There’s no better advocate for disabled kids and adults than fully engaged, lovingly encouraging parents. And when they’re no longer there for them, it’s up to the state — and some states are better advocates than others. From the moment Marjorie Sullivan Lee learned her newborn son, Kevin, had Down syndrome she became his advocate. Dismissing her pediatrician’s suggestion that Kevin be placed in an institution, Lee and her husband, John, decided Kevin would grow up at home with his five older siblings and be part of the community. That wasn’t necessarily the norm in 1960. Lee battled school officials…
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My church, St Nicholas Episcopal, is located in Elk Grove Village. We run a food pantry 3 Wednesdays a month. I think a lot of our guests would be very surprised to find themselves part of a “culture of dependency.” I think Romney’s appearance in the village, aside from its convenience to O’Hare, is less to do with doing a gun-and-run fundraising appearance and more to do with supporting Reprehensible Joe Walsh (R-Anthrax)’s campaign to retain his seat against the very formidable Tammy Duckworth (D-Gave Her Legs For Her Country). They had a face-off for the Trib editorial board— apparently…
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A friend of mine passed away last week, I got the word via email while we were still on the train journey from Montana to Illinois. Father Paul T. Brouilette was a fine priest, a great preacher, and a terrific musician. He played guitar, and a mean banjo – he had a Pete Seeger model, complete with "this machine kills fascists" motto. He was also an avid runner before being diagnosed with liver disease almost 2 years ago. It’s been a long, slow fight, and we had some hope when he was approved for a transplant. But then the match…