Editor's note/letter to the editor.

Until recently, Chicago worried me. It seemed to sit, poised, on a bubble of rage and resentment--the frustration of its impoverished, the outrage of its immigrants, the confusion of its workforce, the fear of its families.

We survived September 11, relieved our own Sears Tower still stood. In the months that followed, we hung our American flags, challenged our elected officials or huddled in our homes, awaiting the next government raid. We drove past the rubble that was public housing for mothers and children and mused how much the new condos would cost. We lost our jobs and our pensions and learned how to live without health insurance. We watched one of our public high school students killed every two weeks. We sent our loved ones to a war many of us didn't fully understand. Some of us marched to defend the troops, others to blast an administration.

The events have tried us all. We chose our camps, closed ranks and stuck together to survive these times.

Maybe it's our lingering summer euphoria. Maybe it's pennant fever. Maybe it's the promise of an economic comeback. But it looks like Chicagoans have begun to notice a few things.

We are starting to understand that the story of today's immigrant family, for instance, mirrors that of the well-established Irish, the West Coast student transplant or the black Southerner. We are seeing that the middle-class white professional feels the pinch of rising housing costs like never before, along with the threat of poverty that racks the city's blacks and Latinos. And we are remembering that no mother, no matter her race, should have to bury a child.

After 31 years, this magazine still stands as a symbol of that Chicago, the Chicago that sees richness in our differences, along with the greatness of the challenges we face. We at The Chicago Reporter continue to explore this great variety among us, knowing it holds the answers to problems faced in every community.

You may notice that we look a little different. We also cost more (without ads, we count on supporters like you to keep going). But we know Chicagoans care about this kind of journalism--journalism that isn't afraid to ask uncomfortable questions, to draw ire, to dig deep and to challenge sacred cows. It is journalism that strives for accuracy, for fullness, for depth. Tell us what you think about it. Tell us what we're doing well and what we're missing.

I'm not naive; I know Chicago's trials will continue long after I am gone. In my lifetime, the bubble will probably burst, as it has many times before.

But we are still standing.

The Reporter's work on ex-offenders, which begins on page 8 in this issue and continues over the next year, will be highlighted at "Repentance and Reconciliation: The Reintegration of Ex-offenders into Our Communities," sponsored by the Community Renewal Society, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., November 8 at Covenant United Church of Christ, 1130 East 154th Street, South Holland, Ill.

For tickets or details, call 312-673-3812.

The League of Women Voters of Cook County Board of Directors thank you on behalf of our 16 member leagues in Cook County for your excellent article, "Debate as Rare as 'No' Votes on Cook County Board" in your July/August issue. This was a well-researched view of the workings of the Cook County Board over an extended period of time. It is terribly important for the public to understand how this board makes decisions, as it is responsible for the 19th-largest government budget in the United States.

Kudos to Rupa Shenoy and the other reporters who helped research this excellent piece.

Board of Directors

League of Women

Voters of Cook County