Life insurance protects dependent loved ones

built an extraordinary legacy. Through her music, business ventures and philanthropy she created something that will continue to touch people’s lives long after her recent death. Her story is a reminder that a legacy is not just about what we accomplish during our lifetime — it is also about what we leave behind for the people we love.For most of us, that legacy begins much closer to home: making sure our families will be financially secure if we are no longer there to provide for them.Planning for the future is not always easy, especially with the demands we face today: raising children, working full time or going to school, managing everyday expenses, caring for our own health, and for many, supporting aging relatives.Yet the need to plan is real. A recent study found that more than 40% of U.S. households say they don’t have adequate financial resources to protect their children if the primary wage earner were to die.One of the most effective ways to provide that protection is life insurance. It is an important and often affordable tool for safeguarding the people we love and helping provide financial security for the future. Life insurance can replace lost income, pay a mortgage, fund a child’s education and provide stability when families are already facing tremendous emotional loss.September is Life Insurance Awareness Month, making it a good time to take a fresh look at whether your financial safety net is strong enough to protect your family’s dreams and build legacies. Start the conversation with your spouse or partner and then talk to a qualified life insurance professional about options that may be appropriate for your circumstances.The impact of life insurance is significant right here in Illinois. Life insurers paid $5.62 billion in benefits to Illinois families in 2024. Nearly 6 million Illinois residents already have some life insurance coverage, with an average death benefit of approximately $171,000.Life insurance is ultimately about more than a policy or financial product. It is about protecting the people who depend on you and preserving the plans you have made for their future. It ensures that the legacy you have worked so hard to build can continue, even when life takes an unexpected turn.Laura Minzer, president, Illinois Life & Health Insurance Council

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Philanthropists can give more to protect immigrantsIt's been a year since Operation Midway Blitz began, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are still present in Chicago. That said, immigration enforcement tactics have changed. Public neighborhood raids have been replaced by quick, targeted maneuvers.So far this year, ICE deported more than 350,000 people — many who were abducted while working or taking their children to school. Multiple reports indicate that men, women and children detained in ICE facilities face inhumane conditions and due process violations. And, most horrifyingly, an average of one person a week dies in ICE custody.The horrors caused by the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies have led many to ask what we can do to support communities most affected. As a refugee policy scholar and a Wieboldt Foundation board member, I see the urgency of this moment and an opportunity for philanthropy to meet it.Funders should consider unrestricted grants to organizations with track records of effectively building trust and serving directly impacted communities, including the National Immigrant Justice Center, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, RefugeeOne and World Relief. Philanthropy is already an important partner to these agencies. But the scale of need has grown. The proliferation of federal anti-immigration policies is not letting up. So more funding is needed now.Philanthropy also has a unique role to play in bolstering immigration defense by supporting community organizing, which is the most effective strategy for community self-determination. When neighbors come together to share concerns and envision solutions to the challenges they face, they are building political power — this is democracy in action. Front-line groups like the Coalition for Spiritual & Public Leadership and Organized Communities Against Defense have been in the streets organizing people across the city. For those who are unsure about how best to support targeted communities, these organizations offer an opportunity for us to listen and learn.Philanthropy has a crucial role in immigration defense. Partnership with immigrant communities will demonstrate our commitment to a democracy in which everyone is valued. The impact of our financial support for services and grassroots community organizing will be immediate and lasting.Jessica Darrow, associate instructional professor, University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and board member, Wieboldt FoundationNU isn’t upholding African studies program legacyI graduated from Northwestern University in June. As the whirlwind of seemingly endless graduation events subsided, I found myself thinking about who I was when I applied to Northwestern and who I had become by the time I left Evanston.To understand the person I had become, I decided to revisit the ambitions of the 17-year-old me who had written Northwestern’s supplemental essays. In one of the essays, I wrote about a professor who specialized in African studies.After enrolling in the university, I saw that the professor I had written about was teaching a course on African politics. I enrolled.The professor invited me to attend a department open house. We walked along the main street of campus until we reached a house that was tucked away behind trees and a wooden sign that displayed the inscription, “Program of African Studies.”I began working at the program of African studies soon after the open house. I would often browse through the books, as it allowed me to immerse myself in the long lineage of African studies at Northwestern.“The history of studies about Africa in this country is intimately bound up with the study of Africa at Northwestern," Gwendolen M. Carter, a former African studies director, wrote in an essay in the 1974 issue of The Pan-Africanist — a now defunct Northwestern student publication.Carter's statement reflected the university’s pioneering role in the field as Northwestern became the first university in the United States to formalize a program devoted to the study of Africa in 1948.Last month, nearly 80 years later, Northwestern announced that the program will be transitioning away from its status as a universitywide research institute and center.Northwestern maintains that the African studies program is not closing. Yet the university has eliminated its remaining two staff positions and has provided few details about where the program will be housed or what will happen to its funding.The African studies program created spaces that allowed students to encounter Africa not simply through headlines about the troubles afflicting African countries, but through the continent’s languages, histories, cultures and people.By stripping its African studies program of its status as a research center, Northwestern is sending a clear message about which human experiences are deemed worthy of serious inquiry.Mariam Cosmos, Washington, D.C.Chicagoans don’t need another gambling options Not only is legalizing video gambling terminals "a bad bet" for Chicago, as John Bosca and Julie Darling wrote in their recent op-ed, it will also victimize Chicagoans. Too many Chicagoans are already spending money they cannot afford to lose on Illinois Lottery's Lotto games, Red Hot Millions, etc., tickets that can be purchased at the countless gas stations and convenience stores scattered around the Chicago area. The City Council now enables these same folks to gamble and drink alcohol at the same time?Those alderpersons who are brave enough to try to reverse the legalization of gaming machines in bars would be acting in the best interests of their ward members.Terry Takash, Western SpringsDangers of AI Artificial intelligence is not a living entity. AI is made using computer code to create mathematical models capable of being trained by the input of massive amounts of data allowing the models to recognize patterns and make predictions and eventually take actions.The danger of these AI models is a direct result of the intents of the humans who create them. Many of these AI models are being created by the same people who created the social media programs currently causing unforeseen social damage. AI models only attempt to escape their so-called "playpens" if such directives are embedded in the models via coding.We waited too late to learn about social media. We should not wait to set guardrails for AI. If you think social media is a problem, then uncontrolled AI will be catastrophic Warren Rodgers Jr., Orland ParkTrump’s problematic pledge Earlier this month, Donald Trump offered $5,000 to all American adults if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate. Almost immediately a debate began about whether this proposal constitutes a bribe.Some legal experts say no, because the payment will be available to every adult, regardless of how they vote. Others, however, contend that the very essence of a bribe is to induce people to engage in actions or behaviors they would not have otherwise engaged in.Either way, this proposed payment will bring devastating results to the economy. The national debt is at a record high, topping $40 trillion for the first time in history. These projected payouts themselves, given America’s adult population, would add more than a trillion dollars to this debt.Conversely, if Republicans do regain control of the House and Senate, Trump could then renege on his promise, or it could get invalidated by the courts. By this time many Americans may have made credit purchases or refinanced loans based on this anticipated payout, meaning the personal debt they would not have otherwise incurred, but for Trump’s promise, will also negatively impact the economy.Out of all the tricks the Republicans have employed to impact the midterms — from gerrymandering based on race but calling it political , to threatening to prosecute election officials, to intimidating polling places — this may be their apex.When I say Republicans, I speak in general terms, because there are still some Republicans who place the good of the nation over the whims of their cult leader. But at this point, you can count them on one hand and still have some fingers left over.David R. Hoffman, retired civil rights and constitutional law attorney, South Bend, IndianaStable genius? In what world can the president of the United States bar reporters from the White House because he does not like what they report and a couple days later announce to the entire world he may have to annihilate a country?Mike Sienkowski, Tinley ParkBracing for holy vengeance in postseason play So, there's good news and bad in both the Cubs and White Sox making the playoffs. As for the good, this fall will now have even more to offer than pumpkin spice lattes and cider doughnuts. But on the other hand, we have to brace ourselves for a reckoning if Nostradamus predicted no American pope will ever wave a championship banner out his Vatican window.Bob Ory, Elgin

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