Republicans hoping to convince Gov. JB Pritzker to veto criminal justice reform legislation should consider honesty.

In a Thursday essay, Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, wrote that, “By removing even the option of imposing cash bail, you are handcuffing our judicial system. Under this legislation, everyone, no matter what crime they committed, is entitled to immediate release.”

Firstly, bail is for the accused, not convicted. More importantly, as Capitol News Illinois reported Tuesday, are pretrial release exceptions for allegations of “first-degree murder, sexual assault, arson and any other felony involving the use or threat of physical force; stalking and aggravated stalking where the defendant poses a threat to the victim if released; abuse or battery of a family member where their release poses a danger to that family member; gun crimes where the defendant poses a threat to a specific, identifiable person; and cases where the defendant has committed a felony that wouldn’t otherwise result in detention but they are considered a high risk of fleeing prosecution and missing their court date.”

Doesn’t sound like “everyone, no matter what crime,” does it? We can debate whether the list of exceptions is sufficiently broad, but what’s gained by pretending the bill lacks that clause?

In other lame duck blowback, readers weighed in on a law mandating two years of foreign language classes for every high school graduate.

John W.: “I don’t believe any student should be forced to study a foreign language unless they require it for employment opportunities or a college requirement. I took two years of Spanish in high school and have never used it.”

Melanie Deck, of Sycamore: “The state should be worried about educating our students on what they want to do when they get out of school. Teach them a skill. Not everyone needs to or should go to college. Some need to learn more on how to modernize the family farm. Some need to learn the skills to work in the factories. Some need to learn how to be the contractors/craftsmen (plumbers, builders, mechanics, etc.). We need to build these opportunities back into schools so our kids will be prepared to work right as they graduate or even working before they graduate in internships. I know if I could do it all over again, this is the high school I wish I had.”

Lynn Camery, of Dixon, shared this joke: “If you speak three languages, that makes you trilingual. If you speak two languages, that makes you bilingual. If you speak only one language, what does that make you? American.”

Most readers understand why language studies are useful but challenge forcing such classes into high school. This seems another topic where honest debate could yield a better solution.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media Illinois. Follow him on Twitter at @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.