I grew up in the Englewood community in the 1950s and 1960s, and I couldn’t agree more with the Chicago Sun-Times’ editorial on Whole Foods leaving Englewood: The corner of 63rd and Halsted was one of the mightiest shopping districts in Chicago, and it was a lifeline for us. You could get everything at Sears, and in the basement was a Hillman’s supermarket that was of high quality.
Even if you didn’t have a car, the 63rd Street bus ran frequently, and it was nothing to see passengers board with numerous shopping bags. Sadly, like the community that surrounded it, it all started declining in the 1970s, but in its heyday it was great.
Joseph Brown, Tampa, Florida
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Republicans must be voted out
I made the mistake of turning on the evening news the other day. Hearing the revelation of a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft that suggests the end of Roe v. Wade kept me up all night. I am 80 and in no danger of an unplanned pregnancy, but I have the ability to “put myself in someone else’s shoes,” and can empathize with vulnerable women who find themselves in a conflicting situation.
The five ultra-conservative justices, three appointed by Donald Trump, have decided to remove a protection that has been challenged and upheld for nearly 50 years. In the recent past, the Court has been respected for expanding rights, not taking them away. Red states will be quick to pass the most restrictive legislation, as many of them already have.
This decision will bring tremendous suffering. The end result will fall hardest on poor women and contribute to dangerous illegal abortions, more teen pregnancies and more children living in poverty and foster care. Men also will be affected, paying child support for children they are not raising. Evidently, the politicized five justices don’t care about the consequences.
What will be next? What other personal freedoms will be attacked? Voters need to wake up to the threat of government interference in individuals’ most private matters. The Republican-controlled Court cannot be trusted. What is happening in certain red states can turn into national legislation. If the far right gains control of Congress in the November election, how far will they go to attack other individual freedoms?
There is only one way to halt this reprehensible trend. With few exceptions, all Republican local, state, and federal candidates need to be defeated. The Republican Party “owns” this Supreme Court decision through the appointments of extremist justices and legislators. They are not making it easy to vote, but people of conscience must persevere. Donate, write and above all vote. Don’t let Illinois and the rest of our country become Mississippi!
Betty Kleinberg, Deerfield
