Sun City Clubs

Triple play

Scoring 104,820 points, Rose Haskins and Marion Blaski won triple play canasta Dec. 6.

Contract bridge

Playing contract bridge for pairs Dec. 4, Carolyn and Bob Peterson took first place with 6.170 points. Geri and Larry Dale took second place with 4,860. In third place, Walt Figge and Loren Stuvick scored 3,740, and Olivine Groves and Doris Kopp came in fourth with 3,710.

Playing contract bridge Dec. 5, Marilyn Bailey came in first place with 5,110. Bob Peterson placed second with 4,850, and Doris Kopp was third with 4,320. Also in the top seven finishers were Barbara Bonner, fourth, 4,010; Bobbie O'Toole, fifth, 3,690; and Ann Danna, sixth, 3,670.

Duplicate bridge

Winning first place in duplicate bridge Dec. 3 were Janet Clark and Arvind Shah. Second place was a four-way tie shared by Carol Smith and Brenda Tomlinson, Heike and Bill Kingery, Janice Apel and Mary Belcher and Shirley Bruns and Irene Crawford.

Taking first place in duplicate bridge Dec. 7 were Gini and Harry Leopold playing for north-south, and Ann and Pat Danna for east-west.

North-south runners-up were John Papaleo and Barb White in second place; David Germaine and Ed Kain, third; and Caralee and Ron Hopman, fourth.

For east-west, Shirley Bruns and Lois Stachnik placed second; Marilyn Bailey and Ardythe Edwards, third; and Mary Belcher and Peggy Rizzio, fourth.

Bowling

The Sonics, with a 58-19 record, took the lead in standings for the Sun City Bowling League at Brunswick Zone, Algonquin, as of Nov. 28.

The Pistons and the Heat tied for second at 51-26, and the Magic placed third with 48.5-28.5. Tied for fourth were the Timberwolves and the Suns at 48-29.

In individual scores, Barb Alluri took the women's high game scratch with 194 and high game with handicap at 263. Dollie Crom scored high series scratch of 499, and Judy Hall had high series handicap with 666.

For men's scoring, Bob Crom took high game scratch of 242 and high series scratch of 622. Doug Belpedio bowled 270 for high game with handicap, and Ben Manibog scored 724 for high series with handicap.

Euchre

A game of tie scores in euchre Dec. 6 led off with Dave Haraburda and Ron Temple sharing first place at 61 each. Marsha Carter tied with Fran Sivertson for second place at 60. Sandy Richardson and Jim Morbeck each scored 59 for a third-place tie, and Ed Langer soloed into fourth place with 58.

Cribbage

Scoring a perfect 484, Harry Anderle captured first place in cribbage Dec. 5. Wally Bartels placed second with 482.

Playing high individual hands, Anderle and Pete Moseler each scored 24. Mary Lou Chiodo scored two hands of 20, and David Petty, Sue Chiodo, Terry Burkhardt and Yvonne Petty each had a hand of 20. There were five skunks.

Current events

What was intended to be a 30-minute discussion of real estate assessments by State Sen. Chris Lauzen turned into a whole 90-minute meeting of the Current Events Club Dec. 4. The discussion also strayed from assessments because of the audience's interests.

Many Sun City residents believe they should not have to pay taxes to the school district because they do not send any children there. Member Barry Marcus said this is flawed thinking that ignores the fact that elderly residents helped pay for education when we were sending our children to public schools.

Lauzen gave a bit of history that put another spin on this issue. He said Pat Molohon, a prior Rutland Township assessor, proposed legislation that became Senate Bill 1446, the "Active Adult Retirement Community Assessment Exemption." This required that 50 percent of the taxes paid to school districts be rebated to members of such communities.

This bill was not to be viewed as a compromise of "splitting the difference." Rather, it was presented as a net plus for the state. Illinoisans who head to warmer climates after retiring depart the state with much spending power that could fuel the local economy if they were given an incentive to stay.

Furthermore, the various taxes they would pay here (sales, gasoline, income, etc.) go to other states if they leave. Estimated dollar amounts were not available from Lauzen. In any case, the legislation did not advance, becoming a victim of vicious newspaper articles, according to Lauzen.

Lauzen also discussed a bill he introduced that would freeze real estate assessments at the time of purchase. His argument that "one is not taxed on capital gains until one sells" is a nice catch phrase, which he continues to repeat even though member Herman Faubl has argued with him that real estate taxes are not capital gains taxes and the analogy is invalid.

Additionally, Marlene Marcus pointed out that recent buyers in Huntley would be picking up the "tax savings" from those who lived here for many years.

Several people and the senator pointed out an over-reliance on property taxes in Illinois. He mentioned that his office gets more complaints about real estate taxes than any other subject. He and the audience then considered the pros and cons of other revenue sources such as gambling, sales tax increase, state income tax increase or making the income tax progressive. Consensus was not reached except that reliance on gambling is a bad idea.

Throughout the presentation, Lauzen kept pointing out that questionable financial practices of Illinois politicians, and generous benefits given public service employees, were a major part of the problem.

For example, $650 million, over half of the road use taxes (gasoline tax), go into the general fund instead of road improvements as required by statute.

In talking about state support for the Chicago Transit Authority and Regional Transit Authority, he claimed a CTA employee can retire after just three years of service and receive medical benefits for the rest of his life.

In 2008, Illinois residents will have a ballot question regarding a state constitutional convention. Lauzen believes we should have one in order to fix the kind of problems he identified. On the other hand, he conceded that such a convention might be hijacked by those with different agendas.

Having been informed that club bylaws prohibit political campaigning at meetings, Chris Lauzen managed to avoid mentioning even once that he is a candidate for the 14th Congressional District seat vacated by Dennis Hastert.