Morrison will be there to cast votes

The primary is right around the corner, and don't we know it!

With overflowing mailboxes and several phone calls a week, it's hard to forget. What is even more difficult is sifting through all the jargon to figure out who the best candidates are.

Right in our neighborhood businessman, Tom Morrison, is challenging six-term incumbent, Suzie Bassi, for the State Representative seat. Is there a good reason to send a new guy to Springfield? It seems there is.

In the most recent General Assembly, Mrs. Bassi failed to vote 242 times on big issues including pensions for Cook County elected officials, property taxes, and public transportation. If you look it up on the ilga.gov Web site, you will find "Not Voting," "Excused," or "Present" next to her name over and over again (and this in addition to the famed and disputed 1,198 "Present" votes from years past).

Because Mrs. Bassi failed to vote 242 times in one legislative year, it means that she failed to represent us 12% of the time. That's rather significant considering the financial disaster our state is facing right now. Mrs. Bassi talks a lot about pension reform and the state's budget problems, but the jargon didn't translate into action. When 242 issues came to the House floor, she didn't even vote. For me, this is definitely a good reason to bring in new leadership. On Feb. 2, I'm voting for Tom Morrison.

Marilyn J. Gajdzik

Palatine