Don't blame building commissioner Hopkins for Little Village smokestack fiasco
Last Friday's Watchdogs article concerning the Little Village smokestack implosion gave the impression that Commissioner of Buildings Marlene Hopkins has not been doing her job very well.
There is no doubt that the dust cloud that engulfed Little Village was a terrible incident and could have been substantially abated if the proper precautions were executed.
The Inspector General, Joe Ferguson, had determined that the dust abatement failure was in part the responsibility of Hopkins, then the first deputy commissioner. I think that in this case Ferguson got it wrong.
I worked at the City of Chicago Building Department for 27 years and can attest that permits as complicated as this one require multiple city department review and approval. This implosion permit was no exception. Hopkins is being truthful when she identifies that the Public Health Department would make sure that the dust would be controlled after the planned implosion.
As to whether Hopkins is properly protecting the public in her capacity, I want to let your readers know that she truly exemplifies what a public servant should be. In the many years that I have worked with her, I have seen her deal with building emergencies daily, deal with bad contractors, and help everyone who reaches out to her with impossible issues.
Too often we don't recognize the good things that are accomplished. What we need these days are true public servants. We got one in Marlene Hopkins..
William Bugajski, retired assistant director of Department of Buildings, Hegewisch
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Trump has no empathy
One can only begin to imagine the relief, elation, and pure joy experienced by the families of the American hostages (they were not prisoners) who were released recently. Diplomats in the Biden administration successfully negotiated their release with the cooperation of seven different countries. This was the largest, and most complex exchange in history, and the emotion of the moment even caused National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to tear up at a White House press briefing. This emotion was shared by many people in the U. S., as well as those nations that also had their citizens returned.
There was, however, one U.S. citizen who did not express any joy at all: Donald Trump. Instead, he claimed that Biden got fleeced and "our negotiators are always an embarrassment to us!" Trump's vice presidential pick JD Vance went so far as to suggest that Trump deserved credit for the swap, despite Trump's insistence that the hostages would only be released upon his reelection. There was no outreach by Trump to the families of the hostages, only divisive remarks aimed at the Biden/Harris administration. The man is incapable of empathy. Do we really want to put such a man back in the White House come this November?
Tom Scorby, St. Charles
The right to bear arms and stay alive
I read the letter to the Editor, "Millions of civilians armed with guns don't make our country safer." The Second Amendment specifically says "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." This is easy to understand. The amendment was created to protect citizens from a tyrannical government. It gives citizens the ability to defend themselves against unlawful violence.
This gives citizens the right to live (or a fighting chance). Or do we surrender our weapons and submit to the criminals? Or wait for the police to come, in which case, it could be hours as they are extremely busy? Personally, I would rather fight for my right to survive than capitulate to criminals.
Terry Cornell, Evergreen Park