It makes complete sense to locate the planned Chicago casino in the downtown area or near the Loop. The majority of customers will be out-of-town visitors. They will be staying at Chicago hotels and visiting downtown theaters and restaurants. The casino will be another attraction.

I envision the casino as a mini-Las Vegas attraction with lots of glitter and even lounge acts.

To place a casino outside the downtown area would be foolish. To locate it in a depressed area is not being realistic. There are many other ways to help these depressed areas.

Servicing a casino doesn’t take that many people. Employees can hop on a bus or train to work there, just like the many hundreds of employees who already work in downtown hotels and restaurants.

None of the five proposed sites for a Chicago casino meet the above requirements. Please, let’s get real about our goal: To generate money for Chicago.

Barbara Lupo, Northfield

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Don’t let ‘the squad’ destroy Democratic Party

Is the leadership of the Democratic Party so weak that four freshmen representatives called “the squad” can shift the party in a disastrous direction?

Yes, the party should defend the squad against “racist” attacks, but the squad should not be leading the party.

They throw out these “free- for-all” plans that include no details as to where the funding will come from. The politically moderate middle will not vote for candidates who support this “Green New Deal” agenda.

I hope the Democratic Party does not forfeit its hard-won 2018 victories by following the squad.

Warren Rodgers, Jr., Matteson

Take the lead again, Illinois, in protecting natural areas

As the biographer of George Fell, I was most pleased to see the strong editorial about the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. Fell, a native of Rockford, was the visionary who championed the establishment of the Commission.

The passage of the Natural Areas Preservation Act in 1963 empowered the state of Illinois to permanently protect and preserve what little remained of the Prairie State’s natural heritage. Like Yellowstone, it was a first of its kind, creating a statewide system to identify, protect, manage and defend natural areas, and it became a model for virtually every other state to follow.

For many years, under Fell’s guidance, the commission was a national leader, protecting more than 400 nature preserves. However, even before Fell’s passing in 1994, the commission suffered from a series of reorganizations and state budget woes. Under the past few administrations, it has lived under the perpetual threat of its budget line being “zeroed out” and yet more talk of reorganizations, This includes a proposal by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration to eliminate the position of its director.

The commission should be celebrated and sufficiently funded to fulfill its legislated responsibilities and promise: to “secure for the people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of natural areas… by establishing a system of mature preserves..”

Already, too many of our state-owned natural area gems are becoming overrun by exotic species because there are not enough staff to manage the preserves. With a new governor and strong leadership now in place at Illinois Department of Natural Resources, I am hopeful that we will see Illinois regain its rightful place as a national leader in the protection, stewardship and defense of our rare and wonderful natural heritage.

Arthur Pearson, who lives in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood, is the author of Force of Nature: George Fell, Founder of the Natural Areas Movement (University of Wisconsin Press, 2017).