Starving out seniors

On or about Aug. 1, I, like most of you paid or have paid the Cook County property tax. Due to the tri-annual equalized assessment value of my home, my yearly tax increased by over $1,700. District 57's portion of that was $572.00 and District 214's portion was $601.00. These increases are nearly 30 percent higher than last years portion. In the last 10 years, these two districts have raised their levies by nearly 100 percent. Those of us on Social Security have seen our payments increased by a mere 16.9 percent. This year, Social Security payments increased by only .030 percent and that was lost due to increased deductibles.

Seniors cannot absorb these increases any longer. Many have already been forced out of their lifelong homes and too many more are on the brink. These districts are literally starving us out. We are already doing with less of everything, like food, medicine, dining out and entertainment. I am beginning to think that this is exactly what District 57 and 214 want to see happen. Starve us out so that younger people with good incomes and an ability to pay high taxes can move in.

District 57 has just hired a company, at a cost of about $65,000 to advise the district on how and when to put a referendum on the ballot in 2018. I can only say that enough is enough. You must find ways to reign in your spending by making severe cuts to your programs.

Any referendum by District 57 will be intensely fought by us, the residential tax payers. In light of this year's huge property tax increase, chances are good that the voters will remember and vote down any referendum in 2018.

Jerry Boldt

Mount Prospect