I could not let state Sen. Seth Lewis’ opinion piece in the Tribune go unanswered (“Suburban and downstate taxpayers are not Johnson’s piggy bank,” Oct. 16). This controversy has been going on forever, probably ever since Chicago became a city in 1837. I had letters published in the Tribune in 1994 and 1995 on the same topics. It must also run in the blood of politicians from DuPage County, because wasn’t it former DuPage County state Sen. James “Pate” Philip who called Chicago a “rat hole”?
Back in the 1950s during the white flight panic, when so many white people fled the city because of Black people moving in, they took with them their wages to build the suburbs. That issue still continues to this day with so many workers coming into the city from the suburbs and taking the money from their high-paying jobs with them. To turn around Lewis’ statement, I would suggest that Chicago is the piggy bank for suburban and downstate taxpayers.
Through the years, state and federal governments have favored, even encouraged, suburban sprawl at the expense of cities. As an example of who pays for this sprawl, my brother moved to Channahon in the 1990s. U.S. Highway 6 was a quaint two-lane highway going through this small farm town. Now it is a four- to six-lane highway, with a good amount of development. I am sure that Channahon and Will County did not pay for this growth themselves but that a good portion of the funds came from Chicago taxpayers. The same goes for downstate communities that complain about having to pay for the CTA.
About Metra and Pace being debt-free and the CTA being awash in debt, Lewis surely must know that when the Regional Transportation Authority was founded in the 1970s, the distribution of the revenues was skewed in favor of the suburbs and Metra, even though the CTA carries the vast majority of riders. No wonder Metra and Pace are debt-free. However, as Lewis, I am not in favor of a mega-agency for public transit because I’m afraid the CTA would again get the short shrift.
About taxpayers’ money for a stadium for the Bears or White Sox, forget that. About more money for Chicago Public Schools, that’s another issue. I do not necessarily agree with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s positions on this and other issues. However, isn’t the legislature considering a bill that would prevent Chicago from closing underused schools until about 2027?
Maybe Lewis should reconsider some of his bias against the city. Without the city, DuPage County could still be fork in the road.
— Mario Caruso, Chicago
Mamet’s loose grip on reality
David Mamet is a supremely talented playwright, and his elegy for old Chicago (“This is why Chicago was once the marvel of our nation,” Oct. 20) is poignant, right up until he gives away the ballgame: Chicago’s current marvel is “murder and crime”? Vote for a return to “common sense”? Ah, yes, I see. Mamet is yet another American who has tumbled down the rabbit hole of Trumpism.
Mamet’s recent books and interviews lay it out for us: He questions the legitimacy of the 2020 election. (On what evidence?) He believes mask mandates were an effort to get citizens used to obeying government authority. Most laughably, this celebrated writer whose plays are on stage everywhere, who publishes books with mainstream publishers and who just had an essay run in a major American newspaper, claims to be “blacklisted” because of his conservative views.
Mamet’s loose grip on reality and delusions of persecution may make him and Donald Trump apt bedfellows, but when Chicagoans go to the polls on Nov. 5, they will no doubt put this nonsense behind them.
— Matt Carey, Chicago
An insult to his original home
Regarding David Mamet’s op-ed, how did such a distinguished playwright devolve into an ill-informed crank? A nice history of Chicago’s contributions to the world ends with a typical right-wing talking point about crime in dying big cities.
I just spent an awesome autumn day in gorgeous downtown Chicago and saw a play, and there were tons of tourists and people on the streets. What a tired insult to the city that gave Mamet his start.
— Daniel Smith, Chicago
What about Moseley Braun?
What a delight to read the name of the amazing David Mamet writing an opinion piece for the Tribune. He is a remarkable storyteller and can weave a spellbinding narrative.
Mamet offers an impressive list of Chicago trailblazers who made wonderful contributions to our city, state and country. However, I was dismayed that he failed to identify the leadership of Carol Moseley Braun. She was educated in Chicago Public Schools, is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, was an assistant United States attorney, was the first Black woman to serve as a U.S. senator and was a U.S. ambassador to New Zealand. Nominated by President Joe Biden, she currently serves as chair of the U.S. African Development Foundation. Her list of awards and accolades is also impressive, including recently receiving the Trailblazer award from the YWCA Chicago.
Moseley Braun truly deserves to be on every list acknowledging the legacy of Chicago leadership!
— Sylvia Daniels, Hyde Park, Illinois
A reminder of Chicago’s joys
Thank you for the terrific op-ed by David Mamet! Extolling all the great attributes of the city reminded me of why I love living in the Chicago area. I have lived here all my life and have enjoyed the delights the city offered. For me, it is still No. 1.
— Carole Bogaard, Oak Lawn
Another author for the list
As a former Chicagoan and, in particular a South Sider, I thoroughly enjoyed David Mamet’s op-ed on Chicago’s architectural, cultural and literary contributions to the American experience. I would suggest that adding the name Harry Mark Petrakis to Mamet’s list of famous Chicago authors would have enhanced the opinion piece even more.
— Leonard Costopoulos, Dallas, Georgia
Limits of Chicago taxpayers
“I don’t want to see anyone lose, right? But the harsh reality is that we can do what we can afford. We’ve been stretched to the limits.” So Mayor Brandon Johnson said regarding funding for housing migrants and others in our city. It is a perfectly reasonable position. The problem is that his newfound voice for fiscal responsibility seems limited to everyone but his friends in the Chicago Teachers Union!
News flash, Mr. Mayor. We working-class taxpayers are “stretched to the limits.” We aren’t wealthy business owners trying to avoid paying workers a fair wage. We’re folks who, if we were lucky, got a pay increase in the 3% to 4% range this year. Asking us to fund a 9% increase for folks who, on average, enjoy a salary and benefits package considerably more generous than what we enjoy, means we lose at the expense of folks better off than we are.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates’ opening request was ridiculous on its face. And it has nothing to do with the children, contrary to the mayor’s hand-wringing and crocodile tears during recent news conferences — unless the two of them are suggesting that teachers will not work as hard if they get only a 4% increase. If that’s true, then shame on everyone involved.
I’m all for paying teachers a decent wage, but we can only “do what we can afford.” By suggesting otherwise, Mr. Mayor, you wave your hypocrisy before the world.
— Paul N. Eichwedel, Chicago
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