Only a national war on COVID-19 can succeed

The director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Robert Redfield, recently stated that if everyone would wear a mask in public places indoors and when six feet distancing is not possible outdoors, we could get this pandemic under control. President Trump will not enforce any orders even close to this uncomplicated rule, so every governor should show some backbone and bypass the federal government.

Many governors already have. Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has actually admitted to allowing indoor spaces to reopen too soon, especially bars, and has closed them down again. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, here in Illinois, may do the same. Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York has shown us all how it can be done.

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States should fine anyone who does not wear a mask $500. They should close businesses that do not enforce the rule and fine them as well. Monitors could be hired, among the many people who recently have lost their jobs, to write the tickets.

Some school districts are racing the clock to reopen as early as mid-August, but well-enforced mask ordinances and indoor closures need time to work. With proper precautions, perhaps schools could reopen by mid-September.

The only way to get COVID-19 is to take simple steps and make sure they are universally followed — across the nation. We have tried a state-by-state approach and it has failed.

More than 135,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19. If that many Americans died in a four-month war, wouldn’t we reassess the situation?

Jan Goldberg, Riverside

Stephen A. Douglas important to history

I wish to take exception with your editorial in today’s paper advocating for the removal of all monuments to Illinois Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, including the desecration of his grave here in Chicago. While his legacy may contain some warts as it pertains to the slavery issue, as did many others of his day, he was a larger-than-life figure who served his state and country well in many other areas and is an important part of our history. The same could be said for many other historical figures who have recently become the object of ridicule.

James E. Marchert, Sr., Joliet