President Joe Biden signs the Democrats' landmark climate change and health care bill Tuesday in the State Dining Room of the White House as, from left, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., watch. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh/AP)

Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout@southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown.

The Biden regime has passed this phony tax bill supposedly to help the economy. Yeah, right. Give me a break. We need 87,000 new IRS agents like we need a hole in our heads. Good grief.

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act imposes new taxes, which leads to more inflation, not less. It contains a tax on petroleum imports, an increase in fees for oil and gas production on federal lands or waters, and it imposes a new methane fee on the energy industry. All these higher costs will be passed on to anyone who fills up at the pump, and energy costs are a major component of inflation.

Christine from Evergreen Park. Canceling a National Night Out event is called being cautious. What would your views be if they held the event and some violence erupted?

I am not a Catholic, but I just think they are doing so much for the people and the communities that goes unannounced. Years ago I had a balance on my hospital bill that I could not pay. Paperwork was sent to Catholic Charities and my bill was paid with no question asked. They also paid one year rent to a person I know who could not pay for because of new location and needing employment, which they also help with. There might be a dark side when it comes to reporting, but all of the good things should also take the spotlight.

I was laughing so hard, I almost choked. Lightfoot’s idea to sue gang members for their money is ridiculous. It’d be like Illinois suing to get back the billions absconded over the decades by the Cook County Democratic Machine.

Thank you, Donna Vickroy, for your insightful article on drive-through, fast-food establishments. This information is for all of the fast-food franchises managers and CEOs. Your workers are sullen, disrespectful and they don’t care about customer service. Fifty percent of the time the orders are incorrect after waiting unbelievable amounts of time. Take the time to hire appropriate people, people that really want to work, not the ones just working because the money is there.