There’s a difference
Good article by Lee Hunt asking, “why complaints about deportations now?” I appreciate his facts regarding deportations during past administrations. I suspect the Trump and Bush administrations had similar numbers.
Hunt describes an effective program in place to remove undocumented immigrants under previous administrations.
The complaint is that prior administrations did not use masked, military outfitted agents who refuse to identify themselves, tear gas and shoot people with pepper bullets, often throwing them to the ground. I don’t recall helicopters and soldiers rappelling onto apartments in the middle of the night. No freaking-out entire communities, and no orchestrated photo ops with Kristi Noem, Greg Bovino and Tom Homan. I bet few U.S. citizens were detained or deported. And all this for an additional $100 billion in the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
It seems like the Trump administration is putting on a show to terrorize a certain part of the population.
Bob Tauchman
Palatine
As families across Illinois celebrate the holidays, thousands of professional firefighters and paramedics are spending their days and nights protecting our communities — often missing their own celebrations to respond when lives are on the line. While most people are gathered around their tables, firefighters are rescuing victims from fires, responding to heart attacks and helping neighbors through some of their worst moments.
But today, Illinois fire departments are struggling to fill open positions. Chiefs report fewer qualified applicants than ever before, and too many promising recruits are leaving the profession early. The reason is clear: our state’s Tier 2 retirement system is unfair, unsustainable and driving people away.
Tier 2 firefighters pay the same amount into their pensions as their more senior colleagues, yet receive significantly reduced benefits — including a higher retirement age, lower cost-of-living adjustments and a pensionable salary cap that cuts into their future financial security. They do not qualify for Social Security, and they must pay full cost for retiree health insurance, often totaling more than $1,300 a month.
These diminished benefits make it harder to recruit and retain firefighters, which threatens service levels and response times statewide. Public safety depends on strong staffing — and strong staffing depends on a retirement system that doesn’t penalize those who commit their careers to saving others.
Legislators have a solution in front of them: Senate Bill 1937, which would strengthen Tier 2 pensions and ensure Illinois continues to attract and keep the highly trained professionals our communities rely on. The bill is ready for action in the upcoming session.
As we look toward a new year, lawmakers can give Illinois families a meaningful gift: a fire service that remains strong, fully staffed, and ready to answer every call for help.
Pass SB 1937. Fix Tier 2. Protect our communities.
Chuck Sullivan, President
Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois