Justice demands reform

This has been a month like no other. The recent protests have laid bare the depths of the frustration, anger and despair of people who are suffering so much because of the color of their skin. We cannot go back to normal after this. We must do better.

Our police forces must be restructured to truly serve and protect their communities. We need to recruit people from various areas of society, not only from the military. We must include people trained to help solve problems in a productive way, not by hauling people off to jail. We must reform our justice system so that young black men don't waste their lives rotating in and out of prisons instead of getting a decent education so they can get decent job.

It means investing in education for all of our children. It means investing in our communities in a big way. We need to reform our health care system so that every person in our country can get medical care without having to worry about how to pay for it. There is so much that needs to be done. We've delayed far too long already.

Above all, we need leaders who care about serving the public. Say "no more" to such as Trump and McConnell and others who care nothing for the country, only their own pocketbooks. Vote this November for candidates who have the knowledge, expertise and will to pursue the many reforms we need. We've been a great country but we are deeply flawed. Let's fix this.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said something important this week: "The opposite of violence is not security. The opposite of violence is justice." Please, let us vote for justice this November.

Barbara Lipkin

Naperville