and fuel economy have to do more with engineering than weight. The technological promise of fuel efficiency means we don't have to sacrifice our environment or our safety to enhance our security.

Jennifer Johnson,

Global Warming and Energy Program

Sierra Club, Loop

With banner headlines exposing the fact that there are ex-offenders working in some of our city's nursing facilities, the Sun-Times has again put the focus on a serious problem that needs to be addressed immediately. However, I disagree with the characterization of persons who have served their time as "criminals." There can be a solution to improve an ex- offender's employment opportunities and health care providers with a work force geared toward maintaining the basic hygiene conditions of a facility--one that is both simplistic and symbiotic.

I intend to propose during the next City Council session a permit system that would allow ex-offenders to work in areas that have a critical dearth of employees because of high turnover. This permit would be issued only after a review of the type of crime and the length of time the person has stayed out of trouble and would be effective for 24 months. It would only be renewed based on a letter or other indications from the last employer showing satisfactory work performance. The issuing system could be administered by the state Department of Registration and Education.

If we go to church and our pastors tell us everyone can be forgiven or redeemed, we should keep that in mind as it pertains to this situation. Nursing homes are fast becoming a growth industry that caters to an increasing number of baby boomers and war veterans who have been turned away from government hospitals. Allowing a locked-out, potential labor pool to do the work sorely needed in these facilities would free the professional staff of nurses and therapists to concentrate on the hands-on care of patients. They don't need to mop floors or empty bedpans.

By the same token, ex-offenders who have served their time should not be continually harassed as if they bear the mark of Cain or some sort of scarlet letter. This newspaper evidently forgot about that when it decided on its headline. I hope my resolution will be a first step toward addressing this issue.

Ald. Shirley A. Coleman, (16th)

I am offended at the Sun-Times for allowing the article "Nursing home hired criminals [March 4]. This pandering to tough-on-crime advocates only increases the very crime they are allegedly trying to decrease by not allowing those who have paid their debt to society to re-enter society and become productive members.

I am an ex-felon who was released from Vienna Correctional Center in 1983. When I was released from prison, I returned to school, graduated from a trade school as an electronics technician and was able to secure a job based on my school record and interviewing skills. My prison record never became an issue because Big Brother was in its infancy and had not reached its maturity until the late '80s or early '90s.

Now, even an elementary student can perform a background check with basic computer skills.

"Ex-felon" by definition means that a person has paid the debt for the crime committed. Ex-felons who demonstrate that they are no longer a threat to society and who are genuinely attempting to become productive members in society should be allowed to do so.

If no one is willing to hire an ex-felon, how can we be expected to stay out of prison? How can we provide for our families without returning to a life of crime or begging on the streets, which is also a misdemeanor?

Ex-felons are caught in a perpetual Catch-22. We are damned for going to prison and damned when we are released from prison. Our "debt" to society is like a revolving credit card with a balance that will never be paid, because it is always being used!

Larry Walker,

South Shore

A few Enron officials have proved to the world that the pen is mightier than the gun. Some of them, with just the stroke of a pen, moved millions of dollars into their pockets by just labeling their now-suspect gains as "bonuses." Bank robbers have to do the same deed the hard way--with a gun--but their "bonuses" are referred to in police reports as loot.

Walter Santi, Bloomingdale

By the looks of the Quick Takes column [March 7], I would have to say Zay N. Smith has stirred up a hornets' nest with us NRA members, and rightly so. His accusations of the NRA are mean- spirited and just downright ignorant. But I did want to bring up a point regarding trigger locks: We don't need them!

Has he ever read the instructions on a box containing a trigger lock? I doubt it, but true to form he shoots his mouth off about it anyway. All the trigger lock products I have ever looked at warn against using them on a loaded gun. There has never been a documented case of an unloaded firearm injuring someone or causing property damage.

Putting a trigger lock on an unloaded gun is like trying to drive a car with no fuel in it--what's the point?

Chuck Guy, Elk Grove Village

It's almost comical to watch the feud between Sammy Sosa and Barry Bonds ["No more Mr. Nice Guy," Sports story, March 6]. Both sluggers are completely possessed with this home run nonsense, worried about who will break what records.

As usual, neither cares that their respective teams, the Cubs and the Giants, will strike out at the conclusion of the season.

Joseph Daudish,

Westchester

I do not agree with William May of the John Paul Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family ["Science of making babies challenged," news story, March 5]. He said in vitro fertilization is wrong because "babies are not meant to be made, but begotten in an act of love." How can it be wrong if scientific technology can help a husband and wife in love have a baby? If the husband can produce sperm and the wife can produce eggs, there should be nothing wrong with science helping with fertilizing those eggs if necessary.

In vitro fertilization is not considered a process of making a baby, but simply assisting with making a family. I think the Roman Catholic ethicists missed their mark on this one.

Victor E. Brame,

Country Club Hills

Regarding "Life or Death; Gov. Ryan to decide fate of 163 on Death Row" [news story, March 3], one thought comes to mind.

If these inmates are guilty of murder beyond a shadow of a doubt, we should not only not commute their sentences but stop feeding, clothing and giving them medical attention to get rid of them at once. Did they give their victims a choice?

Dorothy Farnsworth,

Portage Park

What kind of sick, demented morons posing as teachers are infiltrating our nation's schools? These are the role models and examples teaching our children. Quick Takes [column, Feb. 28] printed an item about a wrestling coach at Avon (Indiana) High School biting the head off a live sparrow in front of team members. He called it "innocent fun. . . . They're still laughing about it."

A news story ["Teacher halted from feeding dogs to snakes," March 2] told of a Leon, Kan., teacher's plan to feed three live puppies to boa constrictors he kept in his biology classroom so students could see how they eat. The puppies were donated by a school board member who operates a shelter. The jerk saw the puppies being fed to the snakes as "productive" since they would have been destroyed otherwise. (The puppies were subsequently rescued.)

Sadly, cruelty to animals has become increasingly prevalent throughout the country.

There is a need for animal rights lobbyists to petition Congress to enact zero-tolerance laws, violations of which would incur swift and severe punishment to stem this tide of sadistic, reprehensible behavior.

Mary Sabatino,

Lombard

Regarding your report about fainting episodes ["Daley healthy as can be," news story, March 2], it is ironic that the doctor quoted made a point of saying that vasovagal syncope is more common in young women. Yet the only people mentioned as having suffered a fainting spell were former President George Bush, current President Bush, Mayor Daley and Daley's brother Bill, former U.S. secretary of commerce.

Nary a young female in the group.

Susan Fredriksen, M.D.,

Near South Side

GRAPHIC: Associated Press, To help ensure that the cars of tomorrow are more fuel-efficient, thereby decreasing America's reliance on foreign oil, Congress should raise the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards.

LOAD-DATE: March 15, 2002