Vanecko took cowardly way out
Carol Marin on Sunday was quick to say that Richard J. Vanecko is not the villain in the case of the alleged involuntary manslaughter of David Koschman. Instead, Marin blames a system that allowed this case to filter through the cracks with little or no …
Retirees shouldn’t be asked to bear full burden of pension problems
As the Illinois Legislature prepares for veto session, it’s important to review how unions have sought to stabilize the state’s retirement systems. Recall that Illinois public employees earn modest pensions — averaging $32,000 annually. Nearly 80 percent of individuals in state-funded retirement systems are not …
Facts prove that climate change is real and must be addressed
Thank you for Friday’s story reporting the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Climate change is real and a catastrophic threat to all life on Earth. This is the message that must be conveyed to every person on the planet and bring us …
Insurance firms know what’s best
Elected officials, hear my plea. You must save me and other Americans from ourselves. Please make it legal again for insurance companies to drop me because of a pre-existing medical condition. Please let my insurance company raise my rates as much as it wants without …
City could use State Police help
This is no time for Mayor Rahm Emanuel or the police chief to feel threatened by Gov. Pat Quinn’s offer of State Police. At this point, we need the help. I welcome the State Police if they can help make our communities safer. Stop the …
Violent gang war means mayor needs to call in the troops
Wake up, Mr. Mayor. You do need the National Guard because there is a war going on — a gang war. Please swallow your pride and get some help. People are dying on South and West Side battlefields. Jan Alex, Lake View East ‘Cure’ worse …
Causes, effects of deadly violence
We all learned the cause-and-effect theory as early as elementary school, so why is Chicago ignoring the theory when it comes to violence in the city? Failing schools, unemployment, poverty and lack political fortitude to deal with the root cause of Chicago’s violence continue to …
Big government gives us too many with security clearance
Aaron Alexis had documented psychological issues and an arrest for discharging a weapon, yet he passed background screening and walked into the Navy Yard to commit murder. Edward Snowden was a high school dropout who had to go back to get his GED, yet the …
Hultgren should listen to voters
The next time U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren is in town, maybe he could find a way to talk to some of his constituents who do not have health-care insurance. Maybe they could explain to him what it feels like to have health problems without the …
Sheathe the political swords
Your recent editorial asking the Supreme Court to provide an outside judge and appoint a special commission was based on purported facts that are not true. While there are issues involving inadequate county funding to provide the necessary pretrial screening services for the effective setting …
Shame on right-wing resistance to ObamaCare
I continue to be outraged by the efforts to delay and defund ObamaCare. As someone who takes care of patients who are uninsured and underinsured, it is clear to me that the health-care system pre-ObamaCare was deeply flawed and morally unjust. It was yet another …
Our gun laws must be changed
I read the Tuesday editorial [“Another massacre, another cry of despair] and couldn’t agree more. How many more of these shootings need to take place before people become outraged? I remember the Columbine shootings like it was yesterday and was completely horrified watching it unfold. …
Spend, spend, spend
I am appalled at the amount of money being spent to update the Capitol in Springfield. If my husband and I conducted business like the state of Illinois is doing, we would be in the poorhouse. Carolyn McKinney, Montgomery ObamaCare woes The Sun-Times’ ill-conceived attacks …
Nothing new in prejudicial mob film ‘The Family’
Richard Roeper needs a thesaurus. In his review of Robert De Niro in “The Family,” Roeper describes the film as “different.” Really? De Niro plays the same type of mob character he played in “Analyze This” and “Analyze That.” Michelle Pfeiffer plays the same mob …
Developments with Syria, Russia leave President Obama looking presidential
I cringe every time I hear someone say that Russian President Vladimir Putin has somehow saved President Obama or given him a way out. How have we allowed ourselves to think so dismissively of our president? It was Obama who forced Putin to the reconciliation …
