Editorials
The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board is the opinion voice of the hardest-working newspaper in America. The board includes Editorial Page Editor Lorraine Forte and members Thomas Frisbie, Marlèn Garcia, Mary Mitchell, Lee Bey and Rummana Hussain.
Expanding insurance coverage of high-priced injectable weight-loss drugs for state workers will cost taxpayers $210 million in the first year of the initiative. But at least one economist says that estimate is way off and is expected to be millions more.
Significantly increasing the percentage of electric vehicles on the roads is an important way to help reduce climate change. But there are a number of roadblocks.
Prisons are designed to punish people who break the law. They aren’t expected to provide the same accommodations or services available at a scenic five-star hotel. But they also shouldn’t be shrinking the brains of its inhabitants or catalyze suicidal thoughts and psychosis.
Lawmakers in Springfield should first see how Chicago restaurants fare under the city ordinance to phase out the subminimum wage. If restaurants in a foodie city like ours start struggling, that would be a big red flag.
Too often, the city turns to costly legal battling instead of finding ways to bring lawsuits for misconduct and wrongful convictions to a close. One 2023 analysis of all police misconduct settlements between 2019 and June 2023 found $313 million in payouts for Chicago.
Any smart effort to boost struggling neighborhoods and save local businesses has our support. Kudos to Chicago TREND for its plan to help Roseland residents become part-owners of a local strip mall.
State Senate Republicans want to toughen the law and upgrade order of protection violations from a misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony. Senate Democrats should listen. The safety of domestic violence survivors and others must come first.
Mateo Zastro was 3 when he was gunned down. His murder, and dozens of other murders of children, remain unsolved.
The project is too big to fail. It’s a needed win for Chicago’s future, and it’s imperative that the financial issues stalling Terminal 2 get resolved.
Chicago has been designated the nation’s most dangerous city for migrating birds. City officials can change that before the Department of Planning and Development’s preliminary proposed construction guidelines are released on April 15.
The construction workers gave their lives as they worked to maintain the bridge, doing a job that too few Americans are either able or trained to take.
That the Bears can just diesel their way in, Bronko Nagurski-style, and attempt to set a sweeping agenda for the future of one of the world’s most iconic water frontages is more than a bit troubling.
Luckily, City Hall seems to have the will, and perhaps some leverage, to work with the chocolatier to properly redevelop the River West site.
Calls from Sun-Times reporters Tim Novak and Mitchell Armentrout led to businesses paying $1 million they owed for traffic control services. That’s proof that the city could, if it’s willing, quickly coordinate a plan to ensure that unpaid bills are taken care of quickly.
Cheap, easy-to-make add-ons allow these handguns to fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute. Illinois is among states that have passed laws to make it easier to try and hold gun manufacturers responsible for the harm caused by unsafe firearms and marketing practices.
The judicial system and police departments have implemented training and domestic violence courts to be more sensitive to survivors and hold abusers accountable. But people like 11-year-old Jayden Perkins keep losing their lives because domestic violence isn’t taken as seriously as it should be.
The loss of City Hall veteran Richard Guidice is just the latest example of how the Johnson administration seems to be floundering.
Voter turnout is always low in primary elections, and Tuesday was an extreme example. Ranked choice voting is one idea that could boost turnout and decrease partisanship and negative campaigning.
Nearly 70% of those 5 or younger in Chicago — 68% — had lead in the tap water they drank at home, according to recent research by Johns Hopkins and Stanford universities. The city needs to pick up the pace for a quicker timeline than the 40 years it’s been given to replace lead pipes.
Having someone permanently in charge of the department is key as the busy warm weather festival season approaches.
Chicago has so much riding on this casino’s success. Mayor Johnson says he’s not worried, but Bally’s $800 million financing hurdle is just the latest glitch in the project’s bumpy road.
Third-party software can help parents and guardians intervene if their children are victims of cyberbullying or other online harm. But not all social media companies have agreed to cooperate to provide access.
The Illinois primary is Tuesday, March 19. Casting your ballot is an essential part of the democratic process.
Illinois is one of 17 states in which dozens of measles cases have been reported this year, including eight cases in a Chicago migrant shelter.
Based on what we’ve seen of the Bears plans so far, and given the lakefront’s civic importance, Mayor Johnson should steer the team to consider other locations in Chicago.
Illinois is meeting the state’s electricity demand now. But the need is there to ramp up renewable energy projects, here and across the nation. One reason: the growth of artificial intelligence, AI.
The state gives smaller reimbursements to relatives who provide kinship care than it does to parents who are not related to the children. The Legislature can, and should, fix that.
With food insecurity still a challenge, it should be a priority to ramp up enrollment in a program that aims to alleviate hunger and improve health among moms, infants and toddlers.
The Supreme Court decided quickly to keep Donald Trump on the ballot, but is taking its time on Trump’s claim that he’s immune from criminal prosecution for any actions taken while president.
Nothing can bring back fallen Officer Ella French. Still, we hope there’s some sense of justice and closure for her loved ones after Emonth Morgan’s convicted for her 2021 murder.
CPS says it’s addressing accessibility upgrades and other needs, and the task at hand must be completed as soon as possible.
With a “financing partnership” between the two sports teams now in the works, Chicagoans know more about what they might be up against: Two wealthy sports teams joining forces to get huge taxpayer subsidies.
Fires sparked by batteries, plus a now-derailed plan to haul garbage downstate on a barge, show clearly: It’s time to be smarter about how communities dispose of their trash.