Praise of county budget ludicrous

I was a subscriber to the Chicago Tribune for over 15 years. When the Tribune published an editorial praising Cook County’s budget proposals for 2012, like you did Nov. 15, I canceled my subscription to the Tribune and subscribed to the Daily Herald. Obviously, this was a big mistake, which will be corrected as soon as my initial subscription period has expired.

I am outraged about your praise of the Cook County 2012 budget. Why didn’t you look into the tricks and ways Cook County assesses property taxes? This year alone, although my 2009 property value decreased from $206,060 to $165,370 (-19.7 percent) and I qualified for the Long-Time Homeowner’s as well as the Senior Citizen’s Freeze exemptions, my property tax bill in 2011 still increased by a whopping 23.7 percent.

My tax attorney tells me that thousands of senior citizens were hit with similar increases. The Daily Herald, however, comes to the conclusion that the Cook County 2012 budget proposal “comes from an administration that shows an impressive balance between firm resolve and reasonable accommodation ...” Your editorial is an insult to every senior citizen in Cook County.

Frank H. Schreiber

Bartlett