Veto means county business as usual

As I sat at my desk on Monday, I listened in disbelief as President Stroger stated he would veto the 1 percent sales tax repeal approved by twelve commissioners of the Cook County Board.

By vetoing this measure President Stroger chose "business as usual" over reform in county government. He chose to continue the waste, mismanagement, and "friends and family" over the opportunity to restructure county government. He chose not to listen to the people of this county who voted overwhelmingly in recent advisory referendums to repeal this egregious tax. He chose to continue to support the retail environment in neighboring counties at the cost of businesses and taxpayers in his own county.

County government must begin to look within itself to reduce costs, just as residents have had to look for cuts in their own budgets during these difficult times.

We cannot continue to balance our budget on the backs of the taxpayers.

The current administration continues to maintain there is no waste and additional funds are necessary to provide for much needed services, yet county commissioners and the media report daily on waste and abuse in the county. Doomsday scenarios of "criminals walking the streets" and "hospital patients on gurneys outside the hospitals" are simply scare tactics and have no place in reality if we choose to work together and make cuts in the appropriate departments.

This tax repeal was our golden opportunity to show the residents of this county that we can live within our means, that we can roll up our sleeves and eliminate bureaucracy and unnecessary spending, and begin to restore confidence to the residents of this county.

Overturning this veto will be a difficult task, but we must if we ever truly want to bring about necessary restructuring of our county government.

Tim Schneider

Cook County

Commissioner 15th District