After reading James McGowan’s letter about CTA management following the Yellow Line derailment (“CTA management failed riders,” May 2), I felt compelled to write. As a longtime rider I, too, am perplexed by regular displays of poor customer service by CTA employees.
The situation that finally made me throw up my hands in disgust? On May, I arrived at the Belmont station on the northbound Red Line at approximately 7:50 p.m. Sitting at the station was a Kimball-bound Brown Line train that, instead of waiting for the Red Line train to let its passengers off, proceeded to head north. What was the rush? According to the monitors at the station, the next Brown Line train wasn’t due for 11 minutes!
Was it too much to expect the Brown Line train to wait 10 to 15 additional seconds to allow Red Line passengers the chance to make a connection? This isn’t the only time this has happened to me (and I suspect other riders).
Here’s an idea to improve customer service that would, as far as I can tell, cost the CTA nothing: If another train pulls into the station, wait so that riders have the opportunity to transfer and get to their destination sooner. I bet it would mean the world to customers like me after a long day at work.
Now, just to show I’m not someone who only gripes about the CTA, let me accentuate the positive. I don’t know who she is or where she was moved to, but the CTA once had a station agent at the Harrison Red Line weekday mornings who displayed the most wonderful customer service skills. Not only did I routinely see her outside her booth helping individuals navigate the system, but also, I went to her with numerous concerns, all of which she would address. She even let me know the outcome the next day.
Shame on me for never getting her name, considering we exchanged “hellos” every morning and she even inquired how I was doing after seeing me walking with a cane following an injury.
C’mon, CTA. It’s clear you and your employees have the capability to perform better than you did the evening of May 1. Start by going after the low-hanging fruit that will improve the transit experience for your customers at no additional cost.
I don’t think this is too much to ask from an agency that impacts the day-to-day lives of so many residents.
— Craig Juszak, Chicago
Democrats obsessed with abortion
Once again, the Tribune has a large article about Gov. JB Pritzker and his obsession with abortion (“Amendment for abortion rights still not a reality,” May 3). The article is centered around the idea of adding an amendment to the state constitution that would make abortion access a constitutional right. It also notes women from surrounding states coming here for abortions.
From from 2020 to 2024, there was a yearly average of about 63,000 abortions in Illinois.
I have some questions. Has the Catholic Church left Illinois? Cardinal Blase Cupich led the invocation at the Democratic National Convention. Did he mention anything about abortion? Can the Tribune publish articles explaining how to prevent unwanted pregnancies? Does the state of Illinois have any programs or funds set aside for preventive education to avoid pregnancy? Do we as citizens of Illinois really want to be known as the abortion capital of the United States?
We need to get out the vote to get the governor and his majority out of office. We need to return Illinois to a commonsense state.
— Larry Geraghty, Tinley Park
Traffic management blunders
Andrew Chrismer’s op-ed (“What the traffic mess near the site of Chicago’s future casino says about the city’s process,” May 3) on lack of planning leading to traffic snarls near the new casino development struck a chord.
It brought to mind a question I’d asked my wife when we were stuck in horrendous traffic heading downtown on the Kennedy Expressway on a recent Saturday afternoon. As always on Saturday afternoons, the express lanes going into the city were closed just as we and thousands of other suburbanites were heading downtown to take advantage of the city’s restaurants and theater.
Who are the people making decisions that affect traffic flow, and have they ever tried driving into the city from the North Shore on a Saturday afternoon and asked why the express lanes aren’t open for inbound traffic?
Perhaps there’s a reason, or perhaps, as Chrismer concluded, no one is putting their heads together to see how things really could work better.
— Daniel Rosenberg, Highland Park
The voice of Chicago Flips Red
Chicago Flips Red is a pro-Donald Trump group led by African American women whose members show up, stand in line and speak during the allotted time at public meetings. Because of that, Democrats — not used to any counter voices in Chicago — don’t like the group.
Even the Chicago Teachers Union has complained that the group is too loud and intimidating.
How rich is that? The CTU complaining that a group is too loud and aggressive is like a pit bull complaining about other dogs’ behavior.
I applaud Chicago Flips for providing an actual counter voice in Chicago.
— Malcolm Montgomery, Hammond
Clouding up room with noise
I once attended a Metropolitan Water Reclamation District board meeting, which was also attended by members of the Chicago Flips Red group. After hearing some of them speak, I was extremely disappointed in the fact that through their gruff tactics, obnoxious rhetoric and false narratives, no one in the room even remotely gave them more than a rolling of the eyes and a remorseful head shake.
These reactions come from those who actually wish to hold their elected officials accountable by speaking to them in person and letting them know that behind each vote is a taxpaying citizen. Having to fight and co-exist with those hell-bent on spewing lies and attention-grabbing hyperbole only clouds up the room, ruins the mood and takes away minutes from those who have been tackling real problems that truly need their government’s help.
And while there are many in this city, county and state who are tired of living under the heavy tax burden and corruption of Democratic-majority rule, few will trade the safety and security of decency and commonsense governing that needs reform, for the chaos, lies and dysfunction currently engulfing the Republican Party and our federal government.
— Ephraim Lee, Police District councilor, Chicago
Vallas’ AI op-ed a terrible take
Paul Vallas’ opinion piece on the value of artificial intelligence in education is a terrible take in a sea of terrible takes from him (“How AI can bring the DNA of success to every classroom,” May 7) How out of touch can you be? He has clearly not been near a classroom in decades, and I’m willing to bet that he is on boards that push for-profit education and education tech.
AI is pushing groups of students and adults into being noncritical thinkers and the wholesale buying of anything tech provides. Writing, thinking and creativity are suffering under the weight of AI incorporation, and buying more AI education tech as well as paying for more administration is killing education.
I cannot fathom why the Tribune opinion team keeps giving him a platform over and over again.
— Lara Taylor, LaGrange
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