Over the last year and a half, we have seen disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of the pandemic. The complex challenges that Chicago’s Austin community were already facing have only worsened. Residents are still struggling to get their kids connected to online learning, to find sustained employment and to pay rent. As the city’s largest geographic community, Austin was one of the areas hardest hit by COVID-19.
With the remaining mass vaccination sites in Chicago shut down, a hyperlocal vaccination strategy is imperative in getting people vaccinated and distributing accurate information about vaccine safety. Throughout the pandemic, Austin Coming Together, which supports social services in the community, has worked with its members and dozens of partners to build awareness and access to vaccination for Austin residents. This is the strategy we need now.
Memories of unethical medical practices and experimentation, such as the 1930s Tuskegee study, run deep in Black America’s consciousness, but I believe trusted community partners are best-positioned to address vaccine hesitancy.
Those in need of a COVID-19 vaccine or information can visit AustinComingTogether.org or call 773-417-8608 to get connected to the many resources our partners offer.
— Darnell Shields, executive director, Austin Coming Together, Chicago
Emanuel as ambassador? No.
I have been a strong supporter of President Joe Biden, but I am shocked that he wants to appoint Rahm Emanuel as ambassador to Japan.
When Emanuel was mayor of Chicago, he closed 49 schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods because they had small class sizes. Small class sizes are exactly what these students need, along with the best teachers we can find.
Emanuel also abused tax increment financing funds to help companies build expensive buildings in downtown Chicago.
It is clear he would not have won another term as mayor. Do we really want this man to represent us in Japan?
— Bernard Noven, Chicago
America, the land of infighting
It has become apparent that our country is more divided than it has ever been in my lifetime. No matter what happens, people from one side don’t like something just because it came from the other side.
Democrats won’t recognize the good things Republican do or propose, and Republicans criticize Democrats for screwing up, and vice versa. What is going on in Afghanistan is beyond horrible. Many Republicans are criticizing how Democrats are handling it, but there is no guarantee that they could do any better.
Instead of playing the blame game, why can’t both sides work together to figure out if anything can be done better? This country has become a “we versus them” country. Isn’t it about time it became an “us” country?
— Hymie Brandelstein, Chicago
Biden’s shunning of dissent
After President John F. Kennedy’s ill-conceived 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, analysts ascribed the disaster to groupthink, in which dissent is not tolerated and dissenters are socially as well as functionally ostracized.
This apparently occurred during President Joe Biden’s planning to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Reports indicate that military officials who took issue with his analysis were dismissed. The results are again disastrous, indicating that our highest elected officials sadly do not learn from history.
— Leslie M. Golden, Oak Park
Ignoring history is dangerous
Never in my wildest imagination could I ever believe that the U.S. fiasco in Saigon would be repeated. We need an amendment to the Constitution to make every elected official take at least two courses in American history. Even more important with Yom Kippur around the corner. I shudder to think that what happened in Nazi Germany could also be repeated with our politicians ignoring the lessons of history.
— Bruce Golden, Chicago
This Cubs fan is fully fed up
It seems the Cubs like being in the cellar. This season we have watched high school baseball players pretend to be professionals.
After years of cheering the Cubs, I’m walking. Go White Sox.
— Barbara Puscas, Aurora
Cubs fame — or infamy?
Ironic coincidence or part of the Ricketts family’s plan? The Cubs’ record 13-game home losing streak coincides with the opening of the Cubs’ own Hall of Fame.
— Earl Fischer, Joliet
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