Jill Boomer, Editor

One soldier’s story on the eve of the Korean War 60th anniversary

By Dr. Mark DePue, Director of Oral History
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

“Freedom is not free” writes William W. (Bill) Smith of Quincy, Illinois whenever he signs his book, A Moment in Time.  Bill speaks with considerable authority on the subject of freedom, having spent two and a half years in a North Korean prisoner of war camp.  He survived the ordeal, but nearly half of those who were captured with him in the early months of the Korean War did not.

Smith was captured on November 2, 1950 near Unsan, North Korea when Chinese forces sprang a surprise attack on the lead elements of advancing United Nations troops.  It heralded a dramatic change in the war.  The brass had long insisted that the Chinese would not intervene despite their threats to the contrary.  Douglas MacArthur, fresh off his triumph at Inchon, boasted that the troops would be home by Christmas.  The action at Unsan proved MacArthur and his intelligence experts to be tragically wrong.

Over the next two years, Smith endured the worst of what man can inflict on his fellow man:  A forced march north where stragglers were summarily executed; severe beatings; being hung by his wrists from a rafter; Russian Roulette; water torture; sleep deprivation; standing on ice for hours on end; long stretches of solitary confinement; and “the hole.”  Scores of POWs died of malnutrition and disease during their first winter on the Yalu River.  When a prisoner died, the living kept the body for several days – it meant another handful of cracked corn for those still alive – then when the stench became too much, they dragged their dead comrade across the ice of the Yalu River into Manchuria and buried him in a shallow grave.

Congressman John ShimkusThe Democratic Party leadership in Congress has decided that it is too political to put forth a fiscal year 2011 budget.  The truth is too painful!

I have readily admitted that Republicans were thrown out of power due to our leadership mistakes, including spending.  However, the deficits and debt are mounting incredibly fast under Democratic leadership.

The President did his part – he submitted a budget to Congress.  It would push federal spending to a record $3.8 trillion, including a projected $1.3 trillion deficit.

The Congressional Budget Act says that Congress should complete a conference report on the budget resolution by April 15.  That date has obviously passed.  And on May 13 the Majority Leader announced on the floor of the House that there will be no budget this year.

Just to be clear, in the federal process there are two parts.  The budget is just an outline for federal spending.  It is not mandatory.  I would support new legislation that requires the President’s signature on a budget with legally binding numbers.  The second half of the federal process is appropriation bills that spell out the exact dollar amounts for each department, agency, or branch of government.

A Washington publication, The Hill, recently reported, “The House has never failed to pass an annual budget resolution since the current budget rules were put into place in 1974, according to a Congressional Research Service report.”

That is not leadership.  Instead, the House has taken up or plans to take up bills over the past and next couple weeks with a total cost of over $200 billion, according to a May 11 article in The Hill.

As an alternative to that increased spending, the House Republicans have launched the “You Cut” program.  It lists some suggested places to start cutting the federal government, but also seeks your input.  We have to start somewhere.  Check it out at http://republicanwhip.house.gov/YouCut/ and submit your idea.

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Congressman Shimkus can be reached at one of his offices in Springfield (217-492-5090), Collinsville (618-344-3065), Centralia (618-532-9676), Harrisburg (618-252-8271), Olney (618-392-7737), or Washington (202-225-5271). Also check out Shimkus’ Internet website at www.house.gov/shimkus where you can sign up for a weekly e-newsletter.

In Touch With the 19^th District is a column featuring news from Washington, DC, or discussing other important topics.

The 3rd annual Spring Organ/Tissue Donation Awareness 5k run/2 mile walk was held April 24, 2010 at Dolan Park in Jerseyville.

This event is held in memory of our loved one, Mike “Popeye” Kallal, who was killed in a traffic accident in September, 2004 on his way to work.  On that day our family became a “donor family’ and this event’s goal is to raise awareness in our community for the need of organ and tissue donation.

In the state of Illinois there are approximately 4,700 individuals on the transplant list as well as over 100,000 individuals on the national transplant waiting list.  The decision that we made at the time of Mike’s untimely death was an easy decision because as a family we had discussed organ/tissue donation should one of us pass away.  We were informed by Mid America Transplant Services (MTS), the procurement organization for this area, that Mike was able to restore two individuals sight because of his donation.  Upon learning of this news the kids and I decided to become actively involved with MTS.

Many times since Mike’s death we have been asked how our family survives everyday with losing a husband and father.  To know Mike as a person, one could easily recognize he was an optimistic individual who saw the good in everyone.  It is with this memory of Mike that we decided as a family to pick up the hand of cards we were dealt and play them in a positive way.

We were blessed to have had over 230 registered participants the day of the recent race.  With the generosity of the participants, the many business people in Jerseyville, and other individuals who graciously donated to our event we are able to award three Jersey Community High School seniors each an $800 scholarship for use toward their college education.  We are also donating $1,000 to Mid America Transplant Services.

There are many people to thank because without their help and support there is no way possible the 5k run/2 mile walk could materialize each year.  We would like to say THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts to the Jerseyville Wellness Center, Jersey Community Hospital, Jersey Community High School as well as our core committee for their support.

You truly are unselfish, giving people.  May God Bless you.

Sincerely,
Patty, Paul & Jane Kallal
and Katie Forrester

Rep. Jim WatsonHouse Democrats kill effort using procedural motion

Springfield... The $13 billion budget deficit hasn't stopped state officials from flying back and forth to Chicago on the state's executive aircraft at a cost of $3,000 per hour.

State Representative Jim Watson (R-Jacksonville) is backing legislation to sell the state fleet of executive aircraft.  Watson is chief co-sponsor of House Bill 4800, which would sell three executive aircraft and two helicopters owned by the State that are not designated for emergency use.

"We're spending $4 million a year to fly the Governor and other top officials back and forth from Chicago to Springfield," Watson said.  "At a time when thousands of teachers are being laid off because of state cuts to education funding, we can't afford the luxury of executive planes for our state leaders."

Representative Watson and his House Republican colleagues pushed to have House Bill 4800 discharged from the House Rules Committee.  House Democrats, using a procedural motion, essentially killed HB 4800, refusing to release it from Rules and to allow a proper debate on the merits of the bill.

"I'm disappointed that the Democrats refused to even allow a debate on this bill," Watson said. "Selling the state fleet won't solve our budget crisis, but I don't know how anybody can defend the use of these planes when the State's not paying its bills."

The State of Illinois maintains a fleet of sixteen aircraft, including six executive aircraft, worth an estimated $22 million.  The State pays for daily air shuttles between Chicago and Springfield; back and forth in the morning and the evening.