Opinion / Letters To The Editor


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  • Letter - Help from neighbors, police enabled owners to find lost dog

    Updated Jul 3, 2024

    Neighbors of Southeast Hinsdale — thank you all so much for your kindness and for taking the time to locate and secure our Bernese mountain dog, Zoe, who left our property (with her shock collar on!) last Friday night, June 21. We were attending a local event and were completely unaware that she had left our house and was walking the streets alone. When we finally looked at our phones, we had texts and messages from various friends and neighbors with her photo and description and were able to quickly piece together where s...

  • Letter - Letter writer needs refresher on First Amendment

    Updated Jun 26, 2024

    To the recent opinion submitter from La Grange (June 20) regarding her dramatic opinion on the protesters near the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival, I respectfully submit the following: “... or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” I suspect that the person and her followers may not recognize the origins of this stanza. So I direct them to the U.S. Constitution, the First Amendment. — Joe Derezinski, Hinsd...

  • Protesters bring unexpected soundtrack to Fine Arts Fest

    Updated Jun 19, 2024

    Pamela Lannom’s article with regard to the Hinsdale Fine Arts Festival which took place on June 1 and 2 was engaging and informative, with many good quotes from the artists themselves. Unfortunately, after reading it, one would have no idea that an extremely loud anti-Israeli protest disrupted the normal peace and tranquility of the event for almost two hours of the six that the show was open on Sunday. While Ms. Lannom mentioned the cicadas buzzing and the rain on Saturday, saying neither deterred art show attendees, she l...

  • Cauley's involvement in civil lawsuit was inappropriate

    Updated Jun 19, 2024

    We are nearing the one-year anniversary of Sean Richards tragic death. Sean was killed on July 17, 2023, while walking on a Hinsdale sidewalk. I would like to thank the Hinsdale Village Board for improving public safety by proactively installing jersey barriers around Fuller’s Car Wash. As a resident of Hinsdale, however, I am concerned by some comments made by Village President Tom Cauley that were reported in Ken Knutson’s June 13 Hinsdalean article. At the June 11 board meeting, Mr. Cauley inserted himself into the mid...

  • Letters - Recent Hinsdale Central grad offers love letter to Hinsdale

    Updated Jun 5, 2024

    I graduated high school two weeks ago and have no idea how to feel. I’m a sentimental person, so as the school year wound down, I spent time thinking about my departure from family, friends and my Hinsdale life. I’ve lived here since birth — my first breath taken at Hinsdale Hospital. The thought of moving to Boulder, Colo., and living there for most of the year is, currently, an impossible one. These 18 years passed in a flash, but I feel grateful to have absolutely loved where I’ve grown up, the people I’ve met, the schoo...

  • Letter - Resident supports village, police response to e-bikes

    Updated Jun 5, 2024

    I would like to thank the Hinsdale Village Board and Deputy Chief Tom Lillie for addressing the issue of e-bikes. Parents: you probably think your (mostly male) pre-teens/adolescents are being responsible as they ride around town on their e-bikes, scooters, etc. They are not. I run, walk, bike and drive through Hinsdale several times a day. If you saw your sons cutting across Madison, crossing 55th Street (against the light), heading south toward Ruth Lake in the middle of the street popping “wheelies” with a friend or siblin...

  • Letter - All rights should be respected during protests

    Updated May 8, 2024

    The recent unrest on college campuses has triggered my memory of 1968, when I was in the rather unique position of being an anti-war demonstrator and the daughter of a Chicago law enforcement officer. I was not present at the demonstration that turned violent in Grant Park the year following the Democratic convention, but my father was. His firsthand account of his experience lives in my memory. Among the sincere and well-intentioned young people who protested for peace and an end to the war in Vietnam were outside agitators...

  • Letter - Free heart screenings at Central might save teens' lives

    Updated Apr 10, 2024

    On April 2, 2024, just1mike and Mend A Heart foundations sponsored Young Hearts for Life free ECG in-school heart screenings at Hinsdale South. Six hundred and 16 students were screened. Nine students were identified with a previously undiagnosed cardiac condition. Since 2017, 20 Hinsdale Central students have been identified with undiagnosed cardiac conditions through the YH4L screenings sponsored by the just1mike foundation. Heart screenings save lives. As junior board members for the just1mike foundation and Central...

  • Letter - Don't use taxpayer money for incentives

    Updated Apr 3, 2024

    The Historic Preservation Commission has been involved in generating grants and tax abatements to assist in the financing and construction of additions to homes on the Historically Significant Structures Property List. The HPC and the trustees are subsidizing the improvements to private homes with taxpayer money. President Cauley has said that the owners needed “incentives” to undertake these improvements. During a recent HPC meeting, a proposed new home to be built in the historic district was discussed. The HPC did not giv...

  • Letter - Support Community House at 'Artificial Hinstelligence'

    Updated Mar 13, 2024

    I’d like to thank the people of the Hinsdale community who attended the 2024 Community Revue, “Artificial Hinstelligence.” Our opening weekend was a spectacular success, with audiences raising the rooftops with their laughter. We hope that those who have not yet had an opportunity to see this original musical revue skewering all things Hinsdale will come to Kettering Hall for our final weekend. It will be our pleasure to entertain you, with proceeds benefiting the incredible programs that The Community House offers. And r...

  • Letter - New homes add value, interest to Southeast Hinsdale

    Updated Feb 21, 2024

    Robbins Park? Southeast is the true name of the controversial neighborhood in Hinsdale. It’s Southeast Hinsdale. The dirt that lies under homes — that were built in a different era, when folks listened to the radio after having dinner provided to them by live-in servants — is the focus of wealthy homebuyers these days. It’s the beauty of lot sizes, mature trees, exclusivity of Southeast that enchants buyers. Many, many homes in Southeast have been torn down and many more will be too. What some residents do not choose to admit...

  • Letter - Neighbors making living in Hinsdale so wonderful

    Updated Jan 31, 2024

    Jan. 14 we escaped the winter for 11 days. Like always, our neighbors take care of everything while we are gone. We stop the mail and newspaper deliveries and our “ghost lights” go on and off while we are gone. Already a day later, Shari Cornies called us in Mexico to find out if we were well and happy. She had found our Sunday news paper in the driveway. She worried if we were OK, and if we had made the trip to Mexico safely. Jan. 25 we came back from our dream vacation. Our house was icy like an igloo. We went to bed wit...

  • Letter - Schools should take role in advocating gun safety

    Updated Jan 17, 2024

    Like any parent, I am accustomed to receiving a lot of emails from my kids’ school – many of which relate to safety. Whether the communications relate to crossing the street, bundling up during the winter or staying home when sick, it is clear our schools are invested in students’ welfare. Why, then, don’t schools communicate with parents about the No. 1 cause of death among children in the U.S.? This danger is not the flu, crossing at a crosswalk or forgetting a scarf – it is firearms. Every year, 350 children in America g...

  • Letters - Anniversary special section brought back great memories

    Updated Nov 21, 2023

    I enjoyed your newspaper’s account of Hinsdale’s 150th anniversary. The 1960s-70s were an electric time. HTHS was much more than an athletic powerhouse. The junior high and high school had outstanding teachers. Robert Michalek taught an eighth-grade advanced science class that presented DNA concepts other students did not get until college. The foreign language program prepared us for college and lifetime travel abroad. In 1965, the high school hosted a Community Conference on Values. Dr. Bruno Bettelheim was the keynote spe...

  • Letter - Anniversary issue prompted reflections of high school days

    Updated Nov 15, 2023

    I enjoyed your newspaper’s account of Hinsdale’s 150th anniversary. The 1960s-70s were an electric time. HTHS was much more than an athletic powerhouse. The junior high and high school had outstanding teachers. Robert Michalek taught an eighth-grade advanced science class that presented DNA concepts other students did not get until college. The foreign language program prepared us for college and lifetime travel abroad. In 1965, the high school hosted a Community Conference on Values. Dr. Bruno Bettelheim was the keynote spe...

  • Letters - What the ads for Medicare Advantage don't tell you

    Updated Nov 8, 2023

    Medicare open enrollment, now in progress, will end on Dec. 7. Medicare recipients have two choices for covering their medical expenses not paid by Medicare Parts A and B: traditional Medicare, or a Medicare Advantage plan (also known as Medicare Part C.) “Traditional Medicare” is defined in this letter as Medicare Parts A and B, plus a Medigap plan, also known as “a supplemental,” plus a Part D plan that covers medications. Advantage plans are allowed to advertise without disclosing the financial incentives for insuran...

  • Letter - Editor's column on free speech misses key point

    Updated Nov 1, 2023

    The premise of your Oct. 26 commentary (“Want free speech? You’ll hear things you don’t like”) is at best flawed and misleading and at worst is a piece of propaganda. In this column, you do not distinguish between free speech, the right to speak our thoughts and opinions without government interference or retaliation, and unprotected speech, which includes threats and messages that transmit hatred and may provoke violence. Since you did not distinguish between free speech and unprotected speech, you misled your readers...

  • Letter - Disney's efforts to modernize princesses lauded

    Updated Nov 1, 2023

    A recent guest columnist characterized Disney’s remake of “Snow White” as an insult to the tradition of its iconic princesses. To be sure, the tradition goes way back — my three sisters and I had been obsessed with Disney princesses in the ’50s and ’60s. Fast forward to the ’90s: we raised our two daughters from China, turning to Disney flicks and traveling to Orlando for the additional treat of having tea with these princesses. Then we got lucky. “Pocahontas” came out and then “Mulan” followed. This was during the peak y...

  • Letter - Support just1mike foundation, prevent SCA with donation

    Updated Oct 4, 2023

    Damar Hamlin and Bronny James are lucky. They were in the right place at the right time when they suffered their sudden cardiac events. Many are not so lucky, like our family friend Michael Brindley. Michael attended Hinsdale Central. He was known for his big heart and big hugs. Michael loved all sports. He dreamt of becoming a sports journalist. Sadly, Michael's dream was never realized because he passed away in 2016 from sudden cardiac arrest at age 16. October is Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness month. SCA is the No. 1...

  • Letter - Discussion, not dysfunction, is accurate for the D86 board

    Updated Oct 4, 2023

    Last week, The Hinsdalean misquoted D86’s board president advancing a narrative of a “dysfunctional” board. During the discussion of legal representation, President Greenspon welcomed discussion: “I can ask for discussion so that everybody can provide feedback;” and contrary to the report, Dr. Yonke did not push back. Drs. Yonke and Lechner both support a legal representation review (Levinthal and Greenspon did, as well). The split 2:5 vote responded to “possible action to withdraw prior approval of minutes.” Levinthal and...

  • Letter - Join Rotary Run Sunday and support local charities

    Updated Sep 27, 2023

    Come one, come all to the 2023 Rotary Run Charity Classic this coming Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. The motto of Rotary is very simple, “Service Above Self.” That is the reason I joined the Rotary Club of Hinsdale just a few short years ago and that is the reason that this race is so important to me. Almost every penny donated to the race will be given away to excellent charitable causes, including The Community House of Hinsdale, the D181 Foundation, the Ray Graham Foundation and the Hinsdale Hospital Foundation. Since I del...

  • Letter - Pancakes perfect start to homecoming activities

    Updated Sep 13, 2023

    The Hinsdale Central High School Homecoming Pancake Breakfast is back! Please join us on Saturday, Sept. 23, from 7:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. in the beautiful HCHS student cafe. Tickets are $10. Pay at the door. All proceeds go to HCHS student programs. Brought to you by the HCHS Foundation and the Hinsdale Rotary. Yum!!!! — Pam Kalafut, HCHS Foundation...

  • Letter - No excuse for lack of new teachers contract in District 181

    Updated Sep 6, 2023

    Many in the community began the school year with attending curriculum night in District 181. We were welcomed by enthusiastic, caring, smart professionals who excel in the craft of teaching. We entrust these teachers each day with laying a solid foundation of academic excellence. We relied on these same teachers to guide us all through a global pandemic and expected our tradition of excellence to continue. It did. Yet, as we begin the 2023-24 school year, teachers in 181 are working without a contract and federal mediators...

  • Letter - Dogs deserved more than 1 point in columnist's tally

    Updated Aug 23, 2023

    In contrast to a recent guest commentary, I posit the case is overwhelmingly for dogs. Not against dogs. On behalf of dogs everywhere, I humbly offer this partial inventory and recount. Seeing-eye dogs. Bomb-sniffing dogs. Guard dogs. Hunting dogs. Police dogs. Seizure-sensing dogs. Service dogs. Sheep herding dogs. Sled dogs. Search and rescue dogs. Drug-sniffing dogs. And these are just the top-of-mind jobs dogs perform for us. We ask and dogs willingly meet the challenge. They love us more than they love themselves,...

  • Letter - Letter on scooters, electric bikes, omits key factor

    Updated Aug 23, 2023

    Of course motorists need to be aware and use caution regarding kids on electric scooters and bikes and the writer (July 13 letter) correctly points out that a parent’s worst nightmare is losing a child and parents should be teaching safety to their kids. This misses a most important element: Why do parents purchase these electric bikes and scooters and leave their kids unsupervised? Senior citizens have had close encounters with riders on sidewalks crossing storefronts. Kids are observed riding fast the wrong way on First S...

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