Forest district not unlike state officials

We have been hearing about the state legislature accepting the salary rises for the part-time jobs in Springfield. With the mess in Springfield that has spawned some of the economic morass throughout the state. Loss of jobs, high unemployment and unpaid bills for our social services and many other consequences of poor government. For this, the legislature needs a raise? On a more local scene in DuPage County, we have our tax-and-spend forest preserve commission. They voted themselves a 3 percent raise per year for the next four years. This is a shade more than 12 percent (compounding 3 percent) The commission is better paid than the county board. These commissioners are really the best-paid part-time employees of the taxpayers in DuPage County. They tax us to buy the property, they tax us to maintain the properties and charge us to use the properties. They use our roads that local governments, cities, townships and the county pay for the up keep of the road they use. The commissioners sell the idea of a referendum for the purchase of park land but take part of that money to build a $7 million garage, which they say is centrally located. If you believe that Mack Road, close to Route 59 on the western edge of the county, is centrally located then you need to study the county geography. If this facility is completed it most likely will have one of those new signs with Dewey Pierotti's name on it in color reminding us that he is president of the forest preserve commission Sort of reminds one of the tollway and signs with our former governor's name that was on every toll booth area.

Don Earley

West Chicago