What about the rest of us?
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR May 20, 2012 7:12PM
A protestor sits on Congress Avenue and offers a flower to police during a protest march for the NATO Summit in Chicago, Illinois, Saturday, May 19, 2012. | Joseph P. Meier~Sun-Times Media
Updated: July 1, 2012 12:27PM
For several days I observed what looked like some of the Strategic Air Command flying high over the Chicago vicinity, maybe in preparation for the convention of NATO at McCormick Place. Fighter jets will be flying over Chicago. Are Chicagoans in any danger?
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has commissioned a huge police force, the National Guard and even the FBI to watch over these NATO VIPs while in Chicago. Some colleges, schools, stores, businesses and certain streets downtown have been closed at the inconvenience of many citizens. Protesting Occupiers are being scrutinized, controlled and some may be arrested for rightfully voicing their complaints of military, business and government policies. The world is watching!
If the city and state are decidedly strapped for money, as claimed, where is the money for this extravaganza coming from? Apparently, Chicago is more interested in protecting NATO VIPs, who are part of the world’s “one percent,” and possibly one part of our woes. Yet, how much has been done to protect the “ninety-nine percent” we read about that are being killed and robbed on Chicago’s streets during the past year? Why has so much more importance been placed on these foreign VIPs than on the citizens of Chicago, and just how does NATO benefit Chicagoans?
Frank J. Sasevich, Bolingbrook
