Gov. JB Pritzker should sign House Bill 4844, which amends Illinois’ jury law, and the reason is simple: Juries are supposed to represent all of us, not just those who can afford to serve.
Right now, when an Illinois worker gets summoned for jury duty, they face a genuinely difficult situation. Most counties pay jurors as little as $4 to $15 a day. Cook County pays $35.
For most workers, that doesn’t even cover transportation, and for anyone living paycheck to paycheck, serving on a jury means taking a serious financial hit. So they request hardship exemptions, fail to appear or find a way out. And with the affordability crisis we are living in, who could blame them?
The result is our jury pools are quietly filling up with people who can afford to show up, retirees, salaried professionals and higher-income individuals, while hourly workers, caregivers and low-income folks are systematically pushed out. That isn’t a representative jury. That’s a system that has quietly sorted itself by wealth.
The bill fixes this by requiring employers to pay workers their regular wages while on jury duty. It includes a common sense exemption for small businesses with 25 or fewer employees. The ask is minimal. The impact is enormous.
Justice doesn’t work if the jury box doesn’t look like the community outside the courthouse. Gov. Pritzker should sign the bill and make Illinois juries what they were always meant to be — a reflection of all of us.
Julia Warheit, policy manager, Citizen Action/Illinois
Cubs lack grit, not talent
After 50 years as a student of baseball and lifelong Cubs fan who has watched this organization through its worst and best moments, I believe I know what I’m watching.
What I see is not a talent problem. It is a grit problem.
The Cubs have enough talent to win their division. Injuries and inconsistent starting pitching have played a role in their struggles, but those factors do not explain the volume of preventable mistakes that have become increasingly common since May 8, when the Cubs’ second 10-game winning streak ended.
Those mistakes show up everywhere.
The Cubs often seem disconnected from the situation at the plate. They do an excellent job of seeing pitches and make pitchers work. But with a runner on third and fewer than two outs, the objective is not to work a count. The objective is to drive in a run. Patience is a virtue until the situation demands aggression.
The same lack of focus appears on the bases. The Cubs have been picked off, failed to execute situational running plays and missed opportunities to pressure opposing defenses.
Defensively, should-be outs become baserunners because fielders choose a backhand attempt instead of getting their bodies in front of the baseball. Championship-caliber defense requires a willingness to do whatever is necessary to save a run.
None of these issues is fatal on its own. Together, they become an identity.
The talent on this roster is sufficient to contend. That’s precisely why the team’s performance has been so frustrating to watch.
The return of Matthew Boyd and Justin Steele would improve any pitching staff. But healthier pitching will not solve the larger problem.
The Cubs don’t need to become a different team. They need to become a tougher version of themselves. And they need to hustle and scrap in all aspects of the game.
If the Cubs rediscover the focus and grit a winning baseball demands, they can still win the division. If they don’t, this season will slip away not because of a lack of talent but because of a slow accumulation of preventable mistakes that nobody fixed in time.
Tom Koleno, North Center
Bears’ move will mess with my emotions
It’s clear that many Illinoisans, including state legislators, don’t comprehend the full impact of losing the Bears. Oh, yes, we know hotels, restaurants and bars will suffer loss of business. We know many jobs will be lost. We also know the city and state will lose income derived from all those sources.
However, what many people fail to think about is the emotional impact of losing the Bears. If I wake some Monday morning feeling sad, angry or depressed, what or who do I have to blame?
Did I lose my job? Did my significant other leave me? Is it that I can’t afford to pay my bills or fix my car? No, for years, I have gotten the Monday morning blues because the Bears lost the day before!
Sure, I could have abandoned the team and started wearing gold and green as many of my former friends have. But the Packers never lost enough to serve my purpose. If the Bears leave us for Indiana, it will completely mess with my psyche, and I think I will have a lot of company.
R. Staneiak, Woodridge
Fresh blood for Chicago football
Sun-Times reader John Arvetis cut right to the core of the Bears’ problem: the McCaskeys. He concludes with the piercing statement, “It was a sad day for Chicago when the McCaskeys inherited this team.”
Yes, it was.
The McCaskeys have presided over many decades of losing Bears seasons. (The wonderful ’85 Bears were a creation built by George Halas.) Since then, we have had a never-ending string of franchise quarterbacks, rotating coaches and many failed draft picks.
During the McCaskey reign, the Bears have been the NFL’s doormat. Now they continue the embarrassment with their confused quest for a stadium.
As a Bears fan, I hope for new ownership of the Bears. Even better, a new NFL team for Chicago.
Blaise J. Arena, Des Plaines