High court should allow amendment vote

Over 560,000 Illinois voters a petition for Independent Maps this year. I know, I collected quite a few of them. If successful, this initiative would allow you in November to vote for or against taking redistricting out of the hands of politicians and entrusting this most important duty to an independent commission.

Those in power are fighting like crazy to keep this initiative off the ballot. No wonder, since it would end their chance to gerrymander.

As Matt Murphy has put it, elected officials in Illinois choose their voters rather than voters choosing their elected officials. Currently, the party in power draws legislative districts every 10 years in a manner that makes it almost impossible to vote someone out of office.

This initiative has been endorsed by almost every newspaper in Illinois and by a broad spectrum of organizations. And, may I add, enthusiastically signed by you, my neighbors.

Now, as in 2014, a judge struck it down in spite of praising it for being so well-written. She used such a narrow ruling that it ensures that no citizen initiative could ever pass muster.

Unlike two years ago, the Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to review this case and has the chance to restore the democratic rights of Illinois citizens. I encourage the Daily Herald and every citizen interested in a fair democratic process to urge the Illinois Supreme Court to allow our citizenry the right to put an initiative on the ballot.

And I urge all of you voting in November the chance to take back power from the Springfield politicians.

Alan Heigert

Mundelein

What a laugh

I want to thank Steven Heuberger of Libertyville for his "best media acronyms" in the Aug. 4 Your Views. I haven't had that good a laugh, that early in the morning, for a long time. To say that Fox News is "Fair, Objective and Xcellent" is like saying Donald Trump is a good candidate for president of the United States.. NOT! But thanks for the laugh, I must admit your analogy was hysterical.

Jeff Sand

Waukegan

The outlook is bleak for capitalism

It saddens me to say this, but allow me to pontificate: I truly believe, my friends, that the human race is not evolved enough for true capitalism to make it too much further than about 200 years.

We will always reach the point where it is far more profitable to stop developing new technologies for the masses. Without genuine empathy, compassion, and concern for the well-being of every single person on the planet, including the planet itself, the choice will always be money.

We advance from mere initiates into full-blown adepts at materialism and greed. Now, when we sell out our own intelligence and desire to truly innovate to make the world a better place for the almighty dollar, we have become the architects of our own stagnation, downfall and eventual demise.

I have to give props to Denmark, however. They are a spark of hope in a thick, black abyss that people are only now beginning to realize they are drowning in.

Matt Valles

Arlington Heights

Proposal for making debates more fair

To prevent the the kind disruptions and upstaging which have occurred at some of the prior national debates, I recommend the following rules be enforced at the 2016 Presidential debates.

1) Once a question is presented to a participant, only that person's mic should be open for response. All other participant's mics will be open only when they have the floor to reply, or when they have a question directed at them.

2) Participants should be physically separated by several feet so as to prevent disruptions to the participant who is speaking.

3) If a participant takes longer than the allotted time to reply to their question, or in rebuttal, the extra time taken would be subtracted from their very next opportunity to speak.

4) If a participant speaks out of turn, or disrupts the proceedings or another participant's turn to speak, the time taken will be subtracted from their next opportunity to speak.

5) As an option to consider, if a participant uses less than the allotted time to speak, that extra time might be added to their future opportunity to speak.

6) Another option is, if in a response, a participant chooses to cover material unrelated to the issue presented by the moderator, the mic may be cut off and the opportunity voided.

I believe people want to hear all of the participants' responses. These rules would keep the debate going in an organized manner, and would be fair to all parties.

Richard Cichanski

Palatine

Double standard

I want to know why the media is so upset about Mr. and Mrs. Kahn's comments about Donald Trump and his reaction to those comments, but never mentions the mother who spoke at the Republican convention who lost her son due to the Benghazi attack. People have said it was inappropriate and rude to have that mother, Mrs. Smith, speak at the Republican Convention. What is the difference? Hillary Clinton made decisions that night that cost her son his life. Why is that not equally tragic?

Arlene Larsen

Inverness

Do more to enforce crosswalk law

I'm very sorry about the crosswalk accident on Central. I drive that every morning and have seen drivers pass through without slowing down. I personally think they should also have a flashing light on the median. You may not see the lights flashing on the shoulder if you have a tall vehicle in the curb lane or the morning sun is in your eyes.

I live near Busse and Lonnquist Blvd. where the same warning system is installed. About a month and a half ago, I was driving west on Lonnquist and stopped at Busse. A jogger came along and pressed the button for the warning system to let him cross. Not one vehicle stopped from either direction.

He had to wait for a break on Busse.

I called the police department department on a fyi basis requesting some traffic enforcement. I was told that would not happen at that time.

Mount Prospect could enforce the state law if they wanted to.

L.A. Mylin

Mount Prospect

Truth about Clinton

A great letter appearing July 20 was the one criticizing Gene Lyons. Finally, a true version of what Hillary Clinton is really about. How the FBI found her not guilty is unreal. She not only got away with being dishonest, do people remember the Clintons trashed the White House when they left? Has our own country become so full of Unamericans what they love the worst people? At least Trump is for America.

Joan Fernandes

Hampshire

Hunger unacceptable

Tonight millions of children will go to bed hungry. And they will wake up in the morning to no breakfast. This is unacceptable in this day and age. Nourishment is important if any child is going to flourish. They need to be fed before we can expect them to learn and grow. There is plenty of food to go ground, but the problem is distribution. How do we get the food to the people?

Penny Bailey

Des Plaines