Some facilities love and care for disabled

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:24AM

Tony Paulauski, executive director of the ARC of Illinois, must know that not every mentally disabled person is a candidate for community group homes. Many of them need the care of an institution.

Our loved one has too many medical issues to be in a community home. He is in a facility (not a warehouse) where the people who work there love him and care for his needs.

Mr. Paulauski obscures the truth by using words like “warehousing” and “obsolete.”

So, we’re saving $20 million? Well, sure! Let’s take it away from the truly helpless — the ones who can’t vote. As long as we make sure the politicians and state workers get their high salaries, and their generous pensions at age 55, etc., why should we care about the truly needy, the helpless? God help us, Illinois.

Phillia Mitchell,

Manhattan

Train delays dangerous

Your Jan. 17 editorial, “Make Rail Crossing Safer,” did not go far enough. What really is needed is for the railroads to put in bridges or underpasses with the many 100-car-plus freight and numerous passenger cars they are now running.

A few years ago, I went to a meeting in La Grange about this problem, which also included people from the railroad companies. When it came to the cost of paying for those improvements, the people from the railroads said that the villages should pay for them. I did point out that it was the railroads that were making all the money from those 100-car-plus trains.

When the routes were put in many years ago, they had 20- or 30-car trains and very few trains a day.

Just last week there was a garage fire here in Brookfield, and the fire department was held up by a train. What if it had been a house fire and there were people trapped?

I cannot count the number of times the gates go down and no train goes by. It is impossible to count how many hours are lost waiting for trains to pass. It is also a problem for the police, should they get a call but have to wait for a train to go by.

Ted Schwartz, Brookfield

Misunderstanding the facts

Columnist Steve Huntley continues to bash all things President Obama, warranted or not. In particular, he claims nothing is right in President Obama’s Middle East policies and actions. I recommend Mr. Huntley read Steve Sheffey’s column in the Jan. 15 Chicago Sun-Times to get a better understanding of the facts.

Richard Nielsen, West Town