Last week, several big city mayors defended their cities’ sanctuary policies at a congressional hearing. Fair enough. But why can’t America do this correctly? For the last few years, our immigration laws have not been enforced. Why have they not?
For decades, various administrations have suggested immigration reform and done nothing. To truly become a sanctuary city/country, reforms need to be legislated. If America could simply expand U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services and process immigrants properly, the current turmoil would not prevail.
President Donald Trump’s administration should consider moving government employees to an enormously expanded immigration department. Create dozens of entry points on our borders. Well-staffed agents could begin the naturalization process. Food, shelter, clothing and education would be immediately provided. Certain criteria would be developed to determine eligibility. Criminals or anyone carrying a transmittable disease would be handled in a humane way. Taxpayers have the right to know who is entering America.
The time is now. This should be a part of Trump’s “golden age” program. It would even make America greater!
— Joseph A. Murzanski, Orland Park
Low bar for mayor
According to a Tribune report “Avoiding pitfalls” (March 9), while Mayor Brandon Johnson did not take the bait from the Republican House committee members, he “did struggle at times with answering questions directly during the hearing. He responded with a disciplined, if not anodyne, message: crime is down, and the city of Chicago obeys the law.” This was his response for numerous questions, and he clearly avoided answering the actual questions.
Johnson did not give Chicago what it deserves as the third largest city in the U.S. that has world-renowned architecture, arts, universities and museums. The mayors of Boston and Denver were articulate and strong. They presented the committee with facts and numbers that Johnson often could not provide. His robotic response was very disappointing and embarrassing.
If achieving a “draw” with congressional Republicans was the goal, then we certainly have a low bar of expectations for our mayor.
— Donna Kasprowicz, Chicago
Jim Edgar’s example
Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar is a Baptist who entered politics to work with others to make a better country for everybody. Like his Republican predecessor Jim Thompson, Edgar strongly understood that a democracy is based on “we the people” respecting each other and working together in compromise to help all people enjoy a better life.
When Thompson appointed Edgar to take over the secretary of state’s office, Edgar kept many of the employees hired by Democratic predecessor Alan Dixon. He said, “The best politics is good government. If you guys do your job, then I’m not going to fire you. If you don’t do your job, I’ll fire you, but I’m not
going to fire you just because you’re a Democrat.”
In 1992, as governor, Edgar proposed a budget with no tax increases, but it did include extensive spending cuts — except to education. He was always thinking about the little guy. He wanted to give families opportunities for a better life, and affordable education was a prime element. Democrats led by House Speaker Michael Madigan opposed his budget, but the two sides reached a compromise that included many of Edgar’s spending cuts and made permanent a temporary income tax increase. Back in those days, Republicans and Democrats respected and listened to each other, and they argued with each other to reach a compromise to make the best possible law or budget for everybody.
When Donald Trump won the Republican nomination in 2020, Edgar publicly announced that he would not vote for Trump. He told a Peoria newspaper: “I have been very disappointed. We’ve had chaos for four years we didn’t need to have. I mean, there’s always going to be some turmoil, but he stirs it up. He bullies. You can’t believe what he says because he’ll do the different thing the next day. … He continued to stir up division in the country, (when) a president should be trying to bring people together.”
I worked for Mayor Richard J. Daley in the 1970s and later got to know Edgar. As he said, he believes every elected leader should try “to bring people together,” to talk with each other and listen to each other as one family, equal under God.
Thank you to Edgar for bringing the people of the state of Illinois together to listen to each other and to work with each other.
— Arthur J. Murphy, Chicago
Democracy takes work
A quote in the article “‘In this country, we speak English’” published in the March 6 Tribune sums up how we as a nation find ourselves in the current situation, watching as our country becomes more autocratic every day. When asked by the reporter what he thought of President Donald Trump’s executive order making English the official language of the United States, David Ramos noted it was a sign that Trump was fulfilling campaign promises: “I would rather have a leader who’s assertive and spoke up for us, even if I didn’t agree with it 100% of the time, versus somebody who’s a doormat.” Ramos would rather have a strong man (in this case, a strongman) speak for him, than doing the hard work of speaking for himself and contributing to the discussions about improving life in this country.
Totalitarian governments speak for their citizens, tell them what to do and punish them for not obeying. Democracy demands individuals participate in the process of bettering their lives, with their elected officials as facilitators and coordinators. Democracy takes work.
— Clara Orban, Chicago
A return to origins?
President Donald Trump’s executive order making English the official language of the United States is a welcome move for those seeking to take our country back to its roots. Some may call this move a nod to Trump’s white nationalist supporters, but real Americans know better.
It is not as if Spanish has been spoken here since 1513, while English first was spoken here in 1607.
The president should also make it clear that languages such as Cherokee, Algonquian, Navajo and Lakota have no place here.
We are getting back to our national origins and not being racist, right?
— Caise D. Hassan, Chicago
It’s time for decency
Everyone can see by now that the federal government is in the hands of three people — President Donald Trump, adviser Elon Musk and Vice President JD Vance — who are incompetent at running it, carried away with delusions of godhood, and absolutely willing to destroy our national security, the personal privacy and general welfare of citizens, our historical standing as a world leader and the trust of all nations.
Nothing else can explain the wildly reckless gutting of federal agencies, with no discernible plan; the abasement to authoritarian regimes and hostility to democratic ones; and the blithe disregard of the laws passed by Congress.
All of this is obvious to those who have familiarity with how government works and is supposed to work — arguably, not one of those three, despite the past experience of two of them. Yet the GOP members of Congress act as if it doesn’t matter. Do they have no respect for their own role as lawmakers? Do they not care that they were elected to exercise legislative power, and the president is to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”? If they don’t have the self-respect to hold the president to his oath of office, what are they good for?
Without adherence to the separation of powers stated in the Constitution, this is no longer a democracy but a monarchy, or at best an oligarchy. It is nothing short of amazing and appalling to see more than half our democratically elected representatives knowingly colluding in the fall of democracy. If they are just managing to keep their shame bottled up and hidden, it is far past time to grow, and show, a sense of decency.
— Steven Gruenwald, Schaumburg
Willingness to defend
I don’t know why Tribune letter writer David N. Simon chose to criticize Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for refusing to be blackmailed into ending the invasion of his country by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin (“Zelenskyy’s intransigence,” March 6). Perhaps he was confused by what he saw in the Oval Office that Friday. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance behaved like intransigent and foolish children. The real adult in the room was Zelenskyy.
To better understand what America has at stake, Simon should read the op-ed in Thursday’s Tribune “The age-old debate behind the war in Ukraine” by University of Chicago humanities professor Shadi Bartsch.
In Bartsch’s own words: “Zelenskyy’s appeals — the few he was allowed to voice — were to principles of fairness and justice backed up by ideals: The strong should not invade the weak at will. The innocent should not die. Allies should not be suddenly judged on the criterion of: ‘What’s in it for us?’ And victims, of course, should not be held up as aggressors.”
Bartsch said this in conclusion: “Justice is not a utility, but a luxury of civilized nations. It is costly to maintain. It brings no reward except itself.”
To this, I add: Yet some nations, like Ukraine, are willing to fight to defend this principle. So should Americans.
— James Mruk, St. Charles
Our parks endangered
After reading the article “A natural disaster” (March 2), I am angry and sad that the current administration led by President Donald Trump is jeopardizing what our national parks offer. Each park has its own story and beauty. These parks are already feeling the cuts made by the administration.
My husband and I have been to several national parks in the last 20 years, and these places are maintained by some of the most dedicated workers who care about the land and what it offers to visitors. The programs teach our children about the parks, the animals and the natural beauty of the landscapes. All this is already being compromised by the mass firing of workers. The parks were already underfunded, but the National Park Service found ways not to cut programs and to keep up the facilities so visitors could enjoy the beauty.
At a recent protest at Yosemite National Park, employees said our national parks are the property of every American. National parks were an escape for many people during the pandemic.
Readers can share their concerns with their federal lawmakers about what is happening to our national parks. These hardworking public servants protect our country’s most important places and history. Our politicians need to stand up to this administration. The U.S. Capitol switchboard can be reached at 202-224-3121.
— Patty Jablonsky, Chicago
Following Jesus’ path
“Why is he concerning himself with political issues?” Christopher Gomez writes in his letter, referring to the Rev. Michael Pfleger (“Priest failing at duty,” March 3). He asks this because Pfleger is flying our U.S. flag upside down at St. Sabina Catholic Church. Jesus professed social justice when he cured the sick, uplifted the marginalized, protected the vulnerable and released those in oppression. He challenged the economic, political and social issues of his time. And it is our duty to do the same.
— Barbara Silvestri, Lombard
How to respect the flag
To quote Patrick J. Madden in his criticism of the Rev. Michael Pfleger’s upside-down flag: “St. Sabina’s belongs to all of us who worship Christ and the American flag” (“Desecrating grounds,” March 3). Perhaps we should leave the worship to Christ and respect the flag with more honorable behavior than savaging a victimized country’s leader.
— Bob Quitter, Plainfield
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
