I’m a Ward 6 resident and a leader with Southside Together Organizing for Power, a community organization that speaks to Southside residents about the mental health crisis and fights for the city to reopen free mental health clinics.
In a June 12 op-ed (“If my brother Leon had gotten the mental health care he needed, he would have lived longer”), Mayor Brandon Johnson outlined his commitment to public mental health care and his plans to rebuild and expand services, including reopening the shuttered Roseland clinic.
I know firsthand how important accessible, quality public mental health care is because I was helped myself – it’s life-changing and life-saving.
In 1996, my only child, a son, was murdered.
After his death I fell into a deep depression, attempted suicide in 1998, and was in a coma for many months in 2005.
It took me years to recover, but once I found the right therapist and services at Auburn Gresham Clinic, I got the support I needed. My therapist helped me regain my self-esteem and confidence, and with hard work and care, I got my life back. My therapist educated me about my illness and medications, and then I started to set goals and plans. You can’t do that when you’re insecure, but you can do it with someone to encourage you.
At the clinic, I also received psychosocial rehabilitation: I learned how to live in society, how to go to a restaurant, how to socialize with people, how to pay bills, how to write checks, etc. That’s something that we need in our system, but we don’t have it anymore.
The last three administrations — Richard M. Daley, Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot — have underinvested in public mental health clinics and cut critical services needed by communities, contributing to a mental health crisis that has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Lightfoot campaigned on a platform of reopening public mental health clinics, but broke that promise after taking office.
That’s why I support Johnson. He’s consistent, he’s community-minded, he knows no one can do it alone, and he makes sure the community has a voice. He promised to make mental health a priority, and he continues to keep that promise.
Hope is on the horizon, and I think we are taking the right steps toward solving Chicago’s mental health crisis.
— Diane Adams, Chicago
Dealing with deep trauma
Regarding the editorial “Violent crime in Chicago remains, quite frankly, a crisis. There couldn’t be a higher priority for the Mayor” (June 20): Thank you. We’re tired of hearing meaningless statistics about crime. People are dying and lives are being destroyed. Who cares about a 2% decrease?
I am the president of a foundation that invests in violence prevention. We were one of the original members of the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC). This group is doing great work, but it has fallen short of its goal of making a big difference in the short term.
The organization is can One organization that is quickly producing meaningful results is Pride Roc in Inglewood. We are enthusiastic supporters and see the results firsthand. With more funding, this organization could quickly scale and have an immediate impact. Their methodology of addressing deep trauma works.
— Joel Friedman, Chairman, Alvin H. Baum Family Fund, Chicago
Standing up to Trump
Regarding the editorial “Will Trump Leave the RNC?” (June 20): The real question that editorial writer Frank Donatelli should be asking is “Will the RNC Leave Trump?” In the immediate aftermath of January 6, 2021, many Republican senators and representatives blamed Donald Trump for the violence and bloodshed that day, but then completely reversed course. They are now desperate to gain and keep in his good graces. Their support for Trump is incomprehensible.
What will it take for these senators to have the ethical and moral fiber to stand up to Trump? Republican senators bear a great deal of responsibility for what is happening within their party. If they had not supported Trump, there would be no need to ask, “Would Trump leave the RNC?”
— Marjorie E. Bross, Chicago
Republicans are unrecognizable
Thanks Frank Donatelli for your great insight on Donald Trump. I have been wondering when the Republican Party will turn its back on the Trump supporters and go back to being the party of Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. and George W. Bush.
I can’t find my Republican Party anymore.
— Angela M. Orlando, Bloomingdale, Illinois
Why I’m voting for Trump
As a longtime liberal who once voted for Michael Dukakis, let me explain my support for Donald Trump.
You need surgery and there are two doctors. The first one is super kind and has a great way of treating patients. The nurses adore him and he reminds them of their grandfather. He won Father of the Year award. However, his surgical skills are only about 35 out of 100. No one will take away his license, but he is below average with the scalpel, the surgery you’ve asked him to perform.
The second surgeon is a miserable man. He cheated on his wife, his kids won’t speak to him, he’s late on his taxes, the hospital staff hates him, and he’s rude and arrogant to you. But he happens to be an A-plus surgeon in the operating room. His skills are 95 points.
So who would you choose?
Answer that question and you’ll understand why I support Donald Trump. The world was safer and quieter under Trump. He’s not my favorite person to dine with, and I wouldn’t want him as a brother-in-law, but he’s a better choice to run the country, rebuild it, and not drop the knife. Much better.
— Malcolm Montgomery, Munster, Indiana
The choice is clear
As an independent, I find it disappointing that the 2024 presidential election has been narrowed down to two disappointing options, but the differences between them couldn’t be clearer, and to me there is only one clear choice.
Whether you agree with his policies or not, do you want a president who puts America first, strives to protect our democracy, and is respected by our allies? Or do you want a mentally unstable, adulterous, habitual liar who has repeatedly denigrated America, stolen classified documents, incited riots to overthrow the government, called our brave soldiers “idiots” and “losers,” and who only thinks about himself and how he can benefit?
I would choose Joe Biden’s democracy over Donald Trump’s destruction any day.
— Brian Bradley, Buffalo Grove
Unpolitician Wilson
I like Willie Wilson’s editorials and often agree with them, but it has become very clear recently why he has not been very successful as a politician or in campaigning in Chicago or Illinois. He has only recently donated some of his own money, not taxpayer money, to the citizens of Chicago, something that is unheard of for any of our other “public servants.”
— Joe Jaszak, Sugar Grove
Humor is a sign of humanity
In a June 19 Tribune column by Clarence Page entitled “Pope Francis Thinks the World Needs to Laugh More. He’s Right,” I was struck by a comment by Pope Francis that comedians’ humor helps “make us laugh, make us smile, and therefore think critically.” This comment made me smile too.
I have worked in the Catholic Church for eight years and have found that a sense of humor is a much greater asset than I initially thought. It creates a real unity within the Church, both in the hierarchy and among all the laity. Whether we are priests, laity or the Pope, the human element in all of us comes out through humor. There is a perception that everyone in the Church is prone to gaffes, mistakes and very human characteristics.
Laughter enables us to see ourselves and each other more clearly, and with more love and understanding.
There is certainly a higher plan for humor. A very classic joke ends with the punch line that God has a sense of humor: He made us all.
— Mandy May, Evanston
Note to readers: If you ride a bike, we want to hear your thoughts about the City’s bicycle infrastructure and your experiences (good or bad) using bicycles as a means of transportation. Send us a letter of 400 words or less to letters@chicagotribune.com. Please include your name and contact information (including the City).
Submit your letter of 400 words or less here or email it to letters@chicagotribune.com .
