Sunday Letters: Governor calls for fairer legislative districts

SHARE Sunday Letters: Governor calls for fairer legislative districts
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From left, Patrick Brady, William Daley and Dennis FitzSimons of Independent Maps, a non-partisan statewide coalition, met with the Sun-Times Editorial Board Tuesday in 2015 at the start of a campaign to win voter approval of a state constitutional amendment creating a non-partisan independent commission responsible for drawing Illinois General Assembly districts. | Rich Hein/Sun-Times

It’s time we return the power of Illinois government back to the people. Our current political system is broken.

It’s rigged against us. The people of Illinois deserve a more just and fair system.

Unfortunately, the Illinois Supreme Court has now blocked a voter referendum that would have allowed you to vote for an Independent Map Amendment in November.

This is an affront to our democracy.

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

Our current system allows career politicians to draw districts for their own benefit and protect incumbents. In the upcoming election alone, two-thirds of incumbents are running unopposed because of how their district is drawn.

It is an elaborate and rigged system that is failing the people of Illinois.

The odds are stacked in favor of those in power and provide no incentive for people who want to get involved and be good public servants.

Instead of voters having a say in who represents them, we have career politicians who have been controlling how votes are counted for 20, 30 and even, 40 years.

That’s not how democracy should work.

Politicians should not be picking their voters. Voters should be picking their politicians. Redistricting reform restores balance in our state and brings back democracy.

The proposed amendment would take the power away from political parties, and give it back to the people through an independent redistricting commission.

It’s overwhelmingly supported by both Republicans and Democrats, including President Obama. And more than 563,000 voters signed the original petition.

Despite the court’s ruling, the Illinois General Assembly still has the opportunity to give the power back to the people.

I encourage everyone to call your state senator and representative. Tell them you want the General Assembly to pass redistricting reform in the fall veto session so we can fix our broken political system and restore democracy in Illinois.

Bruce Rauner, governor, State of Illinois

How to fix Chicago

Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland, urged Chicago to look beyond “criminal law, gangs and policing” to “poverty and inclusion.” As a former president of a country whose people were made second-class citizens in their own land pointed out, she said the criminal justice system can’t solve Chicago’s problems. Money for more police officers would be throwing good money after bad.

Get rid of the bad police, train those who remain, and then re-evaluate where CPD stands. If Chicago has money for services, put it where the people in need can access it: education, economic incubators, safe after-school activities for youth.

Muriel Balla, Kenwood

Vets endorse draft-dodger Trump?

I was stunned to find America’s fine military leaders endorsing a draft dodger of Donald Trump’s status.

A military school graduate, his skills would have been an asset during the Vietnam War. But instead he hid behind plantar fascia; something that never interfered with his golf course and construction site rigors later in life. A man afraid to make

public his tax returns follows in the same cowardice status even after such fortunate military school training. Such training taught to add leadership in the field of military action. While real American heroes and heroines served, he chose to build gambling casinos, golf courses and clothing lines.

Vincent Kamin, Loop

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