Gov. Bruce Rauner, sign school funding reform bill

“Equitable sounds like equal,” Yolanda said during our lesson on the meaning and relevance of an equitable funding formula. Even my third graders know that in order for community members to receive what they need, each of them has to be met where they are. I have taught at three different Chicago schools where demographics are predominantly students of color and low income. The commonality? They are all underfunded despite serving students in need of intensive supports.

Senate Bill 1 addresses the state’s desperate need for school funding reform. My students are not 19% less worthy of a chance at success and yet for every $1.00 spent on a non-low income student, only $0.81 is spent on a low-income student. SB 1 will eliminate this inequity over time by distributing new state dollars according to district need. Yolanda and her peers across the state will have access to school essentials regardless of zip code. It is unacceptable to know this disparity exists, with the power to change it, and do nothing. Illinois students cannot wait another year while adults play politics with their education.

This summer, Illinois for Educational Equity is partnering with schools, parents, and community organizations statewide to coach and lead canvassing efforts for funding equity. We’re calling on Gov. Bruce Rauner to do what is best for the students and families of our state and sign Senate Bill 1. The time to properly invest in their futures is long overdue.

Ashley McCall, Bronzeville

Bilingual teacher at César E. Chávez Multicultural Academic Center

A newspaper’s responsibility to the arts and readers

I’m writing to urge the Sun-Times to hire more critics, columnists and voices of color in the arts and entertainment section. Fundamentally, art, in all of its expressions, is an exercise in mutual empathy. Thus any great group of artists must, by necessity, hail from a variety of backgrounds. Patrons and critics view art from a lens created by their personal experiences, and it is therefore necessary that arts critics and the publications that employ them seek to engage a diverse pool of writers who can reflect on the art they are critiquing from varying points of view. Chicagoans look to the Sun-Times for guidance when choosing which art to experience. I hope the paper will consider the incredible responsibility they have to the cultivation of art in our beautiful city when they make their hiring choices.

Emma Couling, Ravenswood

A vote for diversity

The art of theater is a living, breathing translation of both shared experiences and diverse internal and external life for an audience. The art of critique is a translation of the art form, a bilingual discussion between a reviewer, the artists and the audience in regard to a work.

We are thankfully living in a time where diverse voices and experiences are being given and taking the stage. This shift invites new audiences who can now better see themselves reflected in the work. I believe it is time for the Sun-Times to improve its critique and translation of art by hiring more diverse voices to critique and translate for others. Theater is not meant solely for one perspective, and I urge the paper to hire critics of color, varying gender identity and of different ages.

Theater in our community is moving ahead of the Sun-Times, and they have the opportunity and power to improve upon their art by inviting in different perspectives. As a white Latina person, I know it would entice me to read their work and purchase the paper to support growth and dialogue about the theater!

Gaby Labotka, Edgewater

More on diversity

I am writing to ask that the Sun-Times hire more diverse critics for the entertainment section. As the cultural landscape of our incredible city has changed, so should the art and the people given a platform for reviewing the art. Many companies in the Chicago theater community are making efforts to hire more artists of color, produce more plays by women and every possible intersectional combination imaginable.

As co-artistic director of Babes With Blades Theatre Company, we have always stood for giving a voice to women since the roles available in the traditional canon do not encompass the entire female experience. That said, we have been realizing gaps in our own diversity and are seeking to employ a more intersectional and empowering artistic vision moving forward. I would encourage that the Sun-Times do the same in this time of reflection over recent events.

Elyse Dawson, Rogers Park

Co-Artistic Director of Babes With Blades Theatre Company