Don’t let coronavirus outbreak delay the search for a new top cop for Chicago

I read in the Sun-Times that the search for the new CPD superintendent has been put on hold due to the coronavirus. WHY?

Twelve people were shot in Chicago last Wednesday. Is someone who contracts or dies from the coronavirus more important than someone who is shot or dies from a shooting?

I would certainly hope that Mayor Lightfoot and her staff are capable of multitasking and handling these two serious situations simultaneously. All lives matter, regardless of how they are harmed or die. The mayor must move quickly to choose a new superintendent, knowledgeable in Chicago and its crime situation, who can quickly reduce the serious violence problem in our great city.

Lt. Michael C. Flynn, retired CPD, Norwood Park

Stay-at-home orders must continue

President Trump, many of his supporters and conservative outlets like the Wall Street Journal are saying, “The cure is worse than the disease.” They want an early end to the stay-at-home orders and other pandemic protective measures because of the cost to the economy. This is a reckless point of view that ignores the basic fact that there is no cure!

Stay-at-home orders, closing businesses, social distancing, etc. are all stop-gap measures to buy time and slow the spread of the disease. They are not a cure. If we continue these precautionary measures, maybe hospitals will be able to handle the influx of patients, maybe there will be enough protective equipment, maybe an effective treatment will be developed, and maybe we can prevent an unknown number of unnecessary deaths.

Our leaders should be communicating this to us every day. They shouldn’t be pushing the idea of an early end to these unprecedented health emergency measures. President Trump’s blithe talk about opening the country by Easter is irresponsible and dangerous.

We all know we can’t keep this up forever, and I hope responsible healthcare professionals and policymakers are thinking about the next phase of our pandemic response. We need a strategy that will protect the largest number of people, not happy talk from an out-of-touch president.

The cure cannot be worse than the disease when there is no cure!

Frank J. Frelka, Northfield

Willie Wilson’s generosity

I live in the same building as Willie Wilson, former mayoral candidate. As we rode in the elevator recently and commiserated on life with the virus around us, he kindly offered me a box of masks and surgical gloves to share with my friends and family. This is his business, he told me.

How kind, how generous and how it raised my spirits — me a 67-year-old cancer survivor who is deeply worried for us all during this frightening pandemic. Thank you, Mr. Wilson, for making my day and knowing Chicago generosity is always here.

Felicia Carparelli, Lake Shore East