On the Retirement of Marcia Lythcott, Chicago Tribune Commentary Editor

My introduction to Marcia Lythcott came in the summer of 1995, when we were both concerned about a brutish Chicago cop known as Bulldog, who had earned a well-deserved reputation for harassing black teenagers. In the days before dashcams and cell phone videos, Bulldog obviously figured there was no risk to pushing kids around and taunting them with racial slurs.  Then one day he made a bad mistake, picking on an African-American student in front of his white teachers and classmates. Sadly, it took the intervention of white people to finally bring Bulldog’s bullying to the attention of the authorities, but he ended up facing civil rights charges in a federal court.

Reported prominently in the Chicago Tribune, the incident outraged me as a citizen and a parent, but also as a lawyer. Thugs like Bulldog can alienate minority communities from the police, which inevitably threatens our entire system of justice and law enforcement. When witnesses are reluctant to come forward and juries are hesitant to convict, criminals are encouraged to act with the same sort of impunity as Bulldog himself.

I thought that was an observation worth sharing, so I wrote it up in 800 words and mailed (yes, mailed) my essay to the Tribune. A few days later, I got a phone call from Marcia, the commentary editor. She liked my oped, and told me it would be in the newspaper the following morning. Even better, she told me that I would be paid $150 for the piece.

Thus began a relationship that would continue for the next 23 years, until late last month when Marcia retired.

Even loyal Tribune readers may not know the name Marcia Lythcott, but everyone in Chicago has benefited from her stewardship of the newspaper's commentary pages.  Day in and day out, the Tribune has featured a smart and informative combination of local columnists, syndicated writers, and occasional freelancers (like me). Marcia made sure that the Tribune would include the broadest range of opinions, making it always edifying, frequently challenging, sometimes provocative, and invariably worthwhile.

Like many people, I read the news section back-to-front, beginning with the commentaries and moving to the headlines only after finishing the day’s opinion pieces.  This is no knock on the Tribune’s excellent reporting; it’s just that Marcia’s carefully curated section could be counted on for the sort of long-term and in-depth analysis that is essential to understanding each day’s events.

I didn’t know that I wanted to be an opinion writer until I met Marcia, but with her encouragement, I went on to write well over 100 pieces for the Tribune. At first they were submitted by hard copy, switching later to fax machines, and then to Marcia’s AOL account (which she acquired before the Tribune had its own domain). These days, it’s all done by email, of course. Through all of the technological advances, and disruptive changes in the newspaper industry, Marcia continued to cheerfully answer her own phone.

Over the years, I have branched out to many other newspapers, magazines, and, lately, internet platforms.  I have had many fine editors, including some who have become well-known journalists and prominent television commentators, and one who has won a Pulitzer Prize. Among them all, I can safely say that Marcia Lythcott has been the best. She has trimmed my pieces when they were too long, sharpened them when they were too dull, and declined them when they did not measure up.

In fact, my favorite experiences with Marcia have been when she rejected my work, which has forced me to continuously strive to improve my writing. Some of those pieces ultimately appeared in other cities, or even in national publications, but Marcia’s exacting standards will always be the ones that matter most to me.

There are no adequate words to express Chicago’s debt to Marcia Lythcott, who has kept us well informed and conversant, about politics and culture, over so many years. A world-class city deserves a world-class newspaper, which in turn demands the world-class commentary page that we have been fortunate to see every day. It has been my privilege to be part of it now and then. So thank you, Marcia. Chicago mornings won’t be the same without you.

Comments

[Dave Garrow]

Great that you've written this, Steve. I hadn't known that she'd retired, but I have similarly positive recollections of her from the late '90s and early '00s, when I thought that writing op-eds was a worthwhile enterprise. [Yes, I largely changed my mind some years back now, given the tsunami of c-r-a-p that's now all over the web. Back in 1995, and earlier, the MUCH smaller number of platforms made any individual piece loom larger against a relatively small universe of commentary.] Like you, I had consistently encouraging interactions with Marcia, and although I never kept count, it seemed as if every time I published an op-ed in WaPo or someplace else, a few days later it would be reprinted in the Tribune. I hope there was an appropriate ceremony at the Trib.

[Susan Carlotta Ellis]

Congratulations Marcia on your retirement and the new chapter of experiencing and living out new passions!!!