If Illinois decides to tax retirement income, seniors will leave

Gov. J.B. Pritzker doesn’t seem to realize how many retirees there are in Illinois.

We stay because Illinois recognized we already paid our dues and it’s the next generation’s turn. If they pass taxes on retirement income, the amount of people leaving the state will devastate the population.

The great thing about retirement is we don’t count on employment anymore, so we can live anywhere we choose. Tax senior income and we’ll all just leave. Imagine seniors not shopping and spending our money here anymore. Seniors can exit a lot easier than the big corporations already fleeing Cook County, so it’s up to the state government if they want or don’t want seniors and their money living and spending in Illinois.

The day Illinois taxes retirement is the day I, and all seniors I’ve discussed this with, will just pack up and move to a low-tax Republican state.

Mike Zaczek, Orland Park

We’re not all to blame for violence in society

The Feb. 5 edition of the Sun-Times includes two intensely disturbing articles dealing with the orgy of violence afflicting our nation. One article deals with ”Chiraq,” a portmanteau word linking Chicago’s violence with the combat zones of Iraq.

Although focused mainly on Chicago and its 60624 zip code, Frank Main reports on a study that found many young men in violent environments experience the same anxieties as those plaguing combat war veterans. It goes without saying that all of us living in these areas are equally at risk.

Michael Sneed’s column expands on the regrettable truths of Main’s report, dealing in part on the increasing regularity of the kind of fatal violence inflicted on Tyre Nichols. Unfortunately, she includes Rev. Michael Pfleger’s often-repeated statement that “we are all to blame” for this sad state of affairs. No, we are not all blameworthy for the misdeeds of these violent perpetrators. Most of us are struggling to meet our responsibilities as best we can.

We are not wreaking havoc on society by killing, mugging, thieving, carjacking or engaging in any other such forms of sociopathic behavior. We are indeed responsible for our own actions and human frailties, but we are not culpable for the crimes of others. Everyone should answer for their own actions and not look for scapegoats to absolve themselves of their misconduct

Samuel C. Small, Roseland