The CTA needs to run more trains where they are needed to better serve the city. At rush hour, the Brown and Purple Line trains are overflowing with riders, forcing people to delay their trips. For those who are able to board, cramming us together is unsafe, not to mention uncomfortable.

While I am generally impressed by the politeness of my fellow Chicagoans under these circumstances, the CTA needs to run more trains on those lines at the times when they are overcrowded (especially Brown and Purple Line trains going to the Loop in the morning and back from the Loop in the evening). Increasing the presence of police or other security guards on board could also reduce risk and improve commutes. People are lining up shoulder to shoulder trying to get to work, which is essential to revitalizing downtown, supporting local businesses and making Chicago a livable city.

If Chicago is going to be the city that works, the CTA needs to make it safer and easier for us to get there.

— Joshua Singer, Chicago

Vallas exhibits ignorance

Why does the Tribune opinion section provide Paul Vallas op-ed space, every couple of weeks, to pontificate on whatever subject he thinks is interesting? Is there an established relationship between him and the Tribune? If so, you all should be more transparent and just say so. Either way, please show some tighter scrutiny over what you’re willing to publish on his behalf.

Case in point: the Jan. 20 op-ed about the CTA and security (“Law enforcement needs to be more visible on the CTA”). Did Vallas read the new legislation that he called simply a ‘financial rescue”? It is a lot more than that. First, the Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act has taken control of the CTA away from the mayor, and it includes a very large set of public safety reforms, creating a whole new safety and security apparatus for the entire transit system — a new transit police program, a safety council to oversee it and a task force.

The fact that Vallas makes no mention, and the Tribune opinion team still prints whatever he says, shows he’s just out to disparage whoever is in charge today, without any knowledge of the changes that are coming.

Silly and lazy on both your parts.

— Kevin O’Malley, Chicago

Bears gave us possibility

In recent coverage dissecting the Bears’ overtime loss and searching for someone to blame, much of the conversation has focused on a single play. That instinct is understandable. It is also misplaced.

I am not a sports guy. I didn’t grow up memorizing stats or debating play calls. My most vivid sports memory is getting knocked out at the YMCA during passing drills when I was 8 years old because I was too busy talking to my neighbor to notice the ball headed my way.

But while I may not have picked up a ball since that fateful afternoon 50 years ago, I have spent a lifetime living in Chicago and working in schools and communities where sports mattered deeply. Not because of wins and losses, but because of what they created.

When I was president of Hales Franciscan High School, bringing football back mattered. So did replacing the tile gym floor with hardwood for the basketball team. With community support, we were able to do both. At Urban Prep, we launched with every sport from day one. Not for trophies, but for pride, identity, belonging and community. Sports have a way of binding people together, especially when so much else is pulling them apart.

That’s why this Bears season mattered.

For the past few months, Chicago found a rare point of unity. On game days, we weren’t Democrats or Republicans, North Side or South Side. We were just Bears fans. We cheered for an underdog team, a rookie quarterback unafraid to be fully himself, veterans who played through injuries, coaches willing to own mistakes publicly and a front office open to rethinking old assumptions. In a city and a country that often struggle with accountability and grace, that example mattered.

Yes, the playoff loss hurt. But reducing an entire season to a single miscommunication in overtime misses the larger story (much like I missed that pass at the Y!). It also risks erasing what was built along the way.

What this team gave Chicago was not perfection. It was possibility. It was a reason to believe together. That should count for something.

People are very good at criticism. We are less practiced at gratitude. This feels like a moment to pause, acknowledge what this season gave us and recognize that progress is rarely linear.

To this nonsports guy, it feels far more like a beginning than an end. It feels like a win.

Heads up. Eyes forward. Bear down.

— Tim King, Chicago

Love for Jonathan Toews

What an incredible show from the thousands of Chicago Blackhawks fans this week at the United Center to honor Jonathan Toews. He was an incredible player and teammate for the Blackhawks, and the fans sure made him feel very special with a four- to five-minute standing ovation.

The emotion was so high, and the people I have spoken to here in Winnipeg, many of whom were brought to tears, were blown away by the reaction of the fans. Congratulations to Toews, who continues to show his determination and leadership here in Winnipeg, and congratulations to the fantastic fans in Chicago. You did yourselves very proud!

— Tom Ethans, executive director, Take Pride Winnipeg Inc.

Hopper-esque photo

Great job on Antonio Perez’s photo on the front page of Wednesday’s Tribune of a lone Chicago walker making his way through a frigid day. It certainly had an Edward Hopper-esque feel to it with the solitary figure making his way through a cold urban landscape. The nearly colorless imagery really grasps the soul of the moment and the chill of our wintry days.

If I had my say, Perez’s photo would be in the Art Institute next to “Nighthawks.” Good work, my man — take the day off with pay!

— Ed Fee, Orland Park

Beautiful composition

My compliments to Tribune photographer Antonio Perez on his lovely front-page photo. What a beautiful composition! I would have thought it a Hopper.

— Marcia Marzec, Joliet

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.