City must join Obama in attacking lead
Friday, November 25, 2005
Letter to the Editor
Journal Star
Peoria's lead paint problem is getting attention, and rightly so. An ongoing Journal Star series about childhood poisoning has caught the eye of a U.S. senator and a state panel. Local leaders should cheer their involvement.
First, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama proposed legislation to encourage abatement in Peoria's old homes. Obama's bill, which boasts bipartisan support, would give a tax credit to landlords and homeowners who curb contamination. This includes replacing windows and repainting walls, two simple steps that can dramatically reduce a child's health risk.
It's a welcome idea because Peoria has one of the highest childhood lead-poisoning rates in the country. Landlords who lament that abatement is cost prohibitive ought not shy from a 50 percent tax break for costs up to $3,000. The long-term cost - namely, sickened tenants - is much higher.
Kudos to the senator for keeping an eye on downstate's worries. This city will require federal assistance if it hopes to get the lead out. Also of interest is why Peoria, one of Illinois' lead hot spots, has repeatedly missed out on Housing and Urban Development grants in favor of Chicago and Madison County. Is it a bias on HUD's part or a grant-writing problem on the local end? Obama has pledged to investigate.
Likewise, a state panel has weighed in on lead. The Illinois Lead Safe Housing Advisory Council recently met to finalize its recommendations for the Legislature. They are comprehensive and creative, including property tax incentives, real estate fees and stiffer penalties for landlords who violate the law.
The council is wise to take a broad focus in the hopes one of its plans will stick. Screening for and cleaning up lead is a responsibility shared by a slew of parties: state, city, health department, Realtors, doctors, landlords and parents. Someone has to be the first to act.
But the state panel has one glaring problem: There's no Peoria representative among its 26 members. A spot vacated by a City/County Health Department worker has not been filled. The health department should correct this immediately.
As other parties try to solve the lead problem, it's time for Peoria to step up and join in its own solution. Lead poisoning causes retardation, hyperactivity and stunted growth, among other unpleasant ailments. It puts Peoria's kids at a lifelong disadvantage. Sen. Obama knows it. The state knows it. Do we?