Is “old school” news style too tacky?

The Chicago Sun-Times gave us a news “exclusive” that reeks of the news mentality of decades past.

Drew Peterson, the one-time suburban Bolingbrook cop whom many people believe killed two of the four women he has been married to during his life, sent a letter to the Sun-Times, specifically to gossip columnist Michael Sneed. Considering that his telephone access to broadcasters who could put him on the air "live" is largely restricted, this seems to be his lone way of expressing himself.

SHE CAN NOW claim an “exclusive” on a two-part story that she largely didn’t write. The copy that made it into print is largely the text of Peterson’s letter – edited for space – in which he talks about the conditions of his life for the past year in the Will County Jail.

He takes his share of digs at other law enforcement types (he never became an Illinois State Police officer because his parents weren’t brother and sister and wonders if the jail officials who routinely strip-search him ever think about his naked image while having sex with their wives), and also talks about his incarceration itself (the food is “really isn’t that bad,” but “a step down from Army food.”)

By and large, it seems that Peterson believes he is being singled out for abuse by a society that is all prepared to believe the worst about him. It also seems that no matter how much many of us want to think of Rod Blagojevich as some sort of egotistical buffoon that Drew has him beat.

Milorod is Mister Humility compared to the former Bolingbrook police sergeant – who now faces criminal charges connected to the death of his third wife while investigators still try to resolve the disappearance of wife number four a few years ago.

READING THROUGH THE letter gives me a few cutesy details that appease the morbid side of my self-interest. For those who want to know, his cell in protective custody does not have bars. “I’m kept in solitary confinement on the reflective side of two-way glass,” he wrote.

And Peterson did make one observation that makes me wonder – “I haven’t figured out yet if I’m being protected from the other inmates or are they being protective from me?”

While I do realize there probably is some knucklehead currently incarcerated in the jail in Joliet who would think it proves him to be a “Big Man” if he were to shove a shank into Peterson’s back, I wonder how much Peterson’s treatment is so that Will County can avoid the embarrassment of letting something happen to him while he is in their custody.

Now I’ve already included more details from Peterson’s letter than I originally intended. Because my gut reaction to Peterson’s letter is different from the Internet-type commentary I am reading from people.

SOME ARE SICK enough to say publicly they want Peterson to be raped by other inmates, while others say it is insensitive to the public to give Peterson any kind of forum for communicating his thoughts.

My reaction is that this kind of copy seems like something from the days of The Front Page.

Those old-school days of Chicago journalism where being able to publish a real-life letter from a prominent inmate would have been regarded as a major coup for that particular newspaper – and one whose contents would have ensured that the Sun-Times would be having its copy picked up by newspapers across the nation as readers all over would lap up every little detail.

Now I’m sure that some people in the past would have expressed moral indignation at the idea of an inmate letter or diary. But I can’t help but sense we’re moving beyond that stage. Which makes me wonder if this latest column has the potential to cause embarrassment – although maybe not as much as the time then-Chicago broadcaster Giselle Fernandez got on board a speedboat with a convicted drug dealer to do a story about his final days of freedom.

BUT IT WILL be seen as a relic of the way that things used to be done? Which makes me wonder if Sneed is about to become the journalistic equivalent of old-school politicos like Dan Rostenkowski or George Ryan – whom some people argue were sent away to prison for engaging in hard-ball politics today the way they used to be done.

Or maybe that’s an over-reaction on my part.

Because we have enough of the “tabloid” television shows that give us graphic detail about all kind of sordid tales, and we the public seem to lap them up – demanding more while also issuing our meek denials about how offensive we found the whole experience to be. Which means we might not have changed as much as we want to believe we have.

For I have to admit the truth. As much as I want to believe I could care less about Peterson’s legal predicament, I read his whole letter that was published in the Sunday newspaper.

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When do religious displays cross line?

I comprehend the fact that some people receive such a satisfying sensation from their religious beliefs that they feel the need to engage in public expressions of their faith. It is when those people persist in trying to drive those beliefs down the throats of everybody around them that I have a problem.

Which is why a pair of stories cropping up this week in Southern Illinois managed to capture my attention.

FOR IT SEEMS that the datelines “MARION, Ill. –“ and “ALTO PASS, Ill. –“ will be turning up in the news in coming months.

The former is what passes for one of Southern Illinois’ major cities (population is only just over 17,000, but it is the location of the correctional center where some of the nation’s most violent federal inmates are kept), whille the latter is significant because of the two interstate highways that intersect near the town.

That intersection is the location of a 111-foot tall Christian cross that can be seen for miles around and is even used as a landmark by aviation students in the area to help them keep their bearings. As one who has driven on Interstate 70 and then turned onto Interstate 57 to get to Southern Illinois (including Marion), I am aware that the cross is not ignorable.

The cross has been in place for decades, and has become something of a local landmark. It even attracts a certain type of tourist (the kind of person who likes to go to obscure places in search of bizarre objects). But because of its age, it is deteriorating physically, which is why local groups are trying to raise money to help pay for renovations to keep it structurally sound.

IT SEEMS THAT the Friends of the Cross group has come up with about $400,000 (about half the total they think they need), and somehow managed to get $20,000 of that in the form of a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

That fact has the Chicago-area’s most outspoken atheist activist, Rob Sherman, all upset. The man who once showed up at 3 a.m. at the old City News Bureau of Chicago offices to play me a tape recording of then-President Ronald Reagan making (to him) a stupid wisecrack in favor of religion in government went ahead this week and filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for central Illinois (based in Springfield).

He wants the group to be forced to give the state back its money – claiming this is a clear-cut case of a violation of the separation of “church and state.” Although I know that state agency has provided money for many off-beat projects with dubious local economic value. I wonder how many of the minor league baseball stadiums built in recent years with partial state funds from that agency are truly providing the benefits that were boasted about by their local proponents?

What makes a giant cross any more absurd? It is so large and gaudy that it can’t be taken too seriously as a “holy site.”

I’M NOT SURE how the federal court is going to rule, although I’m pretty sure if he had filed his lawsuit with the Southern Illinois district court in Benton, Ill., Sherman would have been laughed out of town.

Because I’m sure a lot of people are going to view this as a case of a local tourist attraction (about the only one that Alto Pass, Ill., has), and not a place that specifically peddles religion.

Some groups have used the sight for large-scale religious rallies. But there are just as many people who view the cross as an eccentricity along the lines of the world’s largest ball of twine (a distinction claimed by both Darwin, Minn., and Cawker City, Kan.).

Personally, I remember it as something I saw just before stopping in nearby Mount Vernon to reload by car with gasoline.

WHICH MEANS I wonder if Sherman is merely continuing his record of being a non-religious Don Quixote. Put a windmill blade on this cross, and the analogy would be perfect.

Which means I don’t view this activity as being offensive, which is something I can’t say about Marion, Ill., where some local officials seem determined to erect a monument on the grounds of the town square depicting the Ten Commandments – thereby giving them a sense of recognition by local officials.

A local resident wants Marion officials to put the religious monument there, and is willing to arrange for someone to purchase the plot of land that would be needed for the monument. That move would make the portion of the town square private property, which would allow its new owner to erect whatever he wants there.

The Southern Illinois newspaper reported this week that attorneys for the city are urging them to reject the idea, because of all the legal grief it will create. The American Civil Liberties Union already has threatened its own lawsuit if the monument is approved.

YET MARION MAYOR Bob Butler seems to want to figure out a way to place the monument on the grounds. “I am confident that one way or another, the Ten Commandments will be put in place,” Butler told the Southern Illinoisan.

Excuse me for thinking that this is just an attempt by someone who wants to try to impose his religious beliefs on everyone around him, and is trying to get a council worked up over the issue to where they will think it is some noble cause to erect such a monument.

Not that I really care much about the Ten Commandments – which largely are noble goals we all ought to try to live our lives by, regardless of our religious faiths.

It’s just that I can’t help but wonder why the people who are most trying to push for this monument are so eager. It makes me suspect that maybe their own lives aren’t in perfect accord with those commandments, and they’d rather have the masses look at everybody else’s conduct other than their own.

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A false alarm

It seems we’re nowhere near a verdict against former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on assorted charges of government corruption, and his brother Rob, who prosecutors say helped the one-time governor in what they claim is his illegal activity.

A lot of people got all worked up Wednesday afternoon and into the evening when the jury indicated it had questions about how united they had to be to be considered finished with their deliberations.

BUT WHEN THINGS were studied more rationally Thursday morning, it seems the jury isn’t anywhere near finished.

Of the 24 charges that Blagojevich, the former governor (not the brother), faces, the jury has only reached a verdict on two of them. There are 11 other charges, all related to wire fraud, that the jury hasn’t even gotten to.

Which means we’re talking about 11 other charges that the jury has deliberated for 12 days now, only to be unable to reach a decision.

Because of the wire fraud charges that haven’t been discussed yet by the jury, U.S. District Judge James Zagel was justified in telling the jurors that their work isn’t finished – and that they have to continue to deliberate.

CONSIDERING THAT THE wire fraud charges relate to the alleged attempt to “sell” a U.S. Senate appointment to the highest political bidder, those are the ones that have the potential to add the most time onto any prison sentence – assuming, of course, that Blagojevich the former governor is found guilty.

During the time Wednesday night when it wasn’t clear what the confusion was amongst the jurors, those of us who stumbled across local television news got to hear from countless legal pundits who told us what was “really” going on. Not that any of them really knew. They were just taking educated guesses, and their guesses all contradicted each other.

Some are convinced that this means a jury that is failing to see the prosecution’s case against the Blagojevich brothers, while others are convinced it is a sign that the gov is guilty. Others insist it is just the confusion about finding Rob guilty of things his brother, Rod, did.

What I see is a confused jury – one that is honest enough to admit that the case they are considering is overly complex. As one who has covered trials in U.S. District Court both in northern and central Illinois, I am aware that this confusion factor is typical in criminal trials.

FEDERAL CRIMES USUALLY are much more complex than, “Someone hit a woman over the head and tried to take her purse, and somebody across the street saw the whole thing.”

Which means it is common that juries in federal cases consist of individuals who have to be given a crash course in what the law actually says, and how the arcane acts involved in the case fit in with the law.

What I find encouraging is that we have a jury that is not so intimidated by the concept that they just assume the federal prosecution must be on to something. They’re not just giving a knee-jerk reaction so they can go home.

If anything, I find the fact that it seems the jury can’t make up its mind on 11 counts to be encouraging. It seems they’re taking their duty seriously – even though those people who are politically partisan and want a “guilty” verdict at all costs are now engaging in their own trash talk that this process is somehow being held up by one or two nitwits who are being stubborn and refusing to accept Blagojevich’s guilt.

OF COURSE, THERE is one fact to consider. All it is going to take to permanently besmirch Blagojevich’s legal reputation (his personal reputation has been trash for years) is a “guilty” verdict on one count.

For all we know, there may already be two “guilty” verdicts against Rod Blagojevich. He may have already lost.

There’s also the possibility that as the jury deliberates the 11 wire fraud counts, those jurors will gradually come to a concensus on the counts that currently divide them. The point is that extra time could erase the split.

We could still get a unanimous verdict on all 24 counts against Rod Blagojevich (Rob only has four charges against him).

THE REALITY IS that this case is going to take time. Personally, I’m not concerned about how long it takes a jury to deliberate – so long as it is clear that they are taking the matter seriously. It’s not like we’re in a case where the jury is being sequestered at taxpayer expense. The biggest drawback to the delay is that we get subjected to reports that Blagojevich skipped lunch, and instead drank a Snapple-brand fruit juice. Only The Bright One never told us which flavor Milorod prefers.

Those people who are anxiously awaiting a verdict and eager to hear the words “Guilty!” repeated 24 times in conjunction with Milorod’s name are the ones who ought to ease up (particularly since they will be all outraged if the real outcome is “Not Guilty”).

If guilt really is the eventual outcome, it will come soon enough. I’d rather not have a future legal appeal that claims the jury’s conduct itself (remember George Ryan’s jury) was at fault.

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Quinn likely to tick off the “right” by doing the right thing on credit check law

I understand the theory – someone who has a habit of not paying their bills on time is probably unreliable in other aspects of life.

Which is how employers and the people who want to take the side of companies over their employees try to justify the practice of doing a credit check on someone who is being considered for a job.

IT IS A practice that has been on the rise – the Society for Human Resources Management says that 60 percent of employers perform a credit check on some job applicants – up significantly from the 25 percent who did so back in 1998.

It also is a practice that has been put in check by Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly. Earlier this year, the Legislature gave approval to a bill placing limits on the circumstances under which a company can do a credit check on a prospective employee.

Quinn signed that bill into law earlier this week. It now takes effect on Jan. 1.

Companies that persist in doing credit checks that do not fit into the specific categories allowed by the law can be sued for damages and injunctive relief.

MY MIND IS already envisioning the many ways that the Quinn critics are going to try to bash him as being anti-business for supporting this measure. I’m waiting to see if this particular bill-signing winds up being the factual basis of some sort of negative campaign advertisement against the governor.

What kind of hysterical rhetoric will they use?

I wish I could say I was being paranoid. But I am realistic enough to know that campaigns become about distortion, with the idea that the winner’s distortions become fact and the loser’s distortions become forgotten because “nobody remembers the losers.”

Personally, I am pleased that Quinn would take such action. Although before I go further, I should concede that my own credit reports likely are less than perfect. I haven’t looked at them in a while, but there is a good chance that the stints of unemployment I endured during the past decade threw me off-whack enough in bill payment that it still shows up on my credit history.

BUT PERHAPS THAT merely makes me realize that Quinn is not being absurd when he cites the fact that the current economic struggles that have left many people out of work should not be allowed to impact their ability to get a job in the future.

“A job seeker’s ability to earn a decent living should not depend on how well they are weathering the greatest economic recession since the 1930s,” Quinn said, in a prepared statement.

After all, the solution to many of the financial problems experienced by people is to find steady employment. Or, to adopt the mentality of the conservatives who are most likely to criticize Quinn for this bill, they should “get off their duffs and get a job!”

How much should past problems be an impact on someone’s future attempts to overcome problems?

IT’S JUST THAT the idea of a credit check always seemed to me to be an overrated factor in determining someone’s character. Perhaps if someone were being considered for a position where they were going to be handling a company’s finances or put in charge of paying its bills, then it MIGHT be relevant.

Or, maybe not.

Basically, I don’t believe the credit history is anything similar to a criminal record or the kind of investigation a company will conduct of a prospective employee to ensure that everything they’re claiming on their resume is actually true.

Those background checks I can understand (particularly the latter, since I have seen way too many cases of people puffing up their resumes). And no one is talking about scaling them back.

YET I’M SURE there will be those on the “right” who will insist that I am somehow misguided, and that Quinn is hurting the ability of business to conduct itself in a responsible manner.

It just always dismays me to learn that some people in our society think that responsible behavior means oppressive behavior – and not just on this one issue. I’d like to think the bulk of the people of Illinois will see through this upcoming cheap political rhetoric and regard it as the desperate attempts of some politico to score a few points against Quinn.

I have one other reason for feeling the need to write this particular commentary. A part of me feels a sense of fairness requires me to point out one thing that Quinn does these days that wasn’t a complete gaffe.

Because I’m sure that I will have significant fun at Quinn’s expense during the next two-and-a-half months over the many issues and items that he will bungle. At least this measure is evidence that the governor isn’t a complete boob.

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EXTRA: Rostenkowski evidence that not everything from political past was bad

Dan Rostenkowski,the one-time mighty chairman of Ways and Means whom some people were determined to think of as corrupt even before he got busted by the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia and served just over a year in prison, is gone - having died Wednesday at his residence in Lake Benedict, Wis.

Yet despite the amount of rhetoric we’re going to hear in coming days about corrupt politics and Rostenkowski’s role in it, I must admit my own memories of the Northwest Side politico are largely positive.

PERHAPS IT IS because Rostenkowski, although a loyal member of the Democratic Party, wasn’t an ideologue.

He was sent to Washington in the early 1960s (after having served a short stint in Springfield, Ill.) with instructions from Mayor Daley himself (Richard J., that is. M. was still a schoolboy back then) to look out for Chicago’s interests.

Which is what he largely did, ensuring that his home city got its fair share of federal funding for various projects. Extension of the Chicago Transit Authority’s “blue line” trains to O’Hare International Airport, construction of the Deep Tunnel that ensures sewage does not get into Lake Michigan, significant overhauls of Lake Shore Drive and the Kennedy Expressway are just a few of those projects.

Although the Rostenkowski I remember used to boast of his work on the Tax Reform Act in 1986, which he would say with a touch of pride, “took millions of (low-income) people off the tax rolls altogether.”

YET ROSTENKOWSKI WAS like the politicians of that past era who would play their political games by day, then get along at night. There was none of the personal hatred of the opposition that has tainted so much of modern-day electoral politics.

We’re talking about a man who regarded George Bush, the elder, as a personal friend even before he became the president who succeeded Ronald Reagan. That friendship even extended after Bush was an ex-president and Rostenkowski was serving his prison term.

I even remember the reaction of then-Gov. Jim Edgar when Rostenkowski was defeated in the 1994 elections by one-term Rep. Michael Flanagan, R-Chicago. By that point, Rostenkowski was an indicted politico. It would have been easy for political people with a future to write him off.

Yet Edgar called his defeat a loss for all of Illinois, even though Edgar’s own Republican Party wound up gaining that congressional seat (which likely will make Flanagan the answer to a trivia question for years to come – Who is the last Republican to represent Chicago in Congress?)

IF ANYTHING, THE fact that both Rostenkowski and Rod Blagojevich represented the same part of Chicago in Congress shows how much things have changed. Some will try to dismiss both of them as corrupt politicos (and link George Ryan’s name into the mix as well).

Yet the fact that people (except for the most hard-core ideologues) to this day can still remember positive things associated with Rostenkowski is something that will never happen with Blagojevich – who got impeached and removed from office because his own political allies couldn’t stand him any longer. Blagojevich couldn’t work with anybody.

It was that ability to put aside partisanship and work with all sides to get things done that earned Rostenkowski such praise, and why he should be remembered as more than a convicted mail frauder who served 17 months receiving an “Oxford education” (a sentence at the federal correctional center near Oxford, Wis.). It was also why Bill Clinton, toward the end of his time as president, gave Rostenkowski a presidential pardon.

Now I’m sure there are some people who will dismiss some sentiments. They will claim the things Rostenkowsi accomplished as a government official came at too high a price to taxpayers. They will say the federal funding Chicago received throughout the years were mere “crumbs” compared to what city taxpayers had to cough up.

BUT I CAN’T help but feel most of these people are mere ideologues who are determined to denigrate anything they can’t personally take credit for. They are the people who are willing to put partisanship ahead of getting things done – and I will always believe they are the problem with our current political set-up.

Which is why it may be perfectly ironic that Rostenkowski died on the day after Linda McMahon (whose claim to fame is being married to the guy who gave us World Wrestling Entertainment and such figures as The Rock, Triple-H and Chyna) managed to win a Republican nomination for a seat in the Senate from Connecticut.

She boasts that her political ignorance is her greatest advantage. Her victory comes as the man who reeked of political experience leaves us. The shift in attitude is one that saddens me, and is the reason why I will acknowledge the passing of Rostenkowski with a touch of respect. They don’t make ‘em like Rostenkowski anymore, and that is a fact for which we should express some regret.

It’s even the reason that I will forgive the man for the fact that when I, as a reporter-type person, occasionally dealt with him back in the early 1990s, he never could keep it straight in his head whether my name was “Greg” or “George.”

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Dreadful news copy is the result of non-verdict in criminal trial of Blagojevich

We’re in the news desert these days – the jury that has the task of reaching a verdict in the criminal cases against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his brother, Robert, has been at work for 10 days without giving us a clue as to when they will wrap things up.

Yet we have the reporter-types hanging out at the Dirksen Building (and not just the daily newspaper types who are there on a regular basis), all waiting for that moment when we learn whether the masses of Illinois will be happy (“guilty”) or seriously peeved “not guilty”) with the Blagojevich fate.

WHAT THAT MEANS is that we have had no real news, but reporters hanging around having to justify their existence.

Hence, we have in recent days read much in the way of pointless copy that does nothing to illuminate the public understanding of what is happening.

Now as a reporter-type myself, I have written such stories. They get done because an editor planning the next day’s newspaper in the morning hours has to figure out a rough average of what stories will be done.

That means he/she/it (all editors are non-entities) has to allow for the story to be headlined “Blagojevich Guilty!” If at day’s end, there is no such verdict, that space still has to be filled.

TAKE TUESDAY ALONE.

The Chicago Sun-Times gave us a story that purports to tell us just how financially broke the Blagojevich family is these days. It’s too bad Rod was an Elvis fan instead of one of Ray Charles. “Busted” could be his theme music these days when he enters the Dirksen Building courthouse. Rod Blagojevich didn't make Page One of the Chicago newspapers on Tuesday, and only warranted the lower left corner (slightly enlarged for readability) of Page One of the State Journal-Register of Springfield. Yet that doesn't mean the non-activity of his trial isn't getting covered.

You might have to help Blagojevich pay legal bills was the headline of the story that says his legal team likely will tap into public funds to ensure that they get paid something for the work they did in ensuring that the former governor’s legal rights were observed during the legal process leading up to the trial.

We also learned that Blagojevich’s once mighty campaign fund is down to $76,000 – having been drained to pay legal expenses thus far.

OF COURSE, ANYBODY who was paying attention during the process leading up to the trial would have known those facts, which also came up as part of the defense team’s attempt to make Blagojevich look less venal.

What they want us to think is, “how could a corrupt man be so broke?”

In short, I didn’t think much of Tuesday’s space filler, which would never have been published had the jury on Monday made the announcement that they had reached a verdict against Rod and Rob.

But yet I can’t help but think that it offered more substance than the Chicago Tribune, which told me on Tuesday that Blagojevich is using these past few days of waiting for a verdict to catch up on his reading – although they didn’t tell us what tome Rod is purusing these days.

THEN, WE GOT the account of the California man who, in a certain twisted sense, bears some resemblance to Rod Blagojevich.

He felt the need to buy a cheap airline ticket and fly to Chicago for a few days, just so he could be a part of the Dirksen Building “scene” during the trial. For his trip, he got himself “immortalized” by the Chicago Tribune and by the company’s long-time television station, WGN-TV, with other local TV feeling the need to follow the leader.

I guess that is journalistic synergy – the company’s various properties all report the same non-news so as to make it appear more credible. They’re competing over who can report the biggest trivia about the scene.

None of this, of course, would ever have been used had the jury reached a verdict. Not that I am surprised it is taking time. The surprise to me would have been if this whole matter had been resolved by now.

BUT THE POINT is that no matter how much some people desperate for attention speculate about the significance of the amount of time the jury is taking to reach a verdict, no one really knows what will happen.

Which is why we get reporter-types on call at the Dirksen Building – just waiting for that moment when they’re informed of the need to get their duffs into the courtroom because the jury has passed along a message saying they have made up their mind.

I have heard that officials are estimating that there will be only about 1 hour notice from the moment the jury actually reaches a verdict to the point that it is read in open court. So there’s no time really for someone to decide that their reporter (and camera crew, if we’re talking a TV type) could be put to better use elsewhere – and suddenly rushed over in the event of a verdict.

Which means that the jury verdict can’t come soon enough for me. Not so much that I really care what happens to Blagojevich. It is more that I want to be spared all of the nonsensical pseudo-news stories that will continue to be written to fill space until an actual verdict comes.

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Chicago’s views on immigration policy and its reform not at all surprising to me

I still remember my initial reaction when I left Chicago for a few years to work and live in Springfield, Ill. “All the white people have managed to forget what they really are.”

What I mean by that is that the phrase “white ethnic” that makes so much sense in Chicago seemed inappropriate for the masses of the capital city, and as it turns out much of rural Illinois.

IT IS THE very character of our home city that even the white people whose families have been in this country for generations still have a strong identity with their ethnic origins. None of this “I’m just an American,” which to my ears sounds like someone who doesn’t have a clue as to what they are. “American” is really the mixture of all the ethnicities into one brand.

That attitude hasn’t changed any in the past couple of decades since I made the move (and returned to Chicago some 10 years ago). Which is why I wasn’t at all surprised to see the Chicago Tribune, which on Monday published results of a poll it commissioned to find out what we think of what is happening in Arizona.

People were polled last month for the newspaper, and 57 percent of them said they do not like the idea of local police getting involved in the enforcement of federal immigration policies. Which means they don’t like the underlying premise of the law the Arizona Legislature and Gov. Jan Brewer tried to pass – but has been stalled by a U.S. District judge while a lawsuit by the federal government is pending.

I don’t believe it is because Chicagoans have a stronger sense of the difference between local and federal law. It is that ethnic awareness, which means we realize that this is not just a “Latino” issue. It is one that can affect just about anybody who lives on our block.

PERSONALLY, THE FIRST individual I ever met whom I was consciously aware of as being “illegal” was someone who came across the Canadian border. In short, he wasn’t Latino (although he was living with a Latina in the suburbs of Detroit).

And whenever we get those marches on May 1 to show support for newcomers to this country (even those without a valid visa), it always amuses me to hear the people who speak with an Irish brogue or whose broken English is in some accent other than what could be considered Spanish.

What I also found interesting about the Chicago Tribune poll is that 87 percent of those surveyed have the sense to realize that most of the people currently in the country without a valid visa really have no legitimate reason for being denied residence in this country. They should be able to get a visa, except for the fact that current immigration policy is so convoluted and confusing.

That confusion is what needs to be reformed.

OF COURSE, THE poll also has people who want to believe that the Latino immigration (which in Chicago has been taking place since the years just after World War I) is somehow hurting the city. In some cases, there are people who say it is bad, yet not bad enough to justify the mass deportations that the nativist segment of our society seems to dream of.

Which strikes me more as people who want to talk trash, but in the end wind up doing the right thing. In the end, that may be the very character of what Chicago is all about.

So the poll results don’t shock me. What also doesn’t surprise me is the fact that Arizona and immigration has not become an issue in the elections being held this year in Illinois.

I have heard Gov. Pat Quinn say he would veto any attempt by the Illinois General Assembly to pass a law along the lines of what Arizona did – and what several other states (including Indiana) say they will try to do in coming months.

NOT THAT REPUBLICAN challenger William Brady has tried to make an issue of this. He has tossed out vague rhetoric that implies to Republicans that he wouldn’t oppose what has become the GOP line on the issue. He makes sure to mention "border security" whenever talking about the issue. But he hasn’t made any blunt statements that officials in other states have made – because he knows Quinn would be able to use them to bash him over the head with.

Which is why I found it ridiculous when Brady campaign aides recently tried bashing Quinn for not taking a firm stance on the issue. My guess is they want him to say something that can be used to demonize him among rural Illinois voters. Quinn won’t take the bait, similar to how Brady won’t say anything outrageous on the issue.

Because of the very fact that immigration isn’t just a “Latino” issue in the Chicago-area, which does account for two-thirds of the state’s population and a sizable amount of the voter turnout across Illinois.

Which is why the only political people in Illinois who are talking about bringing up this issue are legislators from rural areas, and legislators who have so little influence in the General Assembly that no one thinks they can push this issue through the legislative process.

THEY’RE NOT ABOUT to get help from the legislative leaders, who aren’t about to take on the very ethnic character of Chicago – where the Chicago Tribune poll found 90 percent of city residents surveyed favored what the nativists insist on labelling as “amnesty.”

Then again, support for letting people already here remain (provided no outstanding factors to justify removal can be found) seems to be spreading beyond the city limits. That same Tribune poll found 84 percent of suburban residents (who comprise nearly half of Illinois’ population) also favor letting people remain.

I know there will be those who will try to claim that this is evidence that Chicago specifically (or urban America, in general) is somehow “out of touch” with what they believe.

Yet considering how large and ethnically diverse the area has always been (the one-third Latino share of the population that the nation is expected to reach by 2050 likely will be reached in Chicago by 2020), it merely makes me wonder if it is the people who oppose change who are the ones who are truly “out of touch” with what our nation is becoming?

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