Tuesday Letters: Ken Dunkin takes a brave stand

A Feb. 24 Sun-Times editorial rips State Rep. Ken Dunkin and his perceived motives while also slamming Gov. Bruce Rauner, but says virtually nothing about the decades-old stranglehold the Democratic machine has on Illinois politics. Dunkin should be commended for tossing the monkey wrench at House Speaker Mike Madigan and his cabal of loyal lapdogs.

Mike Koskiewicz, Portage Park

Dunkin a GOP wannabe

I’m a Democrat and I always vote for Democratic candidates. So can someone explain how I ended up with Republican wannabe Ken Dunkin as my state representative? Go figure.

Gary Odom, South Shore

Do your job, Senate Republicans

President Obama stated that he would attempt to appoint a new Supreme Court Judge at an appropriate time. Kudos for him! He was elected to a four-year term and will serve responsibly until his departure next year. The Republicans need to read the Constitution. They are trying to bully him into delaying action so they can name another conservative justice. They are content to delay rulings on important issues. Shame on Senate President Mitch McConnell and his constituents.

Verna Hooks, Greater Grand CrossingThe President must fulfill his constitutional duty by nominating a replace to Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. This takes precedence over the wishes of any one party. Senators take an oath to uphold the Constitution, not to ignore it at will. It would be grounds for impeachment to ignore the Constitution that Republicans love to wrap themselves around. Our form of government is at stake.

Thomas Cechner, Lockport

Editorial unfair toward Rauner

Exacerbating the Sun-Times inability to be fair and objective, its Feb. 11 editorial shows its penchant for ripping Republicans. Claiming that Gov. Bruce Rauner’s performance lies at the heart of the state’s financial mess proves the point. With Democrats in control of the Legislature, it’s unrealistic to blame the governor for the mess. The Sun-Times definition of compromise would be for the governor to agree with House Speaker Mike Madigan and change nothing. To claim that Rauner is throwing Mayor Rahm Emanuel under the bus, simply because he is critical of his actions, is less than fair and objective.

Donald Nauyokas, Brighton Park

The wonder of gravitational waves

As a physicist who remembers the LIGO effort when I was a college student in the 1980s, I am delighted that gravitational waves have been observed. We live in a universe where everything can be considered to have wave properties, so this discovery confirms various theories of gravity and spacetime, furthering our understanding of the forces that hold our world together. It also demonstrates the power of the human intellect to fathom and study the tiniest (Planck length) and greatest dimensions (billions of light years) in our universe.

Michael Pravica, Des Plaines