Real reason to skip voting?: Disgust

The headlines in the Herald a few days ago read: "What will it take to get people voting?"

The article suggested many reasons for the poor showing in the February primary election of only 20 some percent. The reasons suggested were from the date of the primary, weather, reluctance to declare their party, there are more independents, apathy, to just plain the voters are burned out.

Not one word was mentioned about the real reason. The real reason is voters no longer have a choice in which candidates end up on the ticket and in office. With nonvoters, it is more than apathy, it is contempt for Springfield and Washington, and there is little they can do at the current time to change it.

It doesn't matter whether you're a Democrat or Republican, the candidates ending up in office at the state and federal level get there with campaigns funded by the big money from corrupted politicians doling it out and the big money from special interests corrupting them.

Individuals will never be able to compete with this kind of money, and the recent decision by the Supreme Court only exacerbates this problem.

Whatever happened to the promised ethics reform? Right, nothing. It was merely a perfunctory exercise by our corrupt and deceitful state officials in appointing an ethics commission. They never really wanted reform, and when the commission did come up with good recommendations, the report was squashed at the highest levels in Springfield.

I think a more appropriate question would be: "What will it take to get the corrupt money out of Springfield and Washington?"

Leo A. Dietrich

Lake Villa