Wednesday Letters: Cubs fans have inspired a nation

I’m an Astros fan. I always will be. But many of us grew up watching two superstations that came to prominence during the dawn of cable TV in the late ’70s and early ’80s. We were privy to an inside look at two organizations and secretly some of us loved the teams. Those teams were the Braves broadcast on TBS and the Cubs over on WGN.

WGN brought those of us who will never call Chicago home a taste of the amazing city. In fact, I once joked with some friends from Chicago when I went there with my sister and brother-in-law that if I got separated from them for any reason they were to go to Empire Carpets. Why? Because I knew their telephone number by heart.

I watched so many of their games and laughed like crazy at Harry Carey. He made Chicago Cubs baseball cool. I remember all of the Chicago greats who never tasted what the Cubs are tasting tonight. Who got a taste of what the city of Chicago was like by watching their nightly news. Who watched diehard fans remain optimistic through so many down years. We all secretly rooted for them to finally overcome their curse.

Congratulations to all of you in or from Chicago. You are a great city that deserves this so much. Thank you, WGN, for allowing me to be part of something bigger when it comes to real dedication to a team. Thank you for teaching me the lesson that true fans don’t measure their love of a team based on wins.

I forget that lesson sometimes, but all I have to do is look back on a filled-to-capacity Wrigley Field during all of those games in the ’80s on WGN and it reminds me to be a better fan of the teams I choose to support today. Chicago Cubs baseball is a reminder that character is not measured by how we win in this life, but by how we deal with loss. With that said, it is with great honor and incredible happiness that I utter these final two words … GO CUBBIES!!!

Tony Strothers, Oklahoma City

A proud Sox fan

I wear my Sox on my head, chest, fingers and feet. I hang my Sox on trees, windows, doors and walls, but I want a shirt that shows Sox supporting for the Cubs to win the World Series. I used to say the only way I’ll like the Cubs is when they grow up and become the Chicago Bears. But get those silk screens hot so I can show my pride for Chicago. I think most Sox fans agree with me.

Carl F. Rollberg, Calumet Park

Go, Cubs, go

Somewhere, Steve Goodman is smiling.

Nelson Mapel, Goodyear, Ariz.

We don’t need term limits

Illinois has big problems, but lack of legislative term limits is not one of them. Bruce Rauner promoted enacting term limits during his 2014 gubernatorial bid to demonize the Democratically controlled legislature. Why? They serve as a firewall between 13 million Illinoisans and Rauner’s drive to privatize Lincoln’s Land for his billionaire buddies. Billionaire Bruce has ponied up $46 million this year to degrade Democratic legislative strength. Billionaire buddies Richard Uihlein and Ken Griffin have chipped in millions more from the $33.3 million they’ve given conservative candidates nationwide. With oligarchs like Rauner, Uihlein and Griffin pulling the purse strings, we may as well change our state name to Illinoisistan.

But aren’t term limits good for democracy and governance? A glance at the 15 states with term limits tells a cautionary tale. Four of those states are among the 18 who have heartlessly denied expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Six restrict voting rights to suppress minority voting. And a whopping 13 restrict a women’s right to choose. So much for good governance with term limits.

Gov. Rauner may be touting term limits for legislators but certainly not for lobbyists. A pernicious side effect of term limits is they further empower long-term lobbyists to mentor the legislative “newbies” unfamiliar with the ways of power and influence.

We’ve had a good system of term limits for 240 years now. It’s called “elections.”

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn

What Trump has taught us

I believe that Donald Trump should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Over the course of this campaign, he has stripped the veneer off of this nation, revealing us to be a petty and hate-filled people. We revel in the common and the base, advance bigotry and intolerance, and embrace division and ignorance. With us, stupidity is a virtue, violence is a way of life, and vulgarity is our lingua franca. Mr. Trump knows us for who and what we are, but would never admit to; he held up a mirror to the collective face of this nation. The media, for giving him free reign, played its role, too, so perhaps some lesser honor can be bestowed upon them. Regardless of the election’s outcome, we owe Mr. Trump a tremendous debt.

John Vukmirovich, Lemont