Chicago cops complain they need tips from civilians in the affected neighborhoods to nail the gang-related shooters who often kill bystanders as well as each other. Seems fair enough.
But civilians fear reprisals, unconvinced the police can protect them. Though denounced by the cops, the “no snitching” ban prevails, stifling justice. Similarly, the 98 percent of good cops on the force know who the 2 percent of bad cops are who repeatedly are accused of unjustified action or malfeasance, including sometimes killing civilians without justification.
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Yet we keep hearing about the “blue wall of silence” among cops. Apparently nobody in the rank-and-file outs bad fellow cops except to avoid perjury under oath. Otherwise, mum’s the word.
Case in point: The David Koschman cover-up involving many, none disciplined or fired. Can anyone explain the difference, if any, between the two phenomena? Do cops face reprisals for doing what they expect civilians to do? If so, it’s a taboo subject even the watchdog press hardly explores. Both ways, “no snitching” subverts justice and nurtures distrust and disorder across Chicago.
Ted Z. Manuel, Hyde Park
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Double standard
How is it that so many Americans seem to accept the inevitability of a huge number of deaths by citizen gunfire here in our country and yet are hysterical and clamoring for drastic measures at the prospect of a terrorist posing as a refugee or asylum seeker somehow being let into our country as the result of a less-than-perfect but very stringent vetting process?
Mary F. Warren, Wheaton
Take in refugees
While we Illinois taxpayers fund Gov. Bruce Rauner’s digs in Springfield, The Billionaire has nine spacious mansions sitting idle.
How ’bout it, Gov? Why not let hundreds of Syrian refugees find refuge in those lavishly appointed palaces in a manner to which you are accustomed? There’s enough floor space available for you to take in an entire village. You can even use your state-of-the-art security systems to ensure those mostly women and children aren’t preparing Paris-style attacks in your own backyards.
Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn
Shame on those governors
If President Barack Obama says to let the refugees in, how dare the Republican governors think they can close the borders of their states? The legal experts say they cannot do that because it unconstitutional. The refugees need help with families and children. Where are the hearts of the American people?
Shame on those Republican governors.
Verna L. Johnson, Vernon Park
Danger in America
Why do refugees from all over the world want to come to the United States? As I take my morning walk, I think how fortunate I am to have no worries about being shot before I get home. I also don’t worry whether my home will be there when I do get back. I see children waiting for their school buses. They are worrying about friends, sports, and their next math test, not about bombs and gunfire endangering them or their schools. We feel free to go to work and shopping without threat.
Yes, I do feel fortunate to feel so safe. I know that feeling of safety is what immigrants all over the world are seeking when they leave everything behind to come to our nation.
I also know that we have Americans who don’t have that sense of security that I appreciate so much. Every day we hear about Americans in our inner cities and other places across our nation who DO have to fear doing something as simple as walking to work, to school, or to the store. Many school children have to be escorted to their schools to avoid the threat of rival street gangs. Innocent people have been shot while napping in their own homes by those they don’t even know.
A lack of social services, economic inequality, and the ready availability of firearms all contribute to the danger that exists for Americans right here. Americans should realize there is a war going on within our own shores. We should direct our efforts and resources to helping Americans here before we make immigrants the victims of our own insecurity and spend our resources in foreign lands.
Karen Wagner, Rolling Meadows
