New arrivals to this country have an intense interest in coming to Chicago — at least that’s what the state of Texas tells us — but I am concerned the buses, and occasional planes, are returning to the Lone Star State empty.
I think it’s the years that I rode with my late father, when he took his semi-truck down the road with a full load of grain. Whenever he could, Dad would always arrange to have his truck fully loaded on the return trip. Dad was forced to focus on the return, to not dawdle but travel expeditiously and be responsible for his load.
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Gov. Greg Abbott deserves to get a return on the investment Texas is making. I propose Chicagoland assemble a collection of 10 holiday gifts for Texas, carried on those buses.
No. 10: Gently used blankets issued to migrants at O’Hare Airport, for the next Texas winter when the state utility kerfuffles.
No. 9: Boxes of BOGO Fannie May candies, leftover from Jewel-Osco holiday sales. Migrants soon to be arrested under Texas law gotta eat.
No. 8: Hardware from that Brighton Park tent encampment. One administration’s oops is another administration’s magnum opus?
No. 7: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s personalized “Twister” game, which allows him to contort and avoid questions about migrant policy.
No. 6: Green water hot dogs, which former Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady never removed from Wrigley when she was in Chicago (I have bought hot dogs swimming in green water). Migrants gotta eat!
No. 5: Road salt. This is winter?
No. 4: Rats. We can spare so many, and Texas is so big.
No. 3: Seiya Suzuki’s whiffs for all of last season.
No. 2: DNC Convention brochures and coupon books.
No. 1: Shell casings. All of them.
Carey M. Payne III, Streamwood
Cicero, Rosemont duck out of helping migrants
Over the past two weeks, I have read about Aurora, Cicero and Rosemont passing ordinances regarding bus operators dropping migrants off in their respective towns.
My writing here is not to say which side of the migrant issue I am on but to ask simple questions: How constitutional was the passing of these ordinances, and why won’t the leaders of these places in Illinois assist the migrants?
Joseph Battaglia, Clearing
Park District makes it tough to visit conservatories
The Sun-Times piece on Dec. 25 rightly praised our two beautiful conservatories in the city. These treasures were previously open seven days a week, and one could freely drop in when needing a dose of beauty (“Wintertime Floral Flourish: Shows bloom with color at Lincoln Park, Garfield Park conservatories”).
Since the pandemic, both the days and hours they are open have been reduced. Additionally, the requirement for online reservations adds another layer of bureaucracy to something that should be simple: stopping in at a beautiful Chicago Park District facility.
Martha Barry, Uptown
