Pat Tillman's mother puzzled, knows there's more to the story

By James Fuller
Published: 5/11/2008 12:05 AM

Mary Tillman sat down at Anderson's Bookstore in Naperville on Saturday with the best intentions of keeping the conversation light in honor of Mother's Day.

She began with memories of a teenage Pat Tillman scaling an elm tree in her yard, already bearing the muscles that would carry him to stardom in the NFL.

Years later, she'd catch herself smoking by that same elm tree, filled with grief and frustration over the loss of her son.

Pat Tillman's death in 2004 is perhaps the most publicized casualty of the war on terror. It's certainly one of the most scrutinized.

Mary Tillman's new book, "Boots on the Ground by Dusk," details her search to find out exactly how her son died.

On Saturday, she discussed the search in an hour of questions and answers with fans who labeled her a "soldier for truth."

Tillman knows all the names of the military investigators and elected leaders who've poked and prodded at the details of her son's death. She's sure there's more to the story than anyone has said on the record about her son being killed by friendly fire. She knows the answers go beyond breaches of protocol and incongruent stories.

"On every level, it's pretty clear that this was an attempt to dupe the public," Tillman said.

But Tillman said she's not just mad that she feels lied to. She's mad because she believes her son's honorable death was twisted in a dishonorable way to fuel popularity for an unpopular war.

What's less clear to her are the specific individuals she should target with her anger. Tillman has theories about who she would make wear a scarlet letter "L" for liar, but a frustrating lack of proof. The physical evidence is destroyed. There's no real paper trail anyone has found. There's no one coming forward to admit a wrong.

Mary Tillman still sticks to her beliefs because there are too many facts that just don't add up for her. She is a grieved mother with no closure. And now her book is a permanent documentation of all the reasons she believes Americans should feel just as deceived as she does.

"We weren't out for blood because he was killed by friendly fire," Tillman said. "And it's not because we can't get over it. That's not it. This was a huge deception, and it was a huge deception to all of us. This government lies to us all the time."

She accuses the Bush administration, and Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld and President Bush in particular, for directing a coverup.

And that's why the book is coming out now, just as that administration is on its way out.

"I'm relieved they're going to be gone, but it angers me that they're just going to slip away," Tillman said. "It really disturbs me that they're going to be walking away from this with no accountability whatsoever."

What sustains Mary Tillman may be her desire to restore all the honor to every part of her son's death. But she told the audience Saturday that what gets her through Mother's Day is an old e-mail sent from her sons Pat and Kevin while they were serving in the military on Mother's Day in 2003.

"Happy Mother's Day, ma," said Tillman, slightly choked up as she shared the letter with the audience Saturday. "Unfortunately we must apologize for our absence on this glorious occasion. However, know we are thinking of you. ... All is well, and please spend today reflecting on all the positives of the past and the bright future that lies ahead as opposed to worrying about us We love you, mom."

Shades of Green

By James Fuller

Kay McKeen, Greg Stolzer and Heather Goudreau are the new cool kids in town.

They've lived by a set of principles for years, which only recently became in vogue. But on Tuesday, many of their friends and neighbors will change their lives to be just like them, even if only for a day.

McKeen and company are environmentalists of varying degrees. On Earth Day, and every day, they'll abound with life-altering tips to help casual recyclers and the "ultragreen" alike. All the tips are actions they already do in their everyday lives.

Ultragreen

Think you're already a hardcore greenie? Then match your compost heap against the likes of Kay McKeen.

McKeen was a greenie before green became the new black. Tips from the other greenies are measures McKeen took a long time ago. The canvas bags she takes to the grocery story are 18 years old.

McKeen has infused the mantra of reduce, reuse, recycle into her daily life so extensively that she only takes actual garbage to her curb about once every five weeks. That's less than a dozen trash pick-ups a year at the McKeen house in Wheaton.

"Reduction is really key," she says. "That's how I started."

She has no plastic containers in her house. There are only glass jars. The jars once contained mayonnaise and pickles. Now they contain leftovers and homemade salsa. Not only can McKeen reheat the food right in the glass jars with no chemicals leaching in, but she can store the food with no odors leaching out.

Plastic bread bags also get reused.

"Think before you buy," McKeen said. "Ask yourself what are you going to be able to do with this."

There are no disposable razors or shaving creams in McKeen's house. Only straight razors and shaving soaps (no can).

And just about everything that doesn't get eaten or reused gets recycled, loaded into her Toyota Prius Hybrid and donated to someone else, or composted.

Letting nature take its course is McKeen's action plan outside. She doesn't rake away her leaves and bag them up. Instead, she uses them to create natural fertilizer.

"Think about it," McKeen said. "Nobody rakes up a forest. Leaves fall. Apples fall. Branches fall. When you rake it up, you've just taken away the nutrients from the soil and a protective layer for tree roots. Bacteria can still do what it's done for billions of years. That's a pretty good track record."

McKeen may be the extreme example of living green, but anything that benefits the environment is a step in the right direction. There are plenty of small and simple changes anyone can make at any time, starting at home.

'Green house' effect

Living in a "green house" does not require dirt floors and stone walls, local environmental stewards say.

However, when it comes time to replace a roof because of leaks, or a rug because a pet has left his mark more than once, there are better options than asphalt shingles and Afghan.

Annemarie Rexroad chose steel roofing and bamboo flooring for her Wheaton home when it was time to make some changes.

Rexroad's new roof is made of recycled steel that should last for more than 100 years, and be cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

The steel shingles are laid with a space beneath and insulation to prevent that "pinging" sound rainfall would otherwise create. Unlike asphalt, which won't stick well in the cold, steel roofs can be put on during the winter, usually at a discounted price, Rexroad said.

"The cool part is that snow will melt in sheets," Rexroad said. "There are safety guards to prevent an avalanche falling on you, but to hear it whoosh down is kind of cool."

She also has bamboo wood floors. Bamboo in its natural state can be harder than some oaks. It's also a green option because bamboo isn't a tree. It's a quick-growing grass. So while it can take decades to grow an oak floor, it only takes weeks to grow enough bamboo for a floor.

Beyond the infrastructure of the house comes purchasing decisions for the amenities inside. That's where Greg Stolzer's green instincts kick in for his Mount Prospect home.

His refrigerator is Energy Star-rated. That means it uses less water and electricity to cool the food inside than a regular refrigerator does. It's a bit more expensive, but the cost difference pays for itself in lower water and electricity bills, Stolzer said.

He also invests in compact florescent light bulbs, which are available at any local hardware store. If Lance Armstrong's pedaling was the fuel powering the bulbs, compact florescent lights would be easy coasting versus the uphill, hot-pursuit pedaling required to power incandescent lights.

"The proof of energy savings is in the heat the bulbs generate," Stolzer said. "You put your hand on an incandescent bulb that's been on for a couple minutes, and you're going to burn yourself. Not so with a CFL."

Other tips include not cleaning with bleaches and ammonia. Lemon juice, baking soda and vinegar all are alternatives that don't put toxic odors in the air or chemicals in the environment. And clean with reusable rags instead of paper towels and use cloth napkins instead of the disposable kind.

Greening the green

Food that tastes good and doesn't make you sick in the long run was popular long before the green revolution. But with tighter living spaces, having a green thumb in the garden is harder than ever.

With or without a garden, there are ways to eat and grow plants that will make Mother Nature smile.

Heather Goudreau in St. Charles and Kelly Joslin in Oswego both have small gardens at home. That in itself is a nod to the environment. But there are little things they do to supplement those gardens to help keep the planet alive and well.

You'll never see Goudreau carry plastic bags out of the supermarket. You won't see her carry out paper bags either.

Neither of the traditional checkout options are a good choice in her mind. Instead, she totes reusable, canvas bags to and from the store. She doesn't even use the clear, plastic bags in the fruit and vegetable aisles.

For lunch, she doesn't use baggies or a brown sack. She uses washable plastic containers for sandwiches and metal spoons instead of their disposable, plastic cousins.

She also supports the local farmer's market, a step Joslin takes even further.

As the winter ices recede, Joslin hits the farm fields and greenhouses leased by the Green Earth Institute in Naperville.

The institute's farm grows crops as part of a community-supported agriculture program. The program connects area residents with locally grown food by having them buy shares. The shares support all the seeds, supplies, labor and growing costs of the crops. In return, the farmers provide the shareholders with weekly or bi-weekly boxes of fresh vegetables for about 20 weeks.

Because the veggies are grown locally, there is less need for preservative chemicals and less use of gas to transport the food. There are also the taste benefits.

"I don't like tomatoes, but I eat tomatoes now because they're fabulous from there," Joslin said.

At home, Joslin also has what amounts to a free irrigation system. The spouts that collect the rainwater flowing from her roof are diverted into a pair of 60-gallon barrels. So instead of turning on the hose, Joslin can just scoop out the free water in the barrels.

"The barrels are basically the easiest green thing you can do," Joslin said.

In a group setting, one easy thing by each person can turn into a big movement.

Where a little is a lot

If Kay McKeen embodies the potential impact of one greenie on the planet, then Joanne East and her fellow residents at the Wyndemere Senior Living Campus in Wheaton embody the impact of a group.

East leads a team of residents who work with staff at the retirement community to inject green forethought into just about every aspect of their daily lives.

The seniors recycle and compost, but again, it may be their efforts to reuse products in their current form that makes the most impact.

Old eyeglasses are donated for reuse. Empty pill bottles are donated to local veterinarian offices. Expired medicine is taken to Central DuPage Hospital instead of flushed down the toilet. Old clothes are taken to resale shops. Unwanted shoes are donated to the needy. Plastic shopping bags are taken back to the stores they came from. Metal hangers are given to local dry cleaners. Styrofoam packaging materials are donated to local UPS and Mailboxes, Etc. stores. Even pots and vases are donated to local flower shops and greenhouses.

"There's lots of old people here, so they get lots of flowers and plants," East said.

Retirement doesn't have to mean not making a contribution to society and the planet, East said. The reward is the effort itself.

"You feel like you're making a little inroads," East said. "It would be nice if other places would join us."

Colleges reaching out to recruit gay, lesbian and transgender students

Listen to the radio interview about my article here!
By James Fuller

They've chased star athletes. They've pursued valedictorians. Now colleges and universities are vying for the attention of gay, lesbian and transgender students.

Several Illinois institutions of higher learning Friday will join the likes of Princeton, Yale and other top colleges at the National Gay-Friendly College Fair in San Diego.

Recruiters say the fair and others like it are a budding trend. College and university administrators want prospective students to know their sexuality won't just be allowed on campus, but embraced.

Eric Tammes is among the recruiters planning to attend Friday's fair. Tammes is an assistant vice president for student services at Roosevelt University, which has campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg.

This will be the second fair of its kind Tammes has recruited at. He'll attend a third fair next week at Harvey Milk High School in New York.

"Students are coming out at a much younger age," Tammes said. "That process isn't beginning in college or after college like we may have seen 10 or 20 years ago. So these high school students who are out come looking for a range of things that show a college will generally have students like them, and a university with an inclusive mission."

For Roosevelt, that mission may seem obvious as its president, Chuck Middleton, is one of a handful of college leaders who are openly gay.

Other factors LGBT students might look for are gay and lesbian student organizations, gay and lesbian courses or majors, and gender-neutral residential halls where students can live in co-ed rooms.

Colleges are even subjecting themselves to ratings by gay-friendly organizations, such as Campus Pride. The not-for-profit unveiled a 55-question rating system in September. Colleges can answer the questions and receive a starred ranking on Campus Pride's LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index. There are now more than 150 colleges ranked in the index.

Eight Illinois colleges and universities are ranked in the system. Of those, the University of Illinois at Chicago has the highest rating- a perfect five stars. Bradley University in Peoria has the lowest rating- one and half stars out of five.

"These fairs and this index show that a campus is committed to go specifically to outreach to these students and their families," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "For the first time, every college can come and find lesbian and gay students who are out and let them know they can be themselves at their school."

Robin Matthies said she would've loved having that information available to her back when she was in high school. Matthies is now the coordinator of student activities at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which has campuses in Chicago and Wheaton.

She also is an openly gay adviser to IIT's gay and lesbian student organization and recruited gay students at a recent fair in Pennsylvania.

"We didn't have anything like that in my high school days," Matthies said. "But high schools all over the place have gay student associations now. When they get to college, the organizations there are a lot louder and a lot outer."

That's key for a school like IIT because its science focus doesn't allow for gay studies majors, Matthies said.

"We go to these fairs because we want students to know this is a gay-friendly school, and if you're into science, math, architecture or engineering, this is the place to be," she said. "The idea for these fairs is great, and it's really going to take off."

Some Groundhog Day fun

Our groundhog gets no respect on his biggest day of year
By James Fuller

For most groundhogs, early February means it's time to stop hibernating, refill their bellies and find a date for the Super Bowl.

Not me.

This groundhog awoke to bathe in the glory of the one day of the year devoted entirely to me. I'm so famous, crowds gather just to get a glimpse of my shadow.

It was about 9 a.m. when I strolled outside ready for the glare of the flashbulbs and paparazzi. Smiling, I greeted … no one.

What the heck? Where is my adoring crowd? Did everyone forget?

I headed out to find my public. First stop, back to my roots at Herrick Lake Forest Preserve in Wheaton. Maybe people hadn't heard I dumped that hole in the ground and got my own apartment.

When I arrive, the only people there are some cross-country skiers.

"Are you here for some sort of YouTube video?" Asked one lady.

"Um, no, I happen to be a groundhog," I replied.

"Oh yeah, Groundhog Day. That's coming up pretty soon, right?"

"That would be today," I reply, in disgust. Seriously, who doesn't know when Groundhog Day is? I decide to go to a place where I'm sure to find some fans on my special day.

When I arrive at Cosley Zoo in Wheaton I'm a bit taken aback at the lack of cars in the parking lot. The calendar for the zoo clearly says there will be a Groundhog Day event.

"We had to cancel that due to lack of interest," said the receptionist in the gift shop.

"Lack of interest?" As I pondered what she said another zoo employee approached me.

"Are you a singing telegram?"

"No! Look, I'm a groundhog here to hang out with my fans. Isn't there anyone who wants to cheer for me or something?"

A third employee comes out and tells me there's a meeting with the Junior Zookeepers taking place and I can pop in there if I want. As I leave the gift shop, I'm asked if I saw my shadow this morning.

"Not yet, but I'm so big it's kind of hard for me to see my own shadow."

"I don't think that whole six weeks more of winter thing means anything up here anyway," the receptionist said. "That's more in the South."

Clearly, she was just jealous of my fame and trying to bring me down. I had to find my real fans.

I headed into the zoo's barn to find the Junior Zookeepers. They all sat in a circle around a senior zookeeper.

"Do you guys know who I am?" I asked.

Puzzled looks.

"A guy in a costume?"

"I'm a groundhog! Don't you know about Groundhog Day?"

I could see that struck a note with the senior zookeeper.

"Oh yeah, that's coming up soon."

I couldn't believe it. Even the zoo had forgotten my day. There weren't even any other groundhogs there. Although it seemed some of them knew about my day, I couldn't stay and listen to the young zookeepers get brainwashed.

Feeling pretty bummed, I took the search for my fans to the Morton Arboretum near Lisle. They, too, were scheduled to have a big Groundhog Day party.

As I approached the gateway to the Children's Garden, a woman approached me with someone who looked familiar.

"You must be here for Groundhog Day," she said.

Finally, a fan.

"You know it," I said. "But who's that you've got with you?"

"This is the pelt from a real groundhog."

I could feel the fur on my nape spring to life as I shuddered. This was no party. It was an ambush. I didn't get a good look at the pelt, but it appeared they'd already gotten Uncle Bob.

"It's OK," the arboretum staff reassured me. "This one died of natural causes."

I always told Uncle Bob he'd pay for it one day if he didn't cut back on the dandelions.

And then I saw him. The smiling little boy walked right up to me.

"Hi, do you know who I am?" I asked.

"A groundhog?" Answered Jackson Roach, a 7-year-old from Glen Ellyn.

"Yup. Do you know what I'm doing here?"

"Trying to find your shadow?"

"Do you see it?"

"Umm, no."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means the winter is going to be over sooner."

Bingo. Finally, a true fan. As it turned out, everyone at the arboretum was a groundhog fan.

It made me feel a little guilty.

You see, it's not easy being just an average rodent. Groundhogs get all the love-- a holiday, even a Bill Murray movie. All that hype, but do most people even know what a groundhog looks like?

Thankfully, I found the answer is no. And it made it a lot easier for this chipmunk to leave the groundhog's shadow and steal a little glory, even for just one day.

Watch the video of my day as a groundhog:

Wheaton veteran's battles now on the homefront

Five years of war in perspective
By James Fuller

Joel Gomez's post traumatic stress disorder is on a different level than the more fortunate of his fellow Iraq war veterans.

It's not uncommon for his niece, Sonia Sanchez, to warn him ahead of time if she's about to open a can of pop. That noise, and many others -- including his respirator and the Van Morrison ring tone on his cell phone -- often trigger the dive-for-cover instinct Gomez learned as a soldier.

Only Gomez can't dive for cover. Tomorrow, he'll mark four years as a quadriplegic. On Wednesday, he'll join fellow veterans in commemorating the five-year anniversary of the war that ruined his body.

In reflecting on both anniversaries, it's the latter that seems to cause Gomez the most grief.

His personal life is one of a minor celebrity and local war hero. Gomez's service in Iraq is so revered in Wheaton that the community rallied to raise money to build him a new house loaded with technological amenities to make his life easier.

Yet in the last four years, health is a primary concern for those who love Gomez. He's had bed sores, a hole in his esophagus, pneumonia, a collapsed lung and a blocked artery in his heart. He's set to get skin grafts on his hips later this year.

At one time, his parents thought he'd die.

Now he spends most of his days in bed with his feet and shins wrapped in wool booties and a sheet over his torso.

It sounds bad, but Gomez's humor and spirit is as strong as his body is broken. It's not uncommon for him to top off his dress with a T-shirt that reads, "Trust me, I'm perfect."

Gomez's parents, his sister and his niece and nephew all share the home with him. He never is truly alone.

Except for maybe in his thoughts.

When he closes his eyes, Gomez has two symbolic images of the Iraq war that flash before him.

The first is of a lone soldier who's suffered a traumatic brain injury, or a serviceman, like him, whose limbs are without function or missing.

The other is of a car bombing. Children and civilians are dead and confused loved ones are all asking the same question: "Why?"

That is Gomez's view of the war -- pain on both sides. No winners.

Gomez said he could see as a soldier there was no way Iraq would ever achieve an American democratization.

"I knew it would never be done because the differences and ideals are so varied that it would be impossible," he said. "We are not run by religion in every aspect of life, but they are."

Indeed, Gomez is a veteran who believes the U.S. went into Iraq "based on a bunch of lies and fabrications."

If you can't tell by the calendar that mocks President George W. Bush's talent for making up words, Gomez will be happy to tell you himself that he regards him as a "horrible president."

Maybe, then, it's not a surprise that Gomez breaks from Wheaton's usual Republican leanings to favor Hillary Clinton for president. He even donated a little more than $400 to her campaign.

Politics get Gomez fired up. But it's his dreams for the future that fuel him.

He's trying to find a college with distance learning to study world religions. He wants to write a book about his life. And he wants to shed light on problems in the VA medical system.

Gomez describes his time in various VA hospitals as "almost disturbing."

"They're great people, but their training and knowledge of patient experiences is, I hate to say it, subpar."

Despite it all, Gomez will not wake up angry tomorrow. He won't be in a cold sweat, reliving the plunge of his Bradley Fighting Vehicle off a cliff into the Tigris River.

Gomez has no memory of the accident. "Part of me wishes I did remember, and part of me is really afraid to remember."

This week, and both anniversaries, will pass pretty much like any other. In defiance of the odds, Gomez will be both alive and happy.

"I think God has given up on trying to take me. So far it's Gomez 8, God 0."

New growth towns face challenges that come with more people

By James Fuller

Fairview School was closed last year after more than three decades of serving the Darien area.

The more than 400 students now attend a grade-level center.

Fairview's shuttering and Darien Elementary District 61's revamped system is the result of declining enrollment and an aging population.

Yet, 16 miles southwest, an enrollment boom continues in Plainfield Unit District 202 reminiscent of the old woman who lived in a shoe.

The district's population began to explode with the turn of the millennium. On average, more than 2,500 new students enroll in District 202 every year. It's now one of Illinois' five largest school districts with about 29,000 students in 28 schools. More of both are on the way.

The growth is a reflection of an ongoing migration from suburbs that at one time were considered the outer ring -- such as Darien, Elmhurst and Elgin -- to a newer outer ring -- Plainfield, Oswego and DeKalb, for example.


U.S. Census data and projections from local planning agencies show a decrease in Cook County's population, but an explosion in the far west that will see the population nearly double in the next 20 years. That growth has various levels of government scrambling to keep pace.

Money and melting

Perhaps the biggest impact to the outlying suburbs is the influx of young families with school-aged, or soon-to-be-school-aged children.

That's because families are buying their first homes farther out these days, as the cost of real estate prices them out of areas that once were magnets for such buyers.

DuPage County, for example, has a reputation for good schools. But the median home price in DuPage now is the highest in the area.

"What we see happening is that the younger people that are ready to buy their single-family house or first townhome, we find that we're taking them west and taking them out to the Fox Valley area and beyond that," said Wheaton Realtor Pat Callan, president-elect of the Illinois Association of Realtors. "We're going to Oswego, the west side of Aurora, St. Charles, even DeKalb."

That's resulted in huge tax increases to build new school buildings in some areas.

In the past two years, Plainfield, Oswego and DeKalb residents approved tax increases for a combined $812 million to build 25 new schools and renovate existing buildings.

They'll need those schools to accommodate an influx of children in coming years with different backgrounds than they've seen before. Education is the new spoon that stirs the melting pot.

Unlike the baby boom generation, most newborns in the area now are not white; they're Hispanic.

For example, for every white person who dies in Cook County, only one white baby is born. Meanwhile, there are seven Hispanic births for each Hispanic death.

This phenomenon is playing out farther out, too.

The 1990 Plainfield Unit District 202 profile showed a 96 percent white population in its hallways. Less than 3 percent of the students were Hispanic. And there wasn't a single black student.

By 2006, the population was 62 percent white, 20 percent Hispanic and 9 percent black.

"The face of Plainfield is definitely changing, and it's something that we celebrate," District 202 spokesman Tom Hernandez said. "We are now much more akin to what the real world presents to our students. We are very pleased with it."

Yet that also creates new language and cultural barriers to learning that the school districts must adjust to.


A total of 62 different languages are spoken by students in Plainfield schools. Spanish is the No. 1 language besides English. But now there's a notable Polish community and something District 202's Hernandez never thought he'd see.

"Who would've thunk that Plainfield would've had an Urdu community?" he said.

And don't let the housing market slowdown fool you into thinking the growth is over.

Kris Monn, the assistant superintendent for finance in Oswego Unit District 308, said the new schools will still be built and open eventually. They just won't be at capacity on the first day of school.

"We are definitely a new-construction community," Monn said. "Eventually the residential growth will continue. We've had a lot of the larger retail stores that continue to come on board out here. They wouldn't continue to build if they didn't believe the people were coming."

That commercial growth is exactly the economic development communities such as DeKalb seek.

With every new community, subdivision and neighborhood, municipalities in the far west strive to seek a tax balance between residents and their commercial and industrial businesses.

Controlled growth

DeKalb has long been synonymous with Northern Illinois University. The school is the largest employer in the area.

The continued population growth and a pro-growth city council has the community thinking about that identity. Is the goal to be and stay a college town? Or should DeKalb be a community that just happens to have a college in it?

"I think it's inevitable that we'll transition into the latter of the two things," said City Manager Mark Biernacki.

For now, that means concentrating on economic growth to balance out tax burden on residents.

Ten years ago, the majority of the city's tax income came from the larger apartment complexes in town. Now the cash cows are the major retail and warehouse manufacturing businesses.

The city is edging toward a 50/50 tax burden between residents and businesses mainly through zoning and permitting that allows major residential developments only when the city deems it's ready to handle that growth.

The result is no sudden influx of people, nor an unreasonable expectation of growth that sinks economic projections during a housing market slowdown.

DeKalb is also one of those communities that's nearing capacity in terms of developable lots. Biernacki said there's roughly 300 lots still available for single-family homes and townhouse development.

But the other growth factor the city is watching are the transportation challenges of getting all the new residents to their jobs, and all the potential customers to the new businesses. In recent years, the city has seen double-digit percentage increases in traffic on I-88.

All jammed up

The Illinois Department of Transportation is figuring out what commuters already know.

The road system in far western communities was built for the population that used to exist, not the cars now on the roadway, and certainly not the migration still to come.

The Prairie Parkway Study group is charged with finding answers to that problem. By 2030, the study found the average daily traffic count on state and federal highways in the far west will increase by 76 percent. County highway traffic will increase by 55 percent.

The grid system of roads that works in Chicago doesn't exist in the far west suburbs. Indeed, the farther west you travel, the more spaced out the roads become. That limits the alternative routes for commuters.

And don't even ask commuters how they feel about all the truck traffic on routes 23, 34, 47, 71 and 126 to Plainfield.

Life is somewhat easier for those traveling east into Chicago and west back home. But the Fox River and limited north-south routes in the far west make commutes between suburbs much more difficult.

The lack of suburban connections is the same problem plaguing public transportation options.

"The big challenge is how do you creatively serve that transit market and what should you do with your land use to make it more transit-friendly," said Rick Powell, a studies and plans engineer for IDOT in the far west.

On the roadways, Powell said, the answer is not just adding more lanes on existing routes, he said.

"Widening does address the capacity, but because there's development going on at the same time along these routes, you're still getting more traffic," Powell said. "The road becomes a victim of its own success. Once it's built, it draws even more development."

So the answer may be more roads and highways, but they won't come without a price.

More fuel-efficient or electric cars are expected to be on roads in the next 20 years. That means less money from the motor fuel tax to fund road improvements. Powell said the funding solution is likely to be more toll roads or a replacement of the gas tax by a mileage-based tax. Such a tax is based on the length of commutes as tracked by a transponder placed on cars.

"Of course, there's privacy concerns with that," Powell said. "Some people don't want a device that follows you wherever you go."

Even with all the new challenges of building more schools, balancing tax burdens and crawling through traffic, the far west population continues to grow.

Plainfield's Tom Hernandez said he knows why.

"People want the American dream, but they also want their green and their lawns," Hernandez said. "They have backyards here. The American dream is here."

Election coverage: Candidates find immigration is sticky issue

Second in a series on the issues facing 13th Congressional District Republican candidates Judy Biggert and Sean O'Kane in the Feb. 5 primary.

The national debate about illegal immigration boils down to two numbers: There are more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States right now. And there's been more than four years of legislative gridlock trying to decide what to do about
The Republican candidates in Illinois' 13th Congressional District both admit they don't have a magic answer, especially when it comes to the illegal immigrants who are already here. But they do have foundational ideologies for where they'd like to focus the debate.

Closing the borders

Both incumbent Judy Biggert and Republican primary challenger Sean O'Kane agree the illegal immigration debate begins with sealing the borders. Both prefer creating that seal with law enforcement and military personnel rather than fences and walls.

"I don't like the image of a Berlin Wall-type facade along our border," O'Kane said. "But to contain the size of the illegal immigrant population and for national security purposes, we need to know who's coming into our country."

Biggert also believes in closed borders. If borders don't receive priority, Biggert estimates the illegal immigrant population will swell to 20 million before the paperwork for people currently waiting to become citizens is completed.

The major difference in this realm between Biggert and O'Kane is what to do with illegal immigrants caught crossing the borders.

O'Kane favors immediate deportation for illegal immigrants caught while entering the country.

Biggert said that's not enough of a penalty.

"We have to end catch-and-release through mandatory detention," Biggert said.

Biggert doesn't know what the appropriate jail time would be but said it would be nice if there were a way to charge the cost of that time back to the country the illegal immigrant originated.

"We should look at promoting international policies to try and deter the illegal immigration," Biggert said.

Employing illegals

The other side of immigrants coming to the United States illegally is having a reason, which is usually a job.

Both Biggert and O'Kane say Americans must be willing to pay more at the grocery store and for the homes they build. Both want higher wages in the agriculture and construction industries, which employ the most illegal immigrants. They believe Americans will fill the jobs illegal immigrants take if the pay is higher. A higher cost of business will trickle down to consumers.

"I do worry about when farmers can't pick the fruit and you see the oranges left on the trees," Biggert said. "We have to raise the bar to make sure they have legals filling those jobs. Illegals won't stay here if they can't get jobs."

O'Kane said America must also abandon any negative perceptions of citizens who work or train in a trade rather than go to college.

"There tends to be a network for immigrants to get into the trades a little more," O'Kane said. "If somebody likes to work with their hands, we should assist them to help them get the skills they need to enter the work force and be productive in that fashion."

Both candidates believe companies, especially large corporations, need fast, accurate technology available to them for mandatory identification checks of a potential employee's citizenship status. Both Biggert and O'Kane believe employers who hire illegal immigrants should be punished with stiff fines, but not jail time.

"You've got to have a penalty, or what difference does it make?" Biggert said. She suggested fines as large as $250,000 may be appropriate.

The amnesty dilemma

Neither Biggert, nor O'Kane has a definitive action plan for what to do about the illegal immigrants already in the country. Both believe any plan must involve the enforcement of laws already on the books. That includes deporting all illegal immigrants who come into contact with the justice system for commission of a felony.

Both also believe any path to citizenship would start at the bottom of the list, behind people who are already in the process of trying to legally enter the country. Biggert and O'Kane agree all immigrants must be required to display at least a basic proficiency in English to become a citizen.

O'Kane also said there should be no concessions to illegal immigrants in the form of giving them identification cards or driver's licenses.

However, neither he nor Biggert believes in raiding neighborhoods or businesses for deportation roundups.

"That makes me think of the Gestapo," Biggert said. "I hate to think of this huge mass attacking a neighborhood. That bothers me. I also hate to see people hiding. However, their presence does abuse our social services."

O'Kane said deporting 12 million people isn't even possible.

"It's completely ridiculous to think that we're going to go around and physically round up everyone who's illegal," O'Kane said. "It would send the completely wrong message. It would be kind of a stain on our national image. We want people to come to our country, but we want them to come here legally."

Dealing with haunting memories of war

Vietnam veterans pushing recognition of post-traumatic stress for Iraq war soldiers

By James Fuller, Daily Herald Staff Writer
Published: 11/12/2007

When Larry Van Meter returned from his first tour of duty in the Iraq war this summer, he had the pictures to prove it.

During his time in the Anbar province, he'd snapped many shots of pictures drawn in the sand, local children they gave candy to and picturesque sunsets during sandstorms.

The 20-year-old Villa Park native-turned-Marine craved views of large bodies of water and the smell of grass as his parents visited with him in San Diego, near Camp Pendleton.

And yet there was something about the pictures.

Van Meter's mom, Martha Geiseman, views them as the unseen and unappreciated aspects of Iraqi life that her maturing son is learning to appreciate. But Van Meter's dad, Dennis Geiseman, finds himself uneasy about the amount of time his son spent talking about the war during their time together.

"He was constantly showing us the pictures," Geiseman said. "Some of it was not normal, not natural. It was like he couldn't let go of it."

Geiseman would know. He's a Vietnam War veteran, only recently diagnosed as suffering from lingering effects associated with his exposure to Agent Orange.

Van Meter will return to Iraq for his second tour in January. Because of what he'll likely experience, and because of the experiences of his dad before him, veterans in Villa Park are making a pre-emptive strike.

Instead of a flag-raising today, the Villa Park Veterans of Foreign Wars post will host an information session on post-traumatic stress disorder with doctors accustomed to working with veterans.

The session comes about as Vietnam veterans ascend into leadership roles at local VFW and American Legion posts.

Terry Owens, president of the DuPage County Veterans Memorial, said perhaps unlike their World War II predecessors, they understand the danger of internalizing post-traumatic stress when coming home from an unpopular war. Owens is a Vietnam veteran.

"The one thing that emerged from Vietnam was post-traumatic stress, or at least the label of post-traumatic stress," Owens said. "It's a little more understood. Part of the mission of Vietnam veterans now is not to let what happened to us happen to these kids today. We already know the pitfalls and how awkward and uncomfortable it is to admit you've got a problem."

Indeed, the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder has an online database already filled with 140 medical studies, essays and books written about post-traumatic stress disorder experienced by Iraq veterans.

It's a phenomenon Bob Adams already is preparing himself to see more of at the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans. Adams is a licensed clinical social worker at the Wheaton-based shelter. Half the veterans the shelter helps have had issues with post-traumatic stress.

Adams said Iraq veterans may have the toughest struggle with post-traumatic stress because they are spending more time in combat than veterans in any war since World War II.

Admitting the problem, Adams said, is half the battle. Post-traumatic stress has a stigma attached to it because it's a psychological condition, and soldiers are trained to not admit a weakness.

"Very often in combat, the only way for people to survive is to bury those feelings," Adams said. "That's the belief. You have to pack that stuff away and keep it there. It's then hard to admit to yourself, or anyone else, that you have a problem."

Adams said family and friends of veterans should approach the topic of post-traumatic stress with a sense of genuine concern.

"Make no judgment about the behavior you see," Adams said. "Talk about yourself and what you see happening. Say, 'This is what you're doing. It concerns me. It frightens me.' But some people won't respond to anything you try."

The Villa Park VFW's session will have similar information and advice for attendees at its Veterans Day session. The event runs from 5 to 8 p.m. today at VFW Post 2801, 39 E. St. Charles Road in Villa Park.

Martha and Dennis Geiseman will be there so they can support Larry when he comes home. Until then, Martha is gearing up for her son to head back to combat and collect more pictures and war experiences along the way.

"He's OK about going back," Martha said. "He's never once said 'I don't want to go,' or 'I'm not going.' He's very positive about it. And I'm OK because he's OK."

Stressed?

Have you ever had any experience that was so frightening, horrible or upsetting that in the past month, you …

1. Have had nightmares about it or thought about it when you did not want to?

2. Tried hard not to think about it or went out of your way to avoid situations that reminded you of it?

3. Were constantly on guard, watchful or easily startled?

4. Felt numb or detached from others, activities or your surroundings?

If you answered "yes" to at least three of the questions, you may have post-traumatic stress disorder.

A taste of Wheaton (all of it, actually)

Sunday September 16 2007
By James Fuller, Daily Herald Staff Writer

If you're an adult, you attend summer festivals for one of two reasons: For the family activity or the endless supply of foods in little booths waiting to harden your arteries.

I'm not a glutton, but I'm fascinated by the warm glow of satisfaction festival food-lovers have in the summer.

That in mind, I hit Wheaton's Autumnfest on Saturday with one goal: Eat one thing from each food booth.

I set one rule. I must eat all of my order and take whatever the vendors offer.

You should know that I'm about 5'9" and 155 pounds. I'm also training for a 12-mile race next month, so I haven't eaten anything that tastes good in awhile.

I find six booths at the fest.

The first booth is Genoa Pizza, where I grab a slice of pepperoni that represents about 25 percent of a large, thin-crust pizza. I add to this the only thing the second booth sells, a 16-ounce apple-cherry fruit juice concoction.

Normally this would satisfy me, but I'm on a mission.

Next is a Bangkok chicken breast from the Pad Thai booth. It comes on a stick, so it must be good.

I'm halfway through. Next up is a booth labeled simply "Greek Food." I order a kabob, but they're out. The chef suggests a chicken gyro.

Remember, I must eat whatever is offered to me. So chicken gyro it is.

"Green peppers?"

"Yes, please."

"Onions?"

"OK."

"Salad?"

"Sure."

"Cream sauce?"

I pause. I'm already staring at an entire chicken with various greens on it. But rules are rules.

"OK, put some on there."

I walk away wishing I had a team of oxen to pull my plate. I find a good seat for the Magic Matt stage performance and dig in.

Half way through the gyro I'm pretty sure my heart stops, but I push on feeling the glow that only too much meat can provide. But by the end, my tasty gyro is a chore to eat. I'm laboring and starting to sweat. Somehow I find room for the whole thing.

Two booths to go, and already I'm Thanksgiving full.

Next up is Pancho's Mexican Food. I scan the menu for something good, but light. They offer one steak taco for $2. I place my order.

"You want the three tacos for $5 special?"

My own rule will kill me.

"Uh, sure," I say while taking a deep breath. I walk away and find a seat by the men's room just in case. The tacos are good, but I'm so full.

One down. Two down.

By the third I'm on the verge of delirium. Somehow I'm floating while feeling the heaviest I've ever been. I take a walk in hope of finding some room in my belly. I complete a full circuit of the fest, and my third taco. At this point I truly am Jim "Fuller" for there is no one alive who is as full as I am.

The last booth also is the largest. It advertises everything from elephant ears to full slabs of ribs. I consider my options, and my gut, and order the coup de grace - a lemon shake-up.

OK. Fine. I admit it. I failed. I wimped out. You don't have to rub it in. A real festival food fan would've gotten the ribs. But as much as I found a love for fest food, it didn't override my dread of bursting at the seams. Hey, there's always next summer.

Q&A with Jerry B. Jenkins

You asked for it, so here it is. The full Jerry B. Jenkins interview, complete with the questions and answers that didn't make the newspaper article.

Listen to the interview here!


A conversation with “Left Behind” author Jerry B. Jenkins
BY JAMES FULLER
jfuller@dailyherald.com

Estimates say about one in eight Americans have read at least one book of the “Left Behind” series of Christian novels about the end of the world.
That means a lot of people know how the series ends, but maybe not much about how it began or the men be-hind it.

Jerry B. Jenkins wrote the words. Tim LaHaye provided the Biblical background and context.

Jenkins returned to some of his local roots Thursday night when he spoke at a fund-raiser for Wheaton Christian Grammar School. The cam-pus will soon relocate to a new, $20 million expanded facility.

Jenkins spoke on behalf of the value of a Christian education. Before his appearance, he took time out for some questions with Daily Herald Reporter James Fuller.

Q. There are at least 65 mil-lion readers of the “Left Be-hind” series. Out of those, how many of them becoming Christian believers would it take for you to feel fulfilled by your work?

A. Well, any would’ve been great. We don’t know how many, but between Dr. (Tim) LaHaye and me we’ve heard from more than 3,000 who tell us. And that’s personally. They tell us either by phone, or in person, or by e-mail. And we assume that repre-sents a lot more who just never have a chance to tell us.
We’ve never apologized for the fact that, it’s fiction, but we believe it’s really going to happen some day. It is a mes-sage.

Q. “Left Behind” has spurned a lot of the ancillary marketing gimmicks like mugs and pens. But you guys did decide to go ahead and do a video game. It’s got all sorts of reactions, some negative. I’m wondering if you wish that you’d just stayed out of it.

A. We had the fear that people would think it was frivolous. One of the things that we always said anytime people came to us with ideas they wanted to do candles and mugs and pens. If it doesn’t have the message in it, we’re not doing it just to get more royalties. For one thing, we don’t need that, and that’s not what we’re about.

The game manufacturers said they would make sure they got the message in there.
I suggested at one point that you can’t have too tame a video game. I’ve got kids and grandkids and I know that those games are about shoot ‘em ups and who are you going to kill in this game. My suggestion was I think people would accept it if they shot demons and sent them back to Hell. As it turns out, they used the anti-Christ forces. But then this rumor came out that anybody that disagreed with the Christians or didn’t become a believer got killed.

Q. People who had never played the game?

A. Obviously. And it was just asinine. We’d never be involved with something like that. But that has been an impossible rumor to kill. I still hear it. All you can do is say, ‘Read the books, and check out the game.’

Q. How does it feel to leave behind “Left Behind.” Is it really over?

A. Sometimes you wonder. We were afraid that Tyndale (House Publishers) would ask for a book for every year of the millennial kingdom. The first one came out in the fall of ’95. So after 12 years, it was sort of a melancholy thing to write the last one and be done with it. But it was time to move on. It’s been great. It totally changed my life.

Q. You’re a sports fan. You’ve written several auto-biographies with athletes. I know you’re a local guy, so I’ve got to ask you. Are you a Bears fan?

A. I’m a Bears fan, and I’m a Cub fan. I figure any team can have a bad century. Now you’ve heard the rumor that they’re going to move the Cubs to the Philippines, and call them the Manila Folders, right?

Q. Of all the athletes you worked with on those books, who impressed you the most?

A. It’s hard to decide. I got to work with so many impressive people, Hank Aaron and Walter Payton, (Orel) Hershiser, (Nolan) Ryan.

Mike Singletary is pretty impressive. He’s such a quiet guy, and not as huge as you’d think. He wasn’t that huge, but so intense. One of the things that I didn’t realize about Mike is that he’s hard of hearing and uses hearing aids. So to interview him I had to sit next to him instead of across a desk like you normally would. It sort of changes what questions you ask when you’re sitting right next to a guy that intense. He’s one of my favorites.

Q. Was it your love of sports that also got you involved with the comic strip Gil Thorp?

A. It was. In fact, I did that for about eight years. I don’t do it anymore. The guy that did that (Jack Berrill) read some of my kids sports books, and he called me. I think he actually wanted me to write some Gil Thorp books. It never came to that, but he would call every few months. I never met him. We would just talk about Gil Thorpe, and I had been reading it since I was a kid in Kalamazoo, Mich.

When he died, (in 1996) his wife left word with the Tribune Company that he wanted me to take it over. I thought that was a mistake. I had thought he wanted me to write books. I remember asking him about it, how he did it and what the philosophy was. Of course I don’t draw. They had to have somebody else draw it. But I was really honored to be asked. It was a fun period to write those.

Q. You spent more than a year working with the Rev. Billy Graham working on his autobiography. How did that change you?

A. He’s probably the most impressive person I’ve ever met. That was the privilege of a lifetime. It really was. And he’s the same behind closed doors as he is in public. He’s a fantastic man.

Q. His wife, Ruth, recently passed. Obviously he’s get-ting on in years and had some poor health recently. What do you think the impact will be to the Christian faithful when he passes?

A. I think it’s going to surprise the secular world. They’re going to have to have memorials in various cities like Wheaton, Minneapolis, Charlotte. And I think they’re going to be incredibly at-tended, like for a president. I think it’ll really surprise the press and secular world. He’s just been a giant. Anytime you raise his name, some-body in the crowd will tell you they became a believer through Graham somehow.

Q. It takes you six to eight weeks to write a book. What are your daily writing goals when you’re working on a novel?

A. I do work fairly quickly because I got my start in newspapers and you didn’t have time to mess around. I create at the keyboard. I only write when I’m on deadline. I don’t write everyday of the year like Stephen King does.

When I have a deadline, I figure out how many days I have and how many pages per day I need to write. Usu-ally it’s between 10 and 20 finished pages per day, which is pretty fast. And yet I never turn in a manuscript that I’m not totally happy with.
So I write my 10 or 20 pages, the next day I do a real heavy edit of those and write the next 10 or 20. And then when I’m done I go through the whole thing again until I’m happy with it. So I do work fast, but I tend to compartmentalize. When I’m writing, that’s all I’m doing. I get away in the mountains in Colorado, and I only write.

Q. Religion is always a touchy subject. People have differing beliefs. How do you respond to people who think that you’ve just gotten Jesus’ message wrong?

A. Well, the only time it bothers me is when they question our motives. There are people who disagree, and there are people that we ad-mire and respect, and people who we believe are believers who disagree with us. And that’s OK.

We live in a free country, and we’re just competing in the marketplace of ideas. Our feeling is if you disagree, write your own book, and get it out there, and see what the market decides. I know my motive, and I know Dr. LaHaye’s motive, and it’s simply to try to tell people what’s coming.

If people disagree, or scoff, or laugh, or reject it, that’s their right. And we’re not going to fly airplanes into buildings because people disagree with us. We’re not going to kill people. We’re supposed to love people, even our enemies. So my goal would be to say, ‘Look, we’re just sharing this, and what you do with it is up to you.’

Q. Nicolae Carpathia is your favorite character in the Left Behind series. Why? And do you think that would be shocking to fans of the series given his character’s role?

A. He’s the ultimate villain. You can’t have a better villain than the anti-Christ. I think the most fun part of him was, for the first three-and-a-half years, until he showed his true colors, he’s going to be so impressive that people will think he’s God incarnate.

I remember one of my sons was in high school, and I’d finished the first manuscript. He’s reading the manuscript and he’s about halfway through and he said, ‘I hope this Carpathia guy isn’t the anti-Christ because I really like him. And I thought, well then, we really nailed him because he has to be that impressive.

I clearly don’t like the anti-Christ, what he’s up to, but it’s a novelist’s dream to write with a villain like that.

Q. There’s a lot of people out there who read the Bible and struggle with various parts of it. What are the parts of the Bible that you struggle with, and what are the parts that strengthen you?

A. I get a lot of strength from the Psalms and Proverbs and the New Testament, a lot of writings of Paul and the Gospels. But Revelations was always the toughest one for me, too, because it always seemed like it was so symbolic and figurative. Any time I’d ever heard anybody speak of it, they always tried to do it allegorically.
When I met Dr. LaHaye, he said, ‘Look, I’m not a wooden literalist. I don’t believe everything that it says is literal like Jesus will slay people with a sword from his mouth. Clearly that’s the word. But where you can take it literally, do it, and see how it makes sense.’

Using that, I wrote the nov-els that way. When John the Revelator, instead of com-paring and saying like unto or as unto, he just says I looked, and I saw this, and it was hail and fire and blood from the sky. We used that, literally, and put the characters in the way of that. And millions of people said it just came to life for us for the first time. In-stead of trying to figure out 200 different ways to inter-pret it, just take it literally where you can.