Chicago's second-oldest church, Holy Family at Roosevelt Road andMay Street, which survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and wasthreatened with demolition in 1990, has been saved once again ["Blazein landmark church is cut short," metro story, July 26]. Thishistoric (1857) Chicago building was saved from almost certaincatastrophe when it survived a small but ferocious fire, thanks tothe good effort of several people.
We're very grateful to an alert passerby who noticed smoke andflames coming from the basement entryway to our food pantry andrushed across Roosevelt Road to alert the Chicago Fire Department'soldest active unit, Engine Co. 18. We're thankful that thefirefighters responded so promptly and carefully struck a fire thatthreatened this beautifully restored pre-Victorian Chicago structure.
We're also especially thankful for the generosity of Bank One CEOJamie Dimon, who recently equipped every firehouse in the city withthermal-imaging cameras. Using the new camera's infrared radiationtechnology, firefighters were able to see through heavy smoke, locatehot spots in the ceiling and walls and quickly extinguished the firewithout any damage to the main church or to themselves.
Thanks to these wonderful people and to all who have respondedwith prayers and offers of assistance, Holy Family is back servingthe growing Near West Side community with a 9:45 a.m. Sunday mass,weddings and special events as scheduled. Our food pantry will bereopened just as soon as we can fully restore the basement area.
The Rev. Jeremiah Boland,
administrator,
Holy Family Church
Novak's mistaken
Robert Novak's pessimistic outlook (column, Aug. 4) on recentevents in the Middle East peace process and unfair criticism ofIsrael is both misleading and false. In fact, many members of theSenate would be surprised to read his report that they did not meetwith Prime Minister Ariel Sharon while visiting Washington in lateJuly.
In fact, Sharon met with several members of the Senate ForeignRelations Committee, including the chairman, Richard Lugar (R-Ind.),ranking member, Joseph Biden (D-Del.), and Sam Brownback (R-Kansas).The prime minister also met with other Senate leaders and committeechairmen.
Not only did Sharon meet with them, Novak can rest assured thatthe issue of the Seam Line Security fence did arise and was explainedthoroughly by the prime minister. The idea of a security fence is notsinister, as some conspiracy theory advocates believe, but hopefullya short-term solution to the unbearable problem of terror. Savinglives is the sole reason for this endeavor.
Indeed, Novak might be so eager to force facts to fit his viewsthat he made yet another error. He was severely critical of IsraeliForeign Minister Silvan Shalom during his appearance before theSenate Foreign Relations Committee for stating (in Novak's words)that the wall "would not come down until the Palestinian Authoritycompletely suppresses Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups."Israel does not expect the impossible. So far, the Palestinians seemto refuse to meet their obligations to dismantle Palestinianterrorist groups--a task they committed themselves to by acceptingthe "road map" for peace. Hezbollah is a fundamentalist Islamicterrorist group that operates out of Lebanon and is sponsored by Iranand Syria. While the dismantling of Hezbollah is a worthy goal, it isnot one demanded of the Palestinians.
Attention should be focused not on the fence, but on the nearlythree years of Palestinian terrorism that made building such abarrier an unpleasant but unavoidable necessity. If constructing thesecurity fence compels the Palestinians to finally fulfill theircommitments to combat terrorism with deeds instead of just words, itwill be considered one of Israel's best investments.
David Roet,
deputy consul general
of Israel to the Midwest
Holt made the right call
Judge Leo Holt deserves better than the "Judge walks Sox brawler"headline that ran on Aug. 7. Sixty days in Cook County jail, 80 hoursof community service, a 90-day curfew, a felony conviction and 30months of invasive and intensive probation is serious punishment, asanyone who has visited Cook County Jail knows.
As a former prosecutor and current defense attorney, I know thatin a less-publicized battery case with similar injuries and facts,felony charges would probably not be approved, and judges would bevery reluctant to sentence such a defendant to any term of jail--much less the 60 days the defendant served in this case. A moreimportant question is do we want to sentence a man to five years inthe penitentiary when he has voluntarily undergone a 21-day rehabprogram, attends Alcoholics Anonymous and counseling and has madesuch strides to correct the criminal behavior that was so clearlyalcohol-related? Do we want to sentence him more harshly than allothers at 26th and California to satisfy public opinion? Don't we allagree it is better to reform this man than burden the state withincarcerating him for years at the taxpayers' expense?
The founders of our country set up our judiciary as part of asystem of balances designed to protect our citizens. Good judges,like Leo Holt, follow the law and don't succumb to ignorant mobsscreaming for blood.
John Berg, McKinley Park
Khan's wrath unjustified
In response to the Aug. 1 article about Northwest Airlinesprofiling Ali Khan ["Feds, airline profiled me: lawsuit"]: Why theMuslim community resents profiling is beyond my comprehension. Anysteps taken to prevent terrorism are justified because we haveblatant proof that some of them are terrorists!
My last four flights were as humiliating as Khan's. I was pulledout of line, made to take off my shoes and gone over with a metal-detecting device. My name, actions and appearance do not fit anyprofile, but I didn't complain because I want my government toprotect every citizen, including Muslims, as long as they are notadvocates of terrorism.
Profiling in these times is a necessary evil to assure thesurvival of true Americans, who shouldn't resent it!
George Staudohar, Burbank
A good time for a job hunt
I served jury duty [July 28], and it is astonishing that no onehas ever considered combining jury duty and the unemployment office.I mean, you do nothing but just sit there. Why not have computers setup for people to do job searches and resume-writing?
And if a jury is needed, there would be plenty of people to selectfrom, and they would probably appreciate the money.
It'll never happen, though. Too efficient.
Arlen Salley, Schaumburg
Rush out for himself
I am appalled by the comments by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.)[Letters, Aug. 1] in response to Steve Neal's column on July 22. Iabsolutely concur with Neal that Rush plays the political process toincrease the coffers of himself, his family and friends.
As a lifelong resident, I have seen little gain for the 1stCongressional District under Rush's leadership. His comments that hehas analyzed the situation and feels that Hull will be who's best forhis constituents is ludicrous. Like everything else, Rush's supportof Blair Hull will benefit only Rush.
Rush cared little about affordable housing when Bronzeville homesbegan being sold at exorbitant prices, driving out moderate- and low-income residents, and he waited more than a year after Rep. DannyDavis began holding home ownership conferences, sponsored by theCongressional Black Caucus, to do the same for his district.
It is shameful that black leaders like Rush feel that they deserveundying loyalty. Yet he will not support a well-educated man like[state Sen.] Barack Obama, the only candidate running with aconnection to Rush's district and the only candidate with alegislative background.
Lori Hendricks, Douglas
Hoekstra scores twice
Dave Hoekstra has done it again with two dynamic feature articlesin the Showcase section Aug. 3. "First soul superstar back in thespotlight," about the great singer Sam Cooke, and "The sun never willset on this music legend," about famed record producer Sam Phillips,were great.
Hoekstra has to be the Babe Ruth and the Johnny Van der Meer offeature writers. Van der Meer was the only major league pitcher topitch back-to-back no-hitters. He pitched for the Cincinnati Reds,and his record yet stands. Great work, Dave.
Tony Mathis,
Chicago Heights
MY TWO CENTS
"I served jury duty [July 28], and it is astonishing that no onehas ever considered combining jury duty and the unemployment office.I mean, you do nothing but just sit there. Why not have computers setup for people to do job searches and resume-writing?" --Arlen Salley