Good morning. I got stuck in Air Traffic Control hell this weekend and I'm typing this note from New York LaGuardia where my 7 p.m. flight to Chicago O'Hare now is slated to leave at 2am. I might well still be here when you read this.

That said, we wrote this weekend that we think that transportation secretary Sean Duffy was right to curtail flights; safety has to come first, even ahead of my airport all-nighter.

We also had some conversation with Illinois Republicans this past week. Our main question for them? What is your purpose? You can see what they said below.

Today, we have an editorial about Cboe Global Markets: One of Chicago’s most “Chicago” companies is on track to become even more “Chicago," we write, describing this as "a fitting move for a local icon spawned in the 1970s as an offshoot of the Chicago Board of Trade."

We often have illustrious names in our Opinion section but it's not every day we publish an exclusive piece from the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson. Her topic is farming and you can read what she has to say below.

Our David Greising has been banging away on unaffordable public pensions for as long as we can remember and we think it's a topic of such importance to the future of Illinois that we like how he keeps our readers current with the latest machinations. We also have more on the great transit debate and the falling Chicago crime rate. Plus the latest from Washington from longtime columnist Clarence Page and, as always, your letters.

Wish me luck. These seats don't look so comfy.

— Chris Jones, editorial page editor

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