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Use vote to hold leaders accountable

Use vote to hold leaders accountable

Cook County homeowners received their second installment property tax bill this week. Even if we are experiencing financial hardship, we are still expected to pay our taxes. But, unlike us, our elected officials do not have to be fiscally responsible.

The proof is in the numbers: Cook County’s budget for FY2012 is $2.9 billion. Recently Moody’s Investor Service downgraded the general obligation bond rating of Cook County to Aa3 from Aa2. Moody’s even downgraded Illinois’ state debt to A2 from A1, lowest among the 50 states.

But it’s even worse than you think. Cook County’s debt is $108 billion. That debt translates into per suburban household owing $33,000 and Chicago households owing more than $63,000, according to figures released by the Cook County treasurer. Illinois has a backlog of $9.2 billion in unpaid bills. That figure will reach an astounding $34.8 billion by 2017, a financial disaster.

Recently Illinois politicians passed the largest state tax increase in U.S. history. Lawmakers raised income tax rates by 46 percent on businesses and a record 67 percent on individuals. Democratic legislators said the $7 billion tax increase was necessary to pay off “our” debts.

All this begs the question: How do we make Illinois lawmakers accountable and stop the cycle of corruption? The only answer we have is to vote out irresponsible lawmakers and replace them with ethical business, community and common sense leaders — not lifelong bureaucrats. Until we have the courage to do that, Illinois’ financial woes and the burden it places on everyday homeowners in Cook County will continue.

Sean M. Morrison

Committeeman, Palos Township Republican Organization.

Palos Park

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