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HELPING THE HOMELESS There seems to be multiple discussions ongoing about how the city of Springfield can solve the homeless conundrum in our city. I have been a part of two groups who have prepared warm meals for the homeless, and Helping Hands has done its best to provide sleeping arrangements and meals, too.

Now that the Cathedral School has closed, it seems a collaboration with the Catholic community and Capital Township’s General Assistance Fund would be a phenomenal opportunity to provide services to our homeless brothers and sisters. The Cathedral has ample space for offices for drug and alcohol counseling, restrooms, kitchen and dining spaces already in place. Using a couple of classrooms for sleeping would be ideal.

MERCY Communities, now located at St. Joseph’s School, has done an outstanding job of caring for single moms at risk of being homeless. Why not use church property to help the most vulnerable among us? As I read the Gospel of Matthew, that is exactly what Jesus commissioned us to do. Barbara Fuhrwerk Springfield

MISSING THE MARK ON JANUS There are a lot of misconceptions floating around the local press regarding the Supreme Court decision in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31. In the SJ-R, Bishop Paprocki wrote that “Forcing public employees to subsidize unions that promote such immoral policies and activities [such as reproductive healthcare] is just not right.” In Illinois Times, Bruce Rushton wrote, “But giving money to organizations – be it Planned Parenthood or the Sierra Club or the Boy Scouts – that aren’t within a sneeze of the bargaining table is ripe fish” (“Paprocki vs. unions” by Bruce Rushton, Illinois Times, Aug. 16).

Both of these claims are factually incorrect. Before Janus, the funds that unions received from “fair share” members of public unions who chose not to join the union were segregated from the funds unions could use on non-representational costs. Every union covered under federal law must annually certify to the Department of Labor the amount spent on non-representative activities.

In short, money collected from fair-share fee payers was never spent on outside groups like Paprocki and Rushton describe. If a member disagreed with a union’s spending, they could become a fair-share fee payer and be assured their money would not be spent in such a manner.

Even after the Supreme Court’s regrettable 5-4 decision in the Janus case, union members continue to have a number of options if they disagree with their union,

including changing the unions’ policies through internal democracy. In addition, unions are not imposed on any workplace- if workers want a different union then they can vote their union out in favor of a new one, or have no union at all.

If Bishop Paprocki continues to wade into public matters, perhaps he could advocate for paid parental leave, an increased minimum wage, or expanded Medicaid? Or if he truly believes in unions as he claims, he could condemn attacks on collective bargaining with the same zeal that he wields condemnation on other issues. Instead, he and Rushton cheer on yet another blow to workers’ rights, one that will disproportionately harm the local economy due to the more than 20,000 public sector workers that live, work and shop in Sangamon County, who almost certainly will see their pay and benefits diminished as a result of this decision. David Amerson Staff Attorney Illinois Police Benevolent Labor Committee

CLARIFICATION In last week’s edition, we overlooked former State Journal-Register sports editor Jim Ruppert and courts scribe Chris Dettro, both of whom took advantage of a previous buyout offer from GateHouse Media, corporate owner of the Springfield daily, to go on to bigger and better things. We wish them both happy retirements.