Plastic pollution can be cut, even without a UN treaty

The United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee’s recent failure to secure a global plastics treaty was a disappointment for the environmental community. But having a front row seat at the sessions only strengthened my resolve to reduce plastic pollution.

Weeks before, as an EarthEcho International Marine Plastics ambassador, I met with congressional offices on Capitol Hill to advocate for meaningful federal policies to promote extended producer responsibility, a strategy that holds the biggest producers of plastics, like big corporations, accountable for the waste they create.

Then in August, I traveled to Geneva as a member of EarthEcho International’s delegation for the U.N. treaty negotiations. After spending 25 hours inside the U.N. and listening to almost 12 hours of talks, I learned enough to contribute to discussions and more importantly, to teach others what I know. Was I hoping to see consensus on the treaty? Yes. But I was also excited to learn about how negotiations happen at an international level so that I could contribute one day.

Through my experiences, one thing was clear: Policymakers know they can’t ignore youth perspectives. We are the backbone of the next generation and are already doing hands-on work to reduce plastic pollution. What we need is a seat at the table. Passing legislation in Washington and at the U.N. is important, but so are smaller scale efforts.

Now is the time to take action, whether that is picking up trash at your local park, attending a city council meeting or meeting with your representatives to advocate for inclusive policies. For my part, I’m working on a local policy campaign in my state and supporting my fellow EarthEcho International Marine Plastics ambassadors in their work to fight plastic pollution.

Aana Shenai, EarthEcho International Marine Plastics youth ambassador, and student, Loyola University Chicago

Chicago History Museum is resolute in its mission

I write on behalf of the Chicago History Museum in response to the Sept. 17 op-ed by Kevin M. Schultz and Daniel Kaliszyk, “Chicago History Museum Cuts Hinder Research, Exploration.” While we respect the authors’ passion for historical access, their op-ed does not reflect the reality of the museum’s position and the difficult decisions we have had to make.

As the authors note, cultural institutions are currently facing very real financial challenges. What their piece fails to acknowledge is that these challenges at Chicago History Museum and elsewhere are not new. The museum continues to operate with ongoing operating deficit challenges, requiring us to balance fiscal responsibility with fulfilling our mission. In response, we have taken proactive steps to reduce expenses and increase efficiency all in an effort to improve financial sustainability and preserve our ability to serve the public.

The museum remains committed to our mission: to be a hub of scholarship, learning, inspiration and civic engagement for our members, visitors and the city of Chicago. We will continue to make the necessary decisions — however difficult — to preserve that mission and ability to operate for the long term.

Donald Lassere, president and CEO, Chicago History Museum

Chicago’s Mexican community is down but not out

From my house in Chicago Lawn, on a typical Mexican Independence weekend, I would have heard car horns acknowledging other cars carrying Mexican flags. I would be hearing people screaming with joy and pride because of their Mexican heritage. I would watch videos of Pulaski Road (Greater Lawn), downtown and 26th Street (Little Village) being filled with the same energy and representation. Instead, I heard silence and saw images of more muted celebrations.

Being 44 years old, my time participating in such festivities has passed, one might think. However, this is the first year I went out and bought a Mexican flag and the Mexican flag hood ornament. I have a certain privilege that some in my community do not: I am a natural-born U.S. citizen. My mother’s family has lived in the Valley in Texas since before it was annexed by the U.S. My father migrated to this country while a teen. I want to use this privilege and my First Amendment right to manifest my pride in my Mexican ancestry.

Last weekend, I saw videos of the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas González and of countless U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in my community and others places nearby., To top it off, I also witnessed the heaviest Chicago police presence I’ve seen in my life on Pulaski Road. It seems as if some officers made sure to ticket drivers who flew flags on their cars. That made me feel marginalized by both federal and local law enforcement officials. The city claims to support our community, but some city workers’ actions prove otherwise.

Yes, it feels as if my community is mourning. We are confused, scared, hiding and angry. Right now, it seems as if those who want to hurt us are winning. But I know right now is only temporary. Mourning is also transient. And we are not the only community feeling marginalized.

Our ancestors have endured worse, and we have survived. I end with a quote cited as Incan leader Túpac Amaru’s last words before he was executed: “Tikrashami hunu makanakuypi kasha” — I’ll be back, and there will be millions of us.

Zitlaltoka Ramirez, Chicago Lawn

Deadly ICE shooting infuriating on so many levels

The circumstances surrounding the recent shooting of Silverio Villegas González are so multifaceted and infuriating that it takes some effort to lay them out.

First and foremost, a resident of our community, a foreign national, was gunned down by a masked agent of the U.S. government. That this happened at all is a stain on our nation and our state.

Next, the agency, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose armed officer was responsible, makes no apology but rather completely supports the actions of its officer without an investigation. Further, ICE put forth the story that Villegas González had tried to attack the officer with his car, dragging the officer along the street and causing him to fear for his life, which led to the shooting.

The officer said his injuries were “nothing major.” To me, it hardly seems credible that a person trying to escape abduction would drive toward his captor. The feds also said Villegas González had a “history of reckless driving.” But according to the Sun-Times, he had one citation for speeding and three for either having an uninsured vehicle or expired license over the course of 15 years. That’s not what I would call reckless.

I also want to know: Where are the Franklin Park Police? We are told that neither Broadview, Cook County or even the state has any power to investigate the boarded-up but occupied concentration camp — ICE facility — in Broadview. Yet a Broadview police officer is stationed nearby to monitor any activity on the street, where he does have authority.

We know that the FBI and the entire U.S. Justice Department are in cahoots with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. We know that all orders are delivered by Donald Trump through his castrated department heads. So anyone expecting an honest investigation from them is a fool. So that leaves the state, county and most importantly the village of Franklin Park and its director of police, Michael Witz. Can’t ICE be investigated by our entities for breaking the law?

Kenneth Stein, Lombard

Chicago police officers: Give ICE the freeze

How much money would it take to sell your soul to the devil? Maybe $50,000? That’s the amount TV ads mention as a signing bonus offer for a Chicago police officer to join ICE.

The ads claim the job entails arresting “the worst of the worst,” but if that were true, why weren’t they all arrested in the first few days after Donald Trump took office? If those arrested were truly dangerous, and they were given due process, many Americans would be applauding instead of protesting. Instead, almost every day we hear about a harmless flower vendor being arrested, or hardworking men looking for work arrested in a Home Depot parking lot. Some of those arrested are married to American citizens. You barely hear about some terrible criminal being arrested.

It’s true officers took an oath to serve and protect, but who are you serving and protecting by becoming an ICE agent? A would-be dictator in the White House, who serves no one but himself, or the hardworking people of Chicago who serve their employers and want to live peacefully? No amount of money is worth your soul or your conscience.

Joyce Porter, Oak Park

Matt Shaw has union to thank

The Cubs allowed their third baseman to miss a game so he could attend a memorial service for someone described charitably as a “conservative influencer.” In the past, it would be unheard of for a club to allow a player to leave the team for any reason, let alone a service for a non-family member. Now, players enjoy fine salaries because of the hard-won right of free agency, and they can obtain days off based on bereavement or paternity.

Although Matt Shaw’s situation didn’t fit the criteria of Major League Baseball’s bereavement list, I wonder whether the Cubs allowed a day off out of the goodness of their hearts. I also wonder whether Shaw knows that the excellent working conditions he enjoys are due to the bravery and sacrifices of the men who founded and built the MLB Players Association, the ballplayers union.

Jim Bruton, Avondale

Tainting Tylenol

The U.S. Supreme Court has given Donald Trump virtual blanket immunity for any action he takes in his job as president. Does that also include protection from deliberately slanderous libel against his “enemies” and against the targets of his sycophants?

On Monday, with henchmen Robert Kennedy Jr. and Mehmet Oz at his side, Trump condemned the use of Tylenol, long recognized as a valuable and safe medication for the suppression of pain and fever. Aside from sowing skepticism and concern in the general public — and consternation in the medical profession — Trump’s suggestion that acetaminophen could cause autism led to an immediate loss of 7.5% (about $2.6 billion) in the stock of Tylenol’s maker, Kenvue Inc.

That company should immediately file a multibillion-dollar malicious libel lawsuit against Trump, Kennedy and even Oz, who backpedaled from Trump’s warnings. The suit should easily be proven by the many published scientific and medical studies that have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of Tylenol use. If the Supreme Court should rule that Trump has immunity even in matters of defamation, that immunity should not apply to his henchmen, who could be left to face the consequences of Trump’s and their assaults.

Charles Berg, Hyde Park-Kenwood

History repeats itself

Almost a century ago a relatively unknown German far-right winger named Horst Wessel was assassinated, and Adolf Hitler made him into a national martyr and had one of his poems used as a national anthem.

Sound familiar?

William P. Gottschalk, Lake Forest

Global scare

I should remind readers who think Donald Trump behaved like a buffoon during his appearance in front of the United Nations General Assembly that the definition of buffoonery requires that it be funny or amusing. Trump is not amusing, and I am sure that those present understood, to their horror, that there is nothing even slightly funny about him being one of the most powerful people in the world.

Curt Fredrikson, Mokena

Cold-hearted

What kind of Christian says without shame or remorse, “I hate my opponent[s], and I don’t want the best for them”? One with the heart of King Herod, that’s who.

Douglas Bukowski, Berwyn