Mayor Lori Lightfoot has given the City Council a proposed budget for 2023. There are several important city services that need to be improved via this budget.
Chicago’s libraries remain an embarrassment, with some branches closed more than they are open. This problem extends over all of the city. Public computers are prone to fail. A huge asset is wasting away.
It is taking over a year for street signs to be installed. I’ve reported missing signs from Edison Park to Hegewisch and everywhere in between. They just take too long to be put up.
Too many streets remain in horrible condition. This despite paying huge fuel and wheel taxes. This situation is really bad for bicyclists.
Snow removal is fine, if you live on a main drag. But why has Chicago still not learned how to plow side streets faster, as the suburbs do?
What will be done to synchronize more traffic signals in all 50 wards? This will improve safety and reduce air pollution.And most of all, we need more police.
We need help for Chicagoans all over the city.
Steven J. Bahnsen, Near South Side
Take a doctor’s advice: Get your flu, COVID shots
As a primary care physician, one of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic I’ve noticed over the last couple of years was milder than usual influenza seasons. The benefits of people wearing masks, social distancing and staying home resulted in my seeing fewer cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the flu among my patients.
Now that people are out and about, there are more opportunities for the virus to circulate and experts are expecting a much more active flu season this year.
The doctors of Illinois are urging you to get your flu shot this month. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s important to get vaccinated by the end of October to ensure that you’ll have the protection you need when flu season peaks from December to February.
It’s especially important for adults 65 and older to get the higher dose flu vaccine that offers greater protection.
And be sure to be up-to-date on your COVID-19 boosters, too. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to contracting both the flu and COVID and experience more serious illnesses.
You can get the flu shot in one arm and the COVID booster in the other. Skipping either of these puts you and your loved ones at greater risk of hospitalization and death. Our best defense against these airborne viruses is the available vaccines. Get your shots!
Rodney S. Alford, MD, MBA
President-elect, Illinois State Medical Society
