MK Pritzker, Illinois’ First Lady, delivered a drawing I made to Pope Leo XIV in Rome in November, which was a great honor for me. Half of my drawing was in black and white, showing a woman walking away from barbed wire and a prison tower. The other half was in bright colors, showing her walking toward the light of flowers and a butterfly.
The pope, who has made the rights of prisoners a priority, told the Pritzkers that when he looked at my drawing, he saw a woman walking toward God.
Last August, Ms. Pritzker sent word to women in Illinois prisons that we could submit artwork about how we relate to nature. She showed many pieces of the artwork at the Illinois State Fair.
This was the second call for art submissions for those of us incarcerated over the past year. The other show was sponsored by the Women’s Justice Institute and focused on art created by incarcerated survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
I had the privilege of picking up submissions and was able to talk with many of the participants. I did not know most of the women, although we are housed in the same prison where I am now in my 21st year of a 33-year sentence. Many women told me that although they do not feel ready to talk about the abuse they suffered, they experienced a breakthrough in healing while creating their artwork.
In many cases, there was a direct link between the violence they experienced and the crimes they were convicted of. In some cases, because they acted in self-defense, and in other cases, because they were coerced into committing crimes by their abusers.
MK Pritzker has said she and her husband, Gov. JB Pritzker, support programs and policies for incarcerated people.
Many of the artists who submitted work to MK Pritzker and to the Women’s Justice Institute have petitions for executive clemency pending before the governor. It is my prayer in 2026 that the governor will show mercy in these cases and grant clemency as many Illinois governors before him have done in similar cases.
Yesenia Diaz, Logan Correctional Center
Obama’s words keep hope alive
I just wanted to give a shout out to Mr. Lee Bey for his article on the Barack Obama quote being installed on the Obama Presidential Center tower.
In light of what is happening in Washington, D.C., and the name of our narcissistic president being slapped on several buildings, I love seeing Mr. Obama’s quote being displayed for all to see.
The “You Are America” speech was so enlightening and positive, it gives me the chills when I read it now.
I miss the days of having a president who truly brought us together, protected us and actually cared for the people of America. There are no truer words than those he stated in his speech, “America is not the project of any one person. The single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘we.’ ‘We The People.’ ‘We Shall Overcome.’ ‘Yes We Can.'”
As we welcome a new year, let’s hope 2026 will bring much-needed changes in the leadership of our country.
This will be an interesting year with the midterm elections in November. We need to bring America back to what our Founding Fathers intended it to be, as stated by Abraham Lincoln himself: “a government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Please vote in November. Our democracy depends on it.
Colleen Brummel, Warrenville
How to eliminate ‘law of the border’
A recent profound op-ed by New York University law professor Sam Issacharoff, headlined “Inexperienced, poorly trained ICE and border patrol agents could face legal trouble,” contrasts the expectations of Americans under “normal law” with our expectations when subject to the “law of the border.”
Under the former, we have rights guaranteed under the Fourth Amendment, rights which are largely unavailable when one is at the border.
In short, normal law demands individuals be treated like human beings, whereas the law of the border allows individuals to be questioned and searched as though they are less than human.
Issacharoff says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are applying the law of the border all over the country, disregarding the rights of people under the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.
I have always found it puzzling that our government treats people differently depending on their location. The current administration seems intent on consistently applying the law of the border everywhere (manpower permitting) but is headed 180% in the wrong direction.
Let’s treat everyone the same, as human beings with Fourth Amendment rights. Let’s eliminate the inhuman regime of the law of the border by the simple expedient of eliminating the border.
Bert Rice, Edgewater
War games
The Russia-Ukraine war is the most recent “forever war.” The aims of President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are as far apart as the distance between Mars and the sun. They are each playing a board game but not the same one. Trump, the real estate mogul, is playing Monopoly, while Putin, KGB agent, plays War in Europe.
Mark Renz, Oak Lawn
Wasting Chicago Public Media dollars on former CEO
Rather than asking me to send in my few bucks to help save local news, why doesn’t Chicago Public Media claw back some of the “more than $900,000″ it squandered on the outgoing CEO?
David Germaine, Huntley