When Joe Biden was elected as president, we were told the adults were finally in charge.
Here we are four years later, and I wonder where these adults are now. Instead of calm discourse, we get screaming, swearing, chanting and the worst — running to Mom, i.e., the federal judges.
When I was upset with the way the country was going, I called my elected representatives. I wrote letters. Not once did I think of going to the streets in protest. I didn’t like Biden, but I acted like an adult and waited for when I could talk with my vote, and thankfully, it worked.
I am confident that President Donald Trump’s decisions will be resolved in higher courts, but why must we waste time when we need to get things done for the American people?
Now is the time we need the adults in the room.
— Sue Atkenson, Frankfort
Brave public servants
The Chicago Council of Lawyers condemns the blatantly political order to dismiss the indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The memo ordering dismissal stated explicitly that the order was made “without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based.” It was made to reward Adams’ obeisance to President Donald Trump in supporting roundups of immigrants. The agreement is so clear that the motion to dismiss is “without prejudice,” meaning that the indictment against Adams could be reinstated if he does not fulfill his part of the bargain.
This action is so contrary to the rule of law, the standards of the Department of Justice and the ethics of the legal profession, that the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York resigned rather than dismiss the indictment. Seven former U.S. attorneys for the Southern District of New York, Republicans and Democrats, have lauded her integrity. The head and other members of the Public Integrity Section in Washington also resigned rather than succumb to this subversion of justice. We applaud these courageous public servants.
Even worse, Emil Bove III, the acting deputy attorney general who ordered the dismissal, has ordered an investigation of those with the integrity to refuse his order. This is meant to deter those prosecutors who would refuse to carry out unethical orders. Justice has been turned upside down.
Since its founding in 1969, the Chicago Council of Lawyers has acted to support the rule of law and to speak truth to power. We invite all lawyers and others involved in the legal profession who want to do more to counter abuses of power, language and law to join us. We will not be timid in the face of these abuses.
— David Schrodt, president, Chicago Council of Lawyers Board of Governors
Arguments unconvincing
As a regular reader of the Tribune’s opinion pages for many years and as a retired college professor of political science and former administrator, I am always interested in what others think and the arguments they muster to support those thoughts. I often find what I read in the paper to be less than forcefully or convincingly expressed, and I must comment on two opinion pieces in the Feb. 13 paper.
In his views on sanctuary cities (“Sanctuary cities pose an unacceptable risk to public safety”), John Fabbricatore clearly states where he stands. However, his presentation of his position falls woefully short of any standard of merit. His piece is full of innuendo and unsupported assertions — OK, the piece is his “opinion” — but simply repeating those claims over and over doesn’t strengthen their persuasiveness. He writes as if he had been assigned to prepare a 250-word essay but had only about 100 words to say. In one of my classes, he probably would have received a D+. He stayed within the scope of the assignment without really providing support for his views; he fell far short of the assigned task.
In the same edition, Willie Wilson falls far shorter (“Democrats and Republicans fight over immigrants while children fall further behind”). Throughout, he accuses Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and others of being inconsistent regarding their position on supporting federal immigration action. He writes that “Illinois leaders are fighting harder to protect them over their own citizens.” By “them,” does he mean all immigrants? Immigrants in the country illegally? Legal immigrants? Asylum seekers? Wilson also needs to refresh his understanding of exactly what those rights are.
Additionally, he tosses in ad hominem references to student reading and math skills, along with a reference to “crime-ridden, underresourced neighborhoods.”
I would return this essay to a student, with instructions to get his argument more coherent on the immigration issue, as he sees it; explain what connection he sees between that issue and the others he introduces; or, perhaps, submit two essays, treating those topics separately, since he clearly has strong opinions about both.
Rather than assign a grade, I would give that student an “incomplete,” with instructions to “revise and resubmit.”
— Charles R. Pastors, Oak Park
Where is the substance?
In his op-ed, John Fabbricatore writes that Boston, Chicago, Denver and New York City “claim they are protecting immigrant communities. However, their policies have far-reaching consequences that hinder federal law enforcement’s ability to combat crime effectively.” This statement in the opening paragraph led me to believe that evidence supporting those points would soon be revealed.
Upon reading Fabbricatore’s credentials, one might conclude that he could have a measured opinion of our country’s handling of the immigration situation. Alas, his involvement with the Heritage Foundation, the organization that produced Project 2025, gave me pause. As I read through the opinion piece, I kept asking myself: What evidence is he offering to show there are far-reaching consequences?
I searched some more while he claimed that “the practical implications of (Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance) paint a troubling picture.” Yet his argument centers on a single incident in Aurora, Colorado, where the City Council passed an ordinance on March 25, 2024, labeling itself a nonsanctuary city.
As Fabbricatore continues with his allegations — including that sanctuary “policies directly affect public safety,” “we cannot afford to allow sanctuary policies to continue disrupting effective law enforcement” and refusal to cooperate with immigration authorities “creates more opportunities for criminal organizations to exploit the system” — I reaffirmed to myself that I am willing to read and talk about reasonable arguments on such policies and practices, but I need to know the justification and evidence that a person might offer for his or her stand.
With this op-ed, as with my discussions with people with these “conservative” viewpoints, I was left with lots of hyperbole and without substance for the writer’s views.
— Patrick Comer, Clarendon Hills
Bring Elon Musk here
Illinois has more than 8,000 units of local government, according to the Civic Federation, the most of any state in the Union. I would love for Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency to show up one day and audit our fine state. What, pray tell, would he find?
It would be like shooting fish in a barrel!
— Mike Rice, Chicago
‘Getting over’ history
We recently observed the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. My fellow octogenarians and I are the last generation to have had immediate family members who were victims of the Holocaust. Every so often, a purported scholar publishes a treatise or article denying what happened to 6 million Jews at the hands of Nazi Germany.
It has become politically fashionable to criticize the remembrance of historic events as being “woke.” The Holocaust museums in Washington and elsewhere are repositories and archives of recorded testimony and other evidence of the truth.
I submit to younger people that “woke” is good. It is being aware and knowledgeable, and everyone needs to be aware of how elected officials and civic leaders throughout the country tell us to get over history.
— Sheldon I. Saitlin, Boca Raton, Florida
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