Your weekly opinion and commentary overview

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The number of City Council members bidding adieu has many Chicagoans scratching their heads with questions and concerns.

Our city hasn't had a mass departure of alderpersons in recent history — but Chicago has dealt with similar situations before and survived to emerge even stronger.

The City Hall exodus needn't be cause to panic. Chicagoans, we hope, will seize the opportunity to deepen their civic engagement and demand more of their elected representatives, the Editorial Board writes. Get ready for 2023. Local elections, and your vote, matter.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In a Letter to the Editor, Kelly Evitt of Schaumburg, calls on members of Congress to pass legislation to prevent suicides and support crisis care.

The new nationwide 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline phone number must be sustainably funded so that confidential, voluntary services by trained counselors are accessible. H.R. 7116, the 988 Implementation Act, would provide federal funding and guidance to states for 988 crisis services.

We must ensure that every state has the capacity to provide comprehensive crisis response services to help save lives, Kelly writes.

Lastly, GOP gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey — now living in the former John Hancock Center — keeps dissing Chicago. Columnist Neil Steinberg offers to show Bailey around the city Bailey will call home until November.

— Ismael Pérez, editorial board member

City Council exodus is a chance to vote for Chicago's future

Chicago City Hall at 121 N LaSalle St. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The number of City Council members bidding adieu to 121 N. LaSalle St. has many Chicagoans scratching their heads with questions and concerns.

Feelings of uneasiness are to be expected with large-scale change. In a city where Daleys ruled for decades and Council members have largely toed the Machine line, upheaval seems like an anomaly.

The loss of institutional knowledge of a dozen-plus alderpersons will be hard to match. No doubt, experience goes a long way. You've got to know how the wheels of city government work first, before you can make the wheels turn better.

The City Hall exodus needn't be cause to panic. Chicagoans, we hope, will seize the opportunity to deepen their civic engagement and demand more of their elected representatives.

Our city hasn't had a mass departure of alderpersons in recent history — but Chicago has dealt with similar situations before and survived to emerge even stronger. Remember, it was only 11 years ago that the council welcomed 18 newly elected or appointed members, as the Sun-Times' City Hall reporter Fran Spielman noted when Ald. Howard Brookins (21st) announced last week he would not seek re-election.

The mayoral and aldermanic elections in 2023 will be an opportunity for voters to read up on the many new faces who will vow to shake up the status quo — and to make sure they can back up their promises with smart action. It's up to voters to do their homework and thoroughly vet the candidates.

Those Chicagoans lamenting the loss of veteran City Council members must keep this in mind: The old timers were also once unknowns.

After World War II, many returning GIs decided to run for City Council and changed the makeup of the government body, as Dick Simpson, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and a former alderperson, told us.

Then, several decades later in 1983 when Harold Washington, the city's first Black mayor, took office, a "major changeover" followed during his tenure, causing a significant impact, Simpson said.

That transition brought progress, including affirmative action in city government and greater transparency with a Freedom of Information executive order.

Read the full editorial here.

The Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board is the opinion voice of the hardest-working newspaper in America. It is headed by editorial page editor Lorraine Forte and includes Thomas Frisbie, Lee Bey, Ismael Pérez, Rummana Hussain and Mary Mitchell as members.

What others have to say

Neil Steinberg on Darren Bailey and Chicago:

A sincere offer to Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey, now living in the city until November.

An open invitation to show new Chicagoan Darren Bailey around the city

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More editorials we published this week

Don't take American democracy for granted

On Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, we're reminding our readers of the challenges America faces in these fraught times — and how to fight back.

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Chief Justice Roberts must face, and fix, public mistrust of Supreme Court

Rather than ask why many Americans now hold a dim view of the Supreme Court, Roberts has closed his ears and downplayed the public's very valid concerns.

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In your words

"The new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline phone number must be sustainably funded so that confidential, voluntary services by trained counselors are accessible nationwide."

— Kelly Evitt, Schaumburg

Congress should do more to prevent suicides

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Every day we publish submissions from Chicago Sun-Times readers weighing in on issues facing the city and its residents. Send letters to letters@suntimes.com or reply to this email to share your perspective.

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By Chicago Sun-Times Opinion This Week

A weekly overview of opinions, analysis and commentary on issues affecting Chicago, Illinois and our nation by outside contributors, Sun-Times readers and the CST Editorial Board.