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I want to applaud 43rd Ward Ald. Timmy Knudsen’s proposed anti-idling ordinance, but I am concerned that it will not do enough to protect Chicagoans’ health, since current state and city anti-idling regulations are rarely enforced. Car and truck emissions are linked to asthma, cancer, heart and lung disease, and are especially dangerous for children. We need to reduce this air pollution from vehicles, especially during unnecessary idling time.
However, when diesel trucks idle for too long near my home in Chicago and I have called 311 to report these vehicles for violating ordinances that are already in effect, I am told I need to call 911. This policy does not make sense. Police cannot respond to every idling vehicle given other more serious crimes requiring their attention.
To protect Chicagoans, we need a program to address idling violations like the one New York City adopted, whereby residents send videos of idling vehicles to the city so it can levy a fine against the vehicle owner to disincentivize this harmful pollution. This policy would require minimal city resources to address a serious threat to public health. At the very least, we need a dedicated City of Chicago phone number or website, possibly at the Department of Public Health, where we can report idling so the city can take action. All of Chicago deserves to breathe cleaner air.
— Josh Singer, Chicago
No excuses for robberies
The Dec. 6 Chicagoland article “Bucktown residents air concerns about crime” (Dec. 9) underscores the point of view of North Side residents well beyond Bucktown, Wicker Park and Logan Square. Young criminals must be taught that their actions have consequences. If their parents don’t do it the legal system must. Yes, there are root causes to crime. But there should be no excuses for carjacking, robbery, mugging, smash and grab, and other crimes anywhere in Chicago.
— David Kravitz, Chicago
Listening to residents
A Dec. 9 Tribune article says “[State Rep. Jawaharial] Williams — whose district covers East and West Garfield Park, as well as parts of the West Loop, Bucktown and Lincoln Park — explained to meeting attendees that juvenile criminal suspects, many of them Black, often run from police officers because of the CPD’s history of misconduct.”
A community organizer, Steve Jensen, then asked Williams “to keep his comments ‘germane to Bucktown.’”
It’s good to have confirmation of something many of us here in Garfield Park have long suspected: that the leaders of the more affluent communities to our North and East aren’t really interested in the lived experiences of anyone unlike themselves.
When, however, the ill effects of other peoples’ experiences spill into the streets where those leaders live and work; when the crime we’ve lived with here for years begins to affect the people and businesses of Bucktown — then these same community leaders unabashedly applaud the idea of the CPD using excessive force to subdue the alleged criminals. (Apparently they weren’t listening when Rep. Williams told them that these tactics are why juveniles run from police in the first place — but then again, Mr. Jensen shut those statements down because they weren’t “germane” to Bucktown.) The business leaders of Bucktown can rest assured, now that I understand how they feel about the experiences of the people of East Garfield Park, I will choose to spend my dollars in a way that is more “germane” to my community. If they’re not interested enough to hear about the lives of my young neighbors, I’m not interested in spending money in their boutiques and trendy restaurants.
— Regina Arndt, Chicago
Offshore wind farms
The Editorial Board recently opined against the exploration of installing offshore wind in Lake Michigan and all the benefits it offers Chicago communities (”Wind farms in Lake Michigan make no economic sense. Springfield ought to sink that idea,” Nov. 26). While we agree that onshore wind and solar are vital, cost-effective building blocks of our clean energy supply, offshore wind holds tremendous potential for consistent, reliable power that will one day be realized across our region. However, states that act first will benefit from the port investment and construction needed to build and maintain these projects.
The Rust Belt to Green Belt act puts Illinois in the lead for those benefits, and creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create thousands of jobs and meet our climate goals. Offshore wind will revitalize the Southeast Side of Chicago, a predominantly Black and Latino community that was devastated by the shuttering of the steel mills.
Not only will the pilot project create 2,700 construction jobs, but the legislation ensures that those jobs will go to minority community members. Those workers will learn valuable skills that will equip them with experience they can carry forward into other job opportunities — including follow-on projects as the offshore wind industry grows.
Additionally, any project in the lake will be subject to rigorous environmental review, and we are encouraged by the results from offshore wind projects across the world.
Chicago Tribune Opinion
The Editorial Board mistakenly states that onshore wind alone are the most cost-effective way to power Illinois’ renewable energy future. The board fails to account for the cost of storing and transmitting onshore wind power for release at night and during the darker winter months. Like any product that gets shipped, the farther the destination, the more expensive it is. Land-based wind farms are far from Chicago, making that electricity more expensive for Chicagoans.
Offshore wind combines with solar and land-based wind to create the lowest-cost collective energy mix, as the strength of each source fluctuates by day and night, and during summer and winter. Illinois also benefits from circumstances that insulate us from global supply chain pressures that have impacted the cost of materials needed for ocean-based wind construction.
The bottom line is that smart economics tells us to diversify our portfolio, and that same concept applies to clean energy. Rejecting offshore wind amounts to continued disinvestment in the Southeast Side and would be a giant step backward for achieving Illinois’ clean energy goals. We urge Springfield to support the development of offshore wind in Lake Michigan.
— Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Club of Illinois
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