Tuesday Letters: Police should be held to higher standard

Tweets by @csteditorialsAfter the Sun-Times story “Off-duty Chicago cop cleared of charges he shot at suburban cop,” one must wonder what exactly a Chicago police officer must do to be found in violation of the law. Clearly, shooting at another officer in the middle of an intersection, after drinking, fails to meet the threshold. This is a disgraceful decision that not only endangers the citizens of Chicago but also further emboldens a department that operates above the law.

In explaining his ruling, Judge James Linn stated that while police officers shouldn’t be treated any better than regular citizens, they also should not be treated any worse. Given their broad power, influence and seemingly endless credibility in the court room, officers must be held to a higher standard. Imagine a person of color driving drunk at high speeds, and, when confronted by an officer, firing a weapon. It doesn’t take a great legal mind to figure out what would have happened. As long as officers are held to a lower standard, this reckless and dangerous behavior will continue.

Ross McHale, Wicker Park

SEND LETTERS TO: letters@suntimes.com. Please include your neighborhood or hometown and a phone number for verification purposes.

A gift in perspective

Before we break our arm patting Ken Griffin on the back for donating $12 million to our fair city to improve the lakefront trail, we must remember something. Based on the numbers from his famous divorce case, that is only 17 percent of his monthly income. This is the equivalent of a $680 from the average person taking home $4,000 per month.

Don Anderson, Oak Park

New Year’s thought

A thought for the new year: Value yourself and others. Learn to manage your cell phone and other electronic connections by being and staying aware of others and by learning how to “keep it human.” Doing so will improve your chances of attaining a thriving future.

Leon J. Hoffman, Lake View

Change through moving

It would be great if every vote in the country counted the same but let’s stop kidding ourselves — the Electoral College isn’t going away. It was created to give influence to states low in population. Why would small states give up that influence? Only 13 states would be needed to prevent a constitutional amendment abolishing the Electoral College. Campaigns would be run completely differently if the goal was to win the popular vote.

Democrats need to find ways to appeal to more states or this likely will happen again. Or some of us could move. That’s how Virginia became a blue state. Clinton won California by 4.3 million, New York by 1.5 million and Illinois by 944,000 votes. If 11,000 Clinton voters had moved to Michigan, 23,000 to Wisconsin and 45,000 to Pennsylvania, we would have avoided this catastrophe.

Kevin Coughlin, Evanston

Good news

Re: “In bitter divide, repeal of North Carolina LGBT law fails”: Good news out of North Carolina! Legislators there failed to bow to the LGBT crowd and did not repeal a bill that protects the rights of pro-family conservatives.

Wayne Lela, Downers Grove

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