Taxpayers getting cooked by politicos

The story goes that if you toss a frog into a pot of hot water, the frog will jump out. But if you gradually increase the heat instead, the frog won't notice. We Illinois citizens are frogs and our elected officials are turning up the heat.

The question isn't why the greedy politicos are looking for new ways to waste more money. The question is why we frogs keep electing them. The latest example is Illinois' use of speed cameras.

The Village of Schaumburg found "Red Light Cameras" profitable and only agreed to move the unit near Woodfield Mall after merchants exhorted pressure because shoppers had complained about this money trap.

Now eight counties in Illinois (of course Cook is one of them) want to sign on to this expanded con. Vehicles exceeding the speed limit will have their license plate photographed. The vehicle owner will be mailed a $100 ticket. In order to quell the potential storm of angry citizens, the politicos offer the bribe of the offense not appearing on your record.

The erosion of our civil rights goes back to the Illinois Tollway. Citizens scammed by I-PASS "violations" could not (and cannot) go to court. Only hearings are offered. Then came "Red Light Cameras" and the fact that violations could not be contested in court. Again, no due process. Guilty until proven innocent. Guilty even if you are not the driver. Guilty by Orwellian machine.

Now we frogs are being seasoned for another stewing. Obviously, this love of cooking us is not going to go away. The only solution is to fire the cooks. We need to croak our displeasure at every election, on every level in municipal, county and state government, and vote out the incumbents.

Jim McMillan

Schaumburg