Votes will determine fate of the republic
The Fourth of July, 1776 to 2026, an amazing accomplishment for our democratic republic. In 1787, after the Constitutional Convention, Elizabeth Willing Powel asked, whether we had a republic or a monarchy. Benjamin Franklin answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
Now, in this 251st year, there is a serious question whether we can keep it. Our nation is under a great threat from within by the Trump administration. Donald Trump has been shown to be the most corrupt president in our history. He is pillaging our country, increasing our national debt to a level we may not be able to pay, selling favors to foreign countries for bribes like a jet, or phony awards, or investments in companies that he and his family own. Our current president, along with SCOTUS and both houses of Congress are shredding our Constitution. They have diluted protections for Americans, have divided us through fear mongering and racism and have stomped on ethics and norms that have held since the beginning our nation. This should be a time of celebration but instead, I feel sadness and anger.
A republic, if we can keep it. This November, we will decide if we want to continue as a democratic republic or mutate into the authoritarian, Christian theocracy that is being promoted by this administration. The November elections will determine the answer to that centuries-old question uttered by Benjamin Franklin. Can we keep our republic? Our votes will determine the answer.
Cyndi Kehoe
Elk Grove Village
Court rulings offer glimmer of hope
American values — — democratic governance, adherence to the rule of law, cooperation among allies, equal opportunity, journalistic freedom, etc. — — have been, for the past 250 years, a model for the rest of the world. The perversions served up by this Supreme Court and the administration stand at the forefront of an assault on those values.
But there is a glimmer of hope in the willingness of this court and other courts to reject the administration’s egregious departures from the moral high ground. Do the birthright citizenship ruling, the tariff rejection, the felony convictions of the president, preservation of funding for the press, etc., represent a chance for us to redeem our experiment in democratic governance?
We face a test. Is our system strong enough to withstand this assault on its fundamental values? Is the public motivated sufficiently to rise peacefully and demand changes? Can “this nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, long endure?”
Del Bloem
Hoffman Estates
Actions tell story of ‘help’ for Blacks
An opinion letter published in the Daily Herald June 29 titled, “Blacks would fare better under Trump” listed many positive actions Trump would have performed if Trump had been the first Black president. The writer stated Barack Obama was a community organizer, while Donald Trump was a high achiever who gets things done. Donald Trump has served as president for over five years during his two terms, but has not done any of the positive actions listed in this letter. Why would Trump have to be Black to attempt to achieve these goals?
Trump and his administration have consistently acted to impede progress for Black Americans. The federal government has cut back on resources to states and cities, including health insurance, food programs, education and law enforcement.
Donald Trump’s actions speak for themselves. He pushed the birther theory five years that Barack Obama was born outside the United States. Trump has vigorously attacked DEI programs of universities and corporations. Trump is demanding the SAVE America Act be confirmed which would restrict voting rights. Trump has called for red states to redistrict, which may eliminate a number of Blacks in Congress. The Department of Defense has forced out some Black officers and withheld promotions that were earned by other Black officers. The Department of Defense also had removed pictures and stories from their website honoring Black Americans. The Trump administration has tried to erase the history of slavery in America. They have removed plaques and statues from National Parks that referenced slavery. Trump also removed free admission to the National Parks on both Juneteenth and the Martin Luther King Holiday. The National Parks also announced that free admission will now be available on June 14, which happens to be Trump’s birthday and also is Flag Day. Actions often speak louder than words.
William Traxler
Bartlett
Fifth-grade memories still bring inspiration
As we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I’m once again remembering my first encounter with the city of Aurora — not the year when I arrived there as an adult, but in the encounters I had through my fifth-grade experiences while reading “Engine Whistles,” the last in the Alice and Jerry reading series written by Aurora native Mabel O’Donnell. Stories about childhood life in a fictional village from pioneer days until the years before World War Two, Alice and Jerry books drew on O’Donnell’s life experiences as a child and young adult in Aurora.
One chapter in “Engine Whistles” describes a Fourth of July weekend. The story is drawn directly from the 1910 celebration that the Aurora Beacon News headlined as “Aurora Home Coming July 2, 3, 4 and 5.” Events highlighted in the news article included a dedication of the new Fox Street bridges, a Zouave drill team exhibition honoring veterans of the Civil War and “aeroplane flights” by pilots demonstrating the newest Wright Fliers.
That 1910 event and its fictional retelling were joyful celebrations, but O’Donnell also wrote of hardships and tragedies such as great fires and floods that destroyed businesses and infrastructure, requiring citizens to overcome disagreements, work together and adapt to change. Something I still remember from fifth grade.
Gil High
Huntley
Move on from birthright citizenship
Since the Constitution is clear about the fact that anyone born in the United States is automatically a citizen, the Supreme Court made the correct decision is affirming that right. That said, I do agree with those who feel that there should be some exceptions. For instance, asylum seekers who have a child born here but then are denied asylum by the courts. Another example would be tourists who come here with the explicit desire to have their child be born in the United States. The problem is that since this right is in the Constitution, it would probably require a Constitutional Amendment which would be difficult during this administration’s term. Perhaps Congress could pass some restrictive laws, but I’m afraid the legislation would be challenged and struck down by the courts. Therefore, it appears that we are stuck with this situation, and Trump should forget about it and move on to other important matters.
Dan Schuchardt
Wheaton
Age change in road tests is not enough
Let’s not be fooled by the Illinois Congress. Changing the age for road testing seniors is not a welcome reprieve. It is in fact an outrage. They refuse to admit the absurdity of this law. We live in a state where facts don’t matter. Here are the facts.
Illinois seniors are the safer drivers. All other age groups have more crashes than seniors. Age discrimination is unlawful. No other state ever road tests seniors, regardless of age. Who decided to change the age of testing to 87? Another fact is the older you are, the fewer the accidents.
Let’s be clear. Testing seniors has nothing to do with our safety on the road. We should be concerned with DUIs, speeding, and distracted driving. All of these main causes of accidents are done by drivers way younger than 87. Not one congressman has explained why they refuse to repeal this unjust law. We need truthful answers.
The only reason the age was changed was because seniors began extensive lobbying and our pressure was successful.
Congress and Giannoulias were overwhelmed by the volume of disgruntled seniors. If enough people contact Giannoulias, Chris Welch (speaker), or congressmen, it will be apparent we are not satisfied with their inability to repeal a law that is unconstitutional. Why are we letting them get away with this? They have to be held accountable. We brought insight into the question of ageism. Ageism cannot be used to target seniors, especially when they are the safer drivers. We must continue the pressure until we join the 49 states that don’t discriminate.
If Congress can’t get this no-brainer right, how can we trust them to represent us on any other issues? Our voices need to be heard loud and clear. We want a full repeal.
Barbara Bodnarchuk
Arlington Heights
Administration is
clueless about needy
“A big yawn” is how President Trump views the unsigned bipartisan affordable housing bill, underscoring his cluelessness, and that of the self-serving billionaires he surrounds himself with, about the financial hardships many in our nation are currently facing.
Secretary of Commerce Lutnick likely never pulls into a gas station to fill his own tank and is clueless as to the pump price and surely has never struggled to pay his utility bills. He isn’t sleepless, wondering how he’ll pay next month’s rent or lamenting the hopelessness of ever owning a home.
Dr. Oz certainly has never turned to healthcare.gov to seek subsidized affordable health insurance, sought Medicaid for a loved one’s care or gone without a needed prescription or treatments because he couldn’t afford the high cost. The $202.90 monthly deduction from retirees’ Social Security payments for Medicare probably seems insignificant to Dr. Oz.
Secretary of Health RFK Jr. likely never shops at a grocery store and is clueless as to the high cost of healthful foods and our need to cut corners to save on groceries; his housekeeper should clue him in. He’s never struggled to feed his children using SNAP benefits.
Secretary of Education McMahon probably sent her children to private schools and is clueless to the needs of children attending public schools. Her stance on student loans shows her disregard for the unaffordability of higher education for many students; the cost of education doesn’t enter the opportunistic minds of billionaires.
Treasury Secretary Bessent apparently has no concern about our skyrocketing national debt and the devastating effect it will have on the futures of our children; the children of billionaires won’t be affected.
Congress needs to hear their constituents’ voices and take action; the billionaires are oblivious to our struggles and don’t care “not even a little bit.”
Jane Cox
Wheaton
Friday’s paper said that the death rate in the U.S. is the lowest ever due to lower overdoses. In January, the murder rate in Chicago went down with no explanation. Can journalists ask or write why? It’s time to call in Captain Obvious.
If you agree with him or not, there was an ICE and federal law presence in Chicago in January. Currently there are several boats filled with fentanyl on the bottom of the Gulf because of Trump’s true war on drugs. If a Biden/Harris/Obama administration did this, there would be parades.
Wait, there are in many localities. Happy Birthday, U.S., and thanks President Trump. I’m waiting for the media to come out and blame him or global warming for the earthquakes next.
Nick DiGiovanni
Naperville
“But it is so clear and so transparent” that it was hardly worth talking about when describing his conflicts of interest, according to a friend of the late Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. As Mr. Trump himself said about his own self-dealing in January, “I found out that nobody cared.”
The president’s surge in personal wealth during the first year of his second term is astonishing, but hardly surprising.
In enriching himself so openly, he has debased not only the office but also the public’s capacity for outrage. That is the danger: predictability breeds numbness and the speed of each new scandal leaves little time for indignation to gather force.
This is not merely bad judgment; it is a governing style built on self-dealing. Launching a crypto venture while helping shape the rules that govern it is one example. Steering public business through no-bid contracts is another.
W.C. Fields quipped that a sucker is born every minute. But this is not comedy. Every dollar gained through crypto schemes, merchandise sales, or insider access is a dollar extracted from someone who believed the game was honest. The question is not when he will stop. It is when we will stop accepting it.
Lawrence F. Buettner
Inverness