When I popped open my home delivered copy of the Chicago Tribune on June 14, I was surprised to see what the Tribune considered the top story of the day which was printed on the front page. It was a story about U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and how he is now being recognized as the senior Republican politician in Illinois. I was not so surprised that Senator Kirk was bestowed this recognition, but that the Tribune would do this story above the fold on the front page, a space usually reserved for the most important happening of the day, events that effect peoples lives or inform us of some major discovery.
The U.S. economy is still trying to recover from a major recession and millions of Americans are out of work. Creating jobs is the most important task of both the public and private sectors. The federal government is coming close to the time when it may default on its debt because certain politicians are holding the debt hostage until trillions in federal spending cuts are made. No cuts, no debt increase, and the federal government may shut down. Debate is raging on whether to change Medicare as we know it by giving seniors vouchers to go into the open health insurance market to try and purchase their own insurance. Medicaid, as we know it, is under attack. Seniors and the poor are, in effect, asked to give up more money so that the state and federal governments can give more tax cuts to the very wealthy. Labor unions are under siege by state governments who want to shed them of the right of collective bargaining. And on and on. But, the Chicago Tribune feels the need to put a story about the rise of Mark Kirk on the front page and how other Republican politicians agree with that premise. The Chicago Tribune can do better than that. It’s only a matter of priorities.
— Don Packard, Highland Park
