U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey dismissed the lawsuit filed by Protect Our Parks against the city and the Chicago Park District, a challenge aimed at keeping the Obama Presidential Center out of Jackson Park. As this case involved President Barack Obama, who in 2014 nominated Blakey to serve as a U.S. district judge, Blakey should have recused himself. I believe his judgment would have been influenced by his relationship with President Obama, and I suggest Blakey could have felt obliged to President Obama for his sponsorship. Protect Our Parks should have a good chance in its appeal of this judge's decision.
—Carol Hitchie, Chicago
Accessing mental health services in Cook County
As Cook County Board president and Cook County Health CEO, we see firsthand the impact of mental illness in our jail, our juvenile detention center, our health centers and our emergency rooms. We see the impact it has on individuals, families and communities and we are committed to treating it, removing its stigma and creating multiple paths to treatment and support.
The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has provided access to comprehensive behavioral health services for tens of thousands of individuals who previously had no coverage. The network of providers in our Medicaid health plan, CountyCare, operates throughout the county, including in the city of Chicago.
Individuals detained in the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center or Cook County Jail receive mental and physical health care through Cook County Health. People in crisis are welcomed into county-funded triage centers 24 hours a day.
We are sympathetic to people who feel change is disrupting their lives. However, we agree with Joel Johnson, who chairs the Behavioral Health Consortium of Illinois, a network of 12 community mental health providers that Cook County Health convened, Cheryl Potts, executive director of the Kennedy Forum Illinois and many other experts, that the city of Chicago should not maintain its stand-alone counseling centers. We have been working with the city and others for several years to build additional capacity — public and private — as well as developing unique programs like the triage centers and tele-psychiatry services.
There is more to do, particularly in the areas of trauma-informed care, housing and employment, to support county residents with mental illnesses. Through our Healthy Communities initiative, we are committed to addressing the root causes of mental health inequities. We are providing performance indicators so that every resident can track our progress in improving health and outcomes in every community.
As Mayor Lightfoot contemplates the challenges ahead, we stand ready to work together to improve the lives of the residents we all serve.
—Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Health CEO Dr. John Jay Shannon
Don’t shelve Civil War Days in Lake County
This is in reference to whether Civil War Days, hosted by Lake County Forest Preserves, is inappropriate.
In my opinion, it is not. An event that focuses on our country finally outlawing slavery, that demonstrates the lengths it had to go to to reach that end, that honors the sacrifice of the people who accomplished the abolition of slavery, must proceed. Is it painful? Yes. Is the sight of the Confederate battle flag detestable? Absolutely. Is remembering necessary to keeping slavery abolished? Without question, yes.
Please, let's not whitewash history. As Lincoln said after the battle at Gettysburg: "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here." What was true then is true now. We can never forget the cost of racism nor the sacrifice paid in the first painful step to start us on the path to wipe it out.
—James Walsh, Round Lake Beach
U.S. women’s soccer performance deserves attention
I was disappointed to see that the U.S. women’s soccer team’s record-breaking World Cup opener was relegated to page 6 of the Sports section. The stunning achievements of the women’s team are worthy of enthusiastic reporting or, at the very least, a teaser on Page 1. The U.S. women’s team continues to dominate on the world stage and deserves to be highlighted. I would love to see the Tribune aspire to some gender equity in sports reporting; you missed a rather obvious opportunity here.
—Lisa Scanio, Libertyville