VOICE OF THE PEOPLE

A question for prosecutors

A big issue for Congress and special prosecutor Robert Mueller to consider is whether Donald Trump should be tried as an adult.

— Kenneth Leone, Deerfield

Feeling of justice shattered

The most painful victim of the Laquan McDonald case and of the two related court decisions of the past few days is, in my view, our feeling of justice. The idea that nothing can be done to correct what is wrong, and that racism and corruption permeate our society beyond repair, is something that I cannot stomach.

— Armando Travelli, Hinsdale

Punishment equal to crime?

On the one hand, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison for schemes that never came to fruition and never netted the governor a dime.

On the other hand, former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke received a sentence of less than seven years after he was convicted of murder. Furthermore there is talk that he could serve only 3 1⁄2 years.

There’s a movement now for criminal justice reform, and I hope that among the reforms that might be enacted are new sentencing guidelines that prevent these outrageous injustices from occurring.

— Hal Schweig, Evanston

Don’t let teachers strike

Your recent editorial about the Chicago Teachers Union’s collision course with fed-up taxpayers misses the real point. The next mayor and the Chicago media should discuss the insistence on a “no-strike binding arbitration clause” in the negotiations. The lives of so many working families are put under tremendous hardship during a teachers strike.

Under that clause, when an impasse is declared, an arbitrator decides a fair settlement. The school year would not be interrupted while the settlement is reached. Let’s put children’s education before the CTU’s leadership demands.

— Jim Lyons, Chicago

Men and boys being hit from all directions

I have never read a more heartbreaking story than that of the suicide of 16-year-old Corey Walgren of Naperville after allegedly being threatened to be placed in the sex offender registry over a questionable video (involving his sexual encounter with a 16-year-old classmate).

The Covington Catholic boys from Kentucky were vilified, without corroboration, as “privileged smirking racist bullies” after the Lincoln Memorial confrontation last week.

When will the mindless accusations of “toxic masculinity” against men and boys end? When will the people of this country realize that half the population are men and boys who face not only the usual problems of life but also increasing criticism from all directions, no matter what they do?

This has resulted in ever-increasing deaths among men due to suicide, alcoholism and drug abuse. I wonder how long it will be before we realize the results of this and assess the true costs.

— Guyla Koestring, Glenview

Editorial got it wrong

I generally agree with the Tribune’s editorials. But the Tribune has moved into the realm of fake news with its Jan. 23 editorial (“800,000 Dreamers. 800,000 workers. 1 wall. Cut the deal.”) denigrating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to trade the so-called Dreamers for furloughed federal workers. It ignores the fact that she and Sen. Chuck Schumer had made a deal with the president before the shutdown, offering him funding for his wall, which he then reneged on. The editorial also ignores the fact that the president has taken his fight to end DACA to the federal courts. How then does the editorial assert that he is “sympathetic to” the Dreamers? He has also taken steps to end temporary protected status for Central Americans, Haitians and others who have fled conditions in their home countries and are living among us as assets to our communities. At least one federal court has indicated its belief that this move was likely the result of racial animus. The president’s offer to extend this protection in exchange for the furloughed hostages similarly rings false.

Finally, the editorial ignores the fact that Pelosi and the House have passed a number of bills that would fund the government so that the issue of immigration reform, including the issue of border security, can finally be addressed in a bipartisan manner, without the time pressure inherent to the shutdown.

It is one thing to show bias in an editorial but another to reach a desired conclusion by distorting the facts.

— Nancy Vizer, Glenview

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