Doesn't buy state's financial maneuvers
We have sunk to a new low in the state of Illinois. Residents are now being held hostage as they ask us to buckle under to another increase in taxes.
Our state government is cutting $1.3 billion from the Education Fund, knowing full well that we will succumb to the pressure for our kids. They want us to believe that a 1 percent increase will save the children and the schools. But I don't buy it.
Our state government has been doing everything in its power to cripple our state economy. Higher taxes on businesses, higher fees for our vehicles, higher tolls on our roads, but we still can't fund an art class. That's deplorable. And I still don't buy it.
We have jails that stand empty and should never have been built. We have a CTA and RTA that runs in a deficit every year. We are building an airport in Peotone - which is where again? Waste ... waste ... waste. And I don't buy it.
We are subsidizing Chicago ... I don't buy it.
Let me be clear, my kids are students at Dundee-Crown High School. One is in the music department and one is involved in sports. These areas are the areas that will be cut. I do not blame District 300, they are doing their job and very well. But they cannot be expected to do their job when the state will not pay its bills. The state is holding the future of our children and communities hostage.
What's the fix? It starts in November. Vote out any state official who would vote for a tax increase instead of cutting waste.
The damage over the last several years will take years to fix, but our state has to live within its means. My business, along with many others in the area, has taken a big hit in sales since 2007 because of the recession. I don't get to simply raise prices. I still have to pay my mortgage, buy groceries and make car payments. I have to live within my means. The state needs to do that, too. It means tough decisions. But that's why we pay them - and should be why they ran for an office in the first place.
Chris Wendt
Carpentersville