Let the good times roll, but remember e-scooter, e-bike safety

A quick buzz passes by us while we walk on Chicago Avenue to start another shift as pediatric resident physicians. We see a teenager on an electric scooter. Immediately, memories resurface of resuscitating a child in the trauma bay of the emergency department who fell off a scooter at high speeds while not wearing a helmet. We hope the child we see gets to his or her destination safely.

In the last several years, e-scooters and electric bicycle, or micromobility, have become a staple of the Chicago area's urban and suburban landscape. Rental stations for bikes and scooters are seemingly on every street corner with people of all ages using them for both work and pleasure.

A recent study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission illustrates the increasing dangers of micromobility. Between 2017-2023, all forms of micromobility resulted in nearly 500,000 emergency department visits, with an increasing number of fatalities (from five in 2017, to 117 in 2023). The increased use of micromobility has resulted in a youth health and safety crisis that has been tragically underscored by the recent death of a teen in South Shore and the death of an Arlington Heights teen in the fall of 2025.

Earlier this year, the Illinois Senate unanimously passed Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias’ new initiative, “Ride Safe, Ride Smart, Ride Ready,” that aims to increase the safety of micromobility devices in Illinois. The initiative targets legislation around high-speed devices and incorporates educational components and updated rider training. This follows in the steps of multiple states across the country that have also made efforts to increase safety measures.

As pediatricians, we care for the people behind these statistics. We have challenging conversations with devastated parents when children have serious injury or disability related to micromobility. Our job is to protect, educate and advocate. We urge caregivers to think twice before allowing their child to use e-scooters and e-bikes.

We call on our state legislators to pass Senate Bill 3336/House Bill 4925 to enact common-sense micromobility safety provisions, to support the “Ride Safe, Ride Smart, Ride Ready” initiative and prioritize protecting the children of Illinois from devastating injury, disability and death.

Dr. Shannon Conway and Dr. Caroline Chivily, pediatric residents, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

No one loves us like Mom

In honor of all the moms out there, both with us and departed, for doing the world's most important, difficult and rewarding job, I offer the following — dedicated, of course, to the memory of my own cherished and beautiful mother.

Where would any of us be without our moms? They showed us love before anyone else. They dried our tears, bandaged our knees, kissed our bruises, tucked us in, sang to us, read to us, made us eat our peas but also gave us dimes when the Good Humor truck came by. They made us do our homework but let us turn on "The Andy Griffith Show" when that arithmetic problem became too much to bear. They doubled our victories by sharing them with us and halved our defeats with a hug and a promise that you did your best and next time would be different. They were there to help pick up the pieces when someone broke our hearts and were happier than anyone else when our hearts shone their very brightest. And when all is said and done, you better believe that Mom is the only name you’ll never see crossed out on any sailor's arm, cause Mom is the one gal that ain't going nowhere.

Rob Hirsh, West Ridge

Mom, I finally get it

My mother is long gone now, but a certain vivid memory lingers and is still a bit disturbing to this day.

I had the sweetest and most wonderful mother anyone could want. But her unexpected reaction one fateful day still pricks and pokes my overly sensitive soul: the time when I laid my 12-year-old head on her shoulder while we were watching television one summer evening. Instead of being delighted that her tomboy daughter was cuddling up to her, she pulled back immediately and said, "Oh no, don't do that. It's too hot!" I felt shock and rejection like I never felt before.

This short but very surprising interaction with my mom came out of the blue. In no way was I prepared for this. How could a little heat and humidity come between us? After all, she was my hero, savior, angel and my everything.

So I moved to the other end of the couch and sulked. I sulked for another 25 years, not necessarily on that couch. One day, it occurred to me: My mother also had needs. Well, who knew?

Kathleen Melia, Niles

Help Illinois Medicaid moms

Pregnant with my third child, I am very aware of how pregnancy, birth and postpartum are joyful but expensive moments. Forty percent of mothers who give birth in Illinois rely on Medicaid, including myself, and we’re scared that looming cuts will make care more costly and difficult.

That’s why I'm urging Illinois lawmakers to protect moms by enacting the Newborn Equity Support Transfer, or NEST, program.

As a Black woman all too familiar with the fact that Black moms are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related conditions compared to white moms, I need care that prioritizes my health and safety. But the right care is expensive, and Medicaid cuts could make it more so.

Congressional Republicans cut $1 trillion from Medicaid and gave tax cuts to the ultra-wealthy. That’s a particularly brutal blow to moms. Twenty-eight hospitals across Illinois could be forced to cut services like maternity care or close down entirely. My current pregnancy is high-risk. If I had to travel hours to get care, it would be a huge health risk and cost time and gas money that I can’t afford.

I know that Springfield leaders can’t stop Medicaid cuts, but lawmakers can act to protect moms and babies from the most painful consequences. The Newborn Equity Support Transfer program would provide expectant moms on Medicaid with $1,500 in the third trimester and $500 a month for the first six months of a baby’s life. Targeted cash support like that has been proven to help babies and moms stay healthy and lower healthcare costs for families and the state.

I remember how quickly all the new expenses added up with my children — car seats, bassinets, diapers, bottles, formula, clothing and more. If the program had been around earlier, my life would have been completely different.

Motherhood is beautiful, challenging, joyful and painful. All new and expectant moms deserve the freedom to focus on our babies without worrying about how we’ll get the care we need or pay all the bills. The Newborn Equity Support Transfer program would help make sure we can.

So while the federal government may have turned its back on moms in favor of the wealthy, Illinois lawmakers don’t have to make the same choice.

Chanelle Brown, POWER-PAC IL parent leader, Community Organizing and Family Issues, Evanston

Fighting for after-school program funding

Every parent knows the feeling.

The school bell rings and suddenly the day becomes a puzzle we have to piece together. Who’s picking up the kids? Where will they go until you’re off work? Will they be safe?

As the school year ends, that puzzle gets harder as the structure of the school day disappears entirely.

Out-of-school time programs have been solving those problems for thousands of families in Illinois. Yet 1 million students are on wait lists for these after-school programs.

New national reporting underscores the biggest gaps for children in poverty aren’t during the school day — they’re after the bell rings. Access to enrichment, mentorship, childcare and safe spaces after school and during the summer play a major role in long-term outcomes.

As a working mom, I know how much these programs matter.

Two years ago, Illinois made a promise. Lawmakers approved $50 million in state funding for after-school programs. It was a historic, bipartisan investment meant to support kids and give parents peace of mind.

But that promise was broken.

That funding never reached the programs it was meant to support because Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration never released it. Nearly 30,000 kids lost access. More than 2,000 staff lost their jobs. Families were left scrambling.

Even more troubling: No one can tell us where that money went.

Now, the situation is getting worse. The federal government is canceling grants mid-school year, and instead of stepping up, Pritzker has proposed cutting $17.5 million from after-school programs that have decades of proven success and bipartisan support.

That’s on top of not giving them the funding they were promised.

We’ve tried good-faith conversations and negotiations, only to be ignored. But our kids can’t afford inaction. We will continue fighting for our kids, schools and families through ongoing federal litigation and by pushing for sustained state investment.

Today, Illinois has a choice.

As a mom, I think about the kind of state I want for my children — and every child — to grow up in. One that keeps its promises. One that prioritizes opportunity and safety beyond the school day.

We have a chance to lead, but only if we ensure that investments meant for our kids actually reach them.

Because accountability should never be optional.

Susan Stanton, executive director, ACT Now Illinois

The nerve of Steele

So Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele managed to beat her DUI rap. Now she is doubling down, playing the victim and waving away the vulgar, disrespectful abuse she aimed at the arresting police officers.

It is obvious that she was impaired but shows no sign of remorse. She should be removed from the road before she kills someone. In WBEZ's Dan Mihalopoulos' report that was published in the Sun-Times, the only thing Steele said that rings true is, "I'm a messy person." Yes, she is.

Blaise J. Arena, Des Plaines

Off to the disgraces

Now that the Kentucky Derby is over, the next important race will be between the modern day Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Todd Blanche, Pete Hegseth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Howard Lutnick, whose mounts are arrogance, incompetence, mendacity and servility. The prize is a legacy of ignominy and admission to the "Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem Hall of Shame."

Never has a president nominated such an unfit group for the Cabinet, and never before has the Senate been so supine as to approve such.

William P. Gottschalk, Lake Forest

Congress ain’t what it used to be

Congress? Used to be a theater and concert venue on Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. While the structure exists, it's currently closed to the public.

Congress? Used to be the moniker of the expressway leading into Downtown Chicago from the western suburbs. The freeway is still there but is now known as the Eisenhower or Ida B. Wells Drive as it enters Downtown.

Congress? Used to be a hallowed hall of duly elected representatives in place as checks and balances to counter the executive branch of government. With the expiration of the 60-day deadline under the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and more inaction by the body of schmucks in place, I’d reckon we can assume they, too, are no longer in existence either. 'Tis a shame, truly.

Lawrence Pietras, Glen Ellyn

Defeating Vance

Sun-Times letter writer Bill Hartman wants to know who the Democrats have to run against JD Vance.

Considering Mr Vance's unwarranted attacks on Pope Leo XIV, the answer is every Catholic in the country.

Steven Herr, West Ridge