Editorial: No way to sugar-coat it: Obesity is a health risk
Nobody is overly sweet on sugar these days, but a bunch of scientists out West have taken concerns about Nature’s sweetener to an extreme. In a paper published last week, a team of scientists in California argued that sugar is so addictive it should be …
Editorial: We can’t overdo it for the Wrigley Building
There’s this thing in Paris called the Eiffel Tower. It’s really something. We’re pretty sure nobody would ever have to declare it an official “landmark” to keep people from messing with it. But Paris is Paris, while Chicago is Chicago. And Chicago has had an …
Editorial: CPS, union must address cost of unused sick days
The Chicago Public Schools does not have $44 million a year to give away. That’s the average amount CPS pays annually to employees for unused sick and vacation time, according to an analysis by the Better Government Association that ran in the Sun-Times on Friday. …
Editorial: We’ve come a long way with wrongful convictions
Not so many years ago, the general public believed that pretty much anyone who went to prison was guilty. If you wanted to find a truly innocent man behind bars, the thinking went, you had to watch TV or a movie. The ugly truth, however, …
Editorial: Komen fund wound was self-inflicted
The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation sure blundered into this one. In an apparent attempt to extract itself from America’s nasty abortion wars, the world’s largest breast cancer organization achieved precisely the opposite: It put itself smack in the middle. The decision to …
Editorial: Whatever mayor’s motivation, school speed cameras are the right thing to do
We don’t care what’s motivating Mayor Rahm Emanuel on this one. Is his push for speeding cameras around schools and parks a ploy to help fill the city’s depleted coffers? Or is it truly an effort to keep children safe from reckless speeders? We think …
Editorial: Crime-fighting and humility best go hand in hand
Crimes rates are like the weather. You have to study the ups and down over a long time, at least several years, before you can claim any kind of an important trend. Veteran police officers know this. That’s why they usually are slow to credit …
Editorial: Dreaming big at Navy Pier
Keep dreaming big, Chicago. Navy Pier has launched a competition to gin up the biggest and boldest ideas to remake the public spaces at the pier, the state’s most popular tourist attraction. On Tuesday, five plans were unveiled and they do not disappoint: a gondola, …
Editorial: Cicero and nepotism: Just human nature?
When Joe Berrios was running for Cook County assessor two years ago, we gave him grief for his habit of hiring relatives. When a man puts his own daughter in a top job, we complained, it’s hard to believe he has picked the most qualified …
Editorial: With Hull House closure, safety net gets weaker
With the opening of the Hull House social settlement house in 1889, Jane Addams forever changed Chicago for the better. Guided by the settlement house principle of neighbors helping neighbors, Addams’ Hull House opened its doors to those in need, offering a hand out and …
Editorial: Before next war, check out Vets art museum
Again, our nation is talking about going to war, this time in Iran, though we are weary from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And again, the enormous sums our nation spends on weapons and soldiers is a matter of hot political debate, with critics such …
Editorial: New river towers must honor city’s heritage
Chicago is about to embark on its most important building project in decades. It is critical we get it right. The Kennedy family, with a major developer and an internationally renowned architect on board, is planning to put a trio of towers on historic Wolf …
Editorial: A warm greeting to Wal-Mart
Elsewhere in the nation, the news about Wal-Mart is the company’s decision to do without its famous greeters during overnight hours, which bums us out. Even at 2 a.m., we like a nice greeting. Here in Chicago the Wal-Mart news is more welcome: On Wednesday …
Editorial: ‘Rent-a-protesters’ take school battles to new low
Outrageous. There is no other way to describe the practice, revealed by the Sun-Times and other media, of ministers hiring “rent-a-protesters” to advocate for proposed Chicago public school closures. Reporter Rosalind Rossi on Tuesday told the story of two men who said they were offered …
Editorial: We’ll keep the light on for Kirk
As Sen. Mark Kirk recovers from a stroke, he should know this: His hard-earned Senate seat is waiting for him. Sen. Kirk suffered the stroke over the weekend, one year into his six-year term. His recovery will take months, we’re told, and be tough. But …