It is time to secede from Cook County

Rolling back the Cook County sales tax increase would be a fine first step. What's really needed, however, is secession of the suburbs from Cook County.

That might involve creating a new county or a merging with an existing one. The process may seem complex, but it would be quite possible to accomplish with the assistance of dedicated public servants. We must actively end the dominance we currently endure from the Chicago political machine.

Current state law requires a countywide secession referendum. But Matt Murphy, our state senator in the northwest suburbs, is supposedly working on a bill that would allow a binding referendum involving only residents of townships seeking to secede.

However, even under the existing statute, I'd expect voters in the northern townships to overwhelming approve secession, while many of those in the rest of the county ignore the referendum due to lack of interest.

The trick would be to educate local voters and get them to the polls.

Curt Renz

Arlington Heights