Letter: What’s the hurry?

To the Editor:

I read with interest that Governor Pritzker “announced plans to channel $160 million in Department of Human Services funding toward addressing a burgeoning crisis …”, with $65 million of that to “enable launching of a winterized site that can hold 2,000 people at a time over the next six months.”

Let’s put aside for a moment: those citizens who will suffer from this reappropriation of funds; that many feel the Biden administration has caused this crisis; that the state of Illinois is one of the most heavily indebted states in the country with $159 billion in debt; that the state of Illinois is the least tax-friendly state where families pay $14,778 in annual taxes.

OK, so here is my question: Did anyone ask Gov. Pritzker “what’s the hurry”? Average wintertime temperatures in Mexico are in the 70s, average wintertime temperatures in Central America are in the high 70s. Would it not be more humane, and a lot cheaper, to keep the people in warmer locales until they can be properly assimilated?

Rod Beary

Oswego