Letters: Police do their jobs because they believe in them

I would like to answer the question that Garry McCarthy posed to his audience at the City Club Monday: Why would a Chicago Police Department cop bother to stop anyone, in the current climate of scrutiny and with the Feds watching?

I’ll bet most of them might continue to do their job, Mr. McCarthy, because they believe in what their doing, and take seriously their oath to serve and protect the people of Chicago, not their personal careers. It should be obvious now why Mr McCarthy is the ex-top cop. He has just publicly given his encouragement to those lesser cops to carry on a work stoppage, while calling the better cops chumps. I sincerely hope Supt. Eddie Johnson will take this opportunity to publicly explain why the current climate is a healthier one than what Mr. McCarthy presided over. And I hope people will disregard this cop’s slander of Chicago police and give the individual cop the benefit of trusting that they might be doing their best.

Ken Stein, Wheaton

Cover the carnage

The carnage in Chicago over the weekend was greater than that of New Jersey, New York and Minnesota combined; however, the media didn’t devote its every moment to covering it. Islamic terrorism is horrible, but so is what’s happening on the streets of my city. Maybe if the resources allocated to the former were allocated to the latter, we’d have fewer murders and shootings.

Sheila Dukelsky, West Ridge

Demonizing teachers

The recent guest column on the teachers’ union utterly demonizes teachers efforts at equitable pay and fairness of treatment at the hands of a corrupt city and state government. The writer repeats the same old tropes of the supposed intransigence of the union in terms of its negotiating with city and state governments revealing the ingrained business dominated mentality of our culture. If a union has the solidarity and the audacity to fight for the rights of its members, it has to be thoroughly castigated rather than the infrastructure of corruption that seeks to crush the rights of laborers.

Edward D. Juillard, Morgan Park

Where is our compassion?

Winter is approaching, and the holidays will be here before we know it.

Apropos that, Michigan Avenue, our supposed Magnificent Mile, from the Chicago River to Oak Street, needs our attention. What would it take to eliminate the disgraceful presence of desperate people, of one sort of another, sitting on corners, in doorways, in all weather, including numerous beggars and young children huddled under their mothers’ arms (seldom a father’s)?

How could they not experience embarrassment and shame? Shame on us for allowing such circumstances to exist.

Why doesn’t our city, which pays millions of dollars to athletes and spends fortunes on fireworks and neon signs advertising who-knows-what, provide for at least the minimal well-being of its citizens — food, shelter, clothing, and some reasonable measure of safety and comfort?

Chicago, where is our compassion?

Leon J. Hoffman, Lake View

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