Kudos on your excellent editorial Nov. 29 regarding therequirements for city health commissioner.
We agree that the M.D. requirement does not ensure the bestpossible person for the commissioner position. It limits the field.
A master's in public health (M.P.H.) or the equivalent providesthe tools necessary to assess public health needs and manage publichealth programs. These skills are more relevant to the commissionerposition than those provided by the M.D. requirement.
Chicago's Board of Health is doing an excellent job in searchingfor the best possible person for the commissioner position. Theyhave narrowed the field and will interview top candidates this month.
Acting commissioner Richard Krieg, who is not an M.D. but has aPh.D. in health policy and management, should be encouraged tocompete for the permanent appointment, along with other candidates(with or without M.D. degrees) from across the nation.
The U.S. Conference of Local Health Officers has gone on recordas supporting the change from M.D. or Ph.D. requirements for publichealth officials.
Nationally, the trend for local health agencies is away from theM.D. requirement: Michigan, Washington, Wisconsin, the city ofMinneapolis, Massachusetts, Oregon, and South Carolina have recentlyamended their laws. Chicago should follow this trend. Clark Burrus, chairman, Health Care Task Force, Deborah Stone, director, Health Care, Metropolitan Planning Council Remedies for DUI
In response to Larry Thompson's Dec. 3 article 'The drinkingdilemma: illness or willfulness?' jail and driver's licenserevocation appear to be remedies for the illness or willfulness ofthose who drive under the influence.
I greatly resent Mr. Thompson's statement that 'Skepticism ofthe medical model abounds; blaming the victim is in.'
The victims of this abuse are the 24,000 people killed inalcohol-related crashes each year in this country.
Larry Mahoney drove drunk and killed 27 people. JosephHazelwood ran the Exxon Valdez aground spilling 11 million gallons ofcrude oil.
It is of no concern to me whether these two were plain drunks orsuffered from a disease. Neither should have been in the driver'sseat. Driving under the influence is a crime, not a disease. Louise E. Kilborn, Loop Wrong speed
Are we getting lax on boater safety? Does ESPN (sports cableTV) condone drinking and boating?
During last Sunday night's broadcast of the Bears-Viking game,ESPN aired a commercial in which a man seated on a sailboat showed asix-pack of beer and said, 'This is my speed.'
Since I do not have cable at home, I usually do not watch ESPN.Now I feel hesitant to order cable TV. What else will I besubjecting my children or myself to?
The commercial might have just as well put the actor, with beerin hand, in the front seat of an automobile saying, 'This is myspeed.' Dale Jordan Sr., East Side Henry offends
It is inexcusable for Ald. William C. Henry (24th), who has aproblem with grocers of Arab and Korean ancestry, to make a statementagainst the Mexican community.
His statement 'You have to know more than Mexican' isirresponsible and demonstrates insensitivity and ignorance of otherpeople's cultures in this city.
There is no such language as Mexican. It is called Spanish andhas been spoken in many parts of this country even before the UnitedStates was founded.
Ald. Henry should know that an attack on the Spanish languageoffends the Mexican community as much as an attack on the color of aperson offends the black community. Just as ignorance of the law isno excuse, so should ignorance of cultures be no excuse. Hector Gamboa, South Lawndale Something foul
I find it interesting to watch politicians when they cry'outrage.' Usually it is done because they need to point a publicfinger at another politician - who is doing the same thing they do,only for a cause they stand against.
So it is with state Rep. T. J. McCracken Jr. (R-Downers Grove)in his Dec. 4 letter 'Not surprised.' He yells 'foul' over theattorney general's decision to attempt to settle the Ragsdale case.
He says the attorney general is 'usurping constitutionalauthority'.
The Illinois Constitution has an article that prohibits theLegislature from enacting a pay raise 'mid-term.' Earlier this year,with Rep. McCracken's hearty approval, the Legislature voted certainof their members a quick $6,000 increase.
Of course, in their enlightened, progressive thinking, it wasnot a pay raise - it was a 'stipend.'
Amazing how Rep. McCracken finds no problem running around theConstitution and bending its intent to line his wallet, but on issueswhere he can possibly pick up some quick votes by calling 'foul' he'sa 'Tommy-on-the-Spot' to point out possible misuse. StanleyModrzyk, Archer Heights Newsy nukes
I was very pleased with Jim Ritter's article on Nov. 26 aboutnuclear waste ('Hot rods,' first of three parts.)
I never knew how many million pounds of radioactive fuel rodswere stored in northern Illinois. It was very surprising to me andmy friends.
How the fuel rods are stored in underground pools of water hadalso interested me.
I was wondering how nuclear waste would affect residents nearthe power plants. Any news stories with information about nuclearwaste as a health hazard would be greatly appreciated. Kwang Kong, Orland Park Sterile stand
Charles Krauthammer is the perfect apologist for ourgovernment's position when he says we are saving El Salvador fromcommunism and therefore right to help fund its current government(column, Dec. 2).
He says in effect this government's anti-communism is all thatmatters. This is our going ideology, anti-communism. We call on itto justify anything.
But it's a simplistic view, and one that our government wants usto buy. We have been patsies for anti-communists, no matter theirwillingness to suppress peaceful political opposition.
If we are to be in the El Salvador struggle, it should be forpolitical freedom, not for a sterile anti-communism that permitsincredible human rights abuses. Jim Bowman, Oak Park
