Power of prayer is what we need right now
In all my years (I was born in 1934), I have never witnessed such as we are currently experiencing.
While we find ourselves bored silly, we do have another option: the power of prayer. If one prayer is effective, imagine how powerful millions would be.
If every person who believes in a supreme being would pray for an end to this pandemic, I believe it would help stop this horrible virus more quickly. Yes, I’ve been praying, and I think all believers should band together, thank God for his many blessings and ask for His help.
In the meantime, we should keep our social distancing to help God with our quest.
What would be even better is if Gov. Pritzker and President Trump would call for a day of prayer. I can’t imagine how powerful all those prayers would be!
Bruce Derylo, Naperville
Pandemic support appreciated, Naperville firefighters say
From the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Naperville Professional Firefighters Local 4302 have been on the frontlines. We have stood up and responded to new and challenging situations while still responding to calls for heart attacks, strokes, structure fires and all our other day-to-day service requests from the citizens we have sworn to protect.
Members of Naperville Professional Firefighters are being exposed daily to this deadly virus. Statewide, over 250 professional firefighters have been impacted, with more than 80 contracting COVID-19.
However, our dedication does not waiver. When you call 911, no matter the situation, you can be assured Naperville Professional Firefighters will be there to answer and provide the world-class service residents have come to expect.
We would like to applaud Gov. Pritzker for his direction and leadership, and for enacting the emergency rule that gives first responders and other essential workers coverage under the Workers’ Compensation program if they contract COVID-19.
Knowing we are protected while we charge into action against this deadly virus ensures that we can continue to put the public’s health and safety first and foremost.
Tom Kriss, President of Naperville Professional Firefighters Local 4302
Ives’ support for Trump in pandemic ignores facts
Jeanne Ives, Republican candidate for the 6th District U.S. House seat, claims President Trump has performed perfectly in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, except for his tardy start.
Suppose Ives’ house caught on fire and the following events occur: She calls the fire department. They listen but don’t come. She calls again and again. After her fourth frantic call, they jump in their trucks, rush to the fire and extinguish it. Because of the delayed response, half of the house is destroyed.
I suspect Ives wouldn’t think the firefighters performed perfectly, except for their tardy start.
The same situation exists with the COVID-19 pandemic. It raged across the country for three weeks before Trump responded.
As reported in the April 16 edition of the Financial Times, “Epidemiologists say that if the U.S. shutdown had taken place two weeks earlier, 90% of the deaths would have been prevented. More than 30,000 Americans have now died, according to the official tally.”
So, if Trump had acted when he first was urgently and clearly warned of the deadly threat, about 27,000 Americans would still be alive and with their loved ones.
When Ives praises Trump’s performance, she’s either lying, ignorant of readily available facts or thinks 27,000 unnecessary deaths are OK. She is someone whom no citizen should want to represent them in any matter, large or small.
Darold T. Barnum, Oak Park
Time to switch to a vote-by-mail election system
After watching the April 7 election debacle in Wisconsin, when citizens were forced to participate in a statewide election despite a raging pandemic, I can’t see any reason for not having vote-by-mail ballots made readily available for every voter who wants one.
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden have introduced a bill to ensure people won’t have to choose between their health and voting in the November election. The Illinois State Legislature should also work to expand vote-by-mail options for the November election.
Vote-by-Mail (VBM) is an attractive alternative for both parties, according to Gerry Langeler, director of communication and research for the nonprofit group Vote At Home.
Conservatives tend to gravitate toward the system’s cost savings, which are appreciable, Langeler says. A 2016 study from the Pew Charitable Trusts found that three years after Colorado went fully VBM, its election administration costs dropped by 40%.
Progressives generally like how it boosts turnout. In fact, for the 2018 midterm elections, the turnout for full VBM states was 10% higher than the rest of the nation. And the four states found by the Cost of Voting Index to be the easiest in which to vote, all are either primarily or exclusively VBM.
Now is the time to prepare, rather than waiting to see what happens over the summer. We need to be ready in November.
Rosemary Beutell, Wheaton
Pandemic’s toll on minorities can be linked to air pollution
The COVID-19 pandemic has lain bare the often ignored fact that racial and ethnic minorities suffer from a greater burden of many diseases.
While multiple factors contribute to these disparities, excess exposure to environmental pollution is a clear contributor, and COVID-19 has underscored this fact. Higher levels of toxic air pollution in minority communities coupled with evidence that air pollution increases coronavirus susceptibility may partially explain the greater rates of COVID-19-related deaths among African Americans.
The health disparities amplified by the pandemic are a warning about future health threats. Climate change is bringing a crescendo of them, including heat-related illness, infectious diseases and many others.
Communities exposed to higher levels of pollution are exquisitely sensitive to the health threats posed by climate change. As such, we must take lessons from the current pandemic to address the threat of environmental pollution on vulnerable communities.
Many affluent Chicago suburbs are “environmental oppressor communities” that disproportionately generate greenhouse gases and amplify regional vulnerability to climate change. These suburbs have ownership stakes in coal-fired power plants, essentially directly linking their financial interests to environmental harm.
The most egregious examples are those communities served by the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency, including Naperville, St. Charles and Winnetka, which receive nearly 90% of their electricity from coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel that poisons our air and water while driving global temperature rise.
Chicago’s suburbs must do better for ourselves and our neighbors.
Indeed, the unjust burden of the coronavirus on vulnerable communities and the immense costs paid to fight the virus mandate we emerge from this pandemic into a new world that prioritizes health equity and prevents the next wave of global scourges brought on by climate change.
Robert M. Sargis, Naperville
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine/Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, University of Illinois at Chicago
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