I spent 35 years teaching high school social studies in South Side and West Side schools. I retired 20 years ago, and, sadly, the same social conditions that made learning harder for students in less affluent neighborhoods still prevail. The wealth gap has grown, disinvestment in poor areas remains the same, and the scarcity of social services and of access to healthy food and the crime level that citizens of certain neighborhoods must endure remain pretty much as I found them when I started teaching at Simeon Vocational 55 years ago.
I find it laughable that the Tribune Editorial Board takes Brandon Johnson’s remarks in favor of “socialism” and uses them as evidence that Johnson is in cahoots with the Chicago Teachers Union to promote some nefarious agenda (“Brandon Johnson says the quiet part out loud about the CTU,” Oct. 13). Socialism is nothing more than government intervention in the economy for the people’s benefit.
After 55 years of watching capitalist wealth in Chicago balloon while kids in poor Chicago neighborhoods continue to be shortchanged, I can only say: “We need some socialism here, and we need it badly.”
— Tom Madden, Oak Park
Close lobbyist loophole
While reading the opinion piece by Bryan Zarou (“The state of ethics reform in a post-Michael Madigan Illinois,” Oct. 13), I was overwhelmed with gratitude for his Better Government Association and for the many other civic organizations that are insisting, persistently, on improving how we govern ourselves.
I will ask the state senator and the state representative whom I chose (voted for) to represent me in our legislature how they are working toward closing the “revolving door loophole,” “which in some cases allows people to begin lobbying the day after they leave the legislature,” Zarou writes.
I am adamant that our state legislature not be used as an easy-peasy hop into lucrative lobbyist positions.
— Elona Vaisnys, Chicago
Medical aid in dying
Concerning the op-ed “Physician-assisted suicide is a matter of more than individual autonomy” (Oct. 11): This is indeed a complicated issue, especially as modern medicine discovers more ways to prolong our lives. (Or is it sometimes just our vital signs?) But, to have a helpful conversation, we must first find an appropriate label for our topic. To use the same word “suicide” for the heartbroken adolescent (of whatever age) jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge and the competent 80-year-old person exhausted by the onslaught of some untreatable and debilitating condition asking a physician for assistance, is already to make the ensuing conversation very problematic by casting a very negative cloud over the subject.
Without knowing exactly where I stand, I would suggest calling our subject something like physician-assisted, patient-chosen release or relief. That should help clear the air for a helpful conversation.
— Paul F. Camenisch, emeritus professor of religious studies, Evanston
Cleaner energy systems
As discussed in the article “Indiana environmental activists react to DOE coal funding” (online Oct. 5), government agencies and fossil fuel companies are continuing to invest in dirty energy systems that will lead to even greater climate change across the U.S. and globe. In Chicago, we are facing these problems on a more local scale.
Peoples Gas, the main energy supplier for Chicago, has spent billions of dollars replacing dangerous old pipes in the city in its Pipe Replacement Program (PRP). While this program sounds positive in theory, the utility’s plans in reality are deeply flawed. When new pipes are installed, we are locked into paying for and relying on this fossil fuel infrastructure for 50 to 60 years to come. Additionally, the PRP has greatly increased the cost of gas bills for Chicagoans.
There are many more sustainable alternatives to the PRP that address safety concerns more effectively while keeping costs low and making room for investment in clean energy systems. Some of these alternatives include lining pipes to extend their life and creating targeted electrification. Both of these options would aid in a transition to a cleaner energy future instead of working against it.
As a young person living in Chicago, I care deeply about ensuring a sustainable future for our city. If we do not take action, Peoples Gas’ PRP will make gas bills more unaffordable for everyday Chicagoans and will lock Chicago into a dirty energy future.
We must pressure the Illinois Commerce Commission to invest in safer and cleaner energy systems instead of old and unsustainable energy systems that are no longer serving us.
— Hillary J. McGuire, Chicago
Criticism of EV subsidies
Regarding the editorial “U.S. automakers, stop hiding behind trade barriers and compete with the Chinese” (Oct. 13): The (often reasonable) Tribune Editorial Board’s position is that governments shouldn’t pick winners, central planners aren’t good and government giveaways rarely succeed as intended.
So far, so good. But then as we get to the last quarter of the piece, the editorial board notes that Chinese makers *bolstered by significant government subsidies* have built a big advantage in four areas, including price!
Let me see if I’ve got this: Central planners (certainly a Chinese thing!) giving government money to auto manufacturers works to improve their (and by extension the country’s) income, but U.S. federal policy to give government money to any consumer who bought an electric vehicle from U.S. manufacturers was “bad” and didn’t spur them to do better?
Sounds like this EV problem doesn’t lie with the central “boost” planning nor with the source of the funds (taxpayers) — but somewhere else, like perhaps our manufacturers not using all those subsidized sale
dollars to improve anything except their shareholder dividends?
— Conrad Pomykala, Chicago
Columns made me a fan
Congratulations to Paul Sullivan on his excellent coverage of the Cubs’ historic season this year. A Chicago transplant, I wasn’t a Cubs fan or even a baseball fan when I started subscribing to the Tribune. But Paul’s daily column quickly became required reading for its insight and humor. I suddenly found myself immersed in the ongoings of the team and, ultimately, curled up in the fetal position during Game 5.
So, thanks, Paul, for the ulcers.
— Ryan Kushner, Chicago
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