Poor Chicago! We read in the paper about how public transportation is short of revenue again and that fare increases are looming. Will increasing the fare bring in the needed money? Let’s try a thought experiment. Suppose the price of a CTA ride were increased to $25 or $50. Would this increase revenue? Probably not; no one would use the service, so the CTA would sell zero tickets at a high price. Suppose, on the other hand, that a CTA ride were priced at 50 cents. Ridership would soar. Would revenue increase? Maybe, maybe not, but it would not be zero. The point is that there is probably a revenue maximizing price, and it is not clear whether that price is higher or lower than the present price. There are ways to get a handle on this, though. This is all a manifestation of what economists call the price elasticity of demand. I doubt our leaders have ever heard of this. Come to think of it, the city itself ought give this concept some thought. Lowering the “price” of being in the city (taxes) might actually bring in more revenue. One thing is for sure: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity. — Jack Edelbrock, Flossmoor CTA managers’ role After reading the Jan. 12 letter “CTA leaders, ride the L,” I was encouraged to share my experience working at Metra for 35 years in the operations department. Throughout my career as an operations manager in three Metra districts at different levels, my last six as Metra’s chief operations officer, I made it part of my responsibility to ride Metra trains. It’s amazing what you can experience sitting in the locomotive or the upper deck of a coach car or standing in the vestibule talking to crews and observing customers. Often the trips were seamless, yet other times, conditions of the equipment, stations and right of way needed attention. A heads-up from a manager usually resolved the matter quickly. I encourage the CTA to give this responsibility to all of its managers at least twice a month. The benefits will be felt by the customers who are truly who we all work for in the public transportation field. — Peter Zwolfer, Park Ridge Don’t legalize sex work Some Illinois state lawmakers have introduced a bill to legalize prostitution in the Land of Lincoln. This proposal would expunge past criminal arrests and conviction records. Taking advantage of the supermajority in both chambers, these Democrats want “private choices” about the use of one’s body to be a civil right protected by law. Prostitution is inherently immoral. It objectifies and exploits those involved as consumable products rather than treating them as human beings made in the image of God. Moreover, it empowers the criminal underworld, fueling the demand for sex-trafficked victims — including children. At a time when sexually transmitted infections such as syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia are increasing, state lawmakers are foolish to promote an industry dedicated to sexual promiscuity. A chief task of our legislators is to promote the public health. Legalizing prostitution would undermine this priority by spreading disease and fostering a culture that objectifies human beings as merely sexual outlets to be purchased. Sadly, it would contribute to rising rates of family dysfunction and breakdown. — David E. Smith, executive director, Illinois Family Institute Decriminalize sex work As a progressive libertarian, I’ve long pondered our archaic criminalization of sex work. It’s progressive for government to stay out of folks’ private lives unless it is alleviating an urgent societal problem. That is why it’s encouraging that Illinois could become the first state to fully decriminalize sex work. Sponsored by Rep. Will Guzzardi and Sen. Celina Villanueva, the legislation would provide extensive relief to beleaguered, endangered sex workers kept in fear and danger by wrongheaded societal mores and laws. If passed, it would remove criminal penalties for adults engaging in consensual sex work, remove arrest and conviction records for sex workers, encourage sex workers to report abuse without threat of arrest and establish a sex workers’ bill of rights. The legislation would not end prosecution for sex trafficking. Fully decriminalizing sex work in Illinois would reinforce Illinois’ status as a progressive state committed to the betterment of all its 13 million residents, including the disparaged and marginalized. — Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn Compassionate doctors Kudos to Dr. Alessandra Hirsch for her insightful op-ed about her cancer diagnosis and how it didn’t make her a better doctor (“No, I am not a better doctor since my cancer diagnosis,” Jan. 15). She already is a compassionate one. My hope is that as she has stated, understanding and compassion are being addressed more and more by medical schools. It does indeed play such a significant role in helping patients, especially those who feel no hope with whatever is ailing them. I can attest to that. I have been suffering from osteoarthritis in my spine for several years now, and after seeing several doctors, what stands out to me are the ones who showed even the smallest amount of compassion, and of course, those who didn’t show any. I had one physician assistant tell me that I should be glad I can at least walk into her office. The PA just shot words out to me about how surgery would probably not help me and that when things got bad enough, maybe I could give it a try. While I don’t remember everything she said to me that day, I will always remember how she made me feel: hopelessness, which turned to anger. I realized that day that I was pretty much on my own and have since learned to deal with this condition (disability) on my own. As you can see, this opinion piece truly hit home for me. I only hope that medical schools can give us more doctors like Hirsch. That a doctor would look at me and ask, “How has this condition changed your life and what can I do to help you with it?” Next to having a cure, that alone would make me feel a whole lot better indeed. — Debbie O’Donnell, Elmhurst For the people As 2025 dawns on America, I am grateful for our Founding Fathers. Although guided by Judeo-Christian principles, these men composed a fallible document, inspired not by the divine but by human beings. Knowing this, they included a Bill of Rights that allowed for changes to the Constitution by a majority vote. While the presidential election did not go my way, I put my faith in our Constitution, assured that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth. — Mary Ann O’Rourke, Barrington Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].