It seems like New York invents new says to reward criminals every day. The latest policy concocted by extreme progressives is to give special treatment to those previously convicted of marijuana-related offenses regarding opening up a state-licensed retail shop. Put another way, if you have been convicted of distributing or possessing marijuana, you are immediately moved to the front of the line in the state-licensing process.

In a long list of backward policies that give preferential treatment to criminals — personal electronics for prisoners, the near-elimination of bail, free tuition, wide expansion of parole, for example — this is among the most egregious. Logistically speaking, if you followed the law and didn’t sell drugs illegally, you are prohibited from applying for a state license for the time being. In New York, crime literally pays.

Proponents of the proposal will tell you the new policy is a way to compensate for the over-prosecution of drug-related offenses in recent years. This is a fallacy. Let’s be clear, reforming the criminal-justice system and ensuring fairness and justice for all is an important part of the legislature’s work. But these reforms cannot be accomplished by continually punishing law-abiding citizens. And that is exactly what this policy does.

The Assembly Minority Conference has firmly defended the principles of law and order. They are the bedrock of our democracy and the foundation of the communities in which we live and work. While many of those arrested on drug charges are low-level offenders and do not have a history of violence, there are undoubtedly others who contributed to a gang culture that tore through many of the communities this proposal purports to help. Under this proposal, preferential treatment for low-level offenders could also be extended to the worst offenders. This is backward and wholly unfair, particularly to the neighborhoods that are already plagued by increased crime and violence.

New York State’s decision to legalize marijuana comes with numerous question marks to begin with, and there are enough challenges inherent in the proposal without this ridiculous plan. I am fully opposed to any and all measures that reward having broken the law, and as such urge the governor and legislature to introduce some common sense back into their policymaking.   

William (Will) A. Barclay, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. 

The value of a free, independent press to representative democracy is incalculable. Our system of government relies on the people knowing what their elected representatives say and do. The best check on every elected official is an active news media looking over their shoulders. 

Autocrats know this as well as anyone. Witness what happened when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a brutal war against neighboring Ukraine. One of his first actions was to clamp down on the last vestiges of a free press in Russia, replacing news with propaganda. A week into the fighting, Putin signed a law that effectively criminalized honest reporting about Ukraine. News media couldn’t call the war a war; they had to use the Kremlin-approved term “special military operation.” Violators could face 15 years in prison.

Russia’s independent media, weakened by 22 years of Putin’s rule, effectively folded. Upstart radio and TV stations suspended operation. Russia’s last major independent newspaper deleted content about Ukraine to protect its staff. By most accounts, the Russian public is being kept in the dark. 

It’s no wonder America’s founders, with their distrust of government power fueled by resentment of the excesses of English colonial rule, valued a free press so highly.

The First Amendment to the Constitution enshrined as fundamental freedom of the press, along with freedom of speech, religion, and assembly, and the right to petition the government. George Washington said that, without freedom of expression, the public could be led “like sheep to the slaughter.” Thomas Jefferson wrote that, “were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

American officials haven’t always lived up to those ideals. News organizations and reporters have been censored during wartime. From the Sedition Act in the 1790s to the Pentagon Papers in the 1970s, the government has tried to block publication of unflattering information. Fortunately, courts have largely upheld the right of the press to report the news, provided it’s not false and libelous.

Today, America’s news organizations produce outstanding work, and professional journalists hold elected officials accountable every day. But we have seen an undeniable decline in local news. According to the Pew Research Center, paid circulation of local newspapers has declined by half since a generation ago. Two hundred U.S. counties are “news deserts,” without a daily or weekly newspaper. A decline in local news means a decline in civic engagement. Fewer people run for office, and fewer people vote.

Increasingly, local newspapers and radio and TV stations are part of nationwide conglomerates. The people who make decisions about news coverage and the allocation of resources may have sound journalistic values, but they cannot focus on every target.

I believe we need journalists looking into every nook and cranny of what government does. When we lose that, we lose a lot of the strength of American democracy. Fewer reporters covering local news means less attention paid to school board and city council meetings, less oversight of local-government spending and less accountability. That’s bad for all of us.

Ukrainians are reporting that relatives and friends in Russia don’t know there is a brutal war going on. Those friends and relatives think Russian troops have crossed the border to help Ukrainians, not to kill them. That’s what they’re hearing from state-controlled media.

The decline of local news in the U.S. is a far cry from what’s happening in Russia, but it’s cause for concern. A dynamic, free press is essential to a free nation. This can’t be emphasized enough.                    

Lee Hamilton, 90, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south-central Indiana.