Letters to the Editor
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It can happen here by Shawn Lewis
Published in the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark on March 11, 2025
This past November, 49% of American voters engaged in cognitive dissonance and voted for Donald J. Trump as POTUS. These voters believed a man who illegally hired hundreds of undocumented Polish immigrants would fix our immigration system. They believed a man who admitted to misusing charitable funds intended for veterans and who filed for bankruptcy six times would “fix” the economy. They believed a man who is a convicted felon, was found guilty of sexual abuse, and would not be allowed to coach a Brookfield Little League team because he would fail the background check would be “tough on crime.” Astonishingly, a significant number of these voters also seem to believe that the number of Trump flags displayed correlates to one’s love of country — thus confusing cultish jingoism with patriotism.
Since Trump’s inauguration, his “law and order” agenda has included the following: attempting to illegally repeal the 14th Amendment, illegally firing multiple inspectors general, pardoning nearly 1,600 terrorists, including those who were found guilty of attacking law enforcement with chairs, chemical spray, metal poles, and stun guns, illegally ordering the Justice Department not to enforce a TikTok ban, illegally freezing foreign aid, firing multiple prosecutors involved in the various cases against him, attempting to engage in an apparent quid-pro-quo with the mayor of New York City, and allowing Elon Musk to illegally access the Treasury payment system and Americans’ Social Security information.
Ninety years ago, a dystopian novel by Sinclair Lewis warned U.S. citizens of the potential for a U.S.-style fascist president. The title of that book was, It Can’t Happen Here. Unless vast swaths of Americans recognize the clear and present danger to our liberal democracy, it can happen here.
Shawn Lewis
Brookfield
Op-ed is hypocritical by Mary Peterson
Published in the Chicago Tribune on March 9, 2025
The hypocrisy of the Feb. 27 op-ed by Ray LaHood and Jim Nowlan is staggering (Extreme gerrymandering as bad as old white-only primaries.”) The tirade about gerrymandering in Illinois boggles the mind when it is being done on an epic level in many red states across the nation as well as through voter suppression actions.
What happens in Illinois if it changes and Republicans gain the majority? More gerrymandering in their favor? Undoubtably.
I would suggest to LaHood and Nowland that they get their Republic peers in legislatures across the nation to support eliminating the electoral College and implement a simple one-person, one-vote process so the majority actually does win, but we know that won’t happen.
-Mary Peterson, Riverside
Letters to the Editor Guide
Chicago Tribune
For on-line exclusive letters, go to www.chicagotribune.com/letters. Email your letter submissions, 400 words or less, to letters@chicagotribune.com. Include your full name, address and phone number. NOTE! They only publish your name and city, not full address or phone number.
USA Today
How to submit content – Submit letters, columns and comments to USA Today: Here’s how-
Comments and Letters – If you are interested in joining conversations about topics in USA TODAY, email letters@usatoday.com, comment on Facebook or use #tellusatoday on Twitter.
Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length and to conform to USA Todays editorial style and standards. Submissions of 200 words or fewer have the best chance of being published. Letters must include a name, address and phone number. Corrections to published letters or columns follow USA Today’s guidelines.
New York Times
Learn how to submit a letter to the editor of The New York Times and about their selection process. The New York Times encourages a diversity of voices and views in their letters.
Submit a Letter to the Editor – Readers of The New York Times can submit letters to letters@nytimes.com.
Submission requirements – to be considered for publication, letters should:
Preferably be 150 to 200 words.
Generally, refer to an article that has appeared within the past seven days.
Include the writer’s city or town and phone number.
Not contain attachments
Be exclusive to The New York Times. They do not publish open letters or third-party letters.
Because of the large volume of submissions they receive, they cannot personally acknowledge each submission. Writers of letters selected for publication will generally be notified within a week. Letters may be edited and shortened for space.
Local Journalism Directory Website
https://www.mediaanddemocracyproject.org/journalism-directory-list/illinois