Thread: Southside residents favor school takeover, immigration restr

Southside residents favor school takeover, immigration restrictions

http://southcityjournal.stltoday.com/ar ... la.ii1.txt

Residents in one part of South St. Louis strongly support a state takeover of the St. Louis Public Schools and a state law that would prohibit businesses from hiring illegal immigrants.

By a narrow margin, they support a 1-cent sales tax to rebuild the state's highways and strongly oppose a toll-road system to rebuild the highways.

Those are just a few of the results of a 10-question survey sent out in early February by state Rep. Tom Villa, D-South St. Louis. More than 1,200 questionnaires were returned by residents of the 108th District, which generally includes areas east of Gravois Avenue and south of Delor and Meramec streets.

Villa, who represented part of South St. Louis in the Missouri House of Representatives from 1974 to 1984 and was elected again in 2000, said he's mailed the survey almost every year he's been in Jefferson City.

"It's just good constituent service that's proved to be very helpful," Villa said. In the survey, the the top concern for participating residents was rising utility bills, Villa said. Crime and the St. Louis Public Schools also drew many comments, Villa added.

On the St. Louis Public Schools, two-thirds of those who responded to the survey supported a state takeover.

More than three-quarters of those people also supported a law that would prohibit businesses from hiring illegal immigrants. On a related topic, 67.9 percent supported a state law that would prohibit a landlord from renting to an illegal immigrant.

Transportation is always a hot topic and Villa's survey shows that 51 percent support a 1-cent sales tax to rebuild highways, while only 28 percent supported a toll-road system to perform the same task.

Residents also think police should be able to cite people who are not wearing their seat belts. Right now, police can only issue a ticket for the infraction if it is coupled with another violation.

A total of 65.2 percent supported a law that would allow citizens to use deadly force against those who unlawfully enter dwellings, residences and vehicles even if there is no apparent danger to their lives.

While Villa had a good response to his survey, other state legislators have not.

State Sen. Harry Kennedy, a Democrat who represents South County and South St. Louis, said he didn't have much response when he did a couple of surveys while he was a state representative in South St. Louis from 1997 to 2001. He estimates about two percent of those who received it sent it back.

Instead, he includes the open question, "What do you think?" and asks people to send back a response. They talk about property tax, crime or anything else on their mind.

The questionnaires are one way to take a pulse of what people are thinking, Kennedy said.

"I just like the open-ended questions," Kennedy said.

Voices carry

State Rep. Tim Villa's survey allows residents to have their opinions heard by at least one lawmaker. Here's a look at how some South Siders feel about current issues.

Raise boarding fees and tax rates on gambling boats: 68% - Yes, 22% - No

Eliminate state taxes on Social Security benefits for senior citizens: 61% - Yes, 32% - No

Selling MOHELA assets to pay for college construction: 11% - Yes, 74% - No

Tickets for seat-belt violations only: 52% - Yes, 42% - No

Prohibit business from hiring illegal immigrants: 77% - Yes, 18% - No

Prohibit landlords from renting to illegal immigrants: 68% - Yes, 24% - No

Honest people