Thank you for your Sunday editorial “The way forward for Chicago and its mayor” and to John Kass for “Rebellion shows Chicago has slipped mayor’s grasp.” Your editorial made great points about the importance of transparency and honoring Freedom of Information Act requests. Kass pointed out how peaceful the recent demonstrations have been and gave credit where credit was due, to the police and protesters. This accomplishment was no small feat given the history of nasty demonstrations and police overreactions that this city has known all too well.
Both pieces, however, missed one important question: Who would become Rahm Emanuel’s successor? Demonstrators have demanded his resignation. One lawmaker has asked for recall legislation. Kass stated that Emanuel would not have been elected mayor last spring had the Laquan McDonald video been released prior to that election. Does he honestly think that any of the other candidates who ran would have behaved any differently or more successfully?
Recall elections (as they are conducted in other states) often have alternative candidates listed. Toni Preckwinkle’s name has been mentioned, but she said that she wants to complete her work as president of the Cook County Board. Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has been mentioned, but she has a teacher contract to complete, and her health status in unknown.
There have been hundreds of articles, editorials and pieces written criticizing the mayor over the last few weeks. I do not recall any of these authors putting forth a viable alternative. Maybe we need an all-night City Council meeting where one or more aldermen stand on their desks and shout a few names. That worked out so well last time.
— Jan Goldberg, Riverside
