Friday letters: A wised-up voter’s guide for the future

A voter’s guide for the future:

1. Remember that every vote counts.

2. It is not only your right to vote; it is your duty. Others have sacrificed for you to have that privilege.

3. Third-party candidates never win; they only defeat the candidate you would prefer of the two. Don’t waste a vote.

4. When a candidate speaks, believe him or her. It isn’t the voters’ job or the candidates’ surrogates’ job to determine what he or she “really means.” People show you who they are — believe them.

5. Web site news isn’t news. Only newspapers are held accountable for what they print. Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet or hear on talk radio.

6. Inciting is not the same as inspiring. A candidate who delivers divisive language and encourages their audience to do the same is not fit for office.

7. Take notice of what kind of people work with the candidate and also hold them accountable for their language and demeanor.

8. Don’t be a passive citizen. Write to your congressmen and senators, and if they are unresponsive, vote them out. Even though Congress has terrible popularity ratings, almost all incumbents are re-elected.

9. Vote during mid-term elections. If you don’t approve of the direction of the party or its leaders, make your opinions known.

10. We can’t change the outcome of the elections once they happen. Don’t regret later that you felt the process was entertainment and wish you had taken it more seriously.

Betty Kleinberg, Deerfield

GOP turned back on voter participation

I am appalled by the cowardice exhibited by 13 House Republicans on Tuesday when they voted against overriding Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto of a bill designed to make voter registration automatic for those seeking new or updated driver’s licences.

This bill passed with significant bipartisan support in the spring, but was vetoed by Rauner. To overturn the veto, 71 votes were needed. Because every single one of the Republicans who initially voted in favor of the bill voted against overriding the veto, the bill has failed.

The tired excuses of the members of the House Republican Caucus who chose to turn their back on encouraging voter participation and democracy are unfounded. The ongoing rhetoric about preventing voter fraud is a scare tactic. Representatives Thomas Bennett, Terri Bryant, C.D. Davidsmeyer, Tom Demmer, Norine Hammond, Chad Hays, Sara Wojcicki Jimenez, Michael McAuliffe, Donald Moffitt, Robert Pritchard, Ed Sullivan, Michael Tryon and Michael Unes, your choice to encourage voter suppression is an embarrassment to our state and our country. You knew better when you voted for the bill initially, and you know better now.

Our sitting governor and millionaire Bruce Rauner has given millions of dollars Illinois Republicans. Whether the governor is buying off our elected officials or counting on their fear of his financial opposition, the effects of such vast sums of money are immoral, unethical, and undemocratic, as evidenced by this failed veto override.

Naomi Shapiro, Chicago

Force a budget deal

In regard to getting the budget passed in Illinois, I think that all the employers in the state should put all the money that they withhold from their employees’ state income tax into an escrow account. And keep it there till they pass the budget. You better believe we soon would get a budget here in Illinois.

Ted Schwartz, Brookfield

We need critical thinking

We’re failing. We’re so busy teaching standardized test proficiency that we botch logic. Donald Trump argues that wind turbines should be eliminated because they kill birds. So cars should be eliminated because raccoons wander onto highways? The pity is that he was elected on such nonsense. Hey, teachers, diminish drill. Emphasize critical thinking. Our country’s future depends on it.

William Rankin, The Villa