THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2008
Letters To Our Editor
Support Convention, Term Limits
Editor, Journal:
This November's ballot will ask Illinois voters if there should be a Constitutional Convention ("Con-Con"). The last one was held in the 70's. If you are upset and hopping mad with what is going on in Springfield, Cook County, and, yes, our Des Plaines city government, this will be your chance to make some effective changes. That includes the ability to recall elected official positions.
If we had term limits in place, the mess in Springfield and Cook County would not exist, and much stronger ethics laws would exist. Stop "pay to play"! We would be able to restructure our current tax system and reform campaign contribution practices which are among the worst in the nation. And we could reform the out of control public employee pension plan. It seems that our federal, state, county or local governments are no longer working for "we the people." Government needs to be brought under control. We need to vote "yes" for the Illinois Con-Con.
Just how many times have we been to the polls and voted only to have these arrogant elitists go ahead and do the opposite? Voters in Des Plaines said "no" to a new library. What do we now have? A new library. Des Plaines voters said "no" to the new TIF (Tax Increment Funding for blighted areas) in the 5 corners area. What do we have? A TIF in the 5 corners area. And there are many more such examples.
I believe the six elected city officials whose terms are up this April have been working for a number of years to end term limits in order to keep their offices. If you believe our present elected officials, who are trying to reverse the Des Plaines citizens vote that was 3 to 1 for term limits, are the only ones who can "run" our government, then keep them in office. But remember just what a bang up job they have done to date.
Term limits have worked just fine for the highest elected office in the land. No U.S. president can serve more than eight years. Need I say more?
I hope that you will vote in favor of having an Illinois constitutional convention (Con-Con), and vote in favor of term limits for our Des Plaines city officials when the time comes.
Carl E. Gulley, Des Plaines
Flood Maps Just Benefit Insurance
Editor, Journal:
This letter is referring to the FEMA flood map, which is now under review.
The floodway category is a new category, which showed up in the last edition of the map, which contained of errors. The problem comes when the existing home or structure falls into the "floodway" zone where construction of even a fence is prohibited in the fear of blocking the waterway. It is ironic that streams, creeks and waterways, which are usually blocked with fallen trees and other debris further adding to the flooding problem, are rarely cleared or cleaned. But construction on adjoining land becomes a threat to water flow, according to FEMA.
The floodway category has affected numerous property owners by losing the financial value of their homes. The real issues are life after the flood and not just the insurance. What good is insurance if one cannot rebuild?
FEMA is so engrossed in the insurance business that like a person with jaundice who sees yellow everywhere, FEMA has totally ignored the plight of property owners in the loss of their investment. It has chosen the "one size fits all" solution. Rivers, streams, creeks are equal in the eyes of FEMA and treated the same way. A small creek in a community is seen the same way as the Mississippi River.
Most of the creeks or streams are flooded because of the backwater from the flooded river they join. The intensity is not as severe as the rivers, which have a larger contributing area.
Even where the communities have projects to control the river floods like levees, flood gates, or flood walls, FEMA is not very receptive to changing their flood maps.
FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and communities need to look at the whole process more logically from engineering and property owner's point of view. There has to be solutions like simply keeping the waterways clean, channeling waterways more effectively, and respecting the rights of owners to build.
Are we solely relying on computer modeling and ignoring the history and experience in the area? If the flood occurrence is based on 50 or 100 years, the factor of exaggeration in modeling the flood map should be in favor of the property owners than the insurance companies. We need to look at this issue more rationally as we are looking at the properties on Weller Creek or Camp McDonald.
People affected by the floodway are not making their voice heard because the science of flood maps is like a religion, no questions...and apathy.
We did not relocate New Orleans because it flooded or is flood prone. We still build in coastal areas.
We should apply the similar logic to local flood maps. Flood insurance or blighting the communities with flood maps with floodways cannot be the only solution, although it makes some insurance companies very happy.
Praf Dunung, Des Plaines