The gathering place for public debate

Each week, hundreds of you send us your views on property taxes, social policy, school bus routes and health care reform. You write about the Bears, race relations and the weather. Some comments are funny. Some are serious. Every one is full of passion, representing the writer's core values.

Many are published as letters to the editor, which often land in our top five most read stories on the Web.

Hundreds more opinions arrive in the form of comments attached to stories on the Web. In fact, some of the most vigorous debate is exchanged in response to letters from readers.

You have plenty to say, and the newspaper gives you the platform to exchange ideas. Thoughtful, informed opinions fill the real and virtual pages of the Daily Herald.

This has been one of a newspaper's primary roles since the Colonial period, when letters mostly carried accounts of battles and events.

Today, letters and online comments are more opinion, giving everyone the power of the pen to help shape the debate.

If you don't like what's happening in your village hall or in the school board meeting room, this is a forum to share your views. If you don't like what we're doing, you can critique our work.

The Internet, decried as the cause of death for some newspapers, offers new platforms such as blogs and social networking sites such as Facebook. These are powerful tools for any group or individual that wants to spread a message.

Yet, newspapers remain one of the most lively and accessible points for public debate.

Just look at the response to our coverage of Schaumburg's first-ever property tax, tree-trimming along the Illinois Prairie Path in DuPage County and the ongoing issues related to red-light cameras. Look at the letters that have poured in on national issues such as the health care bill, immigration and the bank bailouts.

Many present informed, original arguments. Others drop humorous observations, like Statler and Waldorf in the balcony next to the Muppets Show stage. But every one represents someone's deep convictions and adds to the public debate.

You are talking to us, to each other and, many times, to your elected officials.

The role of facilitator in this conversation is one we treasure.

You'll often find replies to editorials and letters from elected officials in the pages of the Daily Herald and other newspapers.

When our editorial board questioned U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's support for high speed rail, he wrote to express his side of the story.

When a reader criticized U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam for failing to respond to constituents, his spokesman replied in our Fence Post.

When President Obama resigned his U.S. Senate seat to become president, he spoke to you via a letter to the editor.

Playwright Arthur Miller said, "A good newspaper is a nation talking to itself."

Part of that conversation must include you and your opinions. We appreciate your participation.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=347088">The gathering place for public debate <span class="date">[12/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=346869">The hard copies of life's memories <span class="date">[12/28/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=346782">The press in the age of the Internet <span class="date">[12/27/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>