The Department of Defense has expressed concern about climate change since at least the George W. Bush administration; dozens of DOD documents on this issue can be accessed at climateandsecurity.org.
What I don’t understand is how the Defense Department can clearly state that climate change is a national security threat, yet many Republicans, who are usually so supportive of our military, can continue to dismiss it.
With respect to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, certainly, our first response must be to help the huge number of people who are in need. However, these tragic events also demonstrate the powerful forces that our carbon dioxide emissions have set in motion and why it’s necessary for the United States to take a leadership role regarding climate action.
Our common values such as national security and concern for our children’s future should unify Americans on this issue. It just doesn’t make sense to make the permanent changes to the Earth’s physics and chemistry we are making without looking at this closely together, across political divides, with open eyes and open hearts.
Let’s work together to find a path to slow climate change.
— Terry Hansen, Milwaukee
Reaction a case of projection
Since Hurricane Helene, Donald Trump and his followers have been claiming that Democrats have been denying help to Republican areas of North Carolina. It sounds to me like classic projection: Trump would deny aid to Democratic areas if he were president, so he thinks that because Democrats are in charge, they must be denying help to Republicans.
Trump is showing the American people once again why he should never again be president.
— Frank L. Schneider, Chicago
Better approach to US debt
As our population ages and we experience more disasters such as the recent hurricanes, there is and will be increasing pressure on government resources. Also, a large influx of immigrants will exacerbate the problem. It seems as though both presidential candidates and virtually all congressional candidates continue to propose more programs that involve more government spending. No one seems to care about the most serious problem, and that is the large and increasing level of government debt, now more than $35 trillion.
The solution most often proposed is to increase taxes on the wealthy. Unfortunately, what happens is that the wealthy find loopholes, and the tax burden falls on the middle class. Moreover, taxing the wealthy too much reduces private investment, which will have a detrimental effect on the economy.
Therefore, a better approach would be to request churches to do more to help and not be so concerned about buildings and growth. In addition, political candidates should spend less time proposing more programs and more time trying to convince the very wealthy to donate more to charities so they can provide more relief services that are currently handled more and more by government.
Tackling the government debt issue won’t be popular or easy, but unless we want to create an unbearable burden on future generations, it most be done and soon!
— Dan Schuchardt, Glen Ellyn
Candidates’ plan for our debt
If you really want to see the national debt reduced over the next four or five years, vote for politicians who campaign on lowering the debt. But first, get them to tell you, specifically, what areas of the federal budget they are prepared to cut.
Defense spending? Tell the Navy it doesn’t need another aircraft carrier or nuclear submarine. Tell the Air Force it doesn’t need new fighter jets to match anything our potential enemies may be developing. Tell the Army it doesn’t need rapid deployment forces for the world’s next hot spot. Tell the Department of Defense to cut benefits going to current or retired military personnel.
Social Security? Cut benefits to retirees. Tell them they can move in with their adult children. Medicare? Ignore the mounting numbers of citizens experiencing health care bankruptcy.
Cut the Environmental Protection Agency? The Food and Drug Administration? The Federal Emergency Management Agency? The number of air traffic controllers?
Have candidates tell you what cuts, in which areas. Then ask yourself if you’re OK, personally, with such cuts. And remember, every budget always comes down to just two things: income and outgo.
Donald Trump’s administration enacted big tax cuts. The impact of those cuts was to add nearly $2 trillion to the national debt. His administration didn’t simultaneously make big cuts in spending, even though Republicans controlled both houses of Congress.
Keep both sides of the income-outgo equation in mind when you go to vote.
— Christos Galaboff, Franklin, Wisconsin
Narrative about Pilsen wrong
Regarding Raúl I. Raymundo’s letter “Alter TIF district in Pilsen” (Oct. 5): As a lifelong Pilsen resident who works with young people and families often labeled as “bad,” I need to challenge the narrative that Pilsen’s “success” stems from getting rid of gang-affiliated individuals or those in the justice system. This perspective demonizes the working poor and erases the struggles that have shaped Pilsen into the resilient community it is today. Those who have left weren’t problems to be solved — they were neighbors who, like the rest of us, just couldn’t afford the skyrocketing cost of living.
Arguing that “yes, property taxes will rise, as they do across the city,” without acknowledging the devastating impact this has on working-poor families, is not just dismissive — it’s dangerous. For many of us, these tax increases aren’t an inevitable part of city life; they are a direct threat to our ability to stay in Pilsen. When you’re living paycheck to paycheck, there’s no room for “however” when discussing rising taxes. This isn’t a theoretical problem — it’s a daily fight for survival.
Moreover, dismissing opponents of tax increment financing as lacking alternatives is not only false but also harmful. We’ve been clear about other solutions — such as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s bond program, land trusts and cooperative housing models — that could provide real benefits to residents without displacing them. Just because these solutions don’t funnel money into nonprofits or developers doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s insulting to pretend otherwise.
We also can’t ignore the role of the nonprofit industrial complex in this debate. Many of the nonprofits backing the TIF district expansion in Pilsen are not neutral — they may serve as tools to pacify real movement work, stripping away the radical potential of community organizing. In this case, Pilsen nonprofits pushing the expansion are ignoring the overwhelming opposition to the TIF.
This expansion is not about protecting Pilsen — it’s about profits. And those profits will not benefit the working poor struggling to remain here. We can’t afford to ignore what’s really at stake: our community, our homes, and our future.
Pilsen is not for sale.
— Leonardo Quintero, youth and community organizer, Chicago
Trip to Thompson Center
I enjoyed the editorial about the Thompson Center (“Thanks to Google, Chicago has a temporary new tourist attraction,” Oct. 4). It motivated me to travel into the Loop to have a look for myself, and it was a wonderful experience to see the inside of the building exposed as we were never able to see it.
Thank you so much for highlighting this opportunity to see the marvelous building exposed.
— Wanda Shafer, Chicago
Bring back reusable bottles
Kudos to Culligan for supplying Chicago marathoners with reusable aluminum water bottles and refill stations!
I grew up back when soda pop and milk came in returnable glass bottles and gallon jugs. Most of them got reused because folks returned them for the 2-cent and 5-cent deposits. Every grocer had a supply of paper bags of various sizes for their customers’ purchases. My family double-bagged the large ones inside a metal garbage retainer in the kitchen and took them out to the trash barrels when full. The smallest ones were perfect for packing lunches for school kids and dads.
If we could return to just these two practices, it would be a good start on environmental cleanup.
— Dan McGuire, Bensenville
Why is this a fall tradition?
I would like to know whose bright idea it was to wrap a tart Granny Smith apple with caramel and maybe nuts.
— Virginia Dare McGraw, Naperville
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