Letters to the Editor | Oct. 25, 2026
Inquirer readers on President Trump’s diesel deal with Russia and deed delays in the Philadelphia sheriff’s office.
Moral compass
Our president rolls out the red carpet for Russian and Chinese dictators but chastises Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who leads a fellow democratic nation that’s engaged in a fight for its very survival. Whose side is President Donald Trump on — dictators or democracy? And now this administration has restricted Ukraine from using the Starlink communication system used to identify potential Russian missile strikes.
This administration makes a deal to buy Russian diesel fuel, which gives Russia more money to continue the war. At the same time he tells Ukraine to stop hitting Russia oil refineries.
Our country, under this administration, has lost its moral compass.
Ken Biles, Douglassville
Deed delays
As a court-appointed receiver for some of Philadelphia’s most troubled properties, including the Brith Sholom House and the Bentley Apartments, I have seen firsthand how the sheriff’s office’s failure to deliver deeds after foreclosure sales harms tenants, lenders, and taxpayers.
Winning bidders at a commercial sheriff’s sale must pay the full purchase price within 30 days. Yet under Sheriff Rochelle Bilal, they can wait a year or more for a deed, despite a 2003 court order requiring transfer within 40 days. Until the deed is delivered, the new owner cannot take control of the property or invest in it. Buildings deteriorate, fire-code and life-safety violations go unaddressed, tenants are put at risk, and values keep falling. As these properties lose value, their assessments fall, costing the school district millions in future tax revenue.
Lenders suffer, too. To avoid a sheriff’s sale, banks sell their loans at steep discounts. Delinquent borrowers, knowing the alternative is a yearlong wait for title, demand concessions in exchange for cooperating in a sale outside foreclosure. When properties do go to auction, buyers lower their bids to account for the delay. Lenders absorb these losses, and Philadelphia becomes one of the least attractive lending markets in the country. The result is smaller loans and higher interest rates for every commercial property in the city. Just as with homes, costlier financing lowers what buyers can pay, pushing property values down further.
On Aug. 26, Judge Paula Patrick ordered six months of independent oversight of the deed process. The sheriff’s office has since tried to back out of that arrangement. City leaders should insist that the review proceed in full. If the office cannot perform this core function, they should move sheriff sales elsewhere or abolish the office.
Alan Jovinelly, Wynnewood
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About letters to the editor
Letters feature a reader’s written opinion and are submitted in response to an article in The Inquirer or another topical issue. Submissions should be sent to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 150 words and include the writer’s home address and day and evening phone number. Letters are published in the Inquirer six days a week on the print opinion pages and online.
