NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT
He’s baacck. Actually, Joseph Zeid Langan, erstwhile cop for Springfi eld and Southern View, never really left the employ of the University of Illinois Springfi eld, where he worked as a police dispatcher after being forced to resign as a Springfi eld police offi cer in 2008, when a prostitute said she performed a sex act on him in his squad car. The proof, the woman claimed, was contained in a condom that investigators, following directions from the woman, found on the ground in Lincoln Park. After getting hired by UIS in 2009, Langan got a second job as a Southern View cop in 2012 but he was fi red after less than a month when a woman accused him of groping her while on duty. UIS put him on paid administrative leave in the spring of 2012 after he was charged with offi cial misconduct and battery. He pleaded guilty to reduced charges of disorderly conduct in September and, after 18 months of collecting a paycheck without going to work, Langan returned to duty at UIS about a week ago. He is paid slightly more than $20,000 a year. Back on the job.
SHOES FOR WATER
How can shoes help solve the problem of poor water access in developing countries? George “The Shoeman” Hutchings has found a way. Hutchings’ Shoeman Water Project exports shoes to street vendors in Kenya, Haiti and South America, where the shoes are sold, and the proceeds go toward drilling wells in impoverished areas. Sean McConnell, a senior at Benedictine University in Springfi eld, is heading up a citywide shoe drive that has already collected about 1,500 pairs of shoes. McConnell says the shoe sales offer jobs to people who otherwise might not have them, as well as affordable shoes for pennies on the dollar. The money raised pays for well drilling rigs, water purifi cation systems and training programs. McConnell says several local schools are helping collect shoes, including Springfi eld and Southeast high schools, Sacred Heart- Griffi n, Lincoln Magnet, Grant, St. Patrick’s, St. Aloysius, Cathedral, Christ the King, Blessed Sacrament and more. All through November, shoes can be dropped off at Benedictine’s campus in Dawson Hall or the Charles Becker Library. Additionally, George Hutchings will speak at Benedictine at 1 p.m. on Nov. 14 in the gym. McConnell says it’s a good opportunity for students to learn about the global water crisis. It’s also a good opportunity to give your best instead of your old cast-offs. For more information on the Shoeman Water Project, visit www.shoemanwater.org.
