Toy makers created their own problems
Just a thought about the current situation concerning children's toys. When the American toy manufacturers made their products here in the United States there were relatively few problems. But since they decided to have their products made outside this country where there is no quality and safety control, their products are harming children.
All the toy manufacturers are thinking of is lining their own pockets, and it seems like they don't really care about our children. Should the toy manufacturers decide to have their products made here, in the United States, as they should be, the toys would be made correctly and safely. Americans would have more jobs and our economy would be the better for it.
Gregory S. Jacobs
Mundelein
Casey Farm is quite a gift to residents
As a former Libertyville Township trustee, I am very pleased and proud to learn of the acquisition of the historic Casey Farm, located at Casey Road and Milwaukee Avenue near Independence Grove. What a wonderful gift this is to future generations who will benefit from the foresight of those who organized and participated in this purchase.
We can thank the Liberty Prairie Conservancy, the Lake County Forest Preserve, and Libertyville Township officials for this. The farm is a keystone, linking the township and forest preserve trails to the greater Liberty Prairie Reserve. It is an investment that will enhance the value of the community's commitment to open space and is a good use of taxpayers' dollars. It is also an example of how public-private cooperation can build community by allowing trail access to the rolling hills of the reserve and beyond.
Lake County is good place to live, and this farm preservation makes it better.
Paul R. Geiselhart
Libertyville
No good reason for such high taxes
Taxes and more taxes; when is enough -- enough?
Government is rotting from the inside out because local officials lack the will for budgetary restraint: It is this level of restraint, not taxes that must be raised!
Voters must demand that lawmakers weed out wasteful spending and enact budget reforms before citizens are forced to dish out more tax dollars.
Among the reforms that lawmakers must consider if they are ever going to try to solve the budget crisis are: scaling back lavish employee health and pension benefits, bringing about transparency and accountability to the way in which tax dollars are spent, and developing a formal budget stabilization policy to eliminate boom-and-then-bust budgeting.
It is no secret that many of our government entities are rife with waste, fraud and abuse of tax dollars. Citizens should not be forced to bear the burden for frivolous spending and fiscal management by elected officials.
For the most part, elected officials will listen to constituents or at least those constituents who speak the loudest. Unfortunately, it appears that most the noise being made is from special-interest groups like unions, taxpayer-funded lobbyists, single-minded/single issue community groups, etc.
When government oversteps its bounds, and in Illinois they have, it is up to citizens to bring government back into line. Call your elected officials and let them know you're fed up, ask them to enact real budget reforms.
Most important, go to the polls; get your neighbors to go to the polls; get involved! Remove elected officials who have chosen to represent the minority special interests over the majority's will.
Joe Calomino
State Director
Americans for Prosperity
Chicago