Thank you for publishing the op-ed about Ida B Wells (“Chicago activist Ida B. Wells changes the face of American currency,” Feb. 15). I cried as read it. We all need to learn about her. We need to learn why she left Memphis, Tennessee: Three of her friends were murdered there by white vigilantes.
Then, in 1913, Black women, including Wells, were told they needed to march in the back of the line of protesters at a demonstration in Washington for women’s right to vote. Of course, Wells rejected that.
Wells was a social activist. As she worked to lift Black voices in Chicago, law enforcement visited her over buttons she was handing out that showed support for Black soldiers who had been hanged. Consider that in 1919, the white gangs that were burning down Black neighborhoods included a young Richard J. Daley, who later became mayor of Chicago in the 1950s.
The letters to the editor were all worthy as well, about the Tuskegee airmen and an angel for restorative justice, the late Judge Sheila Murphy.
— Janice Gintzler, Crestwood
True American heroes
After reading the letter to the editor “Rescued by Red Tails” (Feb. 15) by Jack Lieberman, I just had to write and say how much I enjoyed it. At a time when we have actors, musicians and sports figures being called heroes, it was so nice to read about true American heroes — people who put their lives on the line every day in the name of freedom.
The letter brought a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. Thank you to Lieberman.
— Don Weber, Minooka
I-80 in need of tolls
In response to the Tribune Editorial Board’s piece on Indiana tolls (“On tolls, Indiana looks to take a page out of Illinois’ book,” Feb. 19), I would like to state in response that I would heavily be in favor of tolls along Interstate 80. I-80 is extremely congested. It absolute makes sense to toll this road so that everyone using it pays their fare share in the cost to maintain it.
— Seth Deegan, Naperville
‘Paying off’ tollways
The editorial board appears to have bought into that decades-old myth about “paying off” the tollways. In fact, as we all know, there is no such thing as a free ride.
If and when the tollways stop being tollways, they would become the responsibility of the Illinois Department of Transportation. Maintaining them would require a substantial increase in statewide taxes. No downstate politician would vote for that.
Don’t throw away your E-ZPass just yet.
— Paul Greene, WIllowbrook
More classics, please
For its 50th anniversary show, “Saturday Night Live” wasted so much time on weak, new skits instead of showing us some classics: Wayne’s World, Mr. Bill, Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer, Ladies Man (Courvoisier), Emily Litella (Soviet jewelry, violins on TV) and Kevin Nealon’s Mr. Subliminal, to name but a few.
— Ken Sutchar, Chicago
Bands should reunite
The news of last month’s devastating fires in the Los Angeles area and their aftermath were deeply disturbing. It was heartening that on Jan. 30, the LA FireAid concert at Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum with a star-studded lineup of performers raised an estimated $100 million to aid those affected by the tragedy of the fires.
The success of the FireAid concert made me think that members of two fractured rock bands originally from the city of Chicago, Chicago and Styx, could do a great thing by temporarily burying their hatchets to reunite for concerts in Los Angeles to help those affected by the devastating fires.
The surviving members of Chicago would do a great thing if they could hold just one reunion concert in their adopted city of Los Angeles to benefit the fire relief fund. It could be held in a major stadium with high ticket prices. They could play their hard-edge rock classics from the 1970s and their power ballads from the 1980s for one night for a great cause.
Similarly, a reunited Styx with Dennis DeYoung could do a series of five or six shows in Los Angeles to help people affected by the tragic fires. I wish that the members of Styx would just bury the hatchet for a great charitable cause.
Chicago was once home to these two great classic rock bands. I hope that band members demonstrate the philanthropy of the Windy City and reunite, if only just once, to help the people affected by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area.
— Carlo Peluso, Arlington Heights
Survivors of winter
With our latest encounter with ice, snow and dangerous wind chill, the brave souls of the Chicago area are once again forced to surrender to the elements while shaking their fists in anger toward the sky.
Surely, the Chicago area has one of the worst climates. For starters, it’s much too hot and sticky in the summer and equally miserable in the winter. What’s more, we’re all lucky to get even two weeks of spring.
I’m aware of that old adage, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” But like all those other old sayings that are badly in need of a reboot, it stands to reason that better weather could only be beneficial to our overall sense of well-being.
However, being a cockeyed optimist, I see my glass of beer half full rather than half empty. That is, our geography is such that we rarely, if ever, have to deal with forest fires, massive floods, hurricanes or long-lasting droughts like so many tourist destinations.
As survivors of yet another Chicago winter, we are duty-bound once the snow melts and the bone-chilling wind chill retreats, to boast of a sparkling city that has so much to offer — beyond losing sports teams.
— Bob Ory, Elgin
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