Having billions has nothing to do with running a state

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Thanks to disastrous decisions like Citizens United and Illinois’ own failed attempt to reign in unlimited campaign spending, we let a man buy the governorship of Illinois. If one thing has been proven, it’s that one’s ability to make a billion dollars has nothing to do with how to run a state. Now we have not one, but possibly two billionaires running for governor. A third wealthy person, with the famous Kennedy name, runs fund-raisers in New York. Not sure how it’s not unethical to take campaign donations from people that aren’t legally able to vote in this state. But back to our state.

Illinois is a disaster. We need credible leadership. But throwing piles of money at the voters to sway them is a time-worn tradition, one that bamboozles the rest of us into giving away our vote. The famous quote, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” has never been so apt. If we fall for that same old line again, Illinois is indeed doomed.

Scot Sinclair, Third Lake

Unconstitutional

Another example of how Congress has allowed presidents to usurp its constitutional authority was when president Donald Trump ordered an air strike attack on air bases in Syria without congressional approval.

For those who might argue that the air strikes were not an act of war, the United States would immediately declare war against another country that hit locations in the U.S. with 59 missiles.

It is OK for presidents to violate Articles 1 and 11 of the Constitution, but they had better not mess with the Second Amendment.

Victor Darst, Huntley

All talk, no action

I’m really upset that the president takes his weekends to fly to Mar-a-lago. He is spending $3 million of the taxpayers’ money every time he goes there.

If he is going to do this every weekend, he should use his own plane and pay for his Secret Service protection out of his own pocket.

Where are those Republican conservatives on this matter? They are all talk and no action.

Ernie Gehrke, Jefferson Park

Population drop

Illinois residents are witnessing a drop in population. It was reported recently that Illinois’ largest city saw a drop of almost 20,000 people. According to U.S. Census figures, Chicago has lost 10 percent of its population every 10 years for the past 40 years. An ominous trend indeed.

There are a lot of reasons but one can’t miss the correlation between who’s been running Illinois’ approximately 7,000 governments, the most governments of any state, and the unending loss of people.

Nobody likes having to confront low numbers, except golfers, who happen to like low numbers. But in everything else it’s big numbers that we are striving for.

In education we want high grades, in business we want high sales, in government they want more money. In order to achieve higher numbers each segment goes about it the same way, except government. To get higher grades we must study better, harder and longer. To get higher sales businesses must work longer, harder and smarter. In order to get more money government thinks the answer is just raise taxes. See the problem.

Raising taxes drives people and businesses to move to other states where taxes are lower. Lower taxes attract more businesses and more businesses attract more people and more people need to send their kids to school.

If we do the numbers, our current path has produced a noticeably downward trend in population.

How about something new?

Mike Simon, Glen Ellyn

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