If Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to do the smart thing, he will buy back Chicago’s parking meters to upgrade accessibility for everyone while creating revenue for the city.
Currently, drivers wanting to park on metered city streets have to either type information into an app on a phone or slog a half a block in snow and rain to enter their license plate number on hard-to-read screens before inserting a credit card. What is rarely acknowledged is how alienating — and old school! — the clunky process has been. The result is drivers who never fully bought into the system altering their spending patterns to avoid patronizing Chicago businesses, restaurants and cultural attractions where street parking payment is required.
New artificial intelligence-assisted parking companies are promising different forms of connectivity (Wi-Fi, radio waves) and/or smart devices such as transponders or license-reading cameras. They are using them in real time to detect vehicles and process payments for street parking automatically with no one manually entering anything.
When drivers purchase or renew their city vehicle stickers, they could set up street parking accounts for a newly realized system to gain easy and worry-free parking access throughout Chicago. The city would gain increased profits through tools such as automatic payment, enforcement (ticketing), reduced manpower and dynamic pricing. Scofflaws or visitors to the city could be identified and docked through bills sent to their homes.
If Johnson were to pull off a parking meter buyback and improve the system accordingly, he would be cementing a legacy that he did more than cater to special bases and entrenched interests of the city but worked for all of Chicago.
— Elizabeth Mina, Chicago
Chicago’s response to HIV
In 2024, Chicago recorded 818 new HIV diagnoses — an increase of 12.5% over 2023 and nearly 30% higher than 2022. This is not progress. This is a crisis.
The Chicago Department of Public Health’s response: Defund established HIV care providers serving the communities where infection rates are climbing fastest.
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Nearly half of all new 2024 diagnoses occurred among Hispanic Chicagoans. Black Chicagoans accounted for 36% of new cases and nearly half of all new AIDS diagnoses. These are the communities that AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and South Side Help Center (SSHC), among others, have served for years — communities now losing over $480,000 per year in Ryan White Part A federal funding.
The loss was not inevitable. It resulted from a procedural failure: CDPH issued requests for proposals before the federally mandated planning council had finalized its funding allocations. Providers applied without knowing available resources. The result was a predictable mismatch and proven providers losing funding.
Almost 300 of AHF’s clients now face disrupted HIV primary care, and hundreds of SSHC’s clients are losing access to early intervention services at a moment when new infections are accelerating. Forcing patients to transition providers mid-treatment risks medication lapses, missed appointments and disengagement from care — the exact opposite of what a rising epidemic demands.
CDPH has the authority and the resources to fix this immediately. The question is whether the department will choose to deploy the resources to the communities and providers where the need is greatest, or continue on a path that leaves the most vulnerable Chicagoans behind.
— Farqan Khan, family nurse practitioner, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Chicago
4th Congressional District race
Stop the presses! I actually agree with a Tribune editorial (“The challenge to Sigcho-Lopez’s petitions shows what’s wrong with Illinois ballot access,” June 17). I live in the 4th Congressional District, and Patty Garcia might be a decent candidate. But I would not vote for her if she were Mother Teresa.
I can’t believe U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia took away my right to vote like that. Yes, I will support Byron Sigcho-Lopez.
— Deborah Donovan, Berwyn
Bikes downtown a bad idea
While reading about the tragic death of Riley O’Neil, maybe it is time to just realize that bikes don’t belong in a crowded downtown.
As much as I hate to say that, with the number of people on cellphones, distracted driving and people just not looking, it is becoming more and more apparent that the safety of cyclists is not the the paramount importance that it should be. And before all the cyclists get upset at my opinion, maybe they wouldn’t have to go to another vigil.
The behavior of humans will not change with all this technology. It will only get worse, and it doesn’t matter how many bike lanes you put in, how many signs you put up, how many laws you create. Unfortunately, you might see another death like O’Neil’s.
— Kelly Flower, Lombard
A great day at the ballpark
Last Sunday, my son and I joined more than 38,500 baseball fans to enjoy a wonderful game between the Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers. We were surrounded by mostly Japanese Dodger fans in our section. We all stood for the national anthem, and all cheered the players — children, adults, elderly people, wearing the jerseys for Paul Konerko, Carlos Quentin, Frank Thomas, Jackie Robinson and Shohei Ohtani. Just the best of what you want at a big-time sporting event.
No mayhem as in New York, no political foolishness as in D.C. Just a great day in Chicago.
— Dave Hubert, Yorkville
We owe Rahm Emanuel thanks
The more that I read about the ongoing World Cup tournament, the more delighted and thankful I am that Chicago is not hosting any of the games.
Between the huge expenses other cities and states have incurred, the disruptions to daily life and the unseemly profits that FIFA is evidently reaping, we are benefiting greatly from Rahm Emanuel’s decision as mayor to steer clear of the World Cup.
I believe the residents of Chicago owe Emanuel our hearty thanks for saving our dollars and peace of mind by avoiding this travesty.
— Paul Z. Saiger, Chicago
The impression Obama made
My wife, Sue, and I were walking on Sunnyside Avenue in Ravenswood Manor past John Cullerton’s house when he was hosting a fundraiser for Barack Obama during Obama’s campaign for U.S. Senate. Cullerton was president of the Illinois Senate at the time.
We listened to Obama speak for a few minutes from the sidewalk. I looked at Sue and said he would run for president someday; she agreed. He had a confidence and style that were so very easy to admire. He did it in such an engaging manor.
We are very much looking forward to visiting and learning from the Obama Presidential Center.
— Bill Termini, Chicago
Editor’s note: An earlier version misspelled cycling advocate Riley O’Neil’s last name. The Tribune regrets the error.
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