Letters: An appeal to survivors of Magdalene laundries and workhouses in Northern Ireland

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

I am trying to contact those women and their loved ones who have suffered great historical injustices in institutions in Northern Ireland. My appeal is to those in the United States — and across the world.
This year we, the politicians in Northern Ireland, have the opportunity to right a great wrong of the 20th century, imposed upon young women in mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses between 1922 and 1995.
We have launched an international appeal to victims and survivors of these institutions, asking for their views on legislation to establish a public inquiry and financial redress scheme. Both are aimed at addressing the terrible wrongs done to them during one of the most distressing and hurtful episodes in our history.
The Inquiry (Mother-and-baby institutions, Magdalene laundries and workhouses) and Redress Scheme Bill was introduced to the Northern Ireland Assembly in June 2025. Our scrutiny of it has begun and as part of our work, we are asking those who will be directly affected by the legislation to respond to an online consultation. We want as many as possible to have their say before it closes at the end of September.
The consultation is available online here: https://lk.cmte.fyi/InquiryRedressBill but we can also email or post hard copies to anyone who is interested. Email us at: [e-mail]
You can also contact the Committee for the Executive Office by writing to us at: Room 247, Parliament Buildings, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT4 3XX.President Zaldwaynaka 'Z' Scott has a wonderful idea. It would be fabulous to accomplish it ('Can Chicago State University build a vibrant community a la University of Chicago in Hyde Park?' Aug. 11). But first, repair and renovate all Chicago State University buildings if only to respect the students, faculty and staff who spend time there. Make the university, with its fine faculty, a destination school with quality support for students. Then, the neighborhood can develop as a highly desirable place. All the best to CSU.I felt compelled to point out a rather diminished comment made by Carmen J. AgoyoSilva, from Chicago, on Aug. 6, 2025 ('Voice of the People'), regarding the 80th Anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
While she admits that the impetus for the bomb's development was the fear that Germany was working toward one, three months had passed since Germany's unconditional surrender, when these two cities were bombed. She asks, 'were these necessary acts? The U.S. government defended itself by saying that the bombings were to prevent more deaths.' So very true.
It's here that she minimizes that fact. My father, as well as hundreds of thousands of soldiers, were being put 'on hold,' here in the states after serving overseas. They were to be used in a major invasion of the Japanese island, if a surrender could not be obtained from the emperor, As it was, Japan still did not give in after the first bomb was dropped, and 140,000 of his people perished, He needed the push of the second one to occur, and another 70,000 of his people were massacred, to finally surrender.
The estimate for a full invasion would have been over a million people, from both sides, to perish. This is no small fact.
War is the ultimate tragedy. Each death is horrific. But all the facts of history must be spelled out.
All I know is that if my father would have been forced to be part of that invasion, after serving four years in the Pacific as an Army infantry sergeant, I may never have even been born.Donald Trump's ineptness as a politician is shattering the public's confidence in his skill as a chief executive.
Writing in the Aug. 10 The Atlantic, Peter Wehner and Robert P. Beschel Jr. report on a survey from the Democratic pollsters Douglas Schoen and Carly Cooperman.
According to Wehner, the survey was conducted shortly after the election. By an 11-point margin, independents said they would be less confident that the Trump administration would share accurate information compared with the Biden administration. Yet, by a 10-point margin, those same voters said that they thought the Trump administration would be more effective at getting things done.
'Americans already understood Trump to be corrupt, and proved themselves willing to tolerate that,' the authors argue. 'But now they are coming to believe that he is inept. In American politics, that is an unforgivable sin.'
Trump, of course, denies he's inept.I read with fascination about the intricate operations the cartel goes through to smuggle fentanyl across the U.S. and Mexico border ('Sinaloa adapts under government pressure Coordinated moves, cartel lookouts keep drugs flowing to US,' Aug. 12). These included constructing false panels in car doors where packages could be hidden, treating the packages with a chemical to mask the smell from drug-sniffing dogs, and paying off Mexican police at various checkpoints; only to discover that the last barrier to U.S. entry was a U.S. border guard who had been paid off to let the drug-laden car through. Listening to the Republicans and President Trump, I thought it was those families arriving on foot who were stashing the drugs in their luggage? Who knew? So much for 'strengthening' our southern borders.Health insurance costs are hitting small businesses hard. A recent National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report found that 94% of small business owners find these costs challenging.
While larger employers often self-fund their health insurance coverage, smaller employers normally rely on state-regulated fully insured small-group health insurance plans.
These plans have become increasingly unaffordable for small businesses and their workers. Participation in this market has declined sharply — from nearly 15 million in 2014 to 8.5 million in 2023.
One contributor to these rising costs for small businesses is the growing number of state-imposed mandates on small-group health insurance plans.
Over the past four years, the Illinois General Assembly has enacted 57 mandates on these state-regulated plans. These mandates increase the cost of coverage, pushing premiums higher for small businesses and their employees. As rates climb, many small businesses are forced to scale back benefits, shift costs onto workers, or drop coverage entirely, putting their access to affordable care at risk.
Because large employers with self-funded plans are exempt, these mandates widen the cost gap between small and large businesses, putting smaller employers at a competitive disadvantage.
JP Morgan Chase research found that small businesses with annual revenues below $600,000 bear a significantly higher payroll burden for health insurance than their larger counterparts. These smaller firms face a median payroll cost of 11.8% for health insurance, compared to 7.1% for businesses with revenues exceeding $2.4 million.
Small businesses and their employees cannot continue to shoulder this growing cost burden. It's time to shift the focus from mandates to meaningful reforms that actually lower health insurance costs.