As a retired police officer, I suggest U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis accompany Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino on some of his missions. It’s easy for a judge to write words on a piece of paper, but let her see how it works in real time in the real world. It will be an eye-opener for her.
Imagine also if, while she tried to do her job in the courtroom, protesters screamed at her, sometimes throwing things at her. It just might give her a new perspective from her lofty chair.
— Malcolm Montgomery, Hammond
Patrolling wolf packs
For most of our ancestors who came from Europe, immigration to the United States before 1924 was a virtual open door policy with millions coming here for a better way of life. Most undocumented immigrants here today are just trying to do the same, but of course the rules have changed since before 1924.
Today, federal immigration agents in military fatigues are patrolling the streets of Chicago in wolf packs armed to the teeth with long guns like they are getting ready to storm Fallujah, dragging people out of their cars in front of schools and in quiet neighborhoods and tossing tear gas canisters in front of kids and Chicago police. No one feels safe.
What would be wrong with losing the military uniforms, long guns and tear gas and just enforcing immigration laws the old-fashioned way? Check immigration records and addresses, instead of dropping from helicopters, smashing in doors and detaining everyone, immigrants and U.S. citizens alike, just for a propaganda video.
— Andrew Kachiroubas, Chicago
Blue-on-blue clash
Recent events suggest the Donald Trump administration is pushing the country toward a dangerous “blue-on-blue” scenario — one in which law enforcement is effectively turned against law enforcement. Deploying federal troops and National Guard units into American cities over the objections of local police and elected officials risks pitting one badge against another, and it undermines the very idea of coordinated public safety.
A federal judge recently confirmed these fears when ruling that President Trump’s deployment of federalized troops to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 — the law that prohibits the U.S. military from enforcing domestic law. The court found that these troops engaged in activities such as crowd control and checkpoints — actions explicitly banned under the act. This decision wasn’t just about legality; it was about protecting the line between civilian policing and military power.
Turning police and soldiers into opposing forces doesn’t make America safer. It weakens trust, erodes morale and confuses accountability. Law enforcement officers — whether local, state or federal — serve the same citizens, not competing political agendas. We should never allow partisan interests to turn “blue on blue.”
— Loretta M Di Tocco, Key West, Florida
Beloved community
I lift up the impactful vigil outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview on Friday’s 80th anniversary of the United Nations. As one of the ministers said, we still believe in the power of the “beloved community,” and we celebrated that with a Unitarian Universalist tradition called the flower communion. This ceremony was started and spread by Norbert Capek, minister of the Unitarian Church of Czechoslovakia during the rise of fascism in the 1930s and 1940s to unify and celebrate diverse communities. So applicable to our current struggles.
Now, as then, may we all stay equally committed to making the beloved community ever stronger!
— Mary Dudek, Chicago
Affordable health care
Our country is losing its fundamental vision and values. We need to turn around and become what the world has looked to us to provide: leadership by example and compassion for those in need. This doesn’t mean a handout; rather, access to basic resources that make life meaningful and better.
Families throughout this country are facing severe escalating costs for health care, while we see careless spending for a ballroom requiring a total rebuild of a large section of the White House that will benefit virtually no one in this country. Meanwhile, funding is slashed, and historic advances in preventative measures are being abandoned.
Congress needs to act now to make the Affordable Care Act tax credits permanent. Show us the leadership our Constitution guarantees.
It’s time for Republican leaders to work together and make basic health care affordable and accessible.
— Robbie Anderson, Northbrook
No replacement for ACA
It has been known since President Donald Trump’s first term that it is difficult to replace the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans still have no replacement for the ACA. To terminate it without replacing it leaves a “doughnut hole” for certain income groups, meaning a family makes too much money for Medicaid but not enough to pay for their own health insurance. We are familiar with doughnut holes in drug benefits.
I therefore offer a simple suggestion. Have health insurance benefits be proportional to income, which eliminates the doughnut hole. This is the way health insurance premiums are billed in Germany. About 90% of people use statutory government health insurance. In addition to the premium being dependent on income, in Germany, half the premium is paid by the employer, and there is an income cap, beyond which the premium is not increased. This provision is more justified in Germany since its Gini Index is lower than that in the U.S. Germany has used this system for about 15 years. I say that because the system has been tested by time.
Despite the elegant simplicity of determining health care premiums, Germany has private insurance available, which is used by about 10% of the population. I say that preemptively so that people do not cry about “single payer system” or “no freedom of choice.”
This transition will not be simple to set up, but the premium calculation will be very simple. It seems very fair. Learn from others.
— Dr. Stephen Randag, Elmhurst
Health care funding
I am not a politician. I do not make deals. The Republicans can end the federal government shutdown in a heartbeat. All they have to do is give in to the nonnegotiable demands that I have insisted my senators and congressman make that the Republicans restore the health care funding that was cut in their “big ugly bill.”
— William Porter, Vernon Hills
Looming hunger crisis
The U.S. government has consistently provided food assistance for decades, but now, 42 million Americans are at risk of going hungry due to recent policy changes. Can we come together to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens, including 4.8 million seniors, have access to nutritious food? Additionally, with millions of people potentially losing health coverage due to rising costs, can we work toward a solution that prioritizes the well-being of all Americans?
Are you concerned about the impact of rising food prices and the erosion of our social safety net? Can we unite to protect our democracy and ensure a brighter future for all?
— Scott Paul, Royal, Michigan
Why breaks for wealthy?
Can someone please tell me: If the national deficit is so high, why the in the world would millionaires get a tax break?
— Charlotte Braun, Glenview
Contrast in presidents
Recently, I spent a day at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield. The contrast between our first Republican president and the current Republican president could not be starker.
A T-shirt in the gift shop sums it up succinctly: “I miss Abe.”
— Helen Pachay, Villa Park
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