* One Neighbor Thinks Chicago Journal Credibility Has "Strengthened Tremendously"

Keep doing what you're doing
Here's a personal note of thanks from a grateful community resident to you all for keeping tabs on Rogers Park public affairs and for bringing integrity to local journalism.  You folks are parting the clouds of obfuscation to usher in much needed sunshine on issues in Rogers Park.

 Although our community's concerns are wide-ranging and complex, you are paying attention and providing us with real journalism.  That includes timely and accurate reporting, relevant editorials, and thought provoking commentary.  This really matters to us. 

From what I see, now with Chicago Journal as a foundation, the News-Star's credibility is strengthened, and in fact has improved tremendously in just a few months.  Please share this with and tell your colleagues that many residents here are talking about the paper and support the openness, honesty, and detail you bring to coverage of Rogers Park.

 It's refreshing to see the news media reflect on what we see with our own eyes, the things we experience every day, and what we are already talking about.  It's a welcome tonic considering what we get from too many elected officials and their politically-beholden apologists - revisionist history and spin doctoring on vital issues, explanations about failures that strain credulity, a deluge of self-congratulatory email press releases, and head-in-the-sand fantasies about Rogers Park.  If only we could recycle all that litter and put it to good use, because it does not serve our needs now or in the future.

 Residents from all walks of life welcome your unprecedented level of scrutiny into public issues.  But, I bet in the course of your work as editors and reporters you are occasionally baffled when someone in power cries foul after you've dared to examine a controversy or exposed their machinations and gymnastic leaps over logic. 

A recent example of this was an official pronouncement prompted by your comprehensive coverage of the North Shore School demolition.  It was the old attack-the-messenger-and-cover-up-the-truth gambit.  Hmmm.  Did we just imagine seeing the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's "Danger Asbestos" warning signs at the 49th Ward demolition site?   Many judgment errors contributed to the process of permitting a parking lot to replace a lake front building.  Important issues and our community's best interests were ignored.  Admit the mistake, learn from it, and do better next time. 

That was the point of your paper's coverage.

 I attended your forum at the Rogers Park Library and was surprised to hear your paper's representatives commit, in plain-spoken language, to show no fear in covering the issues which challenge the health of our community, and to stand up to the powers that be if necessary.  I thought, well, someone actually claims to have the guts to call it as they see it.

 No doubt about it.  You are living up to your promise.  Community residents depend on "the fourth estate" to monitor the checks and balances in our democracy, and I thank you for your professionalism in getting the job done.  Keep drilling down and getting the facts on stories like the North Shore School debacle.  Keep reporting on what's going on and who is involved. 

Also, always of great import, help find answers to what is often the hardest question of "why" something is happening.  By doing so you will continue to deliver a product worthy of community support.

Celebrate your achievement.  I do!

Michael Harrington

A Rogers Park Resident on Sherwin Avenue

Image courtesy Bill Morton