In January, the nonprofit organization Humane World for Animals worked with county and state officials to rescue more than 250 animals including foxes, coyotes, raccoons, skunks and wolf-hybrids from Grand River Fur Exchange, a fur and urine farm in northeast Ohio. The organization’s rescue team, who regularly respond to criminal cases of dog-fighting and severe neglect, called this fur farm “one of the most horrific situations [they’ve] ever seen — the terror and pain was palpable.”
The videos and images from this fur farm are shocking and parallel the abuses seen on fur farms in China, the world’s top producer of fur products. In both the United States and China, there are no animal welfare laws or humane slaughter requirements protecting animals on fur farms from extreme pain and suffering.
On top of the cruelty, the fur industry has some of the largest negative environmental impacts of any fashion material in terms of waste runoff and toxicity. Moreover, research has shown that per kilogram, fur has the highest greenhouse gas emissions of all materials — as much as 31 times higher than cotton and 25 times higher than polyester.
This is a clear moral wrong, and it’s something we in Chicago can do something about. That is why I have sponsored an ordinance, co-sponsored by 22 other City Council members, that would end the sale of new fur products, including fashion and home decor.
Ordinance SO2023-0002983, Trade in Fur Products, is a common-sense measure that will end our city’s support for this cruel industry, which kills tens of millions of wild animals every year for needless fur products like key chains on purses, pom-poms on hats or trim on jackets. There are so many alternatives that are fashionable and eco-conscious without animal cruelty or environmental harm.
Similar laws have already passed in California and 16 American cities and they, like our ordinance, include sensible exemptions for second-hand fur products and those used for religious purposes. Similarly, the proposed fur sales ordinance does not apply to loose fur items like fishing lures, felt hats or paint brushes, nor does it apply to pelts obtained through legal hunting and trapping.
The overwhelming majority of fashion companies — including Gucci, Macy’s, Prada, Nordstrom and so many more — have announced fur-free policies. In fact, our very own Chicago Fashion Coalition has announced its support for this important ordinance.
For Chicago’s fur retailers, this ordinance will mean a change. That does not mean, however, they need to close their doors. After the passage of its state fur sales ban, California’s fur retailers remained in business, storing, cleaning and repairing fur products, as well as selling used and faux furs or items made from other materials. New fur products tend to make up just a small portion of sales for fur retailers, so transitioning away from these items over the next year — before the ordinance takes effect in 2026 — can and should be a smooth and simple process.
SEND LETTERS TO: letters@suntimes.com. To be considered for publication, letters must include your full name, your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes. Letters should be a maximum of approximately 375 words.
I am committed to working with the six businesses impacted by this legislation. But let’s be honest: We are living in an era where we should no longer have to slaughter, mutilate or contribute to the suffering of innocent animals simply to appease our wardrobe needs. This is a teachable moment for our children, showing them how to be compassionate and empathetic to life least able to defend itself. If those are attributes we want more of in Chicago, let’s start joining industry and animal advocates by bringing fashion into the 21st century.
I’m urging my colleagues to join me and the ordinance’s co-sponsors in passing the Trade in Fur Products ordinance on Wednesday. Chicago is a growing hub for innovation and fashion. We can also be a leader in compassion and empathy too.
Raymond A. López, alderman, 15th Ward
‘Tone deaf’ on fur
Words cannot express how dispiriting it is to see the Chicago City Council move toward banning animal skin clothing manufacture and sales (a centuries-old legal, commercial activity) while being absolutely ineffective in keeping 15-year-old schoolgirls from being shot in front of their school building.
They are, collectively, a pathetic assembly of prigs, tone-deaf and irrelevant to the real needs of the people they’ve been elected to represent.
Chicago deserves far better.
Dennis Allen, Wilmette
America is no longer a haven
In September 1958, I was standing on the deck of the M.S. Berlin, returning from a year’s study abroad, when I found myself among hundreds of immigrants (DPs or Displaced Persons as they were called in those days). We were approaching the New York harbor as the Statue of Liberty came into sight and the weeping began: tears of joy, relief, gratitude I am sure, as these women, men and children from across war-recovering Europe were coming to a new land of opportunity and welcome. How proud I felt to be an American. It is an unforgettable and still stunning memory. That was over 65 years ago.
Today we send soldiers to close our borders and shut down the welcome. Worse, we are now casting out, deporting, so-called illegal immigrants and many others caught in a cruel juggernaut of mass arrests. These persons, most of them, settled here with families and jobs, now members of our civic society being forcibly sent back to countries that, in many cases, leave them vulnerable to political repression, lack of jobs and separation from families. “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” have been turned upside down. Today, March 2025, I am ashamed to be an American.
Rev. Martin Deppe, Edgewater
Admit America’s history, and save our democracy
If we are to survive as a democracy, we need to decide who we want to be. But in order to accomplish this, we first need to admit who we are now, and just as important, how our current attitudes are linked to the beliefs and behaviors of those who have come before. In short, there have always been people whose perspectives and mindsets align neatly with our own.
There have always been those who thought war — even genocide — an acceptable response to cultural and political disputes, while there have always been those who found this notion reactionary and barbaric.
Similarly, there have always been those who thought only “certain” people should have the right to vote or belong to a club, who thought homosexuality was an abomination, who thought women were less than men. And there have always been people who rejected these assertions as small-minded and crass.
And, there have always been those who thought immigrants were dirty freeloaders, and trans people were creepy degenerates. At the same time, there have always been those who renounced these narrow attitudes outright.
In other words, there have always been those willing to bully, ban, dehumanize, marginalize, even erase vulnerable groups, right alongside those embracing kindness, open-mindedness and the general belief that all individuals deserve basic dignity and respect.
In broad terms, we are all, in various forms, the most recent versions of one of these two traditions. Drawing the line from our cultural-political ancestors to ourselves today takes no real effort.
Of course, people tend to believe what they want to believe. Some of us will quibble about how we never would have been the kind of person who would have done this or that. Certainly, we never would have been the kind of person who stood idly by while neighbors were being carted away to Nazi death camps. No, we never would have joined the screaming racists in Little Rock blocking Black children from attending Central High. Perhaps.
But now more than ever, let’s be honest about the trendline connecting the dots from our political predecessors and who they were then, to ourselves and who we are now. It looks like the survival of our democracy might depend on it.
Bill Littell, Naperville
Rep. Al Green should be praised for calling out Trump
Americans concerned by President Donald Trump’s illegal seizure of power and subversion of the Constitution and rule of law should commend Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, for being the sole vocal critic in Congress during the president’s State of the Union address. Green interrupted the president’s diatribe by correctly recognizing there is no mandate for this administration’s destruction of our government.
It is a painful reminder that we have no meaningful opposition to Trump and his cowering sycophants in the Republican Party because our elected Democratic leaders continue to fail us in that regard. If there is any hope for our democracy, leaders will take a page from Green’s playbook. We are in crisis and it is time for elected Democrats to acknowledge that further failure to act will result in irreversible damage to this country and our way of life.
Daniel Kassl, Ravenswood
Democrats don’t get it
Watching the presidential address Tuesday night made it painfully clear how disconnected the Democratic party is to the American people. While President Donald Trump laid out his plans, Democrats remained seated and stoic while others applauded. They showed their disdain for the president and his ideas, but when the president presented everyday Americans and their stories, Democrats kept up their same act of defiance, refusing to acknowledge their constituents. While the Democrats may seem to think they “ stood up “ to Trump, they simply turned their back on the American people. They just don’t get it. Americans made it clear in November that we no longer want the same policies from the Democratic party. It’s time they listen to the majority, put away their hurt feelings and start working with the new administration for the good of all Americans.
Joe Ferro, Garfield Ridge
GOP and Russia
I’ve been feeling so old recently. I can remember when Republicans didn’t love Russia.
Daniel Welch, Glen Ellyn
Republicans vs. Trumplicans
Currently “Republican” has two contradictory meanings. It could mean conservative GOP members or reactionary Trumplicans. Let’s differentiate GOP Republicans from MAGA Republicans.
MAGAs are not Republicans. They are Trumplicans. Republicans support our Constitution, believe in and trust science and have a rational self-interest. Trumplicans planned Jan. 6th, admire Vladimir Putin, follow anonymous conspiracies and pledge loyalty to only Trump. Now they have unqualified people running our federal government.
Trump created his own party, stealing the Republican name. Using “Trumplican” allows GOP Republicans to attack Trump, not other real Republicans. Having the media and Democrats attacking all Republicans is unfair, terribly inaccurate and counterproductive. About 20% of the GOP continue as silenced Republicans.
Let’s differentiate spineless Republicans from Trumplicans, so the sheep and the goats can be separated during the next election. Using Trumplican is a useful term and tool for identifying the anarchists.
Robert Kleps, Ph.D., Oak Park
Central Daylight Time should be observed all year
This weekend, we set our time-keeping devices ahead 60 minutes in a last-ditch effort to secure more daylight hours. However, we wouldn’t be forced to alter time or adjust our internal clocks if only we stuck with Central Daylight Time (CDT) all year long. I mean, who doesn’t long to wake up to sunshine in the morning during the bleak winter months or not having to leave our workplace in the dark? It should be a slam dunk that we reverse this archaic practice once and for all before it forever becomes an acceptable way of life from November to March.
Bob Ory, Elgin
Crimo could change his mind again
There is a distinct possibility that Robert Crimo III will withdraw his guilty plea before the 30-day deadline. He will probably say that he was confused when he did it. That’s the way his game works.
Retired Chicago Police Lt. Michael C. Flynn, Norwood Park