An education on private concessions

Thanks to Ed Bachrach and Austin Berg for their op-ed enlightening me about concessions and explaining why the city must reform how it manages private use of public property.

Setting aside the supposed financial benefit, relatively few people will enjoy the upcoming NASCAR races, while most neighbors and others navigating our streets will suffer.

Where is the recognition of the hardship that city traffic causes the public? What does this NASCAR event say about setting up yet more roadblocks and the problem of increasingly aggressive drivers we have been encountering?

Bachrach and Berg’s piece also reminded me of another example of what I see as a concession: helicopter tours of the city. They only seem to benefit a handful of tourists and local enthusiasts. The only way to escape the invasive noise that fills the skies above is to leave town.

Tim Schlax, Chicago

Don’t think Chicago is a hellhole? Read the newspaper.

The Sun-Times’ David Roeder had an informative article earlier this week about the proposed revitalization of the La Salle Street corridor and the growth of the Loop and the Central Business District. But then he closed his article with a reference to how some people can’t comprehend how vibrantly Chicago is growing because they see it as a “hellhole.” I know that’s a slam against Darren Bailey, but let’s put politics aside.

In the same newspaper, there were also articles about a 3-year-old boy who was murdered in a road-rage incident, and a 7-year-old who was shot while sitting in a car. The latter article goes on to say that at least 289 minors have been shot in Chicago this year. There was also a fatal police shooting this weekend. I don’t know, but all that, along with the 500-plus homicides and more than 2,000 people shot so far this year, sure comes close to qualifying as a hellhole in my opinion.

Maybe we can solve the problem if the media and politicians will admit to the problem and not always try to deflect from what most people can see with their own eyes.

Robert Stasch, O’Hare