A shout-out to CTA's Dorval Carter and others who tried and failed

I personally take no delight in seeing a famous person fail at the job he was elected or chosen to do. For example, there's the recent photograph of CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. exiting a train with headlines blasting his apparent failure at CTA safety: "End of the Line."

Well, at least you tried, sir.

I really wonder what motivates people like Carter, or Mayor Brandon Johnson, or Police Supt. Larry Snelling, to get up each morning and dive into the battles of the day. Assuming each person has the best of intentions, his or her job still has to be a challenge of utmost proportions.

To these persons who are willing to "put it all out there" each and every day, I say thank you. Thank you for your successes and your failures as well. Thank you for bearing the daily burdens. Thank you for sometimes being sacrificial lambs. Thank you for your families who in their own way bear the heat of the day.

Do not feel you failed because you didn't. Every honest effort of every honest day contributes to the building of society. And here we are, the greatest, most developed, and successful human beings on the planet. I'll take that any day.

Kathleen Melia, Niles

A eulogy for Dorval Carter’s job

On Jan. 13, CTA President Dorval Carter announced his upcoming resignation. He leaves behind a system he rarely rode, a $5.75 billion Red Line Extension (the most expensive per mile in CTA history), pandemic ridership recovery that lags behind most other major transit agencies, a deteriorated Forest Park branch on the Blue Line, much of the track needing repair, a $577 million deficit, and an agency struggling to regain trust with current and former riders.

The last years of Carter’s decade-long tenure frequently pitted him against lawmakers, riders, and activists, most of whom wanted to collaborate with the agency to improve its reliability. In the face of this opposition, Carter turned to making false statements to riders, to lawmakers, and even to his board. His long tenure was backed by Mayors Rahm Emanuel, Lori Lightfoot, and until the announcement of his departure, Brandon Johnson, who refused to offer any criticism of Carter.

The job is survived by thousands of hard-working CTA employees no longer hampered by his leadership, millions of riders ready for reliable commutes, and a city that relies on CTA whether there are 1,000 or 1,000,000 riders.

Nik Hunder, Lincoln Square

Stacy Davis Gates shows her true colors

Sadly, very sadly, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates gave all of us a glimpse into her real, honest thoughts, her true colors. She shamed special ed kids, likely there are other prejudices she hasn't told us about, the essence being she needs to resign or be voted out. This is not corrected by a simple social media post and all is forgiven. This needs to be corrected by getting the right person in charge.

The right person has the morals and scruples of a true leader, understands the needs of those they represent and of those who manage CPS and those who foot the bill — the taxpayers, renters included, as their rents go up when taxes go up. One who knows what can realistically be done, and works towards solutions. Davis Gates is not that person.

The people she represents, assuming they don't have her morals, would want her out. And taxpayers, well, we're tired of supporting teachers and many other CTU members who are guaranteed high income but just don't deliver a quality system. More personnel and other CTU demands won't do it. Figuring out how to do a contract that doesn't hurt taxpayers further while living within their means while providing a quality system does.

Davis Gates, like Mayor Johnson, believes their own stories, spins their errors and expects forgiveness while inflicting permanent damage to the City of Chicago. The ultra-rich have left, the rich are in the process, business left and is not coming, and almost everything that could be taxed is to the highest rates in the country. With leaders like Davis Gates and Johnson (whois bought by the CTU) along with the people they have as advisors, they are morally bankrupting this city and driving this city to a worst position than Detroit before it filed bankruptcy.

Ray Gwiaz, Bucktown

Restore Welcoming City carveouts

To the ACLU and all of the attorneys who make a living by playing games with the lives of others: making a career of thwarting the will of the majority is not an honorable legacy. It just gets you through life with the basic necessities and a little extra for your petty luxuries. The ordinance regarding immigration proposed by courageous Ald. Ray Lopez and Ald. Silvana Tabares was sensible and expedient for the city.

It may not make the illegal immigrants happy, but making criminals happy is not the function of any government. And those who came into the country illegally are just that: criminals. They have violated our immigration law, and as such they have made a choice to accept the consequences of their behavior. Accepting accountability for one's own actions however, seems to be a forgotten concept in the current climate of anything goes these days. Hear, hear, the people have spoken. That's why DJT won!

Sherry Szilage Stoffel, North Aurora