Thank you for your recent editorial “Face the music — rare birds must be protected” and for your excellent continuing coverage.
I am one of the volunteer monitors of the piping plovers at Montrose Beach. This is a federally endangered bird species, nesting at Montrose for the first time since the 1950s.
In my view, it would be terrible to hold a large music fest at this location. Even as it goes now, we need volunteer monitors all day and every day to make sure that nobody — or their dog — disturbs the piping plovers. Despite several “No Dogs Allowed” signs, there are people who sometimes bring unleashed dogs into this area.
A fest with up to 50,000 people in this area would be a nightmare.
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In addition, there is the larger issue of the habitat itself. Many people have worked to make this area suitable for nesting and migrating birds. Montrose is a premier birding area. People come from other states and countries to view the birds there. There could be much environmental damage done by such a large amount of people. I was under the impression that federal laws protect nesting endangered species.
It is not worth the risk to the environment and to the endangered species to have a music fest at Montrose Beach. There are numerous other places to have it.
Linda Radtke, Downers Grove
Hitting nail on the head
Neil Steinberg and Phil Kadner both hit the nail on the head with their Wednesday columns. Donald Trump is a master liar yet more than a third of the country — including all but one GOP member of Congress — don’t care. They just go along or actively enable him.
The Republican Party has played a significant role in making the whole Trump presidency possible, starting at least as far back as Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy. There was the Willie Horton ad in George H.W. Bush’s campaign, the take-no-prisoners Congress under Newt Gingrich, and then the Tea Party and Freedom Caucus.
All of this helped make Trump’s presidency happen.
I share Kadner’s worry that focusing on the 2020 election is just a blind roll of the dice unless the Democrats in Congress are able to reveal violations at least matching the seriousness of Nixon’s actions during Watergate. And I have no doubt that Donald Trump will continue to lie and cheat throughout the election campaign. The Republican Party’s continued attempts at gerrymandering and voter suppression will help him.
Would Trump try to hold on to the office even if clearly defeated in the election? If he did try to do that, would the GOP finally step up and stop him? How astonishing it is that we even have to consider those questions.
Michael Hart, West Ridge
