Letters: Take a tip from Larry
November 28, 2012 10:46PM
Updated: December 30, 2012 6:20AM
Now that the elections are over, it is important to remember that as they say “all politics is local.” With the hyper-partisan rhetoric that engulfs our state and national elected representatives, we are very lucky to be living in Will County. We have re-elected a county executive (Larry Walsh) who doesn’t see the world through partisan goggles.
When you meet Larry, he doesn’t care if you are a Democrat or Republican. All he cares about is what can he do to better serve you. He doesn’t hide in his office to avoid uncomfortable discussions with his constituents.
On any given day you can find Larry at a charity fundraiser, walking in a parade, attending a business event or talking to people at one of the local festivals. Larry can make you feel like you are the only person in the room when he talks to you, he really cares about what you have to say. What a refreshing trait for a politician. Then again, Larry is not a real politician. Larry is a man who seems to care more about serving the people than simply making a name for himself. Again, what a refreshing trait for a person elected to govern.
We see a lot of criticism of Larry, for people he has appointed, but what is wrong with appointing a family member or person from inside if that appointee is the best person for the job? As far as I can see Will County is running pretty good, I wish our governor and president would take notes on how Larry is running our county.
Maybe if the president would have listened to his old friend he could live up to his promise of uniting people rather than a creating the most divided country we have seen since the Civil War.
Greg Grubisich
Crest Hill
Reject CCA’s plan
Corrections Corp. of America is the biggest private prison company in the U.S. Illinois does not allow private prisons in our state, but is silent on the subject of detention centers. Privatization is a bad idea because it requires a quota be met on the level of prisoners/detainees.
You need to know the statistics about CCA (from ProPublica):
66: number of facilities owned and operated by Corrections Corp. of America, the country’s largest private prison company based on number of facilities
91,000: number of beds available in CCA facilities across 20 states and the District of Columbia
$1.7 billion: total revenue recorded by CCA in 2011
$17.4 million: lobbying expenditures in the last 10 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics
$1.9 million: total political contributions from years 2003 to 2012, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics
$3.7 million: executive compensation for CEO Damon T. Hininger in 2011
132: recorded number of inmate-on-inmate assaults at CCA-run Idaho Correctional Center between September 2007 and September 2008
42: recorded number of inmate-on-inmate assaults at the state-run Idaho State Correctional Institution in the same time frame (both prisons at the time held about 1,500 inmates)
The level of lobbying being done by pro-privatization organizations is obscene. People need to stand up to this. Please contact those who represent you in city government. Crete rejected CCAs plan, Joliet can as well.
Diane Herr
Aurora
