One group CARES about Lake Zurich

I will vote for the CARE Lake Zurich candidates on April 7. They represent a positive, progressive vision for the village. Their agenda is responsible to taxpayers and responsive to changing needs. The current mayor and board have spent every cent they could find, incurred significant debt, drained reserves and failed to meet financial obligations. The downtown TIF is only one visible symptom of the failures. The problems are not caused by the economy. The trend predates the downturn. Village revenues have continued to increase though only moderately. Grayslake and Wauconda are not as wealthy, yet have improved their villages without TIF districts or extensive debt.

Even with economic issues around us, Lake Zurich can have a bright future with leaders who care about Lake Zurich. Lake Zurich's mayor claims his opposition is trying to scare you, a play on their name. The scary thought is four more years of mismanagement. Under Tolomei and his compatriots, the village has spent everything it could find, deferred pension contributions and borrowed to the limits. We have about $2 million in debt just for replacement vehicles. After two failed attempts to redevelop the downtown, Tolomei again went with a developer without any specifications or obligations. He has obligated millions of dollars of village assets to a failed developer and now is giving away millions more.

This is not responsible leadership. Taxpayers deserve strong, positive leaders who will respect the citizens. CARE is prepared to fill that void.

Kristin Dunn

Lake Zurich