Why is the Tribune Editorial Board (“The alliance against Johnson on zoning is justified,” Sept. 9) pushing a divisive, business-as-usual narrative that ignores the real risks Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez has taken to make Chicago a more just and equitable city? This false dichotomy of equity versus progress fuels the very pay-to-play politics that have long silenced working-class Chicagoans and communities of color.
Sigcho-Lopez has been a tireless advocate for environmental justice, even becoming a hunger striker to prevent General Iron from further polluting already-overburdened communities. The editorial board’s preference for Ald. Felix Cardona as Zoning Committee chair is clearly about maintaining the status quo, favoring powerful developers over fair and equitable housing policy.
We need leaders willing to challenge outdated systems — not those who promise to be “fair arbiters” while prioritizing business interests over people’s needs. Chicago’s industrial corridors should align with green technology, benefiting both businesses and historically burdened communities. Progress and equity are not mutually exclusive but require bold policies that prioritize both.
Sigcho-Lopez doesn’t do this alone — he works closely with our community and stakeholders and has been an effective peer, passing legislation with his colleagues.
Here are some examples:
• He co-chaired the Mayor’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance task force; the ordinance doubles the amount of affordable housing in developments.
• He secured public investment to develop at least 280 affordable housing units at 18th and Peoria streets in Pilsen and opened up zoning decisions to the community with an inclusive zoning advisory board.
• He gathered votes and passed legislation protecting homeowners, seniors and longtime residents from predatory developers.
• He fights for rent stabilization and property tax reform to protect seniors and working families.
While a housing summit is a good idea, it must not stall necessary development in all neighborhoods. The housing crisis demands urgent action, not NIMBYism. Sigcho-Lopez’s commitment to transformative solutions makes him the right leader for this moment.
When the editorial board calls for an “effective” mayor, we must ask: Effective for whom? Were the mayors who sold off Chicago’s assets and closed 50 schools truly “effective”? If being “effective” means catering to banks and big business, that only deepens inequality.
Sigcho-Lopez understands that real progress comes from investing in people and neighborhoods — not repeating failed policies that enrich a few. The opposition to his leadership reflects a preference for the old playbook, but Chicago needs leaders willing to put residents before developers.
— Oscar Sanchez, Chicago
Effect of short-term rentals
While the City Council selects the next chair of the Zoning Committee, an important factor in the affordable housing shortage needs to be addressed in Chicago: loose regulation of short-term rentals (Arbnb, etc.). The Tribune Editorial Board notes an urgent need for more housing, especially “so-called accessory dwelling units — granny flats, coach houses and the like.” Unfortunately, unless regulations are in place to restrict short-term rentals, encouraging these types of units may not help the situation of affordable housing for Chicagoans. A story in the Tribune’s Sunday edition (“Summer of ‘overtourism’”) noted that tourist destinations in Europe, for one, have seen rent increases linked to the proliferation of short-term rentals.
As it selects a new chair for the Zoning Committee and works toward more affordable housing, the City Council would do well to also look at short-term rentals as a possible reason for lack of housing in the first place.
— Clara Orban, Chicago
CPS chief deserves support
Chicago Public Schools starts each year with the high hopes that come with refreshing autumn weather. This, notwithstanding the fact that only 1 in 5 of our third graders met or exceeded expectations in language skills last year. Still, the students, the teachers and the staff persevere.
Meanwhile, some adults seek to fire CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. This irresponsible suggestion has no basis in a Board of Education evaluation of the CEO but instead is suggested based on his “insubordination.” The evidence: Martinez refuses to spend money CPS does not have.
Now, 400 CPS principals and 15 Chicago aldermen have spoken up in defense of common sense. We should applaud them for speaking not just in defense of Martinez but also in defense of our children’s education. Continuity and calmness will always achieve more than chaos and executive churn.
Voters should ask where board candidates stand on this. I may or may not be elected to the new School Board in November; either way, I, too, support the retention of Pedro Martinez.
— Andrew A. Davis, Chicago
Infringement on lakefront
Kudos and sincere thanks to former Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin for providing support for the return of an architecture critic to the Tribune in August. Kamin’s informative and thought-provoking perspectives on developments across the region have been sorely missed, and Edward Keegan seems a most worthy successor and a welcome addition to the public dialogue.
Keegan’s commentary (“With stadium plans, the Bears are proposing a barely veiled takeover of the lakefront,” Sept. 8) on the Chicago Bears’ proposal to build a behemoth facility on the lakefront for the team’s use and profit is a clear and comprehensive analysis of the pros (none) and cons (many) of the project. Chicago’s lakefront parkland is the city’s distinctive feature, and it is a priceless public treasure to be nurtured and protected.
Yet the lakefront is constantly and aggressively under threat from well-connected corporations guided only by their own private interests. The Bears’ effort fits solidly into this pattern. The fortunately blocked Lucas Museum was followed by the turnover of a sizable slice of Jackson Park to the Obama Presidential Center, an oversized intrusion like the proposed Bears stadium. And, currently, the former site of the U.S. Steel plant on the Far South Side lakefront is being offered for a quantum computing facility instead of being developed into long-promised parkland.
Each of these initiatives, including the Bears’, could be a worthwhile and valuable addition to Chicago, but in no case is the success of the enterprise dependent on a lakefront location. That argument is a distraction and distortion; there are plenty of other options available in Chicago without even looking at Arlington Heights.
Public parks are not vacant property waiting to be monetized; they are spaces to be protected and preserved for the free enjoyment of all citizens of Chicago and its visitors. Let us hope we — and our politicians — can remember that truth.
— Brenda Nelms and Jack Spicer, co-presidents, Jackson Park Watch, Chicago
Characterization of migrants
I watched the presidential debate from start to finish. Throughout the debate, ex-President Donald Trump railed against migrants. At first, he explained that migrants were taking our jobs. Then they were taking jobs particularly from Black people and Latinos. Within minutes, those same migrants were now the mentally ill, according to Trump. Are the mentally ill stealing our jobs, I wondered? Next, those mentally ill migrants became criminals.
I ask Trump: Which is it? Are the migrants the mentally ill or criminals or hard workers?
— Kenneth Fleischer, Flossmoor
Candidates dodged questions
I anxiously awaited the presidential debate between our two major party candidates.
Like all debates, both candidates refrained from directly answering the questions. They both immediately responded with their respective campaign messages. It is quite frustrating to us voters that they dodge the questions. By not answering, the debate turns into a political circus.
Instead of them standing behind a podium, why not have them sitting in a dunk tank? If they do not directly answer the question, they get dunked.
— Cary Riske, Grayslake
Claim about eating of pets
During Tuesday’s presidential debate, Donald Trump said this about immigrants: “In Springfield, (Ohio), they are eating the dogs.” Does anything else need to be said?
— Richard Keslinke, Algonquin
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