I am a U.S.-born and -raised Illinois citizen. I am proud of it. I have been to Chicago only a few times and never to Texas. I’m sure Texas citizens are not much different than we are. The young National Guard members from Texas are probably not much different. Why not show them what real Midwestern hospitality is?
For some of the soldiers, being in Illinois will be like being in another country. At least some of these soldiers don’t even want to be here. They are only here because, when they signed up for the guard, they swore an oath and are now following orders. They are no different than our Illinois guard members (our sons and daughters). If our Illinois guard members were told to go to Texas, I would hope that they would follow orders.
We all may not agree on why they are here, but let’s make them feel welcome. Let’s go out of our way to show them what it is like to live here.
Maybe Chicago can get together and deliver 400 doughnuts in the morning and 100 true Chicago-style pizzas for supper (maybe even 200 Chicago-style hot dogs).
Remember that we are all U.S. citizens. Treat these guard members how you would want your sons and daughters to be treated. Smile at them. Maybe shake their hands or give them a hug. Wish them a good morning or a good night. They are probably already missing their loved ones. Make them feel at home.
This has nothing to do with why they were forced to be here. This does not approve of why they are.
Be kind!
— Steve Wankerl, Prophetstown, Illinois
How did we get here?
Mayor Brandon Johnson stated, “Nobody is above the law.” Does this include those who have violated our immigration laws?
It would be good for everyone to take a step back and reflect on how we got to where we are.
— Larry E. Nazimek, Chicago
Mayor’s executive order
Please, someone in City Hall tell the mayor to first consult with the Cook County state’s attorney before he starts making criminal laws.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s executive order banning federal agents from using city-owned land as staging areas for deportations isn’t a law; it’s an executive order. It has no criminal repercussions or civil liabilities for the agents who disregard it.
However, it does put Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling and his officers between City Hall and the federal government — a rock and a hard place.
— Bruce R. Hovanec, Chicago
Bad look for a felon
President Donald Trump says that Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker “belong in jail” for failing to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. This is from a person who was convicted on 34 felony counts.
— Mark Wolfinger, Evanston
Kids are being taken
Our children deserve to be safe and free.
I drove my son to school Wednesday morning. Normally, we walk. We woke up late because the sun hadn’t risen. We need the sun to rise on Chicago.
That morning, I saw a girl I had never seen before getting a ride with a neighbor to school.
I heard my child say he hopes his classmate comes to school because he hasn’t been in class the last few days and they need to work on a project together. I said let’s show some extra support to our friends right now. We don’t know what’s going on in their lives.
This is the crime we are living.
It is natural that our children, at this age, seek independence to walk to school on their own, to go to the park, to do their school work, to hang out and laugh with their friends, to develop into grown human beings with support and love around them.
But right now, we worry our kids will be snatched by masked men in fatigues on their way to school. Children are being disappeared in the “land of the free.”
I’ll say it again: Children are being disappeared. Children are being taken from their families, their homes, their schools.
I want my kid to be free. I want my kid to be safe. I want all of us to be safe and free.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of Chicago. No troops in Chicago. We are not a training ground.
Human rights for all.
Respect our sovereignty. Respect our communities. Respect our children.
— Jeanine Otte, Chicago
The thoughts of elders
We elders at The Breakers at Edgewater Beach have a few things we would like to say and do concerning the present political climate.
We elders have experienced so much more than you can imagine. Just to name a few: the tail end of the Great Depression, the Japanese internment camps, the Vietnam War, the horrors of 9/11 and COVID-19. We’ve seen iceboxes become refrigerators. We were there to welcome television into our living rooms. We’ve seen the old Smith Corona typewriters become computers. We have bought and sold our homes many times over. We have had children and watched them grow into responsible adults. We have experienced the turnover of many United States presidents, both Republican and Democratic.
But we have never, in all of our lifetimes, experienced a president who used his power to defile our U.S. Constitution, our democracy. With the exception of the Japanese internment camps, we have never witnessed a president enact inhuman treatment of immigrants, use his power to engage the full force of the military on U.S. citizens and target what he considers “enemies of the state.”
When I was a kid with my elbows just reaching the tabletop, when there was a presidential election going on, my dad would say to me, “The dirt’s going to start flying.” And you know, I kind of understood that. When there is competition for the highest seat in the land, you are going to do your best to discredit your opponent. But name-calling like “loser,” “Sleepy Joe” and so many other disrespectful labels? That is something we elders have never experienced because we were brought up with values. We were taught to respect those in authority; we were taught to respect doctors, police, teachers and, yes, our elders.
We do not want to leave this earth without making our voices heard.
— Patricia Ushijima, Chicago
Immorality is clear
Forget, for a moment, that Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Chicago raids prove that in pursuit of immigration enforcement, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t actually exist. Both citizens and noncitizens alike found this out last week during ICE’s early morning South Side raid. Put aside the fact that if this can be done to them, it can be done to you and me.
How about we all accept that these actions are just morally wrong? Why do we need to explain policy in selfish terms to motivate ourselves? I am firmly against the idea that we should ignore the moral questions of our country’s decisions, including when morality and national interest seem to be at odds. I do not believe that any desire to rid America of immigrants, documented or otherwise, can overcome the sheer brutality of ICE’s immigration enforcement.
It’s a shame that for many of us, we need to be impacted personally by something before we care enough to act. Yet, I don’t feel ashamed in saying that the moral argument is good enough for me. Even if I supported ICE’s activities or existence, which I very much do not, that would not change the immorality of stripping parents of their children and deporting elderly people who came here as infants. This is morally bankrupt, and I feel that this alone should be reason enough for every American to oppose ICE’s shockingly cruel raids and tactics.
As naïve as this question may be, how could this reason alone not be enough for someone to oppose ICE’s actions?
— Ethan Feingold, Chicago
True insurrectionists
Before President Donald Trump threatens to invoke the Insurrection Act in Chicago and Portland, he should seriously think about the Jan. 6, 2021, violent storming of the U.S. Capitol by a mob that fought and injured about 140 police officers, some of whom later died. This went on for hours while Trump watched on TV and spurned staff and family that pleaded with him to ask the rioters to go home before he finally consented.
What is happening in Chicago and Portland is nowhere near the damage that was done on Jan. 6 that led to charges against more than 1,570 people. Trump later granted clemency to all of them.
Trump should tell us: Who are the insurrectionists again?
— Andrew Kachiroubas, Chicago
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https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/10/letters-101025-national-guard-chicago/