OFF THE WIRE
http://www.suntimes.com/news/commentary/2304222,CST-EDT-edit23a.article Make sure officer did not die in vain
May 23, 2010
We are at a loss as to what emotion we should express today.
Frustration would be easy. We write week in and week out about the daily bloodshed in Chicago. We did so decades ago. We fear we will be doing so decades from now.
Anger would be justified. We are tired of the killing, fed up with the stupid waste of human lives.
Bewilderment would be honest. We write constantly about what needs to be done to get at the roots of violence: the drugs, the gangs, the guns, the bad schools, the failing families, the unemployment. But we can't pretend to have all the answers.
But what we feel most today is profound sadness. We look at this photo of Chicago Police Officer Thomas Wortham IV in his dashing dress uniform and our hearts break for his death, for his family's pain, for our city's loss.
He was so young, only 30. And he was such a good son, following proudly in the footsteps of his father, a retired police officer. And he was good for Chicago, as a cop and as a neighbor.
Just the other day, Officer Wortham had been at Cole Park in Chatham on the South Side, where he was president of the advisory council, talking about how he and others would make the park safe again for children and basketball players and dog walkers.
Officer Wortham died in the line of duty. He was off the clock when he was shot Wednesday by four young men trying to steal his new motorcycle. But he responded not like a victim, but like a cop, announcing he was a police officer before he was shot. He deserves every honor our city can give a fallen officer.
He died in the line of duty as a son. He was killed outside his parents' house, where he had been visiting. He wanted to show his mom and dad his motorcycle.
And he died a soldier, a first lieutenant in the Army National Guard who had just returned from a second tour of duty in Iraq.
If you live or work or play in Chicago, Officer Thomas Wortham IV was your son or brother, your neighbor, your protector, your soldier.
What will you do to make sure he did not die in vain?
