Regarding the article “Border bill heads to Indiana governor, who intends to sign it” (April 20): The state of Indiana has formed a commission to consider annexing nearby parts of Illinois. Why does it bother with formalities? Indiana’s Republican governor, senators and congressional delegation have good relations with President Donald Trump’s administration; Illinois elected officials do not. Indiana could ask Trump for an executive order renaming parts of the Illinois map as “Indiana.” It worked with the Gulf of Mexico.
Even easier, the president could relocate a few counties into Indiana with a Sharpie marker.
— Michael Glass, Glen Ellyn
Moving is an option
I read with interest the article “Border bill heads to Indiana governor, who intends to sign it.” If there are Illinoisans who wish to live in Indiana, there is a much simpler way to address it: Move to Indiana. One of the many things to consider for anyone receiving income from pensions or retirement savings is that in Illinois, there is no tax on those earnings, whereas in Indiana, only Social Security is not taxed; any other retirement income is taxed by the state.
For those with school-age children, compare the school systems — Illinois is ranked 17th in the nation while Indiana is ranked 43rd.
The bottom line is to think before you leap. Take everything into consideration before deciding on a drastic measure that would affect not only you but also your family and neighbors.
— Raul Saleme, Naperville
Downstate ignored
I’m enjoying the Tribune coverage of the Illinois counties that want to exit our state. This reminds me of the 1960s when I was teaching at Western Illinois University. Our portion of the state was so ignored that some of the local wags were calling for a new state called Forgottonia. The state flower was to be the forget-me-not. There was also a “Made in Macomb” movement with special ties being sold in Chicago.
Great fun!
— Al Munneke, Crest Hill
Secession revisited
Regarding the Indiana border bill: What happened? Wasn’t the secession issue settled with the Civil War?
— Bruce R. Hovanec, Chicago
Legislative hearings
I watch recorded Chicago City Council meetings. Recorded proceedings are great — when something is not clear, you can scroll back and watch it again.
I decided to watch some state legislators’ meetings in Springfield. Alas, Illinois does not record legislature proceedings for later viewing.
Residents in dozens of other states can put the kids to bed and then give their undivided attention to watching their state legislators at work for their constituents.
It would be great to have such recorded access to our state legislators at work also.
— Elona Vaisnys, Chicago
Make PBMs fair
A March 3 editorial (“Another layer of bureaucracy isn’t the answer for beleaguered pharmacies, Gov. Pritzker”) argues that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to rein in pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) adds unnecessary bureaucracy. That sounds reasonable, until you look at what PBMs actually do.
PBMs were supposed to save money by negotiating better drug prices. Somewhere along the way, they started negotiating better profits instead. Today, three companies — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx — control 80% of the market. They decide what drugs are covered, steer patients toward their own pharmacies and pay pharmacies less than it costs to fill a prescription.
That’s not competition. That’s a stacked deck.
The Tribune Editorial Board worries about a new state board getting involved. But it doesn’t say much about the unaccountable, bloated machinery PBMs have already built. These middlemen cut deals with drugmakers for rebates, then keep some of the savings. Insurers pay PBMs to run the plans. Meanwhile, patients and pharmacies are left guessing what anything really costs.
The governor’s proposal is pretty simple: Shine a light on how pricing works, stop PBMs from underpaying pharmacies and prevent them from funneling high-cost prescriptions to their own businesses. That’s not central planning. That’s common sense.
The Federal Trade Commission thinks so too. It’s investigating PBMs for allegedly inflating prices on insulin and cancer drugs and steering patients toward the most profitable options, not the best ones.
Independent pharmacies across Illinois are closing. Walgreens is closing locations, too. Not because people don’t need medicine but because they can’t survive when the middleman controls every lever.
This isn’t about punishing success. It’s about restoring balance. When one part of the system gets too powerful, it stops serving the people it was supposed to help. That’s when government needs to step in and set the rules straight.
Nobody likes more red tape. But if the alternative is letting a handful of corporations call all the shots while pretending they’re doing us a favor, I’ll take the sunlight.
Let’s fix the incentives. Let’s fix the rules. And let’s make the game fair again.
— Brad Ledbetter, PRN Pharmacies, LTD, Harrisburg, Illinois
Medical debt rule
Six years ago, I had a liver transplant that gave me a second chance at life. I knew my recovery would be slow, and I’d have to manage my aftercare, my doctors’ appointments and my medications. I became focused on getting strong enough to enjoy life after being very sick. I also had to learn how to navigate my medical bills. As I shared with Gov. JB Pritzker earlier this year, no one should go into debt for getting sick. A liver transplant both saved my life and financially upended it.
A current proposal in Congress to overturn the rule that removes all medical debt from credit reports is a threat to people like me and my community. While Illinois recently, fortunately, banned medical debt from negatively affecting credit reports, everyone nationwide deserves this protection. A person’s credit rating should not be impacted due to an illness, natural disaster, accident or lifesaving surgery. A patient should not have to worry about how their treatment will affect their ability to buy a car or a house or apply for a loan. It is common sense.
Carrying medical debt can be overwhelming and cause serious mental and physical stress. Taking medical debt off credit reports allows patients to focus on their recovery and begin paying off their medical bills in line with their means. We need our elected officials to stand up and defend the rule banning medical debt from credit reports. They have a real chance to help their community.
— Lori Lighthall, Algonquin
Unbecoming of a cop
In a recent op-ed (“Winnetka officer shortage reflects state and national crisis,” April 21), Alexander M. Dunn states that the reason for the shortage of police officer candidates is “an obvious result of a legislative and political climate that has systematically undermined policing in Illinois.” He rightly narrates throughout his essay that there is a larger workload put upon the police in the form of additional paperwork, training requirements, use-of-force standards, etc. This is true. But Dunn never gets around to the reason these public opinion-driven legislative actions have taken place. And not just in Illinois.
The police have brought these measures and viewpoints down upon themselves.
A deputy sheriff shot and killed an unarmed Sonya Massey in Springfield. A Chicago police officer shot and killed Laquan McDonald as he was walking away. A group of police officers wrongly stormed into the home of Anjanette Young and held her handcuffed and naked, showing obvious disdain and contempt to an innocent Chicagoan. Thanks to body cameras, these crimes were out there for all to view. There are many more examples of the misuse of power by police, but this perspective is clear.
This is not an attempt to defame all officers. I am confident that the majority are law-abiding, trustworthy protectors of the community. But when police supervisors and fellow officers refuse to take action against wrongdoers within their departments and instead adhere to “the blue code of silence,” they discredit the entire profession and make it even harder for those who might stand up against their fellow officers committing criminal acts.
So Dunn, as a member of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police’s legislative and political action committees, should not denigrate the concerns of society that initiate the actions of our elected officials. I ask instead that he work on cleaning his own house so politicians don’t have to do it for him.
— Alan Galant, Grayslake
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