College students should check their voter registration now

College students preparing to reside away from home for the first time need to inquire about voting requirements in the state where they intend to live for the next year.

Illinois colleges and universities allow students to register or re-register locally if they already have registered at their home address. Students will have to show they have resided locally for 30 days and two pieces of appropriate ID, such as a driver’s license, student ID or a bill with their college address.

Other states may have different rules. Students should check with their colleges before leaving home. If a student desires a mail-in ballot from Illinois, they can request one by going online with their particular county if they are already registered at their home address.

This is an important mid-term election. Unfortunately, young voters between the ages of 18 and 25 have the lowest voting records of any age group. Many issues that affect personal choices, especially for young people, will be determined by the candidates elected this year. Plan ahead. Make sure your vote counts in November.

Betty Kleinberg, Deerfield

Music festivals don’t help neighborhoods

Community opposition to big private festivals in Douglass Park has been in the news lately, and rightly so. Please realize how this issue is related to the bigger picture: It exemplifies how less affluent, working class parts of the city are taken advantage of, abused and deceived by those in power — the government and big business interests.

Why do Riot Fest and other festivals choose Douglass Park instead of another part of the city? They, and thousands of attendees, don’t care about the scenic attractions of our park, the wealth of wildlife, the peaceful lagoons, the sports fields. After building their fence to keep the community out, they trample and trash the park.

They bring it here because they can, because so far the community has not been able to make them leave, as Humboldt Park did after three years.

Year after year, they feed us the lie that somehow these festivals will bring prosperity and benefits. Little treats are handed out — free tickets to the concerts if you live on the perimeter, temporary jobs to set up and work at the festivals, gifts of money to local politicians and their chosen token recipients.

Claims of significant benefits have proven false. Even the permit fee paid to the park district does not come back to Douglass Park, but goes to the general parks fund.

Variations of this story of greed and abuse of power are abundant. Who knows how this one will end?

Rebecca Wolfram, Lawndale