Regarding the editorial “Speak incautiously about race, Mr. Mayor, and you invite federal scrutiny” (May 21): As a Black Chicagoan living on the South Side, I’m not the biggest fan of Mayor Brandon Johnson. That said, I also recognize that for decades, promised development and investment in communities like mine haven’t come — regardless of whether we’ve had a Black mayor or a white one. The South and West sides have too often been overlooked, while systemic barriers have kept Black and Latino communities from gaining fair access to city contracts and economic opportunity.
When someone finally tries to address these historic imbalances, it’s frustrating to hear the backlash — especially from voices that have long benefited from a system tilted in their favor. Too often, when racial inequity is acknowledged, some people want to gloss over it, downplay it or label it as divisive. But ignoring it doesn’t make it go away — it only reinforces the injustice.
You don’t have to agree with every move Johnson makes, but equity in city contracting or hiring isn’t radical — it’s overdue. Leveling the playing field is not about picking winners and losers; it’s about fairness.
If we’re serious about building a stronger Chicago, it starts with giving every neighborhood — especially the ones historically left behind — a real chance to thrive.
— Joseph Harrod, Chicago
Getting Chicago unstuck
The editorial about Mayor Brandon Johnson was spot-on. Chicago is stuck, and it won’t get unstuck until we get rid of Johnson. I can’t imagine one segment of Chicago that has benefited from his time as mayor. The Chicago Teachers Union will spend a fortune trying to get him reelected.
We need to get unstuck. We need to get rid of Brandon Johnson.
— Robert Kravitz, Chicago
Mayor’s political deficit
Regarding the article “Johnson: ‘I’ve done my part’ on Bears” (May 21): Mayor Brandon Johnson lacks the political skill, connections, know-how and muscle to keep the Chicago Bears in the city.
— Bruce R. Hovanec, Chicago
Leaders’ tit for tat
Unfun facts: We live in a world where the president of the United States and the mayor of Chicago openly accuse each other of racism, and they are both 100% right!
— Tom Sharp, Chicago
Persona non grata
I understand why the mayor, his hand-picked school board and the Chicago Teachers Union all want Chicago Public Schools chief Pedro Martinez gone: He has more integrity than all of them put together.
Martinez’s integrity is a threat to them. Whether it’s negotiating with the union or acknowledging that CPS grossly mishandled the firing of two administrators at Lincoln Park High School five years ago, Martinez has the audacity to actually put the kids first and the truth first. For him, that line — “it’s all about the kids” — is not a soundbite. He actually walks the talk. And for that, he is defamed and terminated.
Chicago actually owes him a big “thank you.”
Thank you to Martinez for leading by example, and God bless him in his next endeavors.
— William Choslovsky, Chicago
Just recycled rhetoric
Regarding the op-ed “Two years in, Johnson’s rhetoric doesn’t match reality” (May 15): Do we have to keep hearing from Paul Vallas? Plenty of us have issues with the slow progress of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, but I’m unclear why I continue to get Vallas’ recycled campaign literature in the Tribune on a regular basis.
“Voters resoundingly rejected Johnson’s proposed increase ….” says the resoundingly rejected mayoral candidate from two years ago.
“Chicago has until this year ranked near the bottom of large cities in homicide reduction” is the kind of linguistic acrobatics I try to avoid by relying on news sources such as the Tribune.
If Johnson’s ideas are so bad, publish some good ones. Don’t eat up column inches with sore losers.
— Tristan Arnold, Chicago
Perspective on cops
Sam Charles wrote an excellent article (“Officers observed for problem traffic stops before Reed killing,” May 19) regarding how police officers involved in Dexter Reed’s killing were previously investigated for wrongful conduct.
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability states in part that its mission is to “determine whether allegations of police misconduct are well-founded.” The Chicago Police Department states in part that its mission is to “strive to attain the highest degree of … professional conduct at all times.” If the officers in prior investigations were provided due process, and CPD and COPA properly fulfilled their missions, it appears that discipline was justified.
Still, as far as Reed’s death is concerned, CPD, COPA and the public should not lose perspective.
Reed obviously had unfortunate struggles in his life, riddled with emotional and financial hardships, as well as suffering a 2021 gunshot wound. Yet, there is no evidence that Reed’s hardship or mental health issues were known to the officers who shot Reed in March 2024. Accordingly, Reed’s prior mental health problems should not be taken into account in determining whether police officers acted properly on the day of Reed’s death.
What needs to be considered is whether Reed’s actions called for the deadly force employed by the police officers at the scene. Video depicts Reed failing to comply with police officers’ directives before he was shot. Also, video shows no shots being fired by the officers before Reed shot at officers.
The fact that officers involved in Reed’s death were investigated for similar conduct before his death does not erase what is seen on the video. The question everyone should be asking themselves is whether the police acted properly on the day of Reed’s unfortunate death.
— Terry Takash, Western Springs
Landlords’ argument
A couple of people calling themselves housing providers instead of landlords (Neighborhood Business Owners Alliance) wrote a letter defending move-in fees, but in reality, they argued why the fees should be abolished (“Don’t ban move-in fees,” May 15).
One: It is a fee that a tenant cannot get back, unlike a security deposit.
Two: Cleaning up an apartment has always been the landlord’s task. If the apartment has been damaged badly, then the landlord can keep some of the security deposit.
Three: The landlords say it is a few hundred bucks for the move-in-fee. If that is so, then let the landlord forgo the few hundred bucks.
Four: The landlords in the letter go on about the lack of affordable housing and link it fallaciously and illogically to a proposed ban on the move-in-fee.
Five: If a tenant has kept the apartment in excellent condition, then he or she should receive a move-out fee from the landlord.
— Stan Palder, Chicago
Disparaging religion
I find very offensive the May 19 “WuMo” comic strip by Mikael Wulff and Anders Morgenthaler. I am Catholic, though not an unsophisticated traditionalist. Yet I consider that strip highly inappropriate. It is not the first time — but hopefully the last time — they poke nasty, so-called humor at what is for many people cherished ritual, or in “WuMo’s” words, people’s “religion thing.”
I am disappointed that the Tribune would print such disrespectful material. It is time for the “WuMo” creators to adhere to the Tribune’s editorial code.
— Frances L. Carroll, River Forest
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