Jobs coalition calls for financial tax

The federal government needs to impose a financial transaction tax on Wall Street to help the country out of the recession, organizers of a jobs creation rally in downtown Elgin said Friday.

“If you’re buying a lawn mower from Sears you pay a sales tax. If you buy Sears, you don’t pay any tax,” said Steve Bruesewitz, a member of the Living Wages Jobs for All Illinois Coalition. “It’s pure profit.”

Financial tax proceeds should be funneled into creating more jobs, especially in sectors such as construction, infrastructure, high-speed rail and “green” technologies such as solar and wind energy, he said.

Mary Shesgreen, a member of the coalition’s steering committee, said Friday’s report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that the unemployment rate fell to 9 percent in January doesn’t tell the whole story. “This is a picture of an economy at a standstill,” said Shesgreen, arguing that the figure doesn’t account for people who are dropping out of the job market.

State. Sen. Mike Noland, an Elgin Democrat, also spoke at the rally. He exhorted the Illinois Supreme Court to make a speedy decision on the constitutionality of the $31 million capital construction program. If fully funded, the capital bill would help create jobs locally and throughout the state, he said.

Noland said he advocates property tax relief and more access to credit from national banks for small businesses and working families, which he called “the backbone of Illinois.”

Among the several people who stopped for a few minutes to watch the rally was South Elgin resident Teresa Middleton, who said she received a notice this week that her unemployment benefits were being cut off.

Middleton, a widow who lost her job as a health care worker, said she had to send her two children to live with relatives in Mexico because she couldn’t support them. “This is a good cause,” she said of the rally.

The Living Wages Jobs for All Illinois Coalition will hold a meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Kane County Government Center, building A, 719 S. Batavia Ave. Geneva. For details, visit livingwagejobs-illinois.net.