A selfless, life-saving New Year’s resolution
As the new year approaches, many of us are thinking about resolutions. How we can live healthier, give back or make a meaningful difference in 2026. This year, I encourage all Illinois residents to consider a resolution that does all three with one simple decision: registering to become an organ and tissue donor.
Organ and tissue donation is one of the most profound gifts an individual can give. A single person can save up to eight lives through organ donation, and tissue donation can enhance the lives of hundreds more. Here in Illinois and Indiana alone, more than 5,000 people are currently waiting for a life-saving organ transplant. For them, the difference between hope and heartbreak often comes down to whether someone took the time to register as a donor.
Registering as an organ and tissue donor is simple. It takes just a few minutes at giftofhope.org/join-the-registry, costs nothing and is completely secure. Unlike many resolutions that fade with time, this is one that stays with you — a commitment to help others when they need it most.
But registering is only the first step. One of the most important actions you can take is sharing your decision with your family. Talking with loved ones about your choice ensures they understand and can honor your wishes. In moments of unimaginable loss, that clarity can bring comfort, meaning and peace of mind. They may also follow suit and register as well.
At Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network, we see every day how donation transforms lives. We witness families who choose generosity in the midst of grief and recipients who are given the chance to celebrate more birthdays, milestones and new years. Their stories of hope and healing remind us that even one decision can create a ripple effect of compassion across our communities.
As we welcome 2026, let’s choose resolutions that truly matter. Registering as an organ and tissue donor isn’t just checking a box, it’s giving someone else the chance to keep writing their story.
Learn more, read local stories of impact and register today. It only takes a moment, but its impact can last a lifetime.
Harry Wilkins, president and CEO, Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network
Fiscally sound method to save Promontory Point
There’s a 40-acre park, jutting out into the waters of Lake Michigan, just east of 55th Street, called Promontory Point. With its shady trees, open parkland and limestone block revetment, the point is a citywide gem like few others. And it is in danger.
For 25 years, a South Side community has defended Promontory Point's historic limestone revetment from numerous demolition attempts. These South Siders spearheaded Promontory Point’s addition to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018 and its designation as a Chicago Landmark in 2023.
This double landmarking still does not guarantee that Promontory Point's defining features won’t be destroyed — and a vibrant community along with it.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Park District intend to demolish and replace the limestone revetment with new construction at an exorbitant cost of $100 million. The federal government is authorized for $65 million and the city $35 million of the total cost.
Choosing a preservation approach, the city could save half of its $35 million investment in design and construction. In 2025, the community released four engineering studies from nationally renowned engineering firms contradicting the corps of engineers and city’s claims. These studies reached different conclusions about Promontory Point's structural soundness and presented an array of preservation design alternatives that economically meet coastal resilience requirements. While the city’s own engineering reports have not been made public, these studies found that Promontory Point's limestone revetment:
- has not failed;
- functions in good condition right now for coastal resilience requirements ;
- can be repaired and rehabilitated in-place with onsite materials at half the cost ;
- can be repaired and rehabilitated in 11 months , rather than five years; and
- can serve for another 100 years.
A preservation approach meets coastal resilience and could save taxpayers half of the $65 million authorized from the federal budget, and the city could save half of its $35 million expenditure.
Listening to the community and letting the community lead on a preservation approach can save the city $17 million: fixing the revetment at Promontory Point is cheaper, stronger and lasts longer. Most importantly, it’s also what the community wants.
Jack Spicer and Debra Hammond, Promontory Point Conservancy
Iran-Israel friction fear
Amid the global Christmas and New Year holidays, tensions between Iran and Israel are once again showing signs of escalation. Local observations inside Iran today indicated missile test activity in Iranian airspace. At the same time, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated that the country’s missile capabilities are purely deterrent and “non-negotiable."
These developments come alongside renewed speculation in recent days by Israeli officials and analysts about Iran resuming missile testing. Against this backdrop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly moved quickly to arrange an urgent visit and meeting with President Donald Trump.
Inside Iran, economic signals are also flashing red. Gold prices have surged sharply in recent days, a familiar indicator for Iranians that the country may be entering another period of instability. Historically, spikes in gold and currency markets often precede political or security shocks.
Taken together, these signs suggest a volatile moment. The question many Iranians — and regional observers — are now asking is whether another direct confrontation between Iran and Israel is approaching. While a major escalation during the New Year holiday period appears unlikely, the risk may not be gone — merely delayed.
Could the first major shock of 2026 be a renewed conflict? For now, the region appears to be holding its breath.
Pegah Banihashemi, doctoral law student and legal researcher, University of Chicago
Racially outdated words not ideal but can help analyze the past
While recent Sun-Times letter writer Patricia Brantley is correct that the original version of the musical "Sister Act" never used the word Negro, she may be overly sensitive when she describes the word as "a racial punch in the gut."
The word should not have been used when the musical was staged on Dec. 13. However, Negro is not in itself offensive as the infamous N-word is. Historical interpretation and context matter.
I taught history for four decades, and to avoid present-mindedness, I would often use words or terms that were prevalent to the era I was talking about to give my students some familiarity with the time we were exploring.
On one occasion, I was talking about the issue of civil rights in the 1950s. At one point, one of my Black students vehemently objected to my use of the word Negro, which he deemed offensive since Black or Afro-American was in vogue when I was presenting the material. But I reminded him that we were dealing with history, and I was transporting him back to the past. I also emphasized that he should do some research on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who often used the word, which is seen in both his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and in his "I Have a Dream" speech.
For example, when justifying the use of nonviolence, King wrote in 1957 that "The determination of Negro Americans to win freedom from every form of oppression springs from the same profound longing for freedom that motivates oppressed peoples all over the world."
Avoiding present-mindedness with certain words, such as Negro is a challenge, but one must avoid oversimplification and predispositions since the past was once the present.
Larry Vigon, Jefferson Park
Video gambling bad deal for Chicago
Much of the focus in the Chicago media last week was placed on the 2026 budget that will sell residents' unpaid debt to private collectors but not on the even more regressive and culturally destructive expansion of video gambling in the city. We will be balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and the families of those suffering from gambling addictions. Any alderperson who voted for this must not have visited bars, restaurant and gas stations outside the city in the past several years — or they are confident that the high-end establishments they can afford to frequent won’t need to sell out to the gaming industry to meet payroll.
I've spent a lot of time in Kankakee County, and I can tell you how sad and ugly it is to have every restaurant and bar turn a section of their formerly inviting space into a noisy, visually overwhelming and simply depressing space for people to lose their paychecks while drinking.
This will start an immediate race to the bottom to get these into restaurants and bars that cannot be undone — proprietors and the city will become dependent on this money. This is just another way to tax the poorest Chicagoans rather than doing the hard work of ensuring that corporate citizens and those among us who can pay our fair share to fund the city we love. We will be destroying the heart of Chicago to keep it running. Too bad Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will not veto this budget, which may have forced the City Council back to the table to pass a courageous and equitable funding plan.
Jeremy Karpen, Bricktown
NFL stadium follies
Expect "Chicken Little" to don a Bears jersey and spread panic now that the Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to leave Missouri for the Kansas-Missouri state line. Why? Because the Jayhawk State is going to pick up to 70% of the tab to build the Chiefs a new $3 billion stadium.
How generous of a state that refuses to expand Medicaid coverage to residents. Truly, those in charge have their priorities in order. Better to help the Hunt family, carpetbag owners of the Chiefs, before any needy Kansan.
One last thing for any "Chicken Little" to consider — the Chiefs intend to build a domed stadium, which will be number 11 in the NFL; the Bears would be number 12 and the Washington Commanders 13. Correct me if I’m wrong, but if you keep increasing the supply of big indoor venues, won’t you be decreasing the chances of getting a Super Bowl or Final Four? Seems to me the sky’s falling only if you build an NFL dome.
Douglas Bukowski, Berwyn
Epstein files may trip Trump
Some of the many controversies involving President Donald Trump tend to fade from public attention because he creates new ones every day. The one Trump connection that won't go away is the Epstein issue. Even his supporters are seeking details from still-unveiled sections of the massive Epstein files that the survivors, now mature women, want exposed. Trump remarkably won his first presidency after bragging about taking sexual advantage of women. This endless case, though nothing is certain yet about Trump's role in it, could be his undoing.
Ed Stone, Northbrook
Economic downgrade
Affordability concerns are not a hoax. Prices on just about everything are rising. The grade for the economy is definitely not A+++++, it’s more like F, F, F, F ,F. The midterms are coming in 11 months. Make sure you vote, vote, vote!
Richard Barber, Mount Greenwood
Holding Trump accountable
How could the lawmakers — past and present — have been so negligent that they would not include a law that would prohibit the behavior of someone like Donald Trump? There should have been consequences, including eviction from office for the verbal and executive orders that have adversely affected the citizens of the country.
Saul Holmes, Chatham