I attended the recent Chicago police prayer vigil in the 16th District. I saw a lot of friends. Some are retired, and glad to be. Some are working but can’t wait to leave; they don’t want to be promoted and be responsible for anyone else in the Chicago Police Department’s current environment.
Everyone said, “The job sucks.” Many want to leave Chicago. They blame Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
A police officer is generally a dedicated person who believes in what he or she does to benefit the common good. These officers put their lives on the line for their fellow man. Lightfoot doesn’t understand the police because she has never been an officer. Same with police families and friends. They think they know, but really don’t. Until you have gone into a dark alley at 2 a.m., sometimes alone, looking for a man with a shotgun, you will never understand. And you do it because you raised your hand and swore to protect people.
This is complicated by the fact that Lightfoot is headstrong and never wrong. She reminds me of J. Edgar Hoover. She is a smooth speaker, but the substantial increase in people shot and the horrific number of homicides shows she doesn’t know what she’s doing.
Her personality deficiencies came to a head with the death of Officer Ella French and wounding of French’s partner. Lightfoot was advised not to go upstairs at the hospital, but she did, and it didn’t go well. She stuck up for First Deputy Superintendent Eric Carter, who didn’t want to wait for the playing of bagpipes to traditionally honor French. Huge mistake. People who put their lives on the line have traditions that are all about respect for a fallen comrade.
If the police staffing situation continues to deteriorate in America, in future years, we will see the National Guard assisting with police patrol duties. There will be no other option. It won’t go well.
— Michael C. Flynn, retired Chicago police lieutenant, Chicago
Admiration for Officer French
Chicago newspapers did a wonderful job reporting on Officer Ella French and her family and upbringing. What a beautiful child she was, who grew into a beautiful woman of character and charm. She was a winsome soul willing to join a dangerous profession to help others in a city with myriad problems.
Also to be admired is her mother, Elizabeth, who fostered Ella and then gave her a permanent home when she adopted the little girl as her own. Needless to say, Ella’s mother, her brother, friends, family and fellow officers are heartbroken, as are we all.
Also on Sunday, there was an obituary for a person who passed away at the age of 101. That’s 72 years more on earth than French was allowed. I venture to say that French would not feel cheated at her shortened life, but rather would rejoice that she was loved by so many and that she died in the line of service.
It’s not the count of the years, but how the years counted.
— Kathleen Melia, Niles
Use God-given intelligence
Each of Earth’s creatures has been endowed with traits that give it a survival advantage. Rabbits have superior hearing and good speed to escape predators. Eagles have superior eyesight to hunt for food. Skunks, well, you get the idea.
For humans, our complex brain provides perhaps our greatest survival advantage. Over the course of human history, scientists have developed cures or vaccines for a number of deadly diseases, including smallpox, polio, tetanus and pneumonia. Now, using their complex brains, scientists have given humans yet another chance at survival: the COVID-19 vaccine.
Let’s take advantage of our greatest endowment. Use the scientists’ God-given intelligence and your own to help ensure your survival and the survival of those around you. Get the vaccine.
— Paula Matzek, Mount Prospect
Refund for wasted money
Next April 15, I plan to send this note to the Internal Revenue Service along with my tax return.
“Dear IRS, I have reduced the amount I owe you by $400, my share of the $88 billion in taxpayer money squandered by our representatives in Congress on training Afghanistan’s army and police, including the billions in armaments that President Joe Biden graciously gifted to the Taliban.”
— Les Golden, Oak Park
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