Letters to the Editor

Editor's note: We respect your opinion and are privileged to share it via this website. All letters to the editor will be reviewed before being posted. We do allow anonymous comments, yet we will not allow the Southwest Chicago Post to serve as a forum for bigotry of any kind. We also will not allow personal attacks against anyone, including elected officials and other public figures. On this site, all of us need to keep our tone respectful and our criticisms constructive. That's important as we work together to build better Southwest Side neighborhoods for all. So please join the conversation by sending your letter to editor@swchicagopost.com.

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Dear Editor,

As a volunteer court advocate, I want to share something I recently heard from a first grader at St. Mary Star of the Sea School.

The girl's father is a police officer working in the Eighth District. She looked at me and said "My dad knows you." I replied "Yes."

Then she said "My dad said he really likes you and your friends. He says that what you and your friends do makes him very happy and feel very good."

As a court advocate, I have heard words of thanks from the victims and witnesses we assist, the police officers we support, prosecutors and even judges. But hearing it from a little girl was unique and touching.

If you would like to find out how rewarding court advocacy can be, try it for just one day. We will walk you through it. It is probably the easiest volunteer work you will ever do on behalf of your neighborhood. To learn more, call 312-747-9724 or read this article about us in the Southwest Chicago Post.

http://www.swchicagopost.com/2012/06/eighth-district-court-advocates-playing.html

Dawn Ferrarini
West Lawn

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Editor:

Thanks for the information and photos of the demolition at Heritage Manor/Yugoslav Hall.

I know that projects like this do not move forward in Chicago without the support of the local alderman. So I want to know what in the h~ll the alderman was thinking when he gave this idea his support. Shoehorn seven houses into that small space?! I think most of us can predict what will happen and who will wind up living there.

Anonymous

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Editor,

I see you got scooped by the Southwest News-Herald on the police announcement at the Eighth District Station. Guess you're not everywhere, huh?

Anonymous

Editor's reply: No, we're definitely not, and we have never claimed to be. Barely a year old---our first birthday was March 17---we are a small, family-owned and operated neighborhood news service---although we are proud to add that we are definitely growing steadily in a time when other news organizations are shrinking. We were not at the CPD press conference because we did not know about it, because we were not invited. As SWCP readers know, we are not a favorite of City Hall (or our local elected officials, for that matter) because they're not a favorite of ours. Our attitude toward government and elected officials is simple and neutral, so we play it straight. We are not a billboard for political press releases and photos; and we are unafraid to ask basic questions and speak truth to power, same as most SWCP readers are. So yeah, we get left off the "invite" list a lot by politicians. By that's not a big deal to us, because we'll find a way to get the news no matter what---and in the case of last week's CPD press conference, we didn't miss much anyway. A table full of confiscated firearms and a call for tougher gun laws with aldermen and preachers adding a few amens. Sounds like a rerun to us.

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Dear Editor,

I want to thank you for the free publicity you gave to our parish fundraising event. Several people I know mentioned that they had seen our flier in a prominent position on your website. It is good that you support our local schools.

Sue Lewandowski
Clearing

Editor's reply: You are very welcome. It was our pleasure to help our good friends at St. Sym's. We cheerfully offer free publicity and advertising to all Southwest Side not-for-profits, something no other neighborhood newspaper does. You are committed to making the Southwest Side a better place. So are we.

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