Out of the BND article concerning whether to allow video gambling in Swansea came what I consider to be the quote of the century by Ed Wottowa. He said video gambling is "not a big deal. It's under such state control, it can't hurt anybody." Illinois leaders don't pay the state's bills, they don't meet their obligations for state workers on their pensions, we have two former governors in prison and Wottowa says not to worry because the state has it under control? This is a joke.
Use as a referendum
Swansea Trustee Brian Wells is in favor of bringing gambling to Swansea regardless of what the community wants. Wells is running for re-election in the spring. His bid for re-election can serve as a referendum on gambling in Swansea.
Holiday meaning lost
I always thought Christmas was supposed to be about the birth of Jesus but it has turned into a mad frenzy of individuals buying for themselves and for the adoration of others.
License fees go higher
I can't believe that Illinois is raising our license plate sticker fees to $101. More and more people are not going to be able to afford to get them, which means a lot more people will steal them. Thanks a lot, lawmakers.
Racism, all right
This is in response to Frankie Seaberry's recent letter to the editor. I've traveled all across this country for decades and I saw a lot more racism in the 1950s and '60s than there is now. Very few people do not like President Obama because of the color his skin. Seaberry and the rest of the liberals need to get over the fact that people do not like the president's policies and couldn't care less what color he is. Under Obama, the United States is overtaxed and overspends and he needs to get a grip on things. Our country is going to end up just like France and the rest of Europe if we don't do something about it. True racism is when you believe someone can do no wrong because of the color of his skin.
Good job, Belleville
I am so impressed with the 17th Street extension, the park-like settings, the lakes, and the sidewalks in Belleville. They are very nice. I wish other cities, including Fairview Heights, would take notice and put sidewalks on their main streets. Good job, Belleville.
Protest medical costs
It amazes me that people become incensed when the price of gas goes up 10 cents a gallon, will risk life and limb to save a few dollars on Black Friday and hoard their favorite snack cakes when the maker goes out of business but say relatively little when faced with the outrageous, unjustified price of health care. Is it because with insurance they think someone else is paying the bill? If they are without insurance, do they think the taxpayers or charity will foot the bill? The reality is that we all pay the bills through higher insurance premiums and taxes. Doctors, hospitals, outpatient centers and pharmaceutical companies get away with this because the majority of citizens are not directly involved with the cost. This is a vicious circle of greed and we are the pawns who pay for it.
Disappointed in Quinn
Yeah, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn sure cleaned up former governor Rod Blagojevich's mess. Quinn took all the seniors off of the Illinois Rx program. Way to go. I hope he doesn't forget to give himself another raise for 2013. Good job.
All scabs can leave
A frequent writer from Centreville, the thrust of whose letters are always that anyone who disagrees with her on any issue is a white racist, is not happy that African-Americans who arrived in the metro-east as scab laborers to try to break a union-authorized strike were unwelcome. Does she really believe that white scabs would have been welcomed?
Enforce burning ban
Belleville has a no-burning leaves ordinance, so why aren't the Belleville Police enforcing it? The people who are burning their leaves -- and there are quite a few -- are easy enough to find. All the police would have to do is follow the smoke.
The village's business
I had to chuckle at the Sound-off "Not St. Jacob's issue." This man is ignoring our village's ordinances, which make it the business of our village attorney, who represents the taxpayers in all legal matters. This monstrosity is not a fence but an ugly wall made of junk material and built to spite the surrounding neighbors and others in town who objected to his desire to build multiple apartment units in a single-home neighborhood. He lost his argument to do this in court and apparently is holding a grudge.
Keep 'Land of Lincoln'
I think the Sound-off about Illinois, "Needed: New slogan." is an ignorant and uneducated comment from the caller. The caller said he bet most people who voted in 2012 don't even know who Abraham Lincoln was and what he did. I don't think we need a new slogan for our state. I'm 52 years old and my daughter is 19 and all the kids know who Lincoln was and everyone is very proud that President Lincoln came from Illinois and we need to keep it that way. Forget changing the slogan.
The gift of bail money
As you read the arrest notices in the paper, do you realize that many of these people are guilty of nothing but being poor? It's Christmastime and one of the works of mercy, according to Jesus Christ, was to visit the people in prison. While most people will not do that, think about going to the jail and paying the bail so someone who is charged with only a minor offense but can't afford the bail can go home for Christmas. It may be a few hundred dollars well spent. Some of these people are in a prison that was designed to house 300 inmates but today the census is 523. This is an outrage. Pay someone's bail for Christmas.
Listen to the GOP
The Democratic-lead County Board gave $115,500 to the East St. Louis Election Board. Too many Democrats decided not to vote with board member Craig Hubbard, who said we should just give the $29,600 the state statutes called for. Why can't the Democrats get together and agree with the Republicans? We need some changes to the Democratic-controlled County Board.
Don't like it? Skip it
If people don't like BND cartoonist Glenn McCoy's cartoons they should just not look at them. It's that simple.
Food stamps get sold
I keep reading in the newspaper about the food pantries being low on food and that so many people are applying for help. This is because many of the people who get food stamps are selling them to go to the casinos instead of buying food with them. The girls where I work always try to sell them to me and there's no sense in trying to report them because nobody will do anything about it. We live in a crazy, crazy world.
Tone it down, folks
Well, there was another bunch of nasty letters in your paper. I wish people would tone down their rhetoric.
Tired of same writers
Why does the BND post letters from the same people every single week? Half the time these people don't have valid points and if they do, it's the same points from the same people. Some of them are hypocrites and just like to rile other people. Start publishing a variety of different letters from other people.
A case of sour grapes
I have to agree with radio host Bob Romanik that St. Clair County politics are corrupt. For years Democrats have rehired political felons -- step right out of prison and land a job. It didn't happen that way with Romanik. He was ousted from the party and now has a case of sour grapes. If the county would cut him a check he would be washing Bob Sprague's car and taking County Board Chairman Mark Kern's wife's dog for a daily walk.
Too much crime news
You need to change the name of your paper from the Belleville News-Democrat to the Belleville Crime News-Republican.
A tradition enjoyed
Many thanks to Patty Woods Harrington, the Belleville School of Ballet and the Belleville Philharmonic for the wonderful presentation of the Nutcracker. Christmas would not be the same without it.
Is this an emergency?
I found a recent commercial by the SSM Medical Group appalling and out of touch. I work in an emergency room and the commercial focuses on an individual who gets hurt, logs onto the SSM Website to schedule an emergency room time so he can sit and relax at home until his appointment time. If this is not an emergency, this person should go to an urgent care or priority care facility for help. If he can wait for an ER appointment, he doesn't need one. ERs are full of non-emergency cases and the SSM commercial only complicates this issue for emergency rooms everywhere. Please don't use the ER as an extension of your doctor's office. Use it for emergencies only.
Walk in their shoes
The Sound-off caller who told a medical worker to stop whining about taking care of 15 to 18 patients and be grateful to have a job evidently doesn't have any idea what goes on in that job sometimes. Consider one nurse ministering to 30 or more elderly patients per shift, giving medication and evaluating for illness with the help of maybe three aides depending on the attendance that day, writing progress notes, constantly evaluating patients for comfort, taking care of off-hour complaints that come from both doctors and families. These people work tirelessly. A patient recently walked away from his facility home and died in a wooded area not far from where he disappeared. An experienced nurse of more than 30 years lost her job because the facility needed someone to be accountable. She was fired while the facility remains operational. She was responsible for somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 patients that day. Maybe the caller should try for a month to operate under these circumstances.
Self-serving tax view
Swansea Fire Chief John McGuire should refrain from speaking as a private citizen on the issue of the property tax levy since his very well-paid public position with the village is dependent upon the tax levy. Perhaps if McGuire did not mislead the people to get the bonds passed for his royal castle, known as Firehouse 2, the village would not need an increase in the tax levy.
Mistaken priorities
Southwestern Illinois College President Georgia Costello pushed a button on Nov. 21 to light a $5,000 artificial Christmas tree in front of the new liberal arts building. I think $5,000 could have been better used for the school than for a tree to be used for one month.
Wealth won't shift
You keep hearing about fair share and tax the rich. Does that mean that if the rich get poorer, the poor get richer? It's not an automatic deal.
Embarrassed by score
Edwardsville girls' basketball coach Lori Blade said in a BND article that she was excited to see her team beat Collinsville 59-10. She sure excites easy if this is exciting. I think it shows a real lack of sportsmanship on her part and it sure didn't help the morale of the other team. I'm sure beating a team by almost 50 points didn't help her team play any better and it sure didn't help the losing team.
