Common sense would be revolutionary

This winter I had my chance to escape permanently from Illinois. We sold our house in Carol Stream, and for a moment the whole country opened up to us. Indiana’s low tax rates beckoned, like daffodils on a roadside. New Mexico’s climate was inviting. Even wide, empty Iowa, where my two children go to college, seemed a possibility. But my wife’s job and mine were like anchors, and in the stormy sea of the labor market, we could weigh them only at our own peril. Our jobs kept us safe, but they also held us to one spot. And so our universe shrank to the size of Du Page County.

We found a townhome in West Chicago. The association fee is reasonable; the property tax, not surprisingly, is obscene. Here I lead a Dickensian existence. One day I opened a money market account at Chase just to earn a $100 bonus. When I drive, I am constantly on the lookout for the lowest gas price. I drive a 1999 Corolla, which is starting to rust. We have no cable TV. For my cell phone needs, I use Tracfone, and even then only sparingly. We shop at Aldi half the time. We pay our bills in full and on time, to avoid finance charges.

And having saved some money, we read that Pat Quinn and Co. have passed a bill taking that money out of our hands. Only God and Madigan know where that money will end up.

I know this is my pet peeve, my “cause celebre.” And as long as we’re speaking French, let me say this to those of you amongst “les miserables”: Liberty, equality and fraternity are all very nice. But if we can just start with some common sense in Illinois, that would be revolutionary.

Alexander Lee

West Chicago