Dear Editor,

It’s time to change institutions that exacerbate and perpetuate racism.

Real estate taxes that are used for local schools only is number one. At least in Illinois, kids in poor neighborhoods have a low tax base and crumbling schools. Rich kids in the suburbs go to school in educational palaces. Maintain the tax structure but distribute real estate taxes evenly, so poor kids get the same chance as the wealthy.

Secondly, the constitution is now treated like the divine right of kings. It’s an extremely flawed document that was based largely on giving enlightened (aka, rich) people control over the government. The Constitution has also become a document for lawyer manipulation rather than beatified guidance of the law.

Several changes would help rectify the Constitution’s flaws: 1) dissolve the Senate, 2) eliminate the Electoral College, 3) nationally outlaw gerrymandering, 4) universalize vote-by-mail, and 5) severely restrict campaign contributions. The Senate and Electoral College were created to give white landowners in the South equal legal footing with the larger (poorer) populations in the North, creating disproportionate power in the hands of the wealthy. Also, there is no reason to give the 700,000 people in Wyoming equal say in law-making with the 20 million in New York.

Gerrymandering is obviously a direct response to racism. Add an amendment to the Bill of Rights preventing it. Vote-by-mail would hinder attempts by bigots to prevent minority voting. (There is scant evidence that vote-by-mail will cause widespread fraud.) Restricting campaign contributions would keep corporations and the wealthiest one percent from dominating the pre-election airwaves.

Administering these suggestions would be easy. The House could absorb the Senate’s responsibilities by the end of the week. The other changes are pen strokes. Everyone is asking what we should do to end racism. Let’s start here.

James Arneberg
Hoffman Estates, Ill.