Letters: Charles Koch is no Dr. King

Dr. Martin Luther King once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Now billionaire Charles Koch claims, “we, too, are seeking to right injustices that are holding our country back.” He made that statement at a luxury resort, along with 450 other wealthy conservative donors and three Republican presidential contenders.

How many poor people or people of color or illegal immigrants or LGBT people or minimum wage workers attended that meeting? Does Koch’s trajectory, funded by hundreds of millions of his free speech dollars, bend towards “justice for all” or towards the benefit of the 1 percent?

Koch’s guest list tells us.

Bob Barth, Edgewater

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City needs progressive income tax

Mayor Rahm Emanuel needs to come up with $754 million in new revenue for Chicago. How about a graduated income tax or stock transaction tax? Instead of penalizing residents with a property or sales tax increase, shift some of the cost to the people most able to pay.

Tom Minnerick, Elgin

Trump and Rauner think the same

If Donald Trump becomes our next president (heaven help us!), our nation will be jinxed with the same kind of leadership that now plagues Illinois: a big business boss who thinks he can call his underlings to a meeting and say, “OK, guys, this is what we’re gunna do!” Our representative democracy has its flaws, but (thank God) that’s not how it functions.

Dan McGuire, Bensenville

Put Billy Pierce in Hall of Fame

Sox pitching great Billy Pierce died on Friday at age 88. I followed Pierce’s career for the last 11 of his 13 seasons with the Pale Hose (1949-1961). He was worth the price of admission, flashing a compact southpaw motion that won 211 games, including 38 shutouts, 193 complete games, 1,999 strikeouts, 4 one hitters and 7 two hitters; stats far beyond the reach of virtually every pitcher today. Opponents couldn’t muster even one for four against Billy the Kid. He is one of a select few to start three All Star games.

There was no night home game TV back on June 27, 1958, as I tuned to Bob Elson on WCFL radio for another Pierce victory over the visiting Washington Senators. Staked to a two-run lead, Pierce mowed down the first 26 DC’ers, and seemed poised for a Perfecto. The Washington manager sent utility man Ed Fitzgerald to pinch hit for the pitcher. Elson sighed as Fitz laced Pierce’s first pitch just inside the right field line for a double. I was still in shock as Pierce blew three fast ones past Albie Pierson to end the game.

Maybe the 16-member committee voting on Hall of Fame candidates from Baseball’s Golden Era will announce Pierce’s election to the Hall at baseball’s winter meetings. Sox fans and anyone following baseball in the 1950’s put this classy hurler in their Hall of Fame decades ago.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn