In an Aug. 27 op-ed (“Pfleger has been cleared of wrongdoing, but more needs to be done”), attorney Jeffery M. Leving argues that the Archdiocese of Chicago must change how it responds to allegations of sexual abuse of minors by clergy, writing that false allegations permanently tarnish innocent priests and that the archdiocese should give the accused more due process.
I am the senior director of the archdiocese’s Office for the Protection of Children and Youth (OPCY). OPCY responds to, reviews and investigates allegations of sexual abuse of minors by the archdiocese’s clergy, lay employees and volunteers. Our priority is to protect children and other vulnerable populations.
When our office receives an allegation, the archdiocese:
• Reports it to law enforcement.
• Provides pastoral outreach to the accuser and the accused.
• Promptly assesses whether safety of children requires interim action, which may include temporary withdrawal from ministry and/or the ministry site, pending investigation, and
announces it publicly.
Cardinal Joseph Bernardin adopted our policies in 1992 to ensure children were protected while an accusation was investigated, to provide outreach and support services to those who have been harmed, to provide for permanent removal of clergy found to have abused a child and for full restoration to ministry for exonerated clergy. The result is clear: The vast majority of abuse claims we receive today involve incidents that allegedly happened decades ago. New, substantiated cases of clergy abuse involving minors are extremely rare.
In 2002, our policies became the foundation for The Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People adopted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and, in 2019, the global policies adopted by the Vatican and codified in canon law. Today, Cardinal Blase Cupich, who chaired the USCCB’s Committee for the Protection of Children and Young People, continues to lead on protecting children.
We respect canon law’s procedural rights of the accused and thoroughly investigate every claim, including the possibility that it is false. If we find evidence that individuals are not truthful, we act to protect true survivors of sexual abuse. We are currently fighting a case involving a conspiracy to bring false claims; it comes as a changing legal environment has dramatically increased claims volume and settlement costs.
While we understand the difficulty that clergy and faith communities face when a priest is temporarily removed pending investigation, this prudent approach reflects our commitment to a fair process that makes the safety of children our highest priority.
— Leah M. Heffernan, senior director, Office for the Protection of Children and Youth, Archdiocese of Chicago
Improving Chicago’s fiscal state
Chicago’s financial problem resembles the old family farm. There are simply too many mouths to feed from the harvest we are producing. Stuart Loren is right about one thing (“Chicago’s fiscal crisis is a growth crisis,” Aug. 26): Chicago needs growth. But telling us we need 3% growth is like telling a farmer he needs a bigger crop. The important question is where we plant the seeds.
We will not grow our way out of this by planting the same crop in the same fields. Data centers, downtown office towers and expensive high-rises may add investment, but they will not revive a city of 234 square miles. Chicago has entire neighborhoods that have been left economically fallow for decades — vacant lots, abandoned buildings, struggling commercial streets and families waiting for investment that repeatedly lands somewhere else.
That is where the next crop should be planted. Put vacant land back to work and back on the tax rolls. Rebuild neighborhood business districts. Encourage homeownership, small builders and entrepreneurs. Cultivate one block, then another. Give private capital a reason to follow. Chicago’s great untapped economic asset is not another trophy building. It is the enormous portion of the city that is producing far below its potential.
Laura Washington asks who should be Chicago’s next mayor (“Will he run again? Johnson has the luxury of waiting to decide,”
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Aug. 26). Loren says the city needs growth. Fine. Then voters have every right to ask each candidate: What is in your plan, and what do you have in your hip pocket to make it happen? Where will you plant the next crop?Chicago cannot support all the mouths it must feed from the fields already producing. We have spent enough time dividing yesterday’s harvest. It is time to plan for spring, when we can plant the next crop.
— Tim Carew, Chicago
Land Bank needs partners
Illinois ranks 49th in the nation for new housing construction, and the Chicago metro ranks last among major metros. A ranking that low represents a decade of not building enough in a region that has the land, demand and infrastructure to build a lot more.
Cook County has tens of thousands of vacant and abandoned properties that could be homes. They just need someone to take them on.
That’s why the Cook County Land Bank exists. We acquire properties tangled up in back taxes and liens that would otherwise be nearly impossible to buy. We then sell them to people who will rehab them or build new assets.
Take, for example, the Rebuild 2.0 program in Roseland and Englewood. We allocated 33 vacant homes to the city of Chicago’s Department of Housing to be rehabbed and sold to owner-occupants. The Chicago Community Loan Fund and Greenwood Archer Capital administer the program and, along with the C3 Impact Fund, provide construction financing. A $20 million grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority helps cover developers’ acquisition costs and brings the sale price within reach of a homebuyer.
Also in Roseland, the Land Bank transferred 44 vacant lots to the Hope Center Foundation, founded by the Rev. James Meeks, which is building 50 new homes inside a six-block footprint. The homes come with the possibility of purchase assistance to eligible homebuyers.
These programs target abandoned properties near one another, so the impact is concentrated. One new or rehabbed property on a struggling block is a nice house; a dozen rehabs in a single area changes what the whole neighborhood is worth.
We’re doing the same elsewhere across Cook County, including with Claretian Associates, Interfaith Housing Development Corp. and the City at Sacred Apartments in South Chicago, which will soon deliver 81 affordable homes on five Land Bank lots.
Since 2013, this model has produced more than 2,500 new and rehabbed properties. That’s 2,500 families, business owners and nonprofits that now own property and grow wealth.
Now we need more capacity. More developers who can handle multiple projects at a time. More lenders willing to underwrite a first-time builder. More partners who can help develop land at a neighborhood scale.
I like to say that it all starts with the land, and in Cook County, we have plenty. Now we need more people ready to take it on.
— Jessica Caffrey, executive director, Cook County Land Bank Authority
More multifamily housing
There is a single solution to the high property taxes and low growth identified in articles about data centers and Chicago’s fiscal problems: Build more multifamily housing. A four-flat may pay 2 1/2 times the property taxes of a single-family home on the same sized lot, and high-rises pay exponentially more. The neighbors determined to prevent development in their backyards might reconsider if they realized that their own property taxes would go down if more housing made the city affordable to more people.
Every mayoral candidate should be assessed based on their commitment to create more housing, fast.
— Kelly Kleiman, Chicago
Chicago’s anti-business climate
Thank you for the insightful editorial on the recent World Business Chicago promotion of Chicago (“World Business Chicago’s latest messaging conveniently dovetails with Johnson’s reelection case,” Aug. 30). The statement of concern about investing in Chicago should be at the forefront of the editorial. Why in the world would any major or midmajor company invest in Chicago with the continual anti-business rhetoric, as the editorial board points out? Leaders know the business climate is unfavorable here, plus there’s the potential impact on employees and of course whether their firm makes the politically favored list or not.
Business and taxpayers in the city are viewed as piggybanks to be raided or ridiculed by this administration.
— Randall Ray, Gurnee
Where to find the next top cop
Now that the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability has hired an outside firm to lead the search for Chicago’s top cop, I’m hoping the candidate they are looking for is definitely among the ranks in the Chicago Police Department right now.
Retired police Superintendent Larry Snelling proved that without a doubt in my opinion. Choosing an individual in the ranks is overwhelmingly more advantageous than choosing someone from outside the department. They have the advantage of understanding the daily street realities, the union dynamics and the department’s inner procedures. The rank-and-file officers are more likely to trust a supervisor who has been there and did the job. That person already knows the unwritten rules and institutional history of Chicago’s communities and the department itself.
Leadership starts at the top, and it’s not about control itself; it’s about courage when control is gone. Chicago police command ranks are critical to a fair and just department that answers to the community it serves, while also being accountable to the rank-and-file officers who serve and protect the city. Personal knowledge in choosing those command assignments is far better.
— Bob Angone, retired Chicago police lieutenant, Austin, Texas
Advice for mayoral candidates
I have an idea that would cull the field of candidates for Chicago mayor and stack the deck with qualified candidates for the Chicago Board of Education. Why not get Maria Pappas, Willie Wilson, Susana Mendoza and Alexi Giannoulias to run for school board instead? They all bring a wealth of experience, proven track records of fiscal responsibility and clear thinking to the job. Add Paul Vallas, and you can’t beat it.
Seriously.
— Sheryl Slone Tarkoff, Chicago
O’Hare Flyer idea absurd
Regarding “15-minute train to O’Hare pitched” (Aug. 25): Fifteen minutes from downtown to O’Hare International Airport by train? I don’t think so.
When the private backers of this fantasy project appear before the City Council, I hope they can keep a straight face. I have dealt with numerous railroads during my professional career, and there is no way on earth that you can safely operate a train traveling at grade level, involving three railroads, with multiple interchanges that can get you from downtown to O’Hare.
I assume that the private investors floating this project also believe in Santa Claus.
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— Bruce Nathanson, Glenview
What the CTA should do
The Aug. 26 article about CTA slow zones is a joke (“Blue Line slow zones frustrate commuters”) . The Illinois car owners who pay fuel taxes would love to have just a 40-minute trip to downtown.
Tell the CTA to spend some of the $860 million our governor swiped from the motor fuel tax fund on fixing the tracks.
— Larry Geraghty, Tinley Park
United’s goal of dominance
This fine editorial (“Scott Kirby’s monopolistic vision for United Airlines at O’Hare serves United Airlines. But not Chicago travelers,” Aug. 28) misses emphasizing one key point. When an airline dominates a hub, it determines where and when it will use its moneymaking machines. And all too often, it decides to discontinue service to those small cities and communities where it alone decides that the automobile offers competition.
The U.S. Department of Transportation mandates service at cities most airlines would ignore. Though the mandates still exist in part, in recent years, there has been dilution. Were United to gobble up its competitors, there would be zero incentive for it to serve, say, Traverse City, Michigan.
The Tribune Editorial Board has it right. Competition is good for the consumer, and can — with smart management — also be good for the airline.
— Sandra Allen, Chicago
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