Racial divide story was shameful

The story "Racial divide widens" by John O'Connor is probably one of the most misleading stories I've ever read. It's a "shock-jock" article with meaningless statistics designed to sell newspapers: "More than half of all Illinois children suspended from public schools are black, even though they represent less than one-fifth of the enrollment."

OK, what did these children do to be suspended? The article doesn't say. If the article wanted to be accurate it would have stated something like: "For offenses such as fighting, a black child is twice as likely to be suspended than a white child."

Mr. O'Connor should state useful facts, not Jesse Jackson-style fiction. Columns such as this are a major cause of racial unrest. The Daily Herald should be ashamed of itself for publishing that article and any like it.

Terry Tallian

Wood Dale