Simple fixes aren't the answer
Everyone agrees on only one thing, we are in a real financial mess in this country, state and county. This didn't just happen.
On a national level the lack of funding of the Afghan and Iraq wars and the senior prescription drug plan, the necessary but poorly thought out bank bailouts, the underfunding of No Child Left Behind, and the '03 Tax Cut left us in a dire position well before the January '09 Inauguration.
The people in both parties running the state of Illinois have worked very hard to put off paying bills for the last 20 years.
The county's mess is too big to document in this limited space. Keeping that all in mind could we possibly turn down the volume and stop screaming at each other and possibly come up with some positive ideas on how to fix this mess. The tired old "cut the waste" isn't going to solve this. Seems like this might be a unique approach.
Jack Halpin
Arlington Heights