This week, the Chicago Transit Authority made a huge down payment on the future of the Far South Side, a major step toward reversing decades of racial inequality, transportation inequity and economic disinvestment for thousands of families in Roseland, Pullman, Washington Heights and other nearby neighborhoods.

The CTA did this by enlisting an experienced contracting team, Walsh VINCI Transit Community Partners, to build the critical Red Line Extension, which will extend the Red Line 5.6 miles, from its southern end at 95th Street to the Altgeld Gardens community south of 130th Street, including four new stations near 103rd Street, 111th Street, Michigan Avenue and 130th Street.

This is more than just another mega-transportation project in Chicago. It is a historic, equity-focused project that will enable the CTA to better serve Chicagoans on the Far South Side, including some of the city’s most disadvantaged and transit-dependent residents.

After decades of talks – nearly 60 years of empty promises – the CTA is moving forward with this project.

The extension will benefit thousands of Chicagoans who have been left behind and do not have the same fair access to rapid transit as the rest of the city. The proud residents of Chicago’s far south side should not be forced to commute an hour or more and face obstacles on their way to work and school every day.

With the economic development of this project, they will soon see fewer boarded-up buildings and empty storefronts in their neighborhoods. Those who feel forgotten and overlooked will soon benefit from real progress.

We know that the Red Line extension will benefit future generations by connecting all of Chicago. We thank the CTA for keeping their word and getting us to this point.

We will continue to advocate for every man, woman and child who benefits from this investment. The Red Line extension brings jobs, better access to public transit and a better future.

There is no turning back.

Abraham D. Lacy, President, Far South Community Development Corporation

Johnson and CTU want yes-men

Is Mayor Brandon Johnson trying to oust Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools (“Sources say Johnson is working to oust CPS CEO”)?

Martinez has clashed with the Chicago Teachers Union over how to resolve the massive budget deficit. Martinez refused to take on a pension payment Johnson demanded from CPS that was tied to a new CTU contract.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates this week called Martinez “insubordinate” because she said every mayor in this city has told them what to do and they’ve done it. It sounds like Gates wants a “yes man” as CEO of CPS. The CTU helped elect Johnson; is the mayor looking for a “yes man” too?

Richard Barber, Mount Greenwood

CTU and mayor beat up taxpayers

Mayor Brandon Johnson keeps giving gifts to CTU President Stacy Davis Gates. She doesn’t like CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, so now she’s going to get Johnson to fire him and probably replace him with someone she likes. That way she gets what she wants, and Chicago taxpayers keep getting screwed by the mayor. It’s the same old circus running Chicago. Mayor Johnson, grow up.

Gerald Bernson, Tinley Park

Climate change hits our wallets

I read with interest your newspaper article about the recent tornado epidemic in the Chicago area. Although climate change is not mentioned in the article, it is contributing to the increase in such extreme weather events. But even this hidden reality does not go deep enough.

Climate change is about costs that we all bear. We think it’s a gamble where a handful of us drown or get crushed by a falling tree and the rest of us are OK. That’s wrong. We’re all paying more and the costs are rising.

A recent economic study funded by Consumer Reports found that climate change will increase the cost of living for people born in 2024 by $500,000 to $1 million. Rising costs for food, energy and insurance will put a big dent in Americans’ lifetime earnings. That’s ironic, considering some of the political arguments for simply ignoring climate change and focusing on “money issues” like inflation.

Just as tobacco has pushed the cost of cancer treatment onto consumers, fossil fuels have increased the cost of many things we pay for as consumers. Climate change is advancing. It would be wise to vote accordingly.

Chris Wiegard, Chester, Virginia

Establish bus lane on DuSable Lake Shore Drive

I’ve been on the fence about the reconstruction of DuSable Lake Shore Drive lately. I have to admit, it bothers me. I’ve always been a driver. I drove a truck for 16 years until I became a teacher and drove 40 miles to school every day.

I own and drive a classic car, so I’m biased. But the adults in the room need to realize that we really need to think about the future. I was very touched by a letter to the editor from Cyrus Dowlatshahi in Tuesday’s edition.

DuSable Lake Shore Drive has become just another highway. When the police stopped patrolling it years ago, all the rules went out the window. Truck traffic and speeding have gotten out of control. It’s become ridiculous.

If there was a protected bus lane closed to cars, maybe things would improve in terms of pollution, feasibility and acceptance of change. I realize that’s asking a lot of all of us. But our parents and grandparents did this sort of thing and now it’s our turn. Everyone wants something better for their children and grandchildren. This could be something that improves their future.

President Dwight Eisenhower asked citizens to pay for the federal highway system that still works. The space program, cleaner energy, and more recently the SAFE-T Act were pretty big demands. The facts show that we have received great benefits from these leaps of faith.

Let us show our descendants that the citizens of that time were better than some of our leaders.

Dan Kirchberg, East Rogers Park

Political campaigns tire voters

I really hope Kamala Harris wins the upcoming presidential election, as it could set a new precedent for future campaigns. As I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican, I hope future campaigners take note that you don’t have to start your presidential campaign the day after the next inauguration to be successful. She has a chance to do it in a 100-day sprint.

It’s sickening to see how much time and money is wasted in the months and years leading up to our national elections on all the pre-election campaigns to woo voters. How many babies are kissed and half-eaten in Iowa every year because their caucus is boosting the election-year primary? I’m always amused by how much attention is paid to the state that has six electoral votes for three years, and then how little from February to Election Day.

Since the national election essentially comes down to the votes of seven states (Iowa is not one of them), I would prefer that those seven states be the focus of the first ballot. This would force candidates to appeal to a broader range of voters. The entire campaign could begin and end in six to eight months.

Maybe my anxiety is the result of election fatigue, but it would be nice to turn on the TV and not be bombarded with political news 24/7 for over three years.

Steven Fortuna, Naperville

A true White Sox fan

I’m 81 and a Chicago White Sox fan. I don’t wear a bag over my head. I grew up on the South Side when Nellie Fox was second base, Billy Pierce was a winning left-hander, and Minnie Minoso and Jim Rivera played center and right field. “Those were the days, my friend. We thought they would never end.”

The gods of baseball are not kind to the White Sox this year. All the team can do is play every game and do their best, even if “best” isn’t enough. Either the talent is there or it isn’t. Either the manager can manage it or he can’t. And you have to think about the management, too.

Former baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti wrote of baseball, “It breaks your heart. It’s designed to break your heart.” Truer words have never been written. Broken hearts heal, and as Brooklyn Dodgers fans in the 1950s and Cubs fans have known for most of their lives, “There’s always next year.” That’s part of baseball life, and the fact is that in everyone’s life, some years are just better than others.

So, Chicagoans, if you’re a true baseball fan, put down the paper bags and stand tall. Cheer on your boys of the summer. They need your support now more than ever. No one feels worse than the players who have won only 29 games (through Friday night’s game). None of them are hanging up their cleats and going home. We shouldn’t either.

Let’s go, Sox!

Mike Aleman, Spokane, Washington

Pass a law to protect children online

Without much fanfare, the U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill in late July by an overwhelming 91-3 vote that, if it becomes law, will protect children and teens who use social media. The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, which would be wise to take it up and pass it when it returns in September.

Many agree that the safety of our children and teenagers is lacking right now. I fear that because of the amount of time children spend online, they are increasingly suffering from eating disorders, depression, and bullying. Some children are using social media to seek drugs, be lured into sexual relationships with adults, or discuss disturbing plans to shoot up schools.

It has gotten so bad that U.S. Health Secretary Vivek Murthy has repeatedly advocated increasing pressure on social media platforms. Murthy even wrote an editorial for the New York Times demanding that these platforms post warnings that “social media is associated with significant psychological harm among adolescents.”

Members of the House of Representatives should follow the Senate’s example – and, more importantly, the desire of the majority of voters who agree that social media can be dangerous for children and young people and that the government must do something about it.

Jeffery M. Leving, Loop