Remembering Tony Bennett at Ravinia

Despite the rain, a suburban reader writes, a performance by Tony Bennett years ago “was absolutely worth it.”

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Tony Bennett at Ravinia in 2008. Bennett died Friday at 96.

Tony Bennett at Ravinia in 2008. Bennett died Friday at 96.

Sun-Times file

About 15 years ago, I saw Tony Bennett at Ravinia. It rained so hard that we were sitting in puddles on our picnic blanket. Our food was floating in water on our paper plates. It was absolutely worth it to hear the wonderful Tony Bennett sing.

Clare Donovan, Westchester

Too-generous progressives

I saw the news the other day that members of the City Council, led by Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa with the backing of the mayor, were pushing a measure to raise the wages of tipped restaurant workers to match those of other minimum-wage workers.

After reading all the details. I couldn’t help but think how very generous the mayor and those members of the City Council are — with other people’s money!

Tony LaMantia, Logan Square

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Welcome, Scoop Jackson

Over the years that I have been a subscriber to the Sun-Times, I’ve seen the sports section continue to improve. The addition of Scoop Jackson to your pages continues that trend.

Mark Mardell, Edison Park

How the Inflation Reduction Act helps me

Throughout our history, we’ve joined across races and places to make sure our loved ones have what they need to thrive. While Big Pharma prioritizes profits over everyday people, the Biden administration is making health care more affordable.

Last summer Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. This bill does a lot of good things, but I’ll focus on one that matters to me: lowering everyday health care costs. The Act caps monthly insulin costs at $35 a month for anyone who gets their insulin through Medicare. That translates to 1.5 million Medicare recipients who will save hundreds of dollars each year.

And that’s not all. The Biden administration’s initiative is inspiring private companies to cap their monthly insulin costs, lowering everyday health care costs for millions more. Our votes mattered: the Inflation Reduction Act is the start of what can happen when we work together to make sure all of us, no matter the color of our skin or the content of our wallets, are able to thrive.

Eric Wollscheid, Countryside

A dilemma about aspartame

The report from the World Health Organization stating that aspartame is a possible carcinogen is, as is the case with so many such reports, not actionable because it provides incomplete information.

To decide whether to use aspartame, I must know the health risk, in terms of mortality and quality of life, from using a comparably functional quantity of sugar (e.g., a can of diet cola vs. a can of sugar-sweetened cola). Only then can I make an informed and reasoned decision about whether the use of aspartame is a needless risk or, actually, the safer choice.

Curt Fredrikson, Mokena

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