Don’t make good officers pay for wrongdoing of other cops

In Letters to the Editor a few days back, a reader suggested that the Frateneral Order of Police and retired Chicago police officers be forced to pay for financial settlements related to police wrongdoing (“Make cops share the high cost of police misconduct lawsuits” — Dec. 11).

Let me correct the reader’s misguided viewpoint.

The Police Department doesn’t hire; the city politicians direct the hiring of Chicago police officers. Therefore the Police Department has little responsibility for who is allowed to work for the citizens of Chicago.

Our city allows frivolous lawsuits to be filed and routinely settles them as “financially responsible,” instead of defending the officers against mindless allegations. Attorneys understand that if they file a suit, the city will offer them a small settlement in order to rid the city the higher cost of defending the suit in court.

The city needs to initiate a program to countersue individuals bringing frivolous lawsuits against the city. Every complaint should be accompanied with a sworn affidavit. This allows the city attorneys to focus on bona fide complaints and not spurious complaints dictated by arrestees’ defense attorneys attempting to garner sympathy. Go after the attorneys for fees and court costs. Years ago, the majority of attorneys filing civil suits against the city of Chicago once worked for the city of Chicago

Wake these judges up. Often, judges award abusive settlements as a way of punishing the city. They and you don’t realize these enormous sums of money are taxes. Every time a sympathetic judge orders a huge payout, he indirectly injures millions of city taxpayers. He also takes needed revenue from those who rely on it the most and allots it to his/her fellow attorneys bringing suit.

Finally, forcing retired and other officers to pay settlements they are not involved in is certainly not the answer. We don’t force all doctors to pay wrongful death suits involving a single doctor. We don’t force all car dealerships to pay for the wrongdoings of the corrupt dealer that sets back the odometer on a car he sells. We don’t force all stores that sell ladders to pay for the one unscrupulous box store that sells a defective ladder.

Focus on individuals, and use the corrective measures in place.

Larry Casey, Forest Glen

Alternate universe

Astrophysicists have been arguing whether or not “multiverses” exist. Well, our “high-IQ” president has solved the mystery. Multiverses do exist; he lives in an alternate universe.

Warren Rodgers Jr., Matteson

Trump’s vision

I’ll take President Donald Trump anytime because of his vision of what America should look like. And you Obama zombies weren’t duped?

Mike Viola, Bartlett

Constitutional violation

Kudos to incoming DuPage County Board member Dawn De Sart and several other of her newly elected board members for calling for an end to the longtime tradition of beginning board meetings with a religious invocation.

Such invocations clearly violate the separation of church and state enshrined in our Constitution, which makes America a beacon of religious freedom and tolerance around the world, protecting everyone’s religious beliefs while safeguarding the rights of non-believers. As a seven-decade non-theist, I’ve promoted strict adherence to this separation whenever I encounter its violation. One small effort on that behalf occurs whenever called on to recite the Pledge. At the critical moment I proudly proclaim “one nation, under NO god, with liberty and justice for all.”

The DuPage County Board should no more bring up religion to start its meetings than a church service should bring up county government business at the beginning of its. County board Chairman Dan Cronin, who supports the invocation practice as “a wonderful way to start board meetings,” says “we’ll have to consider changes” if a majority of board members support De Sart’s proposal. While passage is not likely based on comments of Cronin and incumbent board members, the newly elected members are signaling early on that it will not be “business as usual” on the County Board in 2019.

Walt Zlotow, Glen Ellyn