| Good morning. Mercifully, we’re easing out of the brutal cold snap that has gripped the Chicago area since the weekend. If you’re like me, venturing outside even for a minute inspired a string of impolite words. I’m grateful for a warm home. But not everyone has that, so let’s keep our vulnerable neighbors in mind. Today, the Tribune Editorial Board turns its thoughts to the new administration and the reactions it has inspired — including willful indifference. In regards to those who skipped watching the inauguration and are tuning out the news about Donald Trump, the editorial board has this message: “We sympathize with the feelings of defeat but argue nonetheless against cynicism or disengagement.” The board also has some words to share about the pardons and commutations issued by Trump and Joe Biden. It’s troubled by a trend that appears to be growing, “in which one person bypasses our courts and our legislative chambers. Pardons are meant to be a check on power, not a source of power,” it writes. Our readers also have plenty to say about Trump and Biden, so be sure to check out our letters section. Elsewhere in Tribune Opinion, the director of the University of Chicago’s Education Lab, who also is a parent of a child who attends the university’s private school, has reason to be alarmed by the trajectory of K-12 education. Regular contributor Paul Vallas calls out the critics of new Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, and our columnist Laura Washington predicts that Rahm Emanuel and former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. are primed to make waves in Chicago politics. The official first day of spring is only two months away. Keep the faith. The frost will give way to new growth, which always offers hope. See you tomorrow. — Colleen Kujawa, opinion editor Submit an op-ed | Submit a letter to the editor | Meet the Tribune Editorial Board | Subscribe to this newsletter | 
