New mayor spread misinformation about his opponent
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It’s is incredibly disappointing that the man who is now Naperville’s mayor knowingly spread misinformation on his way to his recent election victory.
As is apparent by recent letters to the editor published in this newspaper, he was quite successful. As recently as April 23, people are still submitting letters to this newspaper believing Naperville City Councilman Benny White, Wehrli’s mayoral opponent, doesn’t pay property taxes on his house.
While that was true through 2021, his property’s equalized assessed valuation for 2022 exceeded the $250,000 cap so he no longer qualifies for the military disability exemption. Mr. White will pay $18,269 in property taxes this year, which can be checked by going to www.willcountysoa.com and clicking on “property search.”
Even after knowing the facts, now-Mayor Scott Wehrli and the shady political agents at the Republican propaganda publication called the “DuPage Policy Journal” never retracted their lies or publicly apologized.
The residents of Naperville should be made aware now that their next mayor has a loose relationship with the truth and is more motivated by power and greed than by dignity and honesty. Please help bring Naperville back to the place where politicians don’t lie about each other and remember this four years from now when Scott Wehrli is back up for election.
Josh Cusack, Naperville
Stop gun violence with longer punishments, not more laws
I’m no authority on behavior or laws, but I do have good observational qualities and good analytical thinking skills. I have noticed there are two main trains of thought on how to reduce gun violence.
One approach is to pass new laws restricting or banning certain types of weapons. The other is to punish or treat those who misuse weapons. The main difference is, as usual, cost. It seems banning or restricting weapons is much less costly than punishing or treating the misusers. Getting new laws passed costs a few million compared to the billions it takes to punish or treat misusers. So we must go to how cost effective each method is.
The money it takes to create laws will remove certain weapons from the public. So what? Virtually anything can be used to harm someone. You can’t ban everything.
Also, criminals don’t obey the law. The mentally ill don’t know a law exists. Increasing laws has no effect on them. But increasing the punishment in existing laws for misuse will. It will keep the criminals and mentally ill confined and away from potential victims and weapons.
The state and federal governments have already implemented treatment programs for criminals and the mentally ill. These mandatory “rehabilitation programs” have cost billions since their implementation over a decade ago. Still, government studies have shown that within five years of completion, roughly 67% of those involved in these programs break the law again. Can any program with a 67% failure rate be considered a success, let alone “cost effective?” No.
Of the two methods, punishing people by increasing their confinement or treatment period keeps them away from potential victims and keeps the public safer for a short period. The longer the confinement, the better! I’d have to say increased punishment, rather than increased laws, is the way to go.
Bill Voda, Warrenville
Decent’s coronation column brings back happy memories
Hilary Decent’s column about King Charles’ coronation in the April 30 Naperville Sun brought back happy memories.
I watched Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation when I was 6 with my mother on black-and-white TV in Chicago. I can’t remember why I was home from school as we watched the coronation during the day; my father was at work. I remember the queen’s very long robe behind her as she walked down the aisle. Just like a fairy tale, which were popular with girls back then.
I had assumed it was broadcast live but after looking up the event online, I learned that films were flown to U.S. broadcasters and shown the next day.
We have no British ancestry, but my mother was always fascinated with the royal family. I watched Charles and Diana’s wedding with my daughter and a recording of William and Kate’s wedding with the same daughter and three grandchildren.
When my husband came home from work and saw our 10-year-old grandson in the group, he asked half jokingly, “Did he do something bad that your’re making him watch the wedding?”
Thanks for the memories.
S. Biedron, Woodstock
Cemetery grotto restoration in Naperville completed
Editor’s note: We are republishing this letter because the writer’s name was omitted in the April 30 paper due to a production mistake. We apologize for the error.
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It is a time to celebrate historic preservation. It is a time to honor our ancestors’ contributions to our community. It is a time to rejoice in the completion of the year-long restoration of the 100-year-old stone grotto at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery at 911 North Ave. in Naperville.
This Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto was designed and constructed by the strong, gifted hands and fervent hearts of local master craftsmen Paul P. Baumgartner and Arthur (Art) Miller, my grandfather. They left a lasting legacy built of fossil-filled stones from a Lockport quarry, which were part of the ancient massive inland Silurian geologic period.
The grotto honors Marie Bernadette Soubirous, who had 18 encounters with the Virgin Mary in a mountain cave along the banks of the Gave River in Lourdes, France, in 1858. The Holy Mother asked Bernadette, who would later be canonized a saint, to pray for peace and requested a chapel be built nearby.
The Marion month of May honors the Virgin Mary so it was fitting Marion Restoration was hired to do the extensive work needed to restore the cemetery grotto.
Phase 1 involved power washing lichens, moss, mold, sediment and mildew from the discolored rocks. Phase 2 included tuck pointing wall cracks, stabilizing loose stones, veneering the steps and seat, waterproofing two roofs and “reshingling” the main exterior dome. Wing walls were disassembled and concrete footings poured, lost pieces of the storage room cross replaced and frontal arches stabilized.
The Catholic Diocese of Joliet installed LED ground-level lighting and two new metal benches and repaired the paver brick patio. Rosary gardens encircle the grotto, fashioned from recycled Naperville sidewalk bricks and native field rocks. The perennial plantings have Biblical references.
It is a sacred, consecrated place of prayer, peace and remembrance. Let us rejoice!
Carolyn (Lauing) Finzer, Naperville
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