There's little doubt a Kroger-Albertsons merger would hurt Chicago consumers

Burt Flickinger wrote a letter, published August 20, in support of the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger, claiming that the "real losers," should the Federal Trade Commission succeed in blocking the merger, "will be customers and union workers." Flickinger points to another super-villain of the grocery industry, arguing that Kroger and Albertsons combined will better "compete with the Walmart behemoth."

The latter claim warrants some investigation. Walmart closed four of their Chicago stores just last year; according to the company's website, there are just eight stores still in the city. Much of Chicago, therefore, lacks access to Walmart, which indeed provides substantial value and low prices. Instead, those of us who live outside Walmart’s jurisdiction have just two options: Mariano's and Jewel-Osco. A successful merger of their two parent companies would deprive many Chicagoans of any choice whatsoever.

But what about divestiture? Kroger plans to sell many of the stores it operates in Chicago to C&S Wholesale Grocers, a company with little experience operating stores of this kind. And the last time Albertsons sold its grocery stores to appease the FTC (it was buying Safeway at the time), the stores’ buyer, Haggen Holdings, declared bankruptcy. Workers lost their jobs at the divested stores, and Albertsons reacquired many of the same stores it had sold to Haggen in what FTC Chair Lina Khan called a "spectacular" failure.

The FTC should therefore not approve this merger based on the assumption that Kroger and Albertsons are operating in good faith, as Flickinger suggests. There is little serious doubt, except perhaps by paid consultants, that the Kroger-Albertsons merger would dramatically reduce consumer choice, especially here in Chicago, and result in an uncertain future for the divested stores. Groceries are among the most fundamentally important purchases consumers regularly make, and we must not tolerate the gamesmanship by these two grocery giants in their efforts to extract more profit from our communities.

Daniel Kassl, Ravenswood

Hamas can stop the war

All that is or has been required to stop the carnage and destructive war in Gaza is for Hamas to release all the hostages. Hamas clearly does not care about its people, as the terrorist force embeds itself in and under schools, hospitals and UN facilities. From day one, peace would have been accomplished by releasing the innocent civilians of Israel. Thousands of lives could have been saved. Why is this hardly mentioned? Peace can happen tomorrow.

Elise Nadler, Glenview

Dems, protect voter integrity

So the same Democrats who insist that walls don't work, and who do not believe in requiring photo ID's to prove citizenship when voting, built temporary fences (i.e., walls) outside of the Democratic National Convention to protect themselves, and required photo ID's to enter the facility. So why not protect our border and protect voter integrity ? Because they only care about themselves and their safety. And they do not care if people vote illegally. They are nothing but hypocrites.

Mike Daly, Grayslake

Sister Jean, our saint

People living out their faith can go to distant shrines if they want to, but we have a saint right here in Chicago. And she has just celebrated her 105^th birthday.

William Dodd Brown, Ravenswood Gardens

Lower speed limits make no sense

We have problems on our streets already. Suggestions to reduce vehicle speed limits are ludicrous. We have so much gridlock now on our streets that it has doubled the time to get from one place to another during rush hours. To make this worse by reducing speeds creates more wear and tear on cars (and drivers), more gas being used, more pollution.

Let’s stop putting the burden on drivers who pay to use the streets with vehicle stickers and tags. Let’s just remember, streets were made for cars like sidewalks were made for pedestrians. That too has become a challenge, with skateboards, roller blades, bikes, scooters and what have you. Let saner minds prevail……please

Barbara Czarnecki, Portage Park