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LakeForestLeader.com sound off
the lake forest leader | July 7, 2016 | 13
Social snapshot
Top Stories
From LakeForestLeader.com as of July 5
1. Fourth of July celebrations in Lake
Forest
2. Lake Bluff Titans no-hit by Barrington in
summer swell
3. Lake Bluff Village Board: Design
service contract approved for Moffett
Road repairs
4. Playground designs unveiled for Blair,
Artesian parks
5. Pet of the Week: Scout
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From the Editor
A result of ‘compromise,’ local projects continue — for now
Kirsten Keller
kirsten@lakeforestleader.com
Late last week, Illinois
lawmakers
came together to
pass a stopgap budget that
will keep the state running
for the next six months.
They passed that budget
on June 30 — the last
day of the fiscal year, and
the last day the Illinois
Department of Transportation
had the authority to
provide funds for state- or
federal-funded road construction.
The stopgap budget
will, among many things,
ensure schools open in the
fall, aid Chicago Public
Schools and keep road
construction going.
One of those road
projects is Lake Bluff’s
sidewalk project, which
will be slightly delayed
because of the budget
stalemate (story on page
6). It was set to break
ground on July 5 but is
now scheduled for mid-
July. The sidewalk will
connect the southern end
of the Village Green to
the Robert McClory Bike
Path. In the week leading
up to the June 30 cutoff,
Village of Lake Bluff
officials discussed the
implications of delaying
the project, yet the
state pulled through
and the project was not
delayed by much. Other
local projects, like major
construction on a 2.4-mile
stretch of Deerfield Road
in Highland Park and
Deerfield, will continue
as well — at least for the
next six months.
Lake Bluff’s sidewalk
project, estimated to
last three weeks, is less
time-consuming than
other types of projects like
bridge or road construction,
which could face
future indecision.
The budget that was
passed is not the result
of additional funding
methods — it has simply
authorized funding from a
source that does not exist.
In the next six months,
state lawmakers will once
again have to work together
to pass a comprehensive
budget, one that can
keep the state afloat past
the foreseeable horizon.
Whether that happens
in a timely manner is
anyone’s guess.
Letter to the Editor
Do transgender bathrooms
erode Constitutional right
of privacy?
In my opinion, and what
must be shared by many,
the notion that those bewildered
about their sex
should be free to use the
bathrooms and locker
rooms of their choice, lest
their feelings be bruised,
is not only difficult for me
to imagine, but that it calls
for a national dialogue. I
read recently that Caitlyn
Jenner, at 67, has decided
that being a woman isn’t
all she thought it would be.
The transgender issue
leads to this question: If
[transgender people] can
be accommodated, why
not trans-racials? This
week I can be black, protest
for Black Lives Matter,
and get minority preferences.
Next week, I can
be Native American, live
on a reservation, get Indian
Health Service, and
collect my share of profits
from a casino. This actually
makes more sense than
The Lake Forest
The Lake Forest Library posted this picture
on June 28 when Popeye and Sailor
the dog came in to perform tricks. More
than 160 kids and their caregivers came
to the event.
Like The Lake Forest Leader: facebook.com/
TheLakeForestLeader
Welcome to the families on campus for our
#summer #OpenHouse! It’s a beautiful day!
#futureforesters
@LFCollege, Lake Forest College, on June
27
Follow The Lake Forest Leader: @TheLFLeader
go figure
$613,000
An intriguing number from this week’s edition
Cost of upgrades,
including new
playgrounds, at Blair
and Artesian parks in
Lake Bluff. Story on
Page 6
transgender since one’s
sex is genetic and cannot
be disputed whereas many
people have chromosomes
from many ethnicities
so one can theoretically
choose which one to identify
with. Where does this
stop?
It should be common
sense that every person
is entitled to privacy
when using the restroom,
changing or showering,
but unfortunately, some
have eliminated common
sense. Before we sacrifice
what our courts have
recognized as a constitutionally
protected right at
the altar of gender identity
politics, the consequences
must be considered, especially
when options exist
to accommodate everyone
without violating anyone’s
privacy.
According to the American
College of Pediatricians,
transgender programming
of children is
child abuse. As such the
American College of Pediatricians
urges educators
and legislators to reject
all policies that condition
children to accept as normal
a life of chemical and
surgical impersonation of
the opposite sex. Facts –
not ideology – determine
reality. Forty-one percent
attempt suicide who undergo
sex change surgery.
In Illinois some common
sense is taking place.
A student bathroom bill
has been introduced in
the Illinois House by Tom
Morrison (R- 54th District)
which bases access
on sex at birth. The bill
also makes accommodations
for single-occupancy
restrooms and changing
rooms upon request if
students feel they do not
identify with their anatomical
sex. Bills similar
to Morrison’s have been
emerging throughout the
country in states such as
North Carolina.
Nancy J. Thorner
Lake Bluff resident
Leader
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