Crack down on noise offenders
I recently read the letter regarding car radio noise in Forest Park [Car radios are noise issue in Forest Park, Letters, Aug. 23]. I thoroughly agree that signs need to be posted throughout the village, especially south of the Eisenhower. In addition to signs posted, I believe it is more important that the police follow through and actually ticket the offenders. I have called the police on numerous occasions only to see the officers warn the repeat offenders or drive by and say nothing at all. I think offenders need to be ticketed at the first offense in order to control residents blasting their stereos. The residents who are repeat offenders are well aware that their loud stereos are a nuisance to the surrounding area. It is clearly disrespectful to your neighbors.
Why are the police not following through with the village ordinance? If tickets were issued for the noise violation, I think the situation would improve dramatically. People need to be more considerate of others and the police should do the job they are getting paid to do.
M. Casey
Forest Park
Running for Forest Park commissioner
It is with great excitement that I announce my candidacy for Forest Park Commissioner. As a resident of Forest Park since 1999, my wife and I have seen the village grow and change. With change, there has been controversy and even scandal. I feel, however, that even with the aforementioned growing pains, Forest Park can, and will continue to thrive as a community.
At the urging of friends and neighbors I have carefully considered the time commitment that I believe will be necessary to justify the trust that citizens place in their elected officials. This considerable time commitment is overshadowed, however, by the sense of duty that I feel to those who have encouraged me to run, as well as my belief that I can help guide this village as it continues to grow and change.
As I previously stated, my wife, Chanda, and I have called Forest Park home since 1999, when we bought our first house, approximately 0.5 mile from the block where we both grew up. When we started our family two years ago, we took some time to evaluate where we wanted to raise our family. In that process we looked at several surrounding neighborhoods, but always came backto the community that we have grown to love and consider home.
Like many in Forest Park, I have concerns about crime, development, and education. I read the papers and worry that corruption and in-fighting, reported to be prevalent, may divert much needed capital and attention from other issues that are important to the village’s prosperity.
As commissioner, I pledge to work in concert with other village officials to take on the issues that face our community in a non-partisan fashion. I will not let personal differences get in the way of good government. I will not allow special interests to influence public policy. Above all, I will ask myself the following question before every decision or vote that I cast: “What is in the best interest of the Village of Forest Park.”
I believe that it is important for our elected officials to know what issues are most important to the people of Forest Park. Accordingly, I have created an email address where I encourage anyone to send me messages about their vision of Forest Park. Please feel free to tell me what your concerns are, what you like about Forest Park, what you are looking for in the next Village Council, or anything else that you find relevant about the village that we all call home.
John Plepel
Propaganda at Proviso’s Academy
Recently, District 209 sent out a flyer detailing how the new high school is doing. Enrollment is up 44 percent, they tell us. Is it though? The enrollment for the first year was 132 students, while this year’s enrollment is only 144 students. This means that enrollment is only up 9 percent, not the staggering 44 percent that is being claimed. There are also only 98 sophomores this year at the Math and Science Academy, which means that 26 percent of the students from the first year did not make it past their first year-one way or another-or chose not to attend a second year. This number puts the school in the same class as the two other high schools in the district, as they can’t seem to educate our kids either.
Well, that takes care of the math. How about the science?
Dist. 209 spent around $41 million on a 25-year-old building to be used as a school and administrative offices. I do believe the latter was more important than the former in their decision to create the Academy. There isn’t any space for sports programs and very little space for any kind of music or arts programs. Does this mean smart kids don’t participate in sports, play musical instruments, or sing? They are estimating that 1,200 students will be attending this school in the near future, which is a generous number when you note that the other high schools in the district have only 5,200 students between them.
So what is the science you say? Simple. Propaganda is a science, and these people used it to convince the residents of Proviso Township that this school was needed.
Jerry Webster
