LETTERS
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REWARD SCHOOL BOARD
Dr. Ikejiaku’s resignation because of alleged hiring irregularities at District 186 will open a can of worms. There have been rumors for years of how the district was hiring “friends of Walter” and now the cover has been blown. The school board should not try to run for cover. They sat by and watched this train wreck happen. Now two members of the team Walter Milton put together have jumped ship. One could not come up with an accurate budget and the other could not hire qualified staff. I would be interested in knowing what kind of severance packages they were offered to get them to step down. Previous staff members have now returned to try to fix this mess.
Next April voters will be able to decide who will be on the District 186 School Board. Typically one in 10 voters even bothers to vote. This year with the district going broke, four schools facing closure, a new teacher contract and the wheels coming off, I would hope more would pay attention and “reward” the board members who have gotten the district to this point by renewing Milton’s contract. When you get their literature in the mail telling you what a great job they have done, you will know whom to vote against. Jerald Jacobs Springfield
GOV SNUBS STATE WORKERS
It sure is nice to see our wonderful governor working so hard flying all around the state, promising his constituency that he will fix the hole that those bad, bad state workers have caused for the State of Illinois. In the meantime, I am sure the full staff back at the governor’s mansion is keeping the home fires burning and the bookshelves dusted in case he drops in for a visit.
I am curious why he has not discussed his salary, which is the fifth highest of all U.S. governors, coming in at 25 percent over the national average. Look at the shape Illinois is in.
He really has earned it, hasn’t he?
There are those of us who have actually preformed our services for the State of Illinois for a lot less than his $155,600 annual salary and have paid the full amount we were required to into our retirement system every month. We raised our families, made our mortgage payments and dreamed of the day we could retire. Now he wants to pull that rug out on us because he and our state legislature (the fifth highest paid in the nation) are unable to do their jobs. They thumbed their noses at the Constitution that required them to make pension payments and bought themselves votes instead. Greg Bouillon Chatham
TATTOOS GONE WRONG
My fiancé recently was tattooed. In February 2012 he went into a well-known shop in Springfield. When he arrived at the shop for his appointment time he waited 45 minutes while the artist finished on someone else during his appointment block. My fiancé was worked on by him three different days that week. Since he was very trusted and did his previous work no red flag came up. That was until he came home and was covered in blisters where that art had been applied. He went to urgent care and was prescribed antibiotics. They drew a line on his arm where the swelling and redness was and told him if it spreads he needed to go to the emergency room. While at the emergency room they decided the infection was so bad that they had to admit him to the hospital and give him multiple IV antibiotics. He was diagnosed with a staph infection and severe cellulitis. He had to spend multiple days in the hospital. He had to consult with plastic surgeons about the possibility of tattoo removal and possible deep tissue damage from cellulitis. When he was sent home he was still on antibiotic treatments for the cellulitis for a couple of weeks.
This was truly a tattoo nightmare. This can happen to anyone. My advice is just because you go to a shop with a license do your research. Know the proper sanitation procedures. Educate yourself before you ink. Nicole Painter Springfield
