Growing up, I didn’t think I’d be where I am today. I was raised in Chatham before moving to Hyde Park for high school, and my childhood led me to disengage from school. I averaged 40 absences every year, and my GPA was under 2.0. My future was defined by those statistics — no one saw me as more than those numbers — until I was introduced to The Support Group.
When I first attended the group's Youth Peace Ambassadors program, I thought it was stupid. But after repeated exposure to the program, which provides a safe space for teens to talk about their experiences, I started to let my walls down. The program uses peer-to-peer mentoring. Ambassadors, who are close in age to the teen participants, can better connect with students about their experiences, as well as provide perspective on dealing with issues like anger and depression that stem from growing up around violence.
The program worked for me because it gave me tools to process the violence in my community. That’s why I continue to lead the organization’s youth programming. Our city and community leaders need to invest in more comprehensive programs like this that provide positive environments and opportunities for young people to thrive.
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Reducing violence is only one outcome; another is giving every child in Chicago a chance to believe his or her future matters. They need to see they aren’t just numbers — another life lost, another kid in jail. They need to know they live in a city that won’t abandon them.
Many of the teens I work with have no hope for the future, much less the present. Evidence shows that growing up with this sense of hopelessness makes children more likely to engage in risky behavior, like joining a gang or dropping out of school. Combating this learned attitude is the hardest thing I encounter in my work.
This summer, let’s remember that youth from all parts of Chicago deserve a carefree season of street festivals and beach days. By changing our attitude toward Chicago youth, welcoming them in our public spaces and supporting them with genuine opportunities and resources, we can help them see that they deserve a future full of possibilities.
Alexis Harrison, program director, The Support Group, former Youth Peace Ambassador
I am considering ending my subscription to the Sun-Times because of the unending President Joe Biden rhetoric. Friday, Mona Charen called for Mr. Biden to step down as the 2024 candidate listing her reasons.
It seems the media and its columnists are intent on electing the next president. I understand someone expressing their viewpoint is their right. But since the first presidential debate, the media is honing in on what it sees as an opportunity to get more readers and listeners, rather than covering the event and moving on. Let the conventions pick the candidates, and let the people decide who their president will be! Cover the conventions. Cover the campaign. Just the facts, please.
Connie Citarelli, Huntley
Joe Biden should step down. Donald Trump should join him. After all, if an airline pilot has to call it quits at 65, why not a presidential candidate? Think about it: A pilot only puts a few hundred passengers at risk while the leader of the free world can affect hundreds of millions of people. The airlines got it right. Why can't Congress?
Bob Ory, Elgin
We should be talking up how the president has long had a stutter and generally overcomes it. When stutterers are irritated or tired — both of which he was at the debate — they are more likely to stutter. Donald Trump, of course, made much of this and belittled Joe Biden, not initially, but he never can restrain himself for long. He mocked a disabled reporter, now he mocks our differently-abled POTUS. Of course, he does because he’s a bully.
Maja Ramírez, Avondale
To paraphrase a popular 1960s movie, what we have in America is a failure to communicate — and I don’t just mean President Joe Biden’s recent presidential debate performance vs. Donald Trump. The 25th Amendment provides succession from president to vice president if the president dies in office or otherwise can’t serve. It’s not there solely for ambitious, itchy-fingered "loyal opposition" members to cast aside a chief executive every time he stutters or falls off his bicycle.
Currently, VP Kamala Harris would become president in this case. You might not like her any more than you do Biden, but she’s an energetic 59-year-old, a spring chicken by today’s campaigning standards. She’d have help, too, from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Minority House Leader Hakeem Jeffries and others.
We had similar handwringing, albeit after a vice presidential debate in 1988 between Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and Sen. Dan Quayle. Bentsen’s "You’re no Jack Kennedy" poke at Quayle had Republicans in "the sky is falling" mode until cooler heads like Sen. Robert Dole and Treasury Secretary James Baker prevailed.
They would have done the same if an incapacitated President George H.W. Bush necessitated Quayle’s rise to the presidency.
The same will happen if Biden leaves office prematurely. Democrats and Republicans have always found a way to carry on — at least, when they still worked together.
Second, Biden’s sometimes inarticulate speech, slow-stepping and diminished debating skills didn’t keep him from passing a bipartisan infrastructure bill, much-needed gun-safety legislation and a reduction in health care costs for many Americans.
Remember, Biden’s opponent has illusions of dictatorship and has said so. He is no fan of NATO or women’s rights and was found liable of sex abuse.
We know who these two men are, their plans for America if elected and the type of people they’ll hire to enact those plans. If President Biden dies, enter Kamala Harris.
If you’re that repulsed over Joe Biden’s prime time stumble, I guess you’ll vote accordingly. But do you always vote on the strength of one debate?
Jim Newton, Itasca
I suggest resolving the lingering question of mental fitness with a non-debate where the candidates meet but do not discuss policy or future plans. Instead, they vie with Wordle, Connections and other mental games, topped off with a round of Jeopardy! with questions on history, geography and civics.
Hugh Spencer, Countryside
I love and admire Joe Biden but believe he cannot win. For the sake of our nation, he must step aside and allow an invigorated campaign to start as soon as possible. Yes, he has the experience and gravitas that others in the party do not have, but it means little if he can’t get us across the finish line.
The issue must be keeping Donald Trump out of the White House and keeping the Senate and winning the House. Sadly, if Biden stays, he will be the issue rather than the future of our country and the threat of a Trump presidency. We need to be talking about the importance of our rights, the importance of our democracy and the threat of the 2025 project. In light of the recent immunity decision, think how dangerous an unleashed Trump could be in the Oval Office.
Those critical discussions are overshadowed by a focus on President Biden and when he might falter. I know Biden loves our nation and may believe he can handle the job, but elections are about winning and making your case.
It is hard to imagine things will get better even if there are glimmers of hope. Too much is at stake. I am hopeful the president will think clearly about the stakes and see the potential of a November catastrophe and the future of the country as reasons to step aside. Of course, I will stand by him and vote for him if he stays in the race, but I believe in my heart of hearts there are not enough people who will do that. It could adversely affect the ability to keep a blue firewall in the House and Senate.
Elliott Hartstein, Northbrook
President Joe Biden has done an excellent job as president, and I have supported him fully. However, after the debate, I must agree with Mona Charen that it is time for him to step down. It was not a "bad debate," but the revelation of vulnerabilities.
If a "normal" Republican, like Mitt Romney, were running, the decision would be less dire. But, as we all know, Donald Trump's candidacy is a special situation. The normal checks and balances do not apply. The leaders of the Republican party have become lap dogs and sycophants, and the U.S. Supreme Court — that former bastion of honor and ethics — has actually overturned the Constitution for his benefit.
The chaos of selecting a new Democratic candidate is nothing compared to the Trumpian dystopia that would occur if he is elected. A new candidate would engender enthusiasm and hope — and would win the election.
My preferred ticket would be Gavin Newsom-Wes Moore! But there are many other options in a deep bench.
Carol Kraines, Deerfield
Being the president of the United States is the hardest job in the world. President Joe Biden’s debate performance called into question whether he’s up to the task.
Yet, with some notable exceptions, many lawmakers are only privately expressing their doubts about the president’s fitness. They fear professional fallout. The hesitation is understandable. The president has prioritized silencing concerns over answering them.
Perhaps he’s still able to do the job. But it’s not unfair to ask him to show us.
As in life, it’s not easy to do the right thing in politics when there are costs. Or, as David Axelrod is fond of saying, there's a reason "Profiles in Courage" was a slim volume.
President Biden won the primary. But he’s not yet the nominee. He can still decide to step aside. This is the last chance to raise concerns.
Matt Ingersoll, Beverly
MAGA-Republicans are not Republicans. They are Trumplicans. Some Republicans saved our republic in 2020 by following the law in Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Mike Pence did his duty as vice president. Republicans work for law and order. Trumplicans planned Jan. 6. Republicans are conservative. Trumplicans like Putin.
Robert Kleps, Oak Park
