‘An action of one is an action of one’
On Sept. 14, at 6:46 p.m., you published an article on an alleged crime detailing an intimate and sensitive incident (“Palatine teen charged with sexual assault”). The alleged criminal in this isolated incident is a minor and ward of the state with an intellectual and developmental disability. We here at Little City respect your journalists as valued opinion leaders. Unfortunately, with this specific incident, your “opinion leaders” helped spread a negative stereotype of individuals with disabilities. We must all remember that individuals with disabilities are just like you and me, “individuals.”
An action of one is an action of one.
Your reporters did not practice due diligence and you as an editor, overlooked the harm in sensationalizing the event. In the future, we ask that you cover what are truly newsworthy events and inform your readers with what they need to know. We ask that you respect the privacy of minors and our most vulnerable citizens and refrain from spurring negative stereotypes of people with disabilities.
Furthermore, in our justice system, we are all innocent until proven guilty. The minor was not convicted and yet you reported his name and shared superfluous, gross details about the alleged incident.
All you did was further victimize our most vulnerable citizens as well as the “unsung heroes” that faithfully serve them each and every day.
A Little City parent recently proclaimed, “I was given the opportunity to see a side of humanity and a generous spirit that I never fully realized could exist in the world. I witnessed firsthand the genuine empathy, compassion and concern from all staff. Little City, across the board, is made up of unsung heroes.”
Please do not discourage champions from joining our team and helping us serve those who need our support most.
Who otherwise would do this work?
We don’t just serve wards of the state. We serve children and adults who have loving parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, grandparents ... and they sought Little City; they looked to us for help.
We are going to continue serving children with pervasive needs. And we will continue recruiting the very best staff. We are going to continue asking our community for help (in the form of volunteerism, donations, love and support). We will not turn our backs on our children, teens and adults.
But we need our neighbors and friends, and that includes you — the media — and your readers.
I need you to be a part of the change that you hope to create.
Shawn E. Jeffers
Executive Director
Little City Foundation