I’m a 40-plus-year Chicagoan who has dedicated the past decade of his life to help lift underserved neighborhoods on the South and West sides through life mentoring and vocational training programs for at-risk youth. I co-founded a related nonprofit organization in 2022 and advised several other organizations/community leaders on this same front. I understand a bit about some of the key issues our city faces that need to be fixed. At the suggestion of my alderman early last year, I attended a Brandon Johnson mayoral campaign meet-and-greet reception and was impressed with Johnson’s intelligence, charisma and passion about these issues. As a result, I voted for him. However, and importantly, none of those characteristics necessarily ensure the fundamental instincts and attributes of a true leader. A citizen can only gather those insights about an elected official over time. So, when Allison Arwady, the city’s widely respected Department of Public Health leader and COVID-19 program management head, was abruptly dismissed three months into Johnson’s term, I paused about the new mayor. Amid growing tension in the City Council across many issues in recent months, I paused again about his plans to cancel the ShotSpotter gunshot detection program, a stance Johnson still held despite Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling’s strong backing and the University of Chicago Crime Lab’s research-based evidence in support. Then two weeks ago came the sudden dismissal of David Rosengard, Chicago Public Schools’ sports director, who has built an illustrious 40-plus-year career locally in youth sports, education, programming and leadership. Finally, the mayor is now calling for CPS leader Pedro Martinez — take a look at Martinez’s San Antonio, Texas, public school system record and other career achievements — to step down. Johnson’s personally appointed Board of Education, which has the power to terminate the school chief, has largely supported Martinez to date. With all due respect, good leaders simply do not operate like this. I plead with Johnson to promptly lead or kindly get out of our collective way toward productively solving these issues and taking our beloved city from good to great. — Rick Gray, president, West Loop Homeowners Association, Chicago Mayor failing to do his job The mayor wants Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to resign. The reason appears to be that Martinez is doing his job and refuses to spend money the district does not have. It is only fair now that I, as a lifelong Chicago resident and taxpayer, ask Johnson to resign for just the opposite reason: failing to do his job and insisting on spending money he does not have. — Andrew A. Davis, Chicago CPS CEO should hold firm Every day, Mayor Brandon Johnson demonstrates his incompetence and loyalty to the Chicago Teachers Union over Chicago taxpayers and students. In his request for Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to resign, he is demonstrating this incompetence yet again. Martinez has been acting in a responsible manner, and the mayor should learn from him! Martinez should hold firm and continue to do the job responsibly to protect students and taxpayers from the greed of the mayor and the CTU. — Jean Brennan, Chicago CPS should be right-sizing It’s a sad reflection of the times when seemingly the only leader acting to protect Chicago Public Schools’ long-term interests — CPS CEO Pedro Martinez — is being asked to resign. CPS should not be borrowing money to fund operations. It should be right-sizing its footprint by closing schools and culling expensive and unproductive layers of bureaucracy from its bloated administrative ranks. And while I’m at it, CPS’ latest bad idea — to drive equity by taking resources from high-performing schools — should also be dead on arrival. — Scott D. Parker, Chicago A rookie is not what we need I think the rookie mayor has it backward. It is not Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez who should be tendering his resignation, but rather Brandon Johnson. The mayor has demonstrated time and time again that he isn’t capable of running this city. Chicago needs a seasoned veteran on the fifth floor and not some rookie learning as he goes along. — Mike Rice, Chicago Johnson is a lot like Trump Mayor Brandon Johnson is seemingly very Donald Trumpian in his leadership style. He calls people who challenge his policies names. He stands by his loyalists/donors, even when it is bad for the city he represents (the Chicago Teachers Union comes to mind). He is a demagogue, ignoring the will and wishes of the people and legislative branch of Chicago government (ShotSpotter comes to mind). He is petulant when he does not get his way and supports people he likes even if they have proved they are not fit to serve (CTA President Dorval Carter Jr. and mayoral top aide Kennedy Bartley come to mind). On the latter, I doubt Johnson would speak so highly of the need for forgiveness if a white alderman showed support for Hamas but later issued a “heartfelt” apology. And now Johnson wants to fire one of his people — Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez — who will not do his bidding. — Richard Foley, Chicago Mayor owns CTA problems It’s been well over 100 years since the words “There’ll be pie in the sky when you die” were first sung, and never have they fit a situation as well as CTA President Dorval Carter Jr.’s recently stated goal of having buses every eight minutes. I feel that CTA bus service is worse now than it was when Brandon Johnson became mayor 16 months ago. During this summer’s two heat waves, I rode on three buses with no air conditioning and no operational windows. Poor bus service has resulted in me missing doctor appointments and subsequently being billed for missed appointments, as well as having to take budget-busting Uber rides. On Sept. 13, I arrived at my bus stop in Edgewater to wait for an inbound No. 147 Express bus downtown. There were a number of others also waiting. I checked the CTA bus tracker at 5:24 p.m. to see when it would be arriving. It revealed that no No. 147 bus was scheduled within 30 minutes. Another expensive Uber ride resulted. I decided to follow up, checking the bus tracker every five to 10 minutes to see when the next No. 147 would finally be predicted to arrive at that spot. Finally, at 6:19 p.m., a No. 147 bus appeared on the tracker. It was expected to arrive at 6:36 p.m., a full one hour and 12 minutes after I had first checked. Living on a senior citizen budget as a dedicated urbanist, I’ve lived carless in Chicago for decades, and this situation is intolerable for people like me. Much has been written about Carter’s leadership in office. However, I believe the time to criticize him has passed. Although I voted for Brandon Johnson with high hopes, it’s time to realize that after 16 months in office, the mayor now owns every preventable CTA-related crime and service problem. His failure to nominate a qualified transportation expert to the board and his continued support of Carter tell me that my vote for him was miscast. I encourage Chicagoans to sign the petition giving us the power to recall him, and future mayors, through an electoral recall process. The petition would not recall Johnson but would give Chicagoans the right to change their minds when needed. In the meantime, I fully expect to be dining on all that wonderful pie in heaven’s Cheesecake Factory long before Chicago sees an average eight-minute wait time for buses. While planning for the future is essential, what about now? — Mark Woodward, Chicago Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].