September 5th, 2006

Dear Alderman Schulter,

A number of people in our neighborhood are concerned about the pesticide which is sprayed to control mosquitoes.

Due to the risk of the pesticide verses its effectiveness at controlling West Nile, other cities, such as Cincinnati, have developed alternate, more effective and safe action plans to keep West Nile infections as low as possible.

In light of the following factors, we request that Thursday's spray schedule exclude areas where residents have expressed opposition to the spraying of pesticides on their children, pets, plants and environment. And we request that public hearings be held to discuss recent studies which show the ineffectiveness of spray control of adult mosquitoes (Harvard School of Public Health), the health benefits of reducing pesticide exposure, the counterproductive toxic effects of Anvil on the mosquito's natural predators, the effect of Anvil on Chicago residents who suffer from Asthma, and the history of pesticides being approved by the EPA before long-term studies could be competed, resulting in the exposure to carcinogens.

We thank you for any assistance you may offer and hope that some progress may be made on this matter.

We understand that this is a difficult issue. West Nile can be a killer disease, but we feel that fear of this disease as it is portrayed in the media, is not a wise way to respond to it. We believe it has caused the city to overreact, turning to a solution that may be worse than the original problem. When a person falls victim to West Nile, we all have feelings of sympathy and sadness. But, we ask the City and the news media to consider, they next time we hear of a person contracting cancer, or children born with defects, or autism, or the ravages of Alzheimer's disease on older people, the culpability of environmental toxins, including the pesticide ANVIL.

We understand that the public fear over West Nile will make it difficult to stop the spray, however, if the public is informed of the danger the spray represents, in the legacy of DDT, the public will ask for a safer way than the spray. This is truly a political decision in need of courageous leadership at the citywide level.

We have attached our petitions to this effect.