Suburban pols forget our connectivity

We in DuPage County owe much to the city of Chicago and should act with reasonable understanding of the difficulties which it faces.

Thousands of us pack the commuter trains and thousands more the roads to travel to our jobs in the city center. We have the high paying jobs of industry, finance and legal firms. We bring our substantial earnings to the suburbs with nary a twinge of conscience that our favored life style in the suburbs is substantially built upon the central city. Tens of thousands of suburbanites root for the Cubbies and the White Sox, the Bulls and the Bears, see world class museums and concerts.

Yet there seems to be a suburb political class which curses Chicago for its existence. I think that the curse originates from a conservative desire to hate government. But unable to hate DuPage governments without losing their election chances, it becomes safe for the suburban politicians to damn a government across the county border.

These suburban politicians and their followers have lost sight that the northeast corner of Illinois is one tightly connected metropolitan area which depends on all the parts to function well. The fortunate suburbs depend on the well connected city for the income which flows into the metropolitan area. The city depends on the well-educated suburbanites for a workforce that makes commerce run well. Entertainment overlaps with commerce throughout the metro area. We are all connected for better or for worse. It is time for us to work together and stop the condemnation of the other.

Tom Teune

Wheaton