Public housing isn’t just a means to an end; it’s where hope begins, and community takes root. I know this not just in theory, but also through my work at La Casa Norte, where I have the honor of walking alongside youths and families as they confront homelessness. I’ve seen firsthand how having stable housing can transform lives, restore dignity and spark possibility.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the new National Public Housing Museum, a must-visit for anyone who cares about equity and justice. The museum offers a powerful, honest reflection on the legacy of public housing including its role in advancing opportunity and reinforcing segregation, its demolition and the ongoing fight to ensure affordable, dignified housing for all.
Right now, Chicago is on the brink of a historic milestone: the opening of its first large-scale youth noncongregate shelter for youth ages 18 to 24. Led by La Casa Norte, this project will provide young people with private, safe spaces to heal and grow — a critical step toward housing equity.
My visit to the museum reminded me that progress is always within reach, and it renewed my hope for a future where every person, especially young people navigating life’s hardest moments, has access to safe, affordable housing.
Because home should be a right, not a privilege.
— Luz Maria Cortez, community assistance program manager, La Casa Norte, Chicago
Toll of homelessness
According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, on any given night last year, an estimated 25,832 people were dealing with homelessness in Illinois. People experiencing homelessness who frequently seek medical care disproportionately are diagnosed with serious cardiovascular, respiratory, neurologic and renal disorders, as well as psychiatric and substance use conditions, an analysis of hospital patient data by the Illinois Department of Public Health shows. The conditions unhoused people deal with, whether they are staying in a crowded shelter or an encampment outside, are not conducive to good health.
Homelessness puts individuals at higher risk for infectious diseases and can exacerbate chronic conditions because they don’t have the necessary access to the consistent medical care needed to manage and treat those conditions. They face shorter life spans and a reduced quality of life; on average, people who are unhoused die almost 20 years before the typical Illinoisan.
Since 2023, I have been volunteering with Avicenna Community Health Center, a student-run free clinic in Champaign. I have served as the center’s co-director of outreach for almost two years, managing the operations of our Shelter Medicine Initiative, a twice-monthly pop-up clinic run in collaboration with Strides, a local low-barrier shelter. Through this role, I have seen firsthand how homelessness impacts the health of individuals and how important affordable, accessible health care is. By locating our clinic at the shelter and providing services for free, we increase health care accessibility by reducing the burden of transportation and the cost of health care.
Homelessness is a public health crisis that requires institutional intervention to truly be addressed. Free clinics are by no means a catch-all solution, but student-run free clinics can and do play an important role in providing a safety net for people who are underinsured and uninsured, and the work done by Avicenna shows that targeted initiatives can be developed by such clinics to combat the negative effects of homelessness on health.
— Zahraa Rasheed, Savoy, Illinois
Detecting gunshots
Gun violence is a consequence of disinvestment, segregation and inequity. Jens Ludwig’s piece (“Unforgiving origins of Chicago gun violence,” April 13) makes this clear, correctly pointing to community violence intervention (CVI), trauma-informed care and economic opportunity as ingredients to reversing the cycle.
But let’s not allow a false dichotomy to take root — one that pits policing against intervention, or enforcement against empathy. We need both.
In too many neighborhoods, gunfire goes unreported to police because many residents have given up on calling 911. Fear of retaliation, distrust and trauma have bred silence.
This is why gunshot detection technology is valuable. It doesn’t solve historic inequities, but it does restore awareness — ensuring that gunshots are recorded, mapped and responded to. Disinvested neighborhoods suffer from data invisibility. When policymakers can’t “see” the problem, they don’t fund solutions.
Gunfire detection helps first responders arrive soon after a shooting. That speed can be the difference between life and death. Additionally, these systems help officials understand where gunfire is concentrated, which is critical for violence interrupters, hospital-based outreach teams and trauma-informed service providers. Detection helps them direct resources to get ahead of retaliatory cycles.
America’s civic ecosystem — from grassroots leaders to health workers to police — can build a new model for urban safety, one in which community healing, precision data and modern tools reinforce each other. I believe technology can complement CVI’s vision.
Some critics — often far removed from violent neighborhoods — view gunshot detection systems with suspicion. That’s healthy. But residents living in communities where the technology is deployed are often the most vocal supporters, because they regularly witness its lifesaving impact.
If that’s controversial, we should ask why we are comfortable with silence and inaction, particularly in the communities that have suffered from gun violence for far too long.
Gunshot detection is not a panacea. It doesn’t replace the need for jobs, education, housing or hope. But it is a tool that assists in responding faster, allocating smarter and measuring the impact of violence-reduction strategies.
We should leverage data for good. Every neighborhood deserves to be seen, served and kept safe — not just when someone calls for help, but whenever help is needed. We need to nurture and empower coalitions committed to public safety innovation, equity and partnership.
We shouldn’t choose between equitable policing and crime prevention. Both can, and should, exist in harmony. It’s about keeping people safe, and we should all advance that goal.
— Ralph Clark, president and CEO, SoundThinking, creator of ShotSpotter
Teachers under Tier 2
I have been a teacher in the Chicago area for 10 years. I am grateful to be in such a rewarding profession, but I fear teachers’ employment is in danger.
There is a teacher shortage beginning to unfold across the state. The benefits and retirement system for educators who fall under the Tier 2 pension system are not matching the work we are putting in each day.
“Public workers on Tier 2 do the same job as those with the higher Tier 1 benefits and pay the same amount toward their pension, but get less. Many Tier 2 participants actually pay more into the system than their pension is worth!” according to Pat Devaney, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO.
The more people we get in the teaching profession, the stronger our youths, local communities and state become.
I’m asking all people to reach out to local legislators to continue the push for a stronger teacher benefit system. Let’s change the current system and undo Tier 2.
— Joe Kwiatkowski, Aurora
Russian talking points
Letter writer Walt Zlotow (“Russia holds all the cards,” April 11) criticizes columnist Daniel DePetris (“Vladimir Putin obstructs President Donald Trump’s best-laid plans for Ukraine,” April 8) for saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin is derailing a quick resolution to the war in Ukraine. Instead, Zlotow claims, the U.S., NATO and Ukraine are preventing a negotiated peace because Russia’s “core interests” are not being met. The interests are no NATO membership for Ukraine and future neutrality for Ukraine, as well as an end to “attacks on Russian-leaning Ukrainians in Donbas.” Zlotow simply repeats Russian propaganda.
Ukraine does not attack Ukrainians in the Donbas; it targets Russian military equipment and troop concentrations and headquarters. Most male Ukrainians in the Russian-occupied areas were conscripted by Russia and sent to the front, and many have been killed or wounded. Russian passports, language and culture were forced onto Ukrainians in occupied areas.
If Zlotow listened to Russian media, he would understand more of Russia’s goals. No independent media exist in Russia, so words expressed there must fit with Putin’s views. The popular TV show anchor Vladimir Solovyov expresses how Russia has no borders and is an empire.
If NATO entry is such a barrier to peace, why did Putin permit Finland and Sweden to join?
Ukraine desires to join the European Union and continue on as a democratic sovereign country and not become a vassal state of Russia.
America freed itself from England’s domination — so why not Ukraine?
— Richard Hahin, Cortland, Illinois
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