Giving thanks: Your news is our news

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By Josh Bootsma, Managing Editor

LANSING, Ill. (November 23, 2021) – During this time of Thanksgiving, I want to thank the people who make our reporting possible. Yes, those of you who give financially to support our reporting, but also those who share their time and information with us to help us communicate the important news of this community with all of Lansing.

Making reporting possible

Here are just some of the people that I’d like to thank for making our reporting possible:

To the people who shared news about your events, like trunk or treats, or dinners, or blood drives, thank you.

To those of you who help with important programs in Lansing like the Lansing Community Food Pantry, Lansing Meals on Wheels, the Community Closet and many others, thank you.

To those of you who ask questions about why this road hasn’t been fixed, why that policy exists, or where public meetings occur, thank you.

To those organizations from whom we receive press releases about all types of news, thank you.

To the Village trustees and officials who have helped us stay updated on new policies and important things happening in and around our town, thank you.

To the Lansing Chamber of Commerce, who has helped us gather information about new businesses and kept us informed us about ribbon cuttings, thank you.

And to businesses, who have shared all kinds of information with us about your events, your history, and so much more, thank you.

To residents who have taught us about Chimney Swifts, honey bees, and raising chickens, thank you.

To the school district superintendents, board members, principals, teachers, coaches, and others who have helped us cover the events, vaccine clinics, COVID protocols, new programs, sports games, and many other things at your schools, thank you.

To the Lansing Police Department, especially Chief Al Phillips, Detective Lieutenant Scott Bailey, and Detective Sergeant Mike Lazowski, who have answered my emails and phone calls — both about the fun and new programs the department is doing, and about the crimes that unfortunately happen in our town — I thank you.

To the people that have shared some of your life stories with me — people like Paul Schultz who has lived in Lansing his whole life, people like Cindi Sulli and her late husband Aldo, who shared their experiences with the post office with me before Aldo passed away, people like Sharon Giles, who grew up in a hideaway corner of a north Chicago neighborhood because that was the only place where black people could legally live — to now living in Lansing and being deeply moved by young people in our town speaking out for justice and change, thank you.

To people like the Avila family, who have felt the community’s surge of support as they seek to raise their daughter Teci, who was debilitated at a very young age in a freak accident — to families like the Avilas, and all those who support them, thank you.

And to all of you reading this right now, who have read these stories, commented on them, shared them with your friends, printed them out to put up in your businesses, or talked about them with your families, I thank you.

Lansing is a community worth caring about. It’s a community worth reporting on. That’s why The Lansing Journal started, and your readership proves that you feel the same way. Thank you.

— Josh

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