On Oct. 3, my spouse Tracey and I were leaving the Art Institute when I received this text from a parishioner: “ICE is all over my school’s neighborhood (Mozart Elementary in Logan Square). They tear gassed a grocery store to get people out, other schools nearby are going into soft lockdowns to keep kids safe. This is insanity!”
I texted my colleague, the Rev. Courtney Reid, who responded that she was on her way to McPherson Elementary near our church. We decided to drive to Logan Square to be present at school dismissal. I could feel my anxiety and anger rising even as we drove through our beautiful city on a crisp, warm, gloriously sunny and blue-skyed fall day.
When we got to Mozart, what we saw brought tears to our eyes: Every few feet stood rapid responders on alert with “Know Your Rights” pamphlets in hand. The entire school was rung with community members — young adults in their 20s and 30s who likely work from home; retirees; young dads and moms pushing strollers getting ready to pick up kids; school staff; and many more.
Then we drove to Funston Elementary, then to Humboldt Park Health clinic, and again there were brave, no-nonsense Chicagoans out to make clear that we will protect the vulnerable and stand against fear. Though angered and saddened by the need, we were bolstered and touched by the bravery and compassion on display.
We repeated this drill a week later in my own Ravenswood neighborhood. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents terrorized the North Side, but hundreds poured out to surround our schools — Amundsen, Chappell, McPherson, Ravenswood and more.
This is a hard time, but there is one concrete thing we can do: Stand together, get trained to be an effective witness, and show up when possible. If masses of people are trained as rapid responders, every incidence of fearmongering and violence could be met with nonviolent, courageous witness. We can all play a part in keeping our city and country brave and free. And in doing so, we keep our hearts soft and courageous, too.
The Rev. E. Suzanne Wille, rector, All Saints Episcopal Church, Ravenswood
Don’t sit on sidelines as city is attacked
I doubt any reader will be surprised to learn that we are living through an unprecedented crisis of democracy in our nation, or that the eye of the political storm is centered squarely over our fair city.
We have all borne witness to the shocking sight of federal officers laying aside their oaths to the nation and its laws to serve the will of a federal administration committed to trampling civil rights and constitutional liberties. We can’t help but see the soldiers clad in the uniform and insignia of the “land of the free” stalking our streets and giving protection to the masked men invading our homes and dragging our neighbors away in chains.
Let’s be clear here: Our city is not a war zone, yet the blunt tools of military force are being arrayed against every Chicagoan. I don’t know about you, but this isn’t the America I grew up in.
So why aren’t more people on the streets demanding the withdrawal of federal occupation forces? Why are so many of us still sitting on the sidelines as history plays out before our very eyes?
Look, I get it: No one wants to live through unprecedented times or face existential political crises. And few, if any of us, expected to see our whole legal order and democratic system teeter on the brink of collapse during our lifetimes.
Alas, none of us gets to choose the times we live in.
But what each of us does get to choose, to paraphrase Tolkien, is what to do with the time that is given to us.
All of us who still believe in constitutional government and cherish American liberty must stand and be counted. It is our duty as citizens of the republic and as the guarantors of freedom for future generations to meet this challenge head-on.
John C. Engle, Logan Square
A message to immigrants
The old Sears, Roebuck and Co. employed many people who emigrated from foreign lands. Many of these immigrants could not speak English. Sears leadership knew only two English words when defining immigrants: work ethic. Many immigrants have this trait.
The Trump administration has brought in federal troops to Illinois to stifle the hopes and dreams of so many. I say, to all those who have come from foreign lands: Stay strong and continue to believe in who you are.
Terrence Camodeca, Orland Park
Backing state Sen. Karina Villa
The Latino Leadership Council is endorsing state Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, for Illinois comptroller — an early decision that departs from our tradition of waiting until later in the election cycle.
But we believe the moment demands clarity. Illinois needs leaders like Villa, who combine proven qualifications with the ability to unite our diverse state.
Throughout her career, Villa has demonstrated the rare ability to win and to govern in places where others said it could not be done. She flipped seats in DuPage County, defeating entrenched Republican strongholds, including one of the most outspoken anti-immigrant voices in Illinois politics. She has built coalitions across race, class and geography.
Representation matters. But that is not the only reason we are endorsing state Villa. She is not simply the only Latina candidate for statewide office. She is the most qualified candidate. If elected, she would become the only statewide elected official of Latino heritage in a state where nearly 1 in 5 residents is Latino.
At a time when Latinos are being profiled, detained and vilified across the country, Illinois has an opportunity to lead by example by elevating a qualified leader who has spent her career fighting for inclusion and fairness.
We are also mindful of reports that, during the recent Cook County Democratic Party slating process, Democratic power brokers attempted to undermine Villa with false and divisive claims. Such tactics have no place in a party that relies on Latino voters for its success, and we will not sit idle while any candidate of ours is smeared.
The Latino Leadership Council is not in the business of symbolic endorsements. We have supported non-Latino candidates in the past when they were best suited to advance our community’s interests. Today, we are united in supporting Villa because she is the most qualified and because her victory would be a victory for all of Illinois.
We encourage voters across the state to learn more about Villas’ record and stand with her this election. And we remind the Democratic Party: Moments like this are when trust is built or broken. Supporting Karina Villa is both the right and smart choice.
Latino Leadership Council
Consumers pay for Illinois utilities’ power grab
Illinois families are already struggling to make ends meet due to the higher costs of living, and this summer, they faced another challenge— soaring electric bills. Customers across the state saw rates climb as demand surged. Households are paying the price in real time while monopoly utilities continue to profit.
But instead of proposing real solutions to strengthen reliability or ease costs, Illinois’ monopoly utilities are using this moment to push for something entirely different: more power for themselves.
The CEO of Exelon, which owns ComEd, recently declared the company will seek changes to laws that will allow the monopoly to return to the power generation business, building and owning power plants in the very states where it also runs utilities. This comes mere months after ComEd secured a whopping $606 million rate hike, which guarantees increases to ratepayers’ monthly bills for multiple successive years.
Together, these moves represent a dangerous attempt to not only exploit the rules of utility regulation but to rewrite them in their own favor.
Why are rates so high? In large part, it’s because utilities earn a guaranteed return on every dollar they spend on new infrastructure, which incentivizes them to “gold-plate” the power grid and drive up costs. That means the more they build, the more they profit, and ratepayers are left footing the bill.
If lawmakers go along with this new scheme to hand utilities access to the generation market, Illinois families won’t just be paying higher bills today. They’ll be locked into decades of utility-dominated energy at ever-increasing prices.
Monopoly-owned generation would strangle competition and consumer choice and guarantee profits for shareholders, all while pushing the financial risks for new power plants onto ratepayers. Families would be on the hook for expensive projects regardless of their performance, while executives pocket bonuses for “solving” a crisis they started.
This is how monopolies have gamed the energy delivery system. Why would we want to give them the power to abuse the generation side of the market, too?
Illinois policymakers should take note. The state must resist this power grab and focus on reforms that truly help ratepayers: stronger oversight and accountability of utility practices. Illinois ratepayers don’t need to subsidize monopoly utilities. They just need an energy system that puts them first.
Robert Kelsey, Berwyn
Hearing out Palestinians
Thank you Mitchell Armentrout for your interview with Palestinian American leader Hatem Abudayyeh, and thank you, Sun-Times, for publishing it.
Like Abudayyeh says, people around the world, including in the U.S., are finally waking up to the racist, colonialist nature of the Israeli state. The ultimate answer is a very simple, overwhelmingly logical one that Israel and others have successfully suppressed for decades: a democratic state with equal rights for all Palestinians and Israeli Jews.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other such groups no longer have a hold on people’s perceptions. Many people are no longer buying the lie that it is antisemitic to support the rights of Palestinians to live in their historical homeland with dignity and full rights. Thank you for hosting a voice that speaks the obvious truth to power.
Philip Farah, co-chair, Palestinian Christian Alliance for Peace, Vienna, Virginia
Three-ring circus
Welcome to the Joker and Joker Junior Circus featuring ringmaster Mike Johnson. We have many great shows for you, including the ever-so-infamous government shutdown. Included in the show are the many tariffs on foreign goods. Another incredible part of the “Big Beautiful Show” is inflation. Obviously enough, we are in another recession, no thanks to the Joker and Joker Junior Circus. Those are the consequences of America choosing the Joker over Wonder Woman in the 2024 presidential election. Honestly, I am grateful Gov. Batman of Illinois is peacefully standing up to the Joker.
Shane Nodurft, Old Irving Park
Question for Todd Ricketts
During baseball season, countless fans from out of town come to Chicago to watch the Cubs.
Now that Donald Trump has denounced Chicago as a “hellhole,” I’d like to ask the Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts if he has any regrets about being a megadonor for Trump’s latest presidential campaign and finance chairman for the Republican National Committee.
Neil Milbert, Wilmette
Sweet Sister Jean
Mundelein College was an all-girls school. In the ’70s I think it started a “weekend college” on Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays. I enrolled while working full time at the Chicago Transit Authority. If my memory serves me correctly, Sister Jean registered me and was always on campus. She was the sweetest lady who was forever smiling. Yes, I graduated.
Virginia Dare McGraw, Naperville