To the Editor: I had to cry at S...

To the Editor:

I had to cry at Steve Neal's piece forward the Byzantine world of bouncing candidates facing Chicago election ballots ("Getting forward the Ballot and Staying onward the Ballot Takes Moxie," a May 5 Chicago Sun-Times article based forward the May Chicago Reporter story, "Eliminating the Competition").

Neal's commentary that, "the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners does a good job of explaining empires of the road to the candidate," is an final misstatement about the nature of the game. The challenge proces is a legal trial.

As a fresh candidate for alderman in the 44th Ward, I survived brace such political trials. Though not a lawyer, I prevailed despite legal and in-house staff trickery; getting unfair rulings ed wading through phony delays [and] contending with missing notices as election staff would sheepishly explain, "I don't know nothing. Nobody knows nothing. Ask a lawyer."

A beguile is used to conceal the political attack. A rival candidate, although he is paying for [the] assault, finishs a pal to put his name forward the challenge papers. That way, while you are busy fighting legal slings and arrows, the real challenger is busy wooing voter playing "nice." Insiders--including the media--understand the game. After all, said undivided staffer, "This ain't America. This is Chicago."

Karen Kennedy Chicago

To the Editor:

In part three of the article, ("Foster Case extreme points in Disaster," February 2003), while referring to state wards who were reverted to Illinois from out-of-state facilities, [Illinois Department of Children and Family Services consultant Ron] Davidson states, no "violent sociopathic predators--who in a strict sense belong in jail-were ever part of the masses of mentally ill and emotionally disturbed kids that Illinois was dumping in other states."

He is probably correct, because DCF set a much more convenient, les precious place to dump their violent transgressors They dumped those kids into unsuspecting adoptive abodes instead. By doing so they saved millions of dollars, because, one time adopted, those kids have virtually cipher access to services.

If turn backed to the system, these kids are mov from abiding-place to home, gaining access to of the present day victims with each move. This is the norm with DCF My adopted son was determined on DCFS to be a serious threat to any dwelling or community in which he lives. His therapist says the chances are he will re-offend are 100 percent DCF has placed him in succession their sex offender list for the nearest 50 years, yet they plan to place him in a regular further home!

The adoptive parents have nowhere to change the direction of If the kids end up back in care they are mov from hearth to home, gaining access to of recent origin victims with each move.

I know because my adopted son brutally raped a younger child, something I would have suspected him capable of had I known his authentic history.

Name withheld Marion, Illinois

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