Governor's cuts are not really genuine

Once again, our governor appears to be directing his ire on the residents of Illinois as he is unable to get his way with the state legislature regarding his pet projects. By closing state parks, natural areas, historic sites, social services and other sites that were intended to be beneficial for all residents of Illinois, our governor appears intent to direct his cuts where residents would unduly suffer with the expectation that they will bring pressure to the state legislature to support fundraising projects (gambling expansion and the like) that our governor has been seeking all along.

Unfortunately, gambling expansion cannot be seen as a reliable source of funding given the finite number of people willing to gamble, the no smoking ordinance statewide which removed a high percentage of gamblers from the casinos and ease of access to casinos across state borders.

Furthermore, the state of Illinois should not be put in the undesirable position of relying on gambling and high sales taxes to balance its budget.

If Illinois government wants to be seen among peer states as a leader nationwide, our governor should have the courage to suspend the availability of pension and free health care services to state employee retirees below the age of 65.

We should all be outraged that when our governor took office in 2003, such a generous package was offered to state employees between the ages of 50 and 65 just so that our governor could fill the vacant state jobs with friends who supported his campaign for governor in 2002.

This is clearly a folly which is having a substantial impact on residents statewide five years later.

Joe Linder

Glendale Heights