Informed Opinion Online
Sanctuary cities prohibit local law officers from assisting with immigration law enforcers. Nonetheless, since immigration law is federally enforced, sanctuary cities like Chicago cannot offer full protection to undocumented residents. As a result, even long-term resident migrants like Maria can still be uprooted and deported.
Chicagoans have never gotten their money’s worth from Metra. Singapore’s world-class Rapid Transit network transported 1.3 billion passengers with a budget of just under $4 billion USD last year, equating to about $0.34 in expenses per passenger transported. Paris, Tokyo, and other rail-based cities offer similar numbers. With its 1 billion dollar budget this year, Metra conducted just 32 million passenger trips, spending $32.12 of taxpayer funds for each trip it conducted.
Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people comprise only 0.6% of the U.S. population, but Project 2025 would have you believe that ‘transgender ideology’ is an existential threat to the very fabric of American life. Fear-mongering about a vulnerable minority group can admittedly prove to be a viable, albeit cruel, political strategy. But if history is any indication, when one scapegoat falls, the hunt for the next begins.
Ensuring the success of this event is essential for reminding Mexican residents – and all other residents – that they are welcome and honored in Chicago. El Grito and Mexican Independence Day are annual opportunities for Mexican residents to commemorate their culture and history. Caravans, too, are a method for Mexican residents to gather and see the presence and impact of the Mexican community in the city they call home.
Admission exams are not the problem and eliminating them is not the solution. The long running, rampant problem is underfunded and under-resourced schools that have failed their students long before high school. Without the proper investment in educators, in parents, and in students themselves, removing an admissions exam serves as a performative but ineffective gesture to address the striking issues of segregation and academic achievement gaps.