My family has lived in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood for years, squeezed between highways, truck routes and industrial corridors. As a nurse and the Midwest regional representative for the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, I’ve spoken publicly about what school nurses there see firsthand: kids whose asthma flares up just from their walk to class, missed school days, parents missing work to sit in an emergency room. This isn’t abstract for me — it’s real life in my family’s neighborhood.
Heavy-duty truck and engine manufacturers have known about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s nitrogen oxide standards since 2022 and have already started to build compliant engines. Now some are lobbying to delay or weaken enforcement instead of honoring that commitment, and neighborhoods like Pilsen absorb the impact.
Clean transportation is an upstream investment in health, not just an emissions target. A bus that runs clean means a child at the bus stop breathes easier today, not decades from now.
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Manufacturers should be held to the standards they are already obligated to meet. The EPA shouldn’t let industry renegotiate at the expense of my neighbors’ health.
— Gloria E. Barrera, Midwest regional representative, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments
Study of gas stoves, asthma
As an emergency physician in Chicago, I have seen too often when asthma stops being something a patient can manage at home and becomes a medical emergency. Asthma attacks can mean missed school, missed work, frightened families, emergency department visits, hospitalization and death.
We invest enormous resources in treating asthma. However, we should be as committed to understanding and preventing environmental exposures that worsen it.
That is why published research on gas stoves and asthma deserves attention and why the government’s decision to cut a study short should concern anyone who cares about wellness and cost of healthcare.
Researchers at Case Western Reserve and MetroHealth received federal funding to study patients with poorly controlled asthma by replacing gas stoves with induction stoves. The original study was designed to include 1,200 households, but funding was terminated before researchers reached that goal.
Even so, the smaller study produced striking results. Participants experienced fewer asthma symptoms and a 70% reduction in emergency department visits, along with fewer missed days of school and work. In homes where indoor air quality was measured, kitchen nitrogen dioxide levels, which worsens asthma, also fell dramatically.
As a physician, I believe the appropriate response is clear: Study these findings further.
I have approached this issue personally, too. My family and I have worked to electrify our Chicago home. I once believed gas cooking was indispensable, but when we monitored our indoor air quality, we could see the impact gas cooking had, even with a high-powered ventilation hood. After switching to induction, our indoor air quality improved.
Of course, one household is not evidence. That is exactly why research matters.
Families deserve reliable information about the air they breathe. Physicians need evidence about environmental contributors to disease. Policymakers need data to determine which interventions improve health and reduce healthcare costs.
Cleaner indoor air cannot become a benefit available only to families who can afford appliance upgrades. Many people rent or live in homes requiring electrical work.
The debate over gas stoves has become politicized. But this should be simple: When credible evidence suggests a common, preventable exposure may worsen a serious chronic disease, we should investigate it thoroughly.
Canceling research does not eliminate risk. It leaves patients, physicians and families with fewer answers.
— Dr. Ted Shieh, Illinois Clinicians for Climate Action, Chicago
‘Chicago way’ strikes again
In the drama concerning U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” Garcia’s decision not to seek reelection and the ensuing machinations to pass the seat on to his chief of staff, the ugly memories of politics “the Chicago way” surfaced again. Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez decided to run for that seat, even though it entailed obtaining 10,000-plus petition signatures. To be safe, he got 17,000-plus signatures since petitions can be challenged.
The powers that be decided to disqualify so many of the signatures that Lopez did not have the required amount to be on the ballot.
I have been involved in Pilsen since 1967, and I have known the alderman since he was elected. While we agree on the various housing and education problems in the ward, we disagree strongly on the solutions. However, though we disagree on what to do, our conversations have never included ad hominem attacks. He has always been open to listen.
The voters should decide if Sigcho-Lopez should represent them in Congress, not some behind-the-scenes procedure that is designed to allow those with power to stay in power.
The voters should decide who represents them, not the modern-day equivalent of a smoke-filled room. The system that allows certain actors to manipulate the system to appoint successors is not democratic, fair or ethical.
I support Sigcho-Lopez’s lawsuit to get on the ballot and urge the Illinois Board of Elections to allow him that place.
— Rick Callahan, president, RR Callahan Company, Chicago
Putting our safety at risk
On Monday, O’Hare International Airport saw two emergencies because of blown tires on airplanes. No injuries were reported. In early 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration fired hundreds of employees of the Federal Aviation Administration. While Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that no “critical safety personnel” were fired, those fired included airplane maintenance mechanics and radar and landing staff. I would like to know that I can board a plane that has had proper maintenance and not worry about its tires.
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In 1965, Ralph Nader published his book “Unsafe at Any Speed,” which accused the auto industry of balking at installing safety devices such as seat belts in cars. Now it is government that is making all of us unsafe. Trump has undermined the mission of the federal agencies created to protect us.
Clean air and water regulations have been significantly reduced under Trump. Most recently, the cyclospora outbreak has claimed lives. The administration’s postponement of a Food and Drug Administration rule hampered the food safety system, which hindered a response to the outbreak.
Members of the U.S. military are unsafe. Members of Congress and family members of the 5,000 crew members have expressed serious concerns about sailors on the USS Abraham Lincoln. They are experiencing a longer than typical deployment and have been in the Middle East because of Trump’s foolish, unending war with Iran. Concerns about those sailors include poor sanitation, food shortages and mental health issues. Family members report hearing of suicide attempts on the ship.
Any critic or political opponent is not safe from Trump’s ire. We are all less safe. Trump has made it clear the only people he cares about are himself and his family.
— Bonnie Dohogne, Evanston
Note to readers
Construction on Chicago streets and bridges this summer has created headaches for many drivers. We’d like to hear from you about your frustrations with the delays and the city’s management of the closures and detours. Send a letter of no more than 400 words by Wednesday, Sept. 2 to [email protected]. Be sure to include your full name and city/town.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].