I lived in Chicago for more than seven decades and worked as a Chicago cop for 33 years. I have never asked the City Council for anything nor have I ever tried to give them advice.
But there is a first time for everything, so here goes: Now that the arbitrator has ruled that Chicago cops have a right by law to bypass the Police Board and have serious charges brought against them heard by an independent arbitrator, I ask that they take a deep breath and avoid possibly spending millions in taxpayer money to fight what many believe to be a lost cause.
Arbitration is used across the country by thousands of government agencies, in judicial hearings and in union grievances. Cops are certainly not above the law and, on the other hand, they are not below it either.
Even the American judicial system gives Americans the right to choose who decides their case: Judge or jury, a basic right for all. If Chicago cops choose not to have their cases heard by individuals hand-picked by the mayor, that is a right that should not be altered by City Council. If you don’t like a law, try changing it, but arbitrarily voting against it for political reasons is folly.
Bob Angone, Austin, Texas
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Metra stiffs southwest suburbs
As an occasional Metra rider, I looked with interest at the newly revised fare zone map. I was shocked to find that I would be paying the same fare at the Southwest Line’s 143rd Street Station in Orland Park (25 miles from the Loop) as someone heading to such far-flung locations as Antioch near the Wisconsin border (about 60 miles) and Harvard in McHenry County (about 75 miles).
I was also surprised to see that I would be paying more than someone going to University Park in Will County (about 40 miles).
The Southwest Line also appears to have the shortest segment within Zone 2, with Oak Lawn in Zone 3.
If it were on any other line with the possible exception of the BNSF, Oak Lawn would be in Zone 2.
Similarly, the Southwest Line’s Palos Park and 143rd Street Stations would be in Zone 3 on any other line, again with the possible exception of BNSF. To add insult to injury, the Southwest Line still has no weekend service and comparatively limited weekday service.
It would be greatly appreciated if Metra could more fairly adjust the zones to have comparable fares based on distance, and if Metra could extend Zone 3 farther out so that huge distance discrepancies can be minimized. Finally, please provide the southwest suburbs with equitable train service. We sure don’t have it now.
Robert Sullivan, Orland Park
What are you grateful for?
Experts say that, to increase your happiness, find time each day to think about things for which you are grateful. My family just started doing this at dinnertime, whereby during the meal we say “grats.”
This involves one person telling us three things for which she or he is grateful. Then we have a conversation about what was said. Being the old guy at the table, I often briefly discuss how one of those things was different in earlier times. For example, if televisions are cited, I might talk about how, when I was young, we didn’t have one, nor did most of our neighbors, and that the first TVs had small screens and took a while to “warm up” before a low-quality black and white image grudgingly appeared.
The only rules we have are that “grats” shouldn’t involve a person at the table nor something that was brought up recently. Otherwise, they can be anything — big or small. Examples: freedom of speech, paper towels, medications, email, volunteers, toothbrushes, friends, pie, plastic, sunshine, windows, love, electricity, teachers, soap, parks and music.
I hope this becomes a tradition in our family. It has sparked a lot of good conversation and made us more appreciative of the lives we have. I invite you to give it a try.
Gary Jump, Itasca
Anti-abortion laws invade pregnant women’s privacy
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is fervent in his belief on abortion, considering it not within a woman’s right to choose.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that Kate Cox, whose fetus had a fatal condition, did not qualify for an abortion. The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, Marjorie Dannenfelser, wants a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Many others sit on the anti-abortion train. Let’s focus on the aforementioned group of the busy-body caravan.
Unfair to single them out? Didn’t they just do that in the case of Kate Cox?
The women in my tirade shouldn’t oppose an opening of their medicine cabinet. When one decides to delve into menstrual cycles to clock the number of weeks of pregnancy, isn’t that intrusion?
How many children do each of them have? If they are pro-life, why did they stop at whatever number during their childbearing years?
Too intrusive? Alas, they’ve set up this intimate relationship. I’m only following suit.
Elaine Soloway, River North
