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Courts have power to help - or hurt - state

I've been selling homes in Lake County for 28 years. In recent years, I've noticed that every retiree whose home I list is moving out of Illinois.

In years past, they would downsize and buy a second home in a warmer climate, but I hear time and again that they can't afford to keep a place here because of the property taxes, and they don't have any confidence that the situation will improve.

We don't want to lose these solid citizens and they don't want to leave their families but they must.

Our problem is that the state has been run for three decades by the speaker of the House and the citizens don't even have the opportunity to vote him out of office.

While it isn't a complete solution, the first step to begin fixing our problems would be passing an Independent Map Amendment to take the mapping process out of the hands of these chosen few.

Unfortunately, while our Constitution clearly allows that, the Illinois courts have blocked the effort time and again.

Judges should be above politics, but "this is Illinois." The issue will come before the Illinois Supreme Court once again soon. If they stop it again, the jobs and citizens will continue to leave the state for greener pastures and the rest of us will pick up their share of the burden and wonder if there will ever be a solution.

Michael Lescher

Fox Lake

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