In his column “Owning the moment” (July 28), Paul Sullivan argues that the White Sox absolutely must trade for a frontline starting pitcher before the trade deadline. He seems to think that this will give the Sox a chance to get to the World Series this year. In his own words: “If [Jerry] Reinsdorf still believes he has ‘an obligation to do what’s right for the fans,’ he has no choice but to add a frontline starter, no matter the cost.”
What Sullivan is advocating is that the White Sox trade away a large portion of their young talent to get a top-notch starting pitcher, even if he’s a two-month rental player, to be competitive this year. This is the same tired strategy practiced by General Manager Kenny Williams, and by Bill Veeck in earlier days. For example, in 2016 Williams thought that the Sox were one starting pitcher away from contention, so he traded Fernando Tatís Jr. and a minor leaguer to the San Diego Padres for James Shields. How did that deal work out? Fine for the Padres. Tatís hit the cover off the ball, while Shields gave many a hitter the opportunity to do the same.
In advocating his position, Sullivan seems to think that he speaks for nearly all White Sox fans. Well, I have been a White Sox fan since 1959 and he does not speak for me. It is my hope that the White Sox do nothing before the trade deadline. Reinsdorf should hang on to all that young talent and let the team evolve into a contender as these players mature, making trades or acquiring free agents when it makes sense, but not now. I believe that most White Sox fans, if they thought about it, would want their team to be competitive for many years to come, not just 2026. It’s not going to happen if they go all in and trade away their young talent for a dubious short-term gain.
— Dennis Sweeney, Chicago
Student athletes
I never thought I’d say this, but I completely agree with Sen. Ted Cruz on something. The Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s position on cleaning up big-time college athletics with the Protect College Sports Act. NCAA member schools have gone from one extreme of taking advantage of student athletes, to making major college sports professional — at the expense of the university sports that are non-revenue generating. There has to be a way to compensate student athletes (though nothing will ever stop the booster’s $100 handshakes) with a system where the term student-athlete is at the very least not a punchline.
— Gary Hynes, Wilmette
Phone ban
What is the purpose of Illinois’ school phone ban when the text prohibits virtually all enforcement? According to the Tribune, the “law prohibits fines, fees, the involvement of local police or school resource officers, and suspensions or expulsions as enforcement tools,” (“Pritzker signs cellphone ban for public, charter schools,” July 29). The students who are perhaps most likely to disregard laws or school rules will quickly realize there will be no serious disciplinary actions taken when they use their phone during school hours. Why waste thousands, possibly millions of tax dollars statewide to purchase additional supplies, and countless hours of administrative time to develop policies that can’t be enforced?
— Joshua Poellot, Franklin Park
Cost of a card
Jean Smoots rightly complains (“Voice of the People“, July 29) about the cost of mailing a birthday card. But do you remember, as I do, when the card itself cost a quarter rather than the current $5 or $6?
— Rick Weiland, Evanston
Price increases
President Donald Trump, with the support of his elected Republican officials, has given us substantial price increases during his second term. For example, verifiable sources report:
• Annual household cost: Aggregated price increases and tariff policies cost the average American household an estimated $1,000 to $2,000 extra annually
• Tariff inflation: Aggressive import tariffs — averaging an effective rate of about 11% to 12% by mid-2026
• Coffee: Up nearly 35% since the start of 2025
• Orange juice: Up 26%
• Ground Beef: Up 21% to 22%, hitting record highs over $7 per pound
• Gasoline: Prices surged above $4.00 a gallon by early 2026 due to renewed geopolitical tensions with Iran.
• Vehicles: Tariff costs added anywhere from $1,600 to $9,000 to the price of new cars, pushing the average new vehicle price past $50,000 for the first time.
• Apparel and furnishings: Clothing prices rose by 14% and household furnishings increased by 8% relative to pre-tariff trends.
I’m going to remember this when I vote in November.
— Mike Barrett, Ashburn, Virginia
Give space
I’ve read the recent letters to the editor with interest — I too mourn the loss of those two young lives — Riley O’Neil and Louisa Gag, both devoted to bettering our communities by designing pathways that separate our bike and pedestrian traffic from our cars and trucks. I too am a civil engineer, and an avid cyclist and am too familiar with losing people.
To many people, especially here in America, making people safer means making cars larger or placing cement barriers and walls between different modes of traffic. I certainly love that the letters advocate for the planning and spending and construction of new facilities to help to separate these modes of traffic and help make people safer. The work certainly safeguards those in my profession. But age and experience have made me much more reflective on the topic, as well as a great book on the topic called “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do and What It Says About Us” by Tom Vanderbilt. My miles of bicycle riding have made me acutely aware that the more we cocoon ourselves and tie ourselves to our screens, the less attention we pay to things that really matter, the more impatient we become, and the worse we make the problem. Truth be told, even if the powers-that-be were to devote all available funding and energies to constructing these solutions, the time it would take to complete and the mess during construction would all but ensure more casualties. While we wait for all of that to happen, I am asking that all those who are within the public way memorize these four words that will help us avoid more tragedy — have grace, give space.
You see, all of these accidents could have been avoided had people given others just a bit more room. I have been run off the road by people driving too closely or by trucks not knowing how far their mirrors extended; or by cars trying to pass me in a clearly marked no passing lane. I still enthusiastically encourage taking the steps to make structural changes to improve safety, but while we wait for these improvements to be designed and funded and constructed, I implore people to slow down and “have grace, give space”, because a 25-pound bike will never win a fight against a 5,000-pound SUV. And those are fights where everyone loses.
— Robert Israel, Trustee, Village of Northbrook, Illinois
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
