Editorial: Give gun violence proposals a careful look
Violence, especially gun violence, is out of hand in Cook County, so any ideas to bring it under control deserve careful consideration. A package of proposals by Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey fits that category. We like what he’s suggesting, but we know there will …
Editorial: Intriguing way to put more cops on the street
Among the reasons we endorsed Rahm Emanuel for mayor was that we agreed with the importance he placed on building up and protecting Chicago’s downtown core, the city’s financial engine. We recognized — and Emanuel recognized — the importance of prizing and providing services to …
Editorial: Extreme all the way
The latest Republican outrage over abortion is not only about rape and what God wants or doesn’t want. It is not only about a woman’s right to choose. Nor is it solely about what might offend the elusive “female voter.” The latest flap about abortion …
Editorial: Amendment on ballot is not true pension reform
If an Illinois school district wants to give its teachers 4 percent annual raises, that’s their choice. As long as the district pays for the raises and, as importantly, the heavy pension costs that go along with them. But under a proposed state constitutional amendment …
Editorial: Vote to cut electricity bills
In some Chicago suburbs, electricity rates have dropped as much as 40 percent thanks to a process called “electricity aggregation,” which allows communities to negotiate for lower electricity bills. On. Nov. 6, voters in Chicago and about 60 other Illinois municipalities will have a chance …
Editorial: Gov. Mitt Romney’s ‘me too’ night
For more than a year, Gov. Mitt Romney’s foreign policy sales pitch has been to promise he’d be a strong leader on the world stage, very much unlike that rather passive other fellow, President Barack Obama, who consistently “leads from behind.” At Monday’s presidential debate …
Editorial: SuperPACs give few donors much power
We’re yearning for the good old days of campaign finance. Yes, you read that right. SuperPACs have so up-ended the world of political donations and spending, granting a small number of donors outsized influence, we are looking back misty-eyed at yesteryear’s half-broken system. Exhibit A …
Editorial: Boy Scouts’ apology falls short
It’s a story we’ve seen too often. A venerable institution — the Catholic Church, Penn State University — turns a blind eye to child abuse to protect the institution’s image. This week, the release of 1,200 old files focused attention on the Boy Scouts. The …
Editorial: Illinois owes much to Ryan whistleblower Sonneveld
‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” So said Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman, and how true it is today. If only good men had done more, we would not be writing today about the failures of …
Editorial: Budget readies county for coming storm
We’re in line to pay $1 more per cigarette pack in Cook County taxes next year, making Chicago’s total cigarette tax bite the biggest in the country outside of New York. We may have to pay $25 more in taxes for a gun and an …
Editorial: Case study in truthiness: Romney on gas prices
‘When the president took office, the price of gasoline here in Nassau County was about $1.86 a gallon,” Mitt Romney said in Tuesday’s presidential debate. “Now, it’s $4 a gallon.” Of all the misleading factoids tossed around by both candidates, that one took the cake. …
Editorial: Tortured justice
When former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge was sent off to prison, that didn’t exactly close the case on police torture in Chicago. About 100 men say they are languishing in prison as a result of statements extracted through torture by Burge and his Midnight …
Editorial: Obama bounces back with substance, style
Tuesday’s debate was President Barack Obama’s to win. Or lose. After a performance in the first debate that was universally panned, there were just two possible outcomes for Obama on Tuesday: further damage to his campaign or the beginning of a recovery. Tuesday was a …
Editorial: Fewer see immigrants as a threat to U.S.
It turns out immigrants to the U.S. aren’t so bad after all. After a nearly two-decade stretch when the majority of Americans considered a large influx of immigrants and refugees a “critical threat” to the United States, just 40 percent of Americans now view them …