Biggest Mueller takeaway: the Russian threat
As expected, former special counsel Robert Mueller’s recent comments about his investigation are already being parsed and analyzed by pundits. But as your editorial on Thursday (“Mueller’s reminder for 2020: The Russians did attack American democracy,” May 30) pointed out, the bulk of Mueller’s comments really weren’t about whether President Donald Trump should be impeached. Instead, they were a pointed reminder of how vulnerable our country’s electoral system is to outside influence. As Mueller stated, that threat is something every American should take seriously. That includes our elected officials in Washington, who at the moment are consumed with the thrust and parry over whether to impeach the president.
If we don’t take the threat posed by electoral interference seriously, it will happen again. The Russian government would like nothing more than to see a United States bitterly divided over, and distracted by, impeachment proceedings against Trump. One need only look to Ukraine’s recent election to realize Russia continues to hone the subversive tactics it employed here during the 2016 election. If anything, the Russian government has gotten better and stealthier at its craft, making it a bigger threat than ever to our democracy.
If there is a viable case for impeachment, it will be found. Trump’s critics have made it clear they will leave no stone unturned on that front. Isn’t it better to take the time to construct a solid case for impeachment than hastily put one together with inconclusive evidence that can lead to reasonable doubt?
Impeaching the president without a smoking gun will only enable bad actors to interfere in our future elections. Instead, we should be taking steps to root out and deter future electoral interference.
—Peter Lucas, Highland Park
Two questions for President Trump
There are only two questions the Tribune, any journalist or any American should be asking the president at this time. One, do you continue to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin as you said at the time, that Russia did not invade our electoral system in 2016? If Mr. Trump says he still does not believe Russia invaded our electoral system ,then we know he is either a fool or a compromised tool of Russia. If he says he has changed his mind and he agrees Russia invaded our electoral system, then the second question is, are they still doing so and if so, what are you doing about it?
It appears from the public record that he is doing little or nothing to prevent the continued attack on America by the Russians. As such he is not protecting the American people or executing the laws in the simplest and most important ways, in violation of his oath of office, and must be impeached.
—Steven H. Mora, Bannockburn
Pension reform must be part of fix
Regarding your editorial from May 28, “’Let the people vote’ on pension reform too,” I think this is a very powerful statement. I agree that the issue of the $133.5 billion unfunded pension obligation affects everyone in the state either directly or indirectly. Lawmakers in Springfield have agreed to put the question of income tax on the ballot in November asking people directly if they support moving from a flat income tax to a graduated one.
Why not also add a question about pension reform? Keeping the status quo is obviously not working in Illinois. I applaud Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s efforts to overhaul the state income tax system but I think we need to go beyond that and give residents the chance to vote on modifying the Illinois Constitution’s pension clause. I think the idea of adding a modification to lower the annual cost of living adjustments from 3% to 2% or even 1% makes sense. At this point, everyone in Illinois needs to step up and start to compromise. Is it better to have a secure pension that increases 1% a year, or have an unstable pension that might go away? We can all play a part in helping Illinois manage its budget in a more effective way.
To many of my 17-year-old peers, the issue of pension reform and income tax rates may seem irrelevant, but we will be the next bloc of eligible voters next year and and it is critical that we pay attention to all the changes happening in the state. Staying involved is a lifetime skill. The more people that know about an issue, the better the chance that people will act for this change.
—Elizabeth Messerschmidt, Barrington