As a shy child, I cherished trips to my local library. From “The Giver” by Lois Lowry to “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Zora Neale Hurston, I was transported to different worlds and time periods from the comfort of the library. Now, as a Chicago Public Schools English teacher, I want my students to be as enthralled by their library as I was at their age — and still am!

I’m glad that Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget directs $552 million to Chicago Public Schools, which will protect my students and school staff. However, I am concerned about the proposed cuts to Chicago Public Library staffing. That’s why I’m urging Chicagoans to write their alderperson, the mayor’s office and Library Commissioner Chris Brown. Tell these officials how much you love the library and want it to be fully funded and fully staffed.

According to a CPL staff member who responded to AFSCME Local 1215’s call for comment: “A teen who I have known for a few years has been coming to my branch more lately, and has started to feel very comfortable chatting with me about his life. … This teen is actively expressing interest in a safe afterschool activity that I have not been able to help him access because I am covering gaps in our staffing.” As a high school teacher, I want my teenage students to have a safe space at their fully staffed library and be able to participate in a wide range of after-school activities.

Public schools and libraries are public goods, and both should be invested in for the benefit of everyone. Another CPL staff member explained that “the current understaffing at my library forces us to turn away patrons who need one-on-one assistance with job applications, finding housing, or accessing reliable information.”

Johnson’s proposed budget would eliminate 89 CPL positions after a loss of 78 positions last year. With the two years of cuts combined, it’s the equivalent of each library branch losing two staff members.

Progressive revenue solutions, such as taxing the rich, should fully fund both CPS and CPL. Investing in education and libraries protects Chicago’s most vulnerable and helps build a better city for everyone, not just for the ultra-rich.

— Bridget Greenfield, Chicago

Citizens can drive change

Thank you to Andy Shaw and the Tribune for Shaw’s inspirational op-ed “The paradox of billionaire philanthropists” (Nov. 18). It reminded me that there are still creative thinkers invested in seeing Chicago thrive. Now, if only our leadership would listen.

The first letter I had published in the Tribune, just after moving here in 1991, was very similar. At that time, there was an ongoing issue about the cleanliness and upkeep of the CTA stations. I offered the idea of volunteers “adopting” stations to take on the necessary maintenance.

Although the idea never materialized as a policy, I was subsequently elected president of the Transit Riders’ Authority for a two-year term following the letter. As citizens, we were able to work directly with the CTA on our concerns.

For instance, current riders may not recall, but the trains used to run as A or B trains, neither of which stopped at every station. It was a system that required riders to get off an A train to wait for a B train, which would then let them off at their stop. If that sounds convoluted or unnecessary, it was. A significant accomplishment of the Transit Riders’ Authority was persuading the CTA to adopt the all-stops system we have today.

My point is that creative thinking and citizen involvement can be a practical approach to solving our city’s problems. Shaw has put forward an innovative, admittedly ambitious, proposal.

Yet, it’s entirely realistic, if tackled by people who are capable and willing to work on his suggestion of finding five of the most critical initiatives. Or, how about just starting with one program that needs funding for which a donor or group of contributors could receive acknowledgment?

I have often wondered whether Chicago citizens could even start GoFundMe campaigns to help lift our city from this economic crisis in some way. The more fortunate among us live in a city that the world admires for a reason. Besides complaining about taxes, how can we keep it that way?

Shaw identifies himself as an “inveterate dreamer.” I belong to a group called the “Idealists of the World.” Perhaps he and I need to organize the “Chicago Dreamers and Idealists Society for Economic Growth.”

— Linda Finley Belan, Chicago

Kindness of Chicagoans

My family recently visited Chicago to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. She has Rett syndrome and is handicapped; that day, she wore a birthday crown. We spent the afternoon on State Street and Lake Shore Drive, enjoying lunch at The Walnut Room and shopping along the way. What we experienced throughout the city deserves to be recognized.

At a time when so many conversations focus on what is wrong with Chicago, we were met with everything that is right. Strangers along State Street, in the Walnut Room and even as we walked along Lake Shore Drive greeted her with genuine warmth. People smiled at her crown, held doors, wished/sang her happy birthday and treated her with a kindness that stayed with us long after we left.

My daughter is nonverbal, but she felt every bit of that joy. As a mother, witnessing Chicagoans welcome her so openly meant more than I can express. It reminded us compassion is still alive and well, often found in the small, everyday gestures of ordinary people.

Thank you to the people of Chicago who made her birthday so special. At a time when the city is so often painted in a negative light, our experience showed the opposite.

Chicago’s heart is still very much alive.

— Shannon Folk, Pontiac, Illinois

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/29/letters-112925-chicago-public-library/