Thursday letters: A New York ‘White House’ too costly

How many billions of dollars will it cost taxpayers for Donald Trump as president to live, at least part of the time, in the heart of one of the most populated cities in the world? If he is not going to be involved in the day-to-day operations of his businesses, he should live full-time in the White House, not in New York. It was good enough for past presidents and it should be good enough for him.

Ken Karlson, Wheaton

Money for teachers, not prisons

According to a report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a more sensible system of criminal sentencing could —without jeopardizing public safety — reduce our nation’s prison inmate population by about 40 percent, saving the states about $200 billion in the first 10 years. This is enough money to hire 270,000 police officers or 327,000 teachers. What a positive impact that could have on states such as Illinois that suffer from budget deficits, high crime rates and difficulty funding public education.

California, New Jersey, New York and Rhode have started down this path by reducing sentences for minor drug offenses and other crimes. Hopefully, other states will take notice and adopt similar prison sentencing reforms.

Tom Minnerick, Elgin