Bloom off the Rose

I enjoyed your recent cover story about the 40 things to love about Chicago [“40 Reasons to Love Chicago,” edited by Cassie Walker, December]. Unfortunately, [the Bulls’] Derrick Rose is not one of them.

The NCAA investigated whether Derrick Rose cheated on his entrance exam to Memphis. His first scores were so low that they did not even meet the NCAA’s minimum eligibility guidelines. He took it again and improved so much that the NCAA suspected someone else took the test. The NCAA could never prove that Rose didn’t take the last exam, but it was so convinced he didn’t that it instituted sanctions that required Memphis to vacate the entire season during which Rose played. If the NCAA is right about Rose, he also potentially penalized every other kid on the team who did honestly take his entrance exam. And Rose’s punishment? A $5 million contract with his hometown Bulls and lionization in, among other places, your magazine.

MARK YOST Highwood

The El Word

I loved the December cover story, and the accompanying cover illustration was great, mostly. I was disappointed to see three el cars with an arrow saying, “Only kidding!” as if the el is not a reason to love Chicago. I beg to differ. [My wife and I] don’t own a car here, and we find the bus and el quite convenient and efficient. Sure, it could be better, but improvements are more likely to be made by people who embrace and build on what we have, rather than scorn it or long for what we don’t have. Now more than ever, our public transit needs to be utilized and encouraged to improve, rather than belittled and neglected.

JASON DUBA Chicago

CHICAGO ASKS, FACEBOOK RESPONDS

“Was Daley good or bad for Chicago?”

He was a disaster and an embarrassment. When the economy went down, he couldn’t balance the budget and freaked out and started selling off Chicago piece by piece.
—CAREY SIEGEL

Mayor Daley is an excellent mayor. Chicago’s South Loop is a great example of how he turned a rundown area into a neighborhood.
—LUIS HERRERA

Unless you remember when he wasn’t mayor, the grass is not greener. We’ve become one of the most vital and attractive cities in the country over the past ten years!
—SHERRI KRAMER

It’s hard to say. He did create green areas in Chicago. He made it attractive for tourists. But I cannot stand the privatized parking and the failed Olympic goal. He has wasted a lot of money and resources. It’s a love/hate thing, I suppose.
—ERICA ZALOKAR

Bad!!!
—MANDO FLOREZ

Good!!!
—CATIE KEOGH

For our interviews with experts about Daley’s legacy, go to chicagomag.com/40reasons-daley.

ON THE ATTITUDE OF THE BIGGEST LOSER MICHAEL VENTRELLA

Not sure if the whiny tone in this article came from the author or Michael himself, but this TV show helped a man to lose an enormous amount of weight, stave off chronic diseases associated with obesity, and undoubtedly increase his life span by a significant amount. What better prize can you ask for?
—MAYAMOO55, AT CHICAGOMAG.COM

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