Date: Wednesday, December 16, 1998
Source: Diane L. Schirf.
Section: COMMENTARY
Column: Voice of the people (letter.)
Dateline: CHICAGO
Copyright CHICAGO TRIBUNE

TREE ABUSE

Trees cleanse our air and return oxygen to us. In spring, they come alive, blooming with buds, sometimes flowers, and finally leaves. In autumn, they shower us with the beauty of reds, golds, oranges, yellows. Even in mid-winter, their bark and hollows provide food and shelter for everything from insects to deer.

A tree can be a comfort, always there, always lovely.

Not in Chicago.

Many Chicagoans apparently see one thing and one thing only when they see a tree: A bulletin board. In the flesh of each of the venerable trees outside my building reside 30 or more thumbtacks. Moving sales, lost pets, housecleaning services — all are an excuse to find another use for the tree.

Climb a tree; water a tree; write an ode to a tree. Do not stab a tree and walk away.

POSTSCRIPT: The city that works

A few days after this letter appeared in the Chicago Tribune, I received the response below from Chicago’s Commissioner of Streets and Sanitation. If Mayor Richard M. Daley commends my action, will I vote for him next election? Hmmm . . . I’m so glad I’m not so jaded that I would think that . . .

December 16, 1998

Dear Ms. Schirf:

I saw your letter to the editor in today’s Chicago Tribune concerning the use of trees as bulletin boards.

As the municipal agency that plants and trims Chicago’s parkway trees, the Department of Streets and Sanitation is very aggressive in enforcing the city ordinance against posting signs on them.

Mayor Richard M. Daley several years ago toughened the law against such signs, allowing us to issue tickets against anyone who benefits from these illegal postings. Previously, it had been necessary to actually catch the person who put up the sign, which was nearly impossible.

Although we also enforce a similar law against signs on light poles, our most urgent concern is signs on trees that are nailed or tacked into the bark since this causes actual damage to the tree’s protective covering.

If you ever again see a sign posted on a parkway tree, I urge you to call my office at (312) 744-4611. I will have an inspector sent out to investigate and, if appropriate, write a ticket.

In the meantime, both Mayor Daley and I commend your strong defense of the benefits trees bring to our urban environment. You have our best wishes.

Sincerely,

Eileen J. Carey

Date: Monday, March 13, 1995
Source: Diane L. Schirf, (University of Chicago alumna).
Section: PERSPECTIVE
Column: Voice of the people (letter).
Dateline: CHICAGO
Copyright Chicago Tribune

In response to Su Kwan of the University of Chicago, who was disappointed that so many service organizations turned down U. of C. students who offered themselves as volunteers:

I’ve worked as a volunteer for several organizations during the past 15 years. In each case, members of the staff interviewed me, just as if I were applying for a paid position. After I was accepted as a volunteer (in training), I was required to attend several weeks of classes — 60 hours total in one case; 20 in another. Now that I’ve passed muster and am actually performing volunteer services, I still must attend continuing education sessions, as I must for my “real” job.

Like any job, volunteer positions are specialized. Even if you are a bright, enthusiastic U. of C. student, most likely you will not be able to “hit the ground running” in a volunteer capacity any more than you could in your first paying job as a professional. Service organizations also require long-term commitment on your part — sometimes one to two years, or even more. After all, the organization has invested a lot of time and effort in you.

So please don’t knock service organizations for turning down your kindly intended if misguided offer. If you really are interested in becoming dedicated volunteers, go for the interview and attend the training. Then you may appreciate just how much service organizations and the people they serve value their highly trained volunteers and the services they provide.

Date: Friday, April 15, 1994
Source: Diane L. Schirf.
Section: PERSPECTIVE
Column: Voice of the people (letter).
Dateline: CHICAGO
Copyright Chicago Tribune

JOIN AND HELP OUT

Why don’t all these people writing to the Tribune to complain about the garbage littering Chicago’s parks join Friends of the Parks and other organizations that help to clean the parks?

They could also try to educate those they see littering about the ugliness of this bad habit. Someday, if people would only act in a responsible manner, there would be no need for a huge work force to keep the parks and the city clean. After all, people are the source of all this trash.

Date: Thursday, April 1, 1993
Source: Diane L. Schirf.
Section: PERSPECTIVE
Column: Voice of the people (letter).
Dateline: CHICAGO
Copyright Chicago Tribune

FOR WIDE EXPOSURE

Now I know what it is that angers me about parents such as letter-writer Mark Vassmer (Voice, March 11). While claiming that the ACLU “does not trust the people to govern themselves,” he would take away that very right by denying all schoolchildren access to books that do not meet his personal standards for his own children. If you do not want your children to read Judy Blume (or “Tom Sawyer” or “Catcher in the Rye” or any of the other popular books to ban), that is your right.

But I would want my children to have access to them so they can develop into open-minded, analytical, well-read individuals. Removing books from schools and libraries is not the answer. Taking the time to discuss books and the ideas presented in them with your children is.

In spite of (or maybe because of) the fact that I had access to and was allowed to read any number of “controversial” books, I believe I have grown into a moral, rational adult. I wonder if the same can be said of those who would dictate their beliefs to the rest of us.