Regarding the article “‘An incredibly brazen act'” (March 12): To be sure, I believe anyone who cares about the value of human life should feel the same passion that Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke expressed in her sympathy for Hadiya Pendleton’s family. No family should ever have to endure the tragic nightmare of losing a beloved child.

At the same time, I also feel passionate about my hope that Micheail Ward, the “alleged gunman” in Hadiya’s case, receives a fair trial. As the article states, one of the detectives on the case, John Halloran, worked under disgraced former police Cmdr. Jon Burge, who was convicted in federal court of perjury and obstruction of justice. In fact, Halloran was named in three misconduct cases that cost Chicago more than $7 million, according to The Chicago Reporter.

As the article points out, Ward’s attorney contended that “the alleged associates of Ward all recanted at trial and said they were threatened by police.” Ward has maintained that police abused him and violated his rights to coerce his confession for Hadiya’s murder.

As a professor who cares deeply about young people in our city, I hope the Tribune’s audience is reading about this extremely high-profile case with the nuance it deserves. What lesson are we teaching our communities if Ward’s lawyer’s concerns about potential police coercion are not taken seriously, especially given the ongoing impact of this problem on young Black and Latinx people?

As a mother, I honor Hadiya and her life from the depths of my heart. I would never intend for my sense of alarm over the possibility that Ward’s confession was produced through police coercion to come across as a sign of disrespect toward Hadiya’s family. But I am concerned about Ward’s chances for a fair trial, especially since news media often refer to him as a “gang member” and “alleged killer.”

First, we must demand accountability from all perpetrators of gun violence. Second, we must also insist that the criminal legal system does everything in its power to recognize convictions produced through police violence so that we can see an end to such practices at once. Given the possibility that Ward did not commit this crime, can we demand a fair outcome for both Hadiya and Ward?

Let’s not be too quick to jump to conclusions here.

Evanston mayor’s race

Nothing better illustrates the challenge the Tribune Editorial Board faces when endorsing in suburban municipal elections than its ill-informed endorsement of Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss for reelection (“Tribune Editorial Board endorses Daniel Biss for mayor of Evanston,” March 16). It’s painfully obvious that the editorial board considered the one matter that grabbed big headlines in the Tribune and was unaware of, or ignored, the issues actually driving this race.

I lived in Evanston for 17 wonderful years and have kept close tabs on Evanston government ever since. I avidly advocated for then-state Sen. Biss in the 2018 gubernatorial primary. But Biss’ performance as Evanston mayor makes me grateful that JB Pritzker prevailed.

Under Biss, the city resorted to its practice of hiring less than qualified staffers to assure they’ll never rock the boat with innovative ideas. Under Biss’ leadership, nearly all of the experienced and qualified candidates for city manager failed to advance in 2022. The qualified candidate who was offered the job declined it, leaving the city scrambling to promote to city manager its chief information officer, despite his lack of education, training or experience in city management.

He promoted a staffer who is not a planner as director of community development. She squandered $750,000 on an overpriced and woefully inadequate Envision Evanston 2045 comprehensive plan that Biss sought to rush through the City Council before the upcoming April 1 election. Community backlash forced revisions to the flawed plan and brought the zoning rewrite to a halt.

Under Biss, the city’s legal department fell into turmoil with allegations of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The city’s corporation counsel ultimately resigned.

That’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. By focusing on an issue that garnered Tribune headlines, the editorial board didn’t examine the actual issues Evanstonians are weighing this election. It appears that the editorial board never gave challenger Jeff Boarini the consideration he warranted.

Evanston voters — and Tribune readers — deserve better.

Deferred maintenance

The front page of the March 22 Tribune had an article about the need to protect our state’s historic sites (“‘We’ve got to protect it'”). What caught my eye wasn’t the current state of disrepair of the New Salem State Historic Site, but the estimated $1 billion in deferred maintenance on properties managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

It begs the question: What is the total cost of deferred maintenance on all public-owned buildings and sites in our state? The estimated deferred maintenance on the Thompson Center in downtown Chicago was more than $300 million, which is why it was targeted to be demolished; then Google stepped up to save the building.

Between deferred maintenance, unfunded pension costs and more, how can our governor stand up and promote himself on his performance as the state’s chief executive? He would be fired immediately from any similar position in the private sector.

So sad.

Underenrolled school

Regarding a recent op-ed comparing Chicago Hope Academy and Manley Career Academy High School (“The tale of two Chicago schools,” March 18): Why has no one mentioned the fiscal and educational irresponsibility for keeping Manley open with an enrollment under 100 students and a building capacity of more than 1,000 students? How are these students receiving a well-rounded education? What is the cost of keeping that building in operation?

There are several other schools with low enrollment.

Why hasn’t the Tribune raised this issue? Here’s a place where Chicago Public Schools could save money.

Right to Play Act bill

I could write a book about the number of times I have become frustrated with the Illinois High School Association over the years, both as a parent and as an educator and coach. But the IHSA is right about the dangers of Illinois House Bill 3037, the Right to Play Act, introduced by state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville.

Trust me. I absolutely loved playing and coaching travel/club ball over the years, but the athletic trainers and doctors are correct when they say that kids will overextend themselves physically, mentally and emotionally if they are allowed to participate simultaneously in travel sports during their school sports seasons. Tracking of these injuries, especially concussion protocol, between a club sport that likely doesn’t provide immediate and/or sustained on-site access to a certified athletic trainer or doctor, is something that frightens me as a parent.

I know the draw and lure of travel ball is exciting because I’ve lived it as a player, a coach and a parent. But here’s the truth of the matter — if your kid gets hurt from being overworked, they aren’t going to play in college because they either won’t physically be able to, or they’ll be too burned out to even want to play. As coaches and parents, we’ve seen this phenomenon happen again and again. Also, if your kid is that good, college coaches will find them. To be honest, I’ve had several college coaches pop in over the years and not just to watch games but to watch high school practices, too (like the head softball coach at the University of Michigan, Bonnie Tholl).

I hope our representatives across the great state of Illinois will continue to let their constituents’ children experience both interscholastic sports and travel/club sports separately during their respective seasons. Honestly, travel/club ball already has the majority of the year for its participation, so allowing our kids the honor of representing their neighborhoods, their schools and their communities for a modicum of their athletic careers is a privilege we should still strive to uphold and protect for our youths.

Here’s to another great spring season of IHSA sports before our kids get to enjoy their summer travel sports teams!

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