As a former assistant legislative inspector general for the city of Chicago, it is disconcerting that in regards to ex-Ald. Carrie Austin’s (34th) indictment, U.S. District Judge John Kness has concluded that a trial would be an “unacceptable” risk to her well-being.
As reported by Jon Seidel, Austin’s indictment on charges of bribery and lying to the FBI, handed down in July 2021, made her one of three sitting City Council members facing federal charges at that time. While former Alds. Edward M. Burke (14th) and Patrick Daley Thompson (11th ) have since served their sentences, Austin’s case had not yet proceeded to trial.
In late November 2012, the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman wrote a story about how Austin “thumbed her nose at a demand from the City Council’s handpicked inspector general for two years’ worth of time sheets for full-and part-time Council employees.” Austin said, “I don’t have anything to hide. But I don’t think you have a right to just tell me, ‘I want your time sheets.’ That’s not within your authority.”
Our office continued to investigate Austin for allegations far more serious than the hiring of her son as ward superintendent. When the Office of the Legislative Inspector General was closed in 2016, all pertinent files were duly submitted to the FBI.
Given that Austin was reportedly in good health when the alleged crimes were committed, and if her earlier assertion of “nothing to hide” remains true, it would seem appropriate for her to have insisted on her right to a trial.
Kathy Posner, Gold Coast
Return stolen Holocaust masterpieces
Chicago knows the value of art. From the Art Institute of Chicago to neighborhood galleries, the city has long championed the power of creativity and culture. But what happens when that art was stolen — not just from museums, but from Jewish families rounded up during the Holocaust? In April, a New York Supreme Court judge determined that a watercolor had been stolen by Nazis from Jewish cabaret star Fritz Grünbaum and ordered the Art Institute to return it to his heirs.
There’s plenty more. Working with Holocaust survivor Clara Garbon-Radnoti, I helped uncover and analyze thousands of pages of 1944 Hungarian government records — inventories, museum intake reports and wartime correspondence. These documents show that more than 20 Hungarian state museums knowingly received looted Jewish-owned artworks, many of which remain in public collections today. Named paintings by Rembrandt van Rijn, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Mihály Munkácsy and Paul Gauguin appear in official ledgers, right alongside the names of the families they were taken from.
This isn’t a theoretical problem. It’s a matter of record. But unless laws change, families seeking justice for stolen art may be out of time.
That’s why Congress must pass the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025. This bipartisan bill extends the window to bring claims for Holocaust-era art theft — a small but crucial step toward accountability.
Chicagoans understand what legacy means. This is the chance to help restore what was taken — not just paintings, but dignity, memory and truth.
Jonathan H. Schwartz, co-founder, Holocaust Art Recovery Initiative, Detroit
Legalizing citywide accessory dwelling units is the right move
I’m a housing researcher, so of course I have a strong opinion about accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. (They’re great!) But the vast majority of Chicagoans probably don’t have an opinion. When I told my wife about the ADU ordinance under consideration, her reaction was: “Is this controversial? Why would anyone be against it?” They shouldn’t be! Allowing ADUs citywide is a modest, common sense policy that costs the city nothing and will help address Chicago’s housing challenges.
Paul Joice, Hyde Park
Another vote for accessory dwelling units
Legalizing (or rather, relegalizing) accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, in Chicago would open access to a popular type of housing that’s currently limited to a few pilot areas. In neighborhoods like Little Italy, re-legalizing ADUs would finally bring unpermitted units up to code — ensuring safety, dignity and an affordable housing option for residents and their families. Without relegalizing ADUs, Chicago could see unpermitted ADUs increase in the face of an expanding housing shortage, similar to in Los Angeles, which at one point had nearly 50,000 illegal ADUs. These newly legal homes will also begin contributing to our city’s tax revenue. It’s a win for renters, owners and the city.
Dr. Chloe Groome, West Loop
Reminder to Homeland Security and ICE
U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s agents: Puerto Ricans are native-born American citizens. I should think you would know that.
Judith Arnold, Norwood Park
NASCAR kiss-off is spot on
I wish to commend Steve Greenberg’s “leading off” comments in his recent column about NASCAR, because he hit the nail on all the right buttons of why the race should not be here the Fourth of July weekend in prime-time summer in Chicago. Taste of Chicago in July not September. Grant Park and the streets open to the public. Fireworks on the Fourth of July and not on the fifth (and shouldn’t they be in Grant Park on the lakefront instead of Navy Pier?). That “picture-perfect postcard” of the open lakefront.
Let’s boot NASCAR and give Grant Park back to the people on the Fourth of July!
Mario Caruso, Lincoln Square
Enjoying the Sun-Times
I don’t know what you are doing, but as a longtime subscriber who usually skims the articles (of course, I read every word of Neil Steinberg) on my way to my daily fix of crossword puzzles; more and more I have found myself reading every word of many articles. It certainly has increased my pleasure in reading the morning paper. Nice Job!
Nancy Brown, Downers Grove