My former roommate and close friend for 35 years is Salvadoran. His children and grandchildren live in the Midwest. He has a tourist visa to enter the U.S. He spends Christmas with his family here every year. He won’t be visiting this year because people who look like him are being thrown in overcrowded prison cells with inadequate food and sanitation facilities.
Recently in Chicago and nearby, we have seen:
- A teacher with a valid work permit abducted by armed, masked men in front of small children and their parents.
- A U.S. citizen suffering broken ribs after being dragged from his car by federal immigration agents.
- A Chicagoan hospitalized after federal agents put him in a chokehold and then refused to allow his family to see him.
- U.S. citizens dragged outside in their underwear and pajamas, zip-tied and held for hours while Immigration and Customs Enforcement ransacked their homes.
Scenes similar to this are occurring across the country. To be clear, no one should be treated like this, regardless of their status. That it happens to U.S. citizens makes it even more despicable.
Regardless of whether you voted for Donald Trump, regardless of whether you are a Republican or Democrat or independent, we all need to be demanding that our elected officials put a stop to this immediately.
— Steve Shore, Chicago
A sovereign nation
Every nation has sovereignty or it is not a nation. United States immigration law, the control of who is allowed to enter and stay in our country, is an expression of that sovereignty.
Those protesting the enforcement of our laws who think that they are demonstrating their civic virtue by opposing the detention and deportation of those here illegally are attempting to deny our national sovereignty. Do they really think that the United States can continue to be a free and prosperous nation if there is no control over how many of the 8 billion people on this earth can decide to come here? Do the protesters think that our economic resources are unlimited and that we can, or should, support the millions who break the law by entering our country illegally?
Our immigration laws have changed over the decades, and if you think that our current laws are in need of change, you can work to achieve that change legally. But in the meantime, the laws we have must be enforced or we will have abdicated our ability to be a sovereign nation.
Supporting the goal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement is what those who love America do; opposing ICE is a demonstration of disdain for our nation.
— David Howard, Rockford
Decadence reigns
The Donald Trump administration was at the Supreme Court again, this time in an attempt to prevent the full payment of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
As everyday citizens struggle to afford groceries, rent and medical care, it’s disheartening to watch the president and his circle of wealthy donors and sycophants surround themselves with Champagne, gold-plated décor and lavish entertainment while ordinary Americans wait in food lines and at food banks.
History classes taught us about the French Revolution and the infamous saying mistakenly attributed to Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake.” This sentiment captures the same devastating indifference to human suffering. The Mar-a-Lago opulence is insulting, and to the millions of Americans facing hunger, economic uncertainty and skyrocketing insurance premiums, these celebrations send a cruel message — hunger is not their problem, and your plight does not matter. This is a modern-day “Let Them Eat Cake” moment. It’s cruel, but perhaps cruelty is the point.
America deserves empathy, not arrogance and extravagance, and history tells us what happens when our rulers throw extravagant banquets while the people go hungry. As a person of faith, I feel our nation needs to be reminded that caring for the poor is a core principle of faith that involves active compassion, justice and generosity as a reflection of God’s love.
— Mary Therese Fazzini, Peotone, Illinois
ACA and tax cuts
In 2025, two major federal policies collide: The Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits will expire, and so will nearly all of the individual tax cuts passed in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Congress created this moment of reckoning, and 22 million Americans now face losing affordable health coverage if lawmakers fail to act.
The ACA enrollment period runs Nov. 1 to Jan. 15, yet the system cannot function if the tax credits that make coverage affordable suddenly vanish. Removing them isn’t just bad policy — it’s a version of consumer fraud. We are selling the public a health insurance framework that lawmakers know cannot work without the financial support it was designed around.
The consequences extend beyond individuals. If we return to the pre-ACA landscape, hospitals will again absorb massive uncompensated care costs. To stay afloat, they will shift this burden onto insured patients through higher prices, creating a hidden tax that penalizes those who do have coverage. Rural hospitals may close. Emergency rooms will again function as primary care for millions. This spiral harms everyone — patients, providers and taxpayers alike.
But here’s what makes this moment different: Both parties have priorities expiring at the same time. Republicans want to extend the 2017 tax cuts. Democrats want to preserve ACA subsidies. The cost of extending both is significant — yet the cost of letting either expire is far worse in terms of coverage losses, economic disruption and political instability. This is the rare moment when compromise is not only possible but also required.
Congress should stop pretending this is a zero-sum fight. Extend the health care subsidies that 22 million Americans rely on and negotiate tax policy that avoids economic whiplash. Choosing tax cuts for the wealthy while stripping health care from working families — or the reverse — serves no one’s long-term interests.
Both parties need a spine. Republicans must accept that affordable health care is now a core part of American economic life. Democrats must stop sleepwalking through this debate and fight publicly for what is at stake. If Congress is prepared to extend tax policies, then it should also protect the Americans whose health care depends on policies expiring at the same time.
The question every American will ask is simple: What’s in the deal for me? Keep health care affordable, extend tax stability and give families certainty.
Cut a deal that works, take that trip and have a happy Thanksgiving.
— Tim Carew, Chicago
Illinois GOP’s woes
In the Sunday Tribune, the editorial board asks: “What’s the point of Illinois Republicans? We asked them” (Nov. 9). This editorial rightly points out how the deck is stacked against Republicans in Illinois, with the legislative map we’re stuck with. It also rightly points out that if Republicans want to win in Illinois, they need to dump MAGA-aligned candidates, especially if they hope to win in Chicago’s suburbs, where a majority of voters live.
As a lifelong Republican, hearing these things angers me. However, the editorial misses a very important point. Illinois Republicans are suffering from a severe lack of leadership. The current Republican chairman, Kathy Salvi, doesn’t do anything but put out newsletters once a week, it seems. She seems to have no ability to raise money or recruit the types of candidates who have a chance to win. Why haven’t Republicans fielded a candidate for governor who actually has a chance to win statewide, against Gov. JB Pritzker who has a ton of baggage?
We have an open U.S. Senate seat with the retirement of Sen. Dick Durbin. Yet it seems Republicans are conceding that to the Democrats, as they have not fielded a viable candidate who can win statewide. I hear Republican elected officials whining about the Democratic policies we’re living with in Illinois, and yes, they are bad: high taxes, increased regulations and climate policies, just to name a few. It’s long past time to stop whining about the map; we won’t have a chance to fix that until after the 2030 census, assuming we can get into the majority in the legislature and/or take control of the governor’s office.
Illinois Republicans need to elect a chair who is competent and can raise money and recruit the kinds of candidates who can actually win statewide. Until that happens, we will be stuck with Democratic nonsense and not be in a position to do anything about it.
— Ray Campbell, Springfield
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