Letters: Why is the Illinois General Assembly going after Native mascots?
Regarding the story 'Bill would ban Native mascots' (April 12): Seriously? This is what the General Assembly spends its time on? I blame the voters of this state because the voter turnout is embarrassingly low so people who would be doing a good job in Springfield are not elected.
Why are Native American-themed names used for elementary and high school teams considered derogatory? If I were of Cherokee descent, I would consider it an honor to have a team or an automobile named after me.
Does Democratic state Rep. Maurice West really think that this is the best way to serve our state? Is this the best way to spend money when things are so very tight? The cost of changing uniforms, signage and stationery logos would be borne by the schools. Giving an extension of a few years is not a help; it's simply delaying the inevitable.
First, there was a movement to change the Illinois state flag, but thank goodness that didn't get enough support. Perhaps next, Geneva High School's Vikings will have to go. Enough is enough.
People have written letters to the Tribune asking for a halt to sending balloons up in honor of a cause or tragic event. Perhaps the esteemed representatives in Springfield should work on legislation that would help the wildlife and land animals, and it wouldn't cost a dime. Might even add to the coffers if there was a fine.
It's time we stopped eliminating history from our heritage. Removing statutes, changing the name of streets, or schools, banning books, removing mascots — the list is endless. History is to be learned from, not eradicated.
— Priscilla Virelli, Geneva
More pressing issues
The latest push to ban Native mascots, while seemingly well intentioned, highlights the problem with our city and state legislature. Instead of addressing critical problems and seeking thoughtful solutions, they spend more time howling at the moon.
The city of Chicago and state of Illinois are each facing a fiscal nightmare in the coming years. We have structural budget deficits, high tax burdens and legacy pension obligations. These challenges strain the city and state's long-term financial stability and limit their ability to fund critical services. It makes little difference whether schools change their mascot if they can't afford to educate students.
I would suggest that our local officials refocus 100% of their attention on solving the existential fiscal and crime issues facing us. And I hope that the response is not the old 'well, we can walk and chew gum at the same time' line, as our city and state have shown a complete inability to walk straight, even when not chewing.
— Dean Gerber, Chicago
Pritzker's tax expertise
Gov. JB Pritzker said President Donald Trump is raising 'taxes on working families' ('Pritzker: Trump raising 'taxes on working families,'' April 14). Pritzker is an expert of sorts, given his scheme to lower the property taxes on an 'uninhabitable' mansion, shifting the burden to other Cook County property owners. But he was called out by the media. Whoops.
So is Pritzker telling us he is qualified to run for president?
— Jim Halas, Norridge
Supreme Court's duty
The Tribune Editorial Board on April 10 ('Jenner & Block is right to fight back against a bullying Trump. The integrity of the legal profession is at stake.') encouraged law firms to stand up to President Donald Trump's overreaching executive orders limiting their ability to practice law. But the editorial board failed to note that there is another institution impacted by these orders — the Supreme Court itself.
Article III of the Constitution directs that 'the judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.' Lawyers, as officers of the court, are essential to the exercise of judicial power. Regarding litigation in the courts, they advise and represent parties and facilitate the orderly processes that allow the courts to render appropriate judgments under the law.
Executive orders that restrict or limit lawyers' ability to practice law directly impact the exercise of judicial power.
Thankfully, some of the law firms that were the subject of these executive orders have filed lawsuits seeking reversal of these orders, including Jenner & Block, a prominent Chicago firm. More than 500 firms and other institutions, including the Chicago Bar Association, reportedly have indicated their support. The Jenner lawsuit alleges commercial and transactional damage to the firm, which is understandable. However, it does not address the overarching issue — the vesting of judicial power in 'one Supreme Court' — or the ability of the firms to serve as officers of the court.
Other firms unfortunately have capitulated to the restrictions imposed by Trump's executive orders. As the editorial board noted, they have agreed to provide pro bono free legal representation to causes favored by the president. Trump is amassing millions of dollars in legal services that he can broker to causes and organizations of his choosing. This is an unprecedented use of executive power to compel political or personal benefit to the president.
The firms may come to regret their decisions.
The Supreme Court can and should stand up to protect judicial power and its officers by directly issuing a writ of prohibition against the president's unconstitutional overreach.
— John C. O'Malley, Chicago
Trump's chilling effect
President Donald Trump's administration is threatening to pull research funding from universities under the guise of punishing them for antisemitism. He is really punishing them for fostering free speech on their campuses and for their efforts to support students of all backgrounds in their educational journey with diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. At the same time, the state of Florida is initiating heavy-handed interference in the research the state's universities conduct and the education they provide.
I am frightened by this bullying of and intervention into our places of higher learning. It reminds me of the first steps in government control of colleges and universities that occur in totalitarian governments, where free thought, free speech and discovery are discouraged. Universities are places where students are exposed to new ideas, become acquainted with people from other backgrounds, and get the opportunity to develop and voice their opinions as young adults. Students have a chance to critically examine and compare information. How can this happen when the government is controlling what thoughts can be expressed?
Universities are also places where groundbreaking scientific discoveries are made. The contribution of university-based scientific activity to our daily lives past and present cannot be overstated. It has resulted in advances in medical care that have saved lives, enhanced our knowledge of human behavior, contributed to economic and mathematic theory, and played a part in scientific endeavor around the world. But these discoveries would not have been able to occur without the freedom to review the results of past scientific work and determine where further work needs to be done. Government interference can only inhibit this important process, and governments should not have the power to determine what kind of scientific knowledge is important enough to pursue.
Influencing the ideas that are taught and the scientific work that is done is not the place of government. Teaching or performing scientific studies from only one point of view has a chilling effect on the quest for knowledge and is in fact opposed to the scientific method, which is supposed to be unbiased and nonpartisan.
Government involvement will certainly not ensure that American universities and colleges continue to make contributions to disciplines of all kinds. In this time, or any time, of technological advances and discovery, this seems hardly the way to keep America great.
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Trump's education secretary threatens federal civil rights lawsuit over Long Island high school being forced to ditch Chiefs mascot
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'If you look at the states, you've got the Huguenots, we've got the Highlanders, we've got the Scotsman. Why is that not considered in any way racist?' she asked. While McMahon and the local supporters defended the name, state officials said they were 'doing the students of Massapequa a grave disservice by ignoring the facts and true history of the local Indigenous people.' State Education Department spokesperson JP O'Hare criticized that the town has 'failed to get even the most basic facts right' — such as the feathered headdress that Massapequa displays being locally inaccurate, and that the term chief was not used in the area, either. 'And most importantly, there is no recognition of the ways in which European settlers were responsible for displacing Indigenous people from their homes,' O'Hare's statement said, adding that 'local Indigenous representatives' find that 'certain Native American names and images perpetuate negative stereotypes, and are demonstrably harmful to children.' 'Equally troubling is the fact that a U.S. Secretary of Education would take time out of her schedule to disrupt student learning in the name of political theatre.' Massapequa school board president Kerry Wachter rebutted, saying, 'They're sticking to their talking points and listening to only one side of the story.' She pointed to a 2016 poll which showed nine in 10 Native Americans do not take offense to terms like 'Redskins.' Trump, who posed with a Massapequa shirt in the Oval Office, ordered McMahon to take up the issue in April. The federal government became involved after a plea from Wachter, whose district, among other Native American-named towns on Long Island, unsuccessfully sued New York over the mandate. 'This is a school that really takes its education seriously, and they're incredibly, incredibly behind their school, behind their Chiefs,' McMahon told The Post Friday. 'I think this is wrong — what's happening at Massapequa, to take away this incredible mascot and emblem of Chiefs.' After Trump intervened, O'Hare said in a statement that Massapequa 'did not reach out to Indigenous leaders or engage with the Department's Mascot Advisory Committee to determine whether its Native American team name and mascot would be permissible.' 'If members of the Massapequa board of education are genuinely interested in honoring and respecting Long Island's Native American past, they should talk to the Indigenous people who remain on Long Island,' the rep said. 'Our regulations, in fact, specifically permit the continued use of Native American names and mascots if approved by local tribal leaders.' But Massapequa School District Superintendent Dr. William Brennan called the state's claim 'simply inaccurate.' He added that 'several attempts' were made by the district and local tribal leaders attended a roundtable in summer of 2023. Frank Black Cloud, a leading member of the Native American Guardians Association, which is working with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on the issue, is a firm supporter of keeping names like Chiefs in schools and calls it a term of endearment. 'People want to emulate you,' Black Cloud, who has previously defended names like Fighting Sioux and Redskins, said at the event. 'You're talking about strength, talking about being something that people uphold.' Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino, an MHS alumnus and hockey player, doubled down that this is a case of 'rules for thee but not for me' in the Empire State. 'The New York State Department of Education has someone who is the chief of staff,' he said. 'Are they going to change their name?' Massapequa's suit — a last-ditch effort to stop the district's nine schools from spending $1 million on a forced rebranding — was, ironically, dismissed by a chief justice weeks ago, Wachter explained. Salt in the wound, Seaford, the first town west of Massapequa, along with Port Washington, named their teams the Vikings, to no objection from the state of New York. Hofstra University in Nassau was previously known as the Flying Dutchmen as well. 'They have Spartans and Vikings and all these things, but they're seeing this particular group of people who are not allowed to be represented,' said Wachter, whose district also filed an amended court complaint ahead of a June deadline. 'That's a civil rights issue … We're standing tall, showing Massapequa pride, and we do take offense to them trying to take it away from us.' The town will be having a 'Save the Chiefs' fundraiser next weekend at the high school, and Black Cloud will engage in a Native American seminar at Massapequa's popular Nautilus Diner on Saturday. 'We're about education, not eradication,' said Black Cloud, who flew from his North Dakota home to meet McMahon. 'If you have an opposing idea, let me hear it. I'd like to open up a dialogue with you.'
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Republicans roast Democrats in trying to ban ‘Chiefs,' Native-American mascots in NY schools
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