Letters: What gutting the Department of Education will actually do

Chicago Tribune

21-02-2025

Thank you for printing the op-ed by Paul Vallas, 'What would it mean if US Department of Education is abolished?' (Feb. 13). In this piece, Vallas argues that many functions of the Department of Education could still be alive and well under other departments. For example, he states that the Title I program that helps students with disabilities could be placed under the Health and Human Services Department. Does he really think that Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will keep a program devoted to helping kids with physical and mental disabilities going strong when he will not even demand vaccines for school-aged children?
And Vallas suggests putting civil rights protections under the Department of Justice. Will this department protect kids from discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.? This will happen before or after schools must weed out any mention of diversity or equity? The DOJ is too busy firing its attorneys for doing their jobs to pay attention to civil rights violations. Nor would the department believe such violations exist.
Vallas misses the point of destroying the DOE in the first place. President Donald Trump wants all of its programs to be defunded, not put under new stewardship. He wants to save money from gutting all departments in order to pay his billionaire buddies huge tax breaks in exchange for getting him elected.
That is the bottom line.
— Jan Goldberg, Riverside
I am pro-Constitution
I take umbrage with the letters to the editor published on Feb. 17.
One letter criticizes Vice President JD Vance for saying 'judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power.' This, on its face, is true. Judges control an executive's illegitimate power. We do have something called separation of power.
In the same edition, a writer opines in criticizing a Paul Vallas op-ed that 'it is in the name of state control that women no longer have the right to an abortion nationwide.' This is false, the reason being our Constitution contains no mention of abortion and no right to privacy manufactured in the Roe v. Wade decision. The 10th Amendment states that powers not specifically reserved to the federal government be granted to the states. Instead of tearing down our system of government, the letter writer and others like her should start the process of proposing an amendment to our Constitution guaranteeing a right to abortion to all women nationwide.
I am not necessarily anti-abortion rights. I am pro-Constitution and our system of government.
— David Steadman, Chicago
DOE failing in mission
Paul Vallas' op-ed about the possible abolishment of the U.S. Department of Education is insightful. The DOE's lack of efficacy is demonstrated by the dismal proficiency scores of students in big-city public schools.
Part of the mission of the DOE, as stated on its website, is to 'supplement and complement the efforts of states, the local school systems … and students to improve the quality of education.' Yet the DOE does not appear to have provided improvement in the quality of education provided to students in major-city public schools.
As Vallas pointed out in a piece two years ago, in 2019, only 26% of all Chicago Public Schools 11th graders were found to be proficient in reading and math, according to state assessments. A 2023 report on college readiness found that only 1 in 4 New York City public high school graduates were prepared for college. In the 2023-24 school year, 43.1% of Los Angeles public school students met the targets for state proficiency in reading; in math, only 32.8% met the standards.
Many could argue that restoring control of education to the states would be in the best interest of public school students. The DOE is clearly not meeting its mission with regard to improving the quality of education for the students.
— Terry Takash, Western Springs
Both on same day?
Paul Vallas and Willie Wilson have been voted down by the citizens, but their tired, predictable and often faulty ideas continue to live on in the Tribune's opinion section for some reason.
Obviously, some on the editorial board think their frequent appearances worthwhile. While I don't, and I can deal with occasional appearances, both on the same day (Feb. 13) is a bit much for me. Have mercy!
— Brian Shannon, Oak Park
Interpreting laws
President Donald Trump signed a recent executive order stating that only the president or attorney general can speak for the U.S. when interpreting the meaning of laws. Trump wants regulatory agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency or Food and Drug Administration or even the courts to have no say in interpreting laws — only he or his appointed attorney general. Another consolidation of power and one more step toward becoming a dictatorship.
— John Regan, Lemont
Finding cost savings
I wanted to respond to a letter submitted by Bob Shea ('We need cost-cutting,' Feb. 17) wherein he applauds President Donald Trump for placing Elon Musk ('a bright man,' according to Shea) in control of said cost-cutting and states, 'All Americans should be grateful this despicable waste is being identified.'
First, Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have provided no proof of any 'waste.' Instead, they have made hair-on-fire allegations of fraud and waste. For example, Musk recently proclaimed that Social Security benefits were being paid to 150-year-olds, intimating that fraud must be afoot. Evidently, this 'bright man' and his cadre of computer geniuses are unaware that the COBOL programming language used by Social Security automatically uses May 20, 1875, as a placeholder date when information is missing or corrupted. Indeed, the placeholder is simply meant to alert employees that someone needs to look at the file to determine what needs to be corrected. So, no — no benefits are being paid to 150-year-olds.
Rather than take a meat axe approach to vital programs and departments, a la Trump and Musk via DOGE, we would rather see qualified, thoughtful people carefully comb through the government to identify cost savings.
Perhaps let the Government Accountability Office continue said work and rehire the inspectors general that Trump dismissed, who are already tasked with rooting out waste, fraud and corruption.
— K. Worth, Grayslake
Defend IRA funding
It's not just about plastic straws going back into the White House or the Illinois carp reduction program getting delayed or about halting wind energy farms, making electric vehicles (EVs) more expensive to build and buy, and increasing greenhouse gases with 'drill, baby, drill' policies that will only worsen climate warming. It's also that the new administration is wholeheartedly redirecting the trajectory of our planet, jeopardizing our children's future.
So much of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) gives us hope that our climate and way of life could be saved with billions of dollars invested in clean energy, not to mention the thousands of new jobs it provides for Illinois alone.
The IRA provisioned almost $3 billion for Illinois, with investments in renewable energy through battery manufacturing, electric vehicle parts and solar technology. These initiatives help our economy and mitigate climate warming, as well as create 2,700 new jobs for Illinois. So what is the benefit of slashing these investments?
The current president, or any single person, should not be able to stop such funding permanently without congressional action or some kind of due process. Congress needs to step forward and be crystal clear about the economic and environmental benefits of the IRA.
I ask U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, along with other Illinois federal lawmakers, to step up and defend the IRA investments for Illinois and for our very future.
— Jinah Yun-Mitchell, Lincolnshire
Stop runaway train
What is wrong with everybody in Congress? Can't they understand that the man in the office of the president of the United States is the frontman for billionaires conspiring to change this country to benefit only themselves? Where is the outrage?
Have the representatives who have sworn to uphold the Constitution simply lied to the American people? Republicans follow when they should regroup and lead the outrage at what is taking place in their party. They are largely to blame for this mess. They must realize what they are allowing to happen.
Democrats seem to be sleeping at the wheel or are in shock. Where is the leadership? Why isn't someone calling for this dangerous march to some kind of oligarchy or fascism that is underway at great speed to be recognized for what it is?
It must stop. No more lies. No more name-calling. No more conspiracy theories. No more revenge against people doing their jobs.
The craziness this administration has wrought is truly un-American. Fighting with our allies? Damaging relationships with other countries? Is it all about saving money? Have they taken a page from the Russian playbook on how to be morally corrupt aggressors? What about our alliances in Europe? What about rebuilding Ukraine? Let's not take over Gaza to make it another Riviera.
What is this administration actually trying to do?
Is there no integrity to be found anywhere in Washington? Elon Musk is in charge of this country's revenue. Who voted for him? How dare oligarchs infiltrate and purge departments created and authorized by past leadership to help people. What's really going on?
It is outrageous that these predators are pretending that they are somehow serving the public. We must demand that Congress serve and protect the American people. Let's tell our elected officials to get to work making new rules and reining in the runaway train that is President Donald Trump's administration. Things are happening that will lead to no good at all. Our representatives musts be loyal to us, the American people, and work to strengthen laws to stop this coup.
Otherwise, it will no longer be America in the end.
— Fran Orchard, Naperville
What if Biden did this?
Boy, if Joe Biden had been reelected and he were doing half the stuff President Donald Trump and his buddy Elon Musk are doing, we would suspect he was off his rocker.
— Cecelia Kubik, Willowbrook
National audit needed
Common sense, defined as practical judgment and sound reasoning in everyday matters, may not sound exciting. However, people are nostalgic for this straightforward concept, which appears outdated.
Our species has accumulated knowledge and passed it down over millennia, so the mistakes of previous humans will no longer need to be repeated. We are the beneficiaries of billions of errors made by our ancestors, and from that, we have developed common sense.
Our nation wastes valuable resources on matters that show little respect for their purpose. Those spending our money don't seem to have our best interests at heart. A national audit is currently underway to bring our fiscal situation under control. It's just common sense, and it's long overdue.
— Scott Thompson, Bloomington, Indiana
Start pushing back
Have MAGA supporters figured out yet that they've been fooled by our current president? Hopefully by now, many realize he was never going to actually be on their side and is only doing what's in his best interests. Instead of just trashing their MAGA hats and T-shirts, we hope that they start pushing back for proper governance lawfully.
In this critical moment, we all quickly and urgently need to demand that our legislators stand strong on our behalf. Let's do this together, no matter how we voted. The future of our country depends on it.
— Eileen Quinn, Elmhurst
Buy the crown already
I and many others who believe in a democratic society are tired of watching our democratic representatives chasing their tails in circles.
The Republican Congress, MAGA and our Supreme Court should just go ahead and purchase the crown and plant it on the head of their supreme appointed leader.
— Patty Stepek, Tinley Park
Praising prosecutor
Thank you for Tuesday's editorial in support of the New York federal prosecutor ('In praise of federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon's bravery in the face of Trumpian intimidation'). Thank you for taking a stand against our dictatorial president.
— John Duffy, Elgin