I really doubt this shout-out's going to do any good, attracting the notice of a specific primitive on Skins's island, but one might as well give it a shot.....
Hey, Don, aren't you the primitive who boasted about how rosy, how cheery, how good, things were in Illinois, with a Democrat governor and a Democrat state legislature, and of course a Democrat-machine-run city and county?
Remember that, Don, back when there were those troubles in Wisconsin?
You said things were all strawberries-and-cream in Democrat-controlled Illinois. Surely you remember that, Don.
It was odd, though, Don, that at the same time you were whining about property taxes; about how property taxes were outdistancing your monthly mortgage over there in Chicago--and that you, as a former autoworker who took retirement as soon as you could (at the age of 48 years, after 30 years of working), and now on a fixed income, you and your wife might not be able to keep your home.
It's your own damned fault, Don, and I've told you this a lot of times.
Ever since 1972, Don, you've voted the straight corrupt Democrat machine party-line over there in Illinois, probably thinking that if you took care of the bosses, the bosses'd take care of you.
The deal about machines and corruption, Don, is that they cost money.
Money that can't be spent to feed the hungry, house the homeless, heal the sick, clothe the naked, educate the illiterate, comfort the sorrowing, build the highways, &c., &c., &c. The machine bosses have to get their cut first, after which if there's anything left over, it's spent on these things. And when there's a severe shortage of money, Don, the bosses get theirs, and everybody else gets.....nothing.
Machines and corruption cost money, Don, and they've cost you a lot.
My heart bleeds for the decent and civilized people of Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois, Don, but it doesn't bleed for you. **** you, Don. You voted for it, Don. Suffer, Don.
Property tax bills anger Cook County homeowners
It's sticker shock in the mail. Tax bills went out to Cook County homeowners this week and the big jump in the amount due to many homeowners has some wondering if they can keep their house.
CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov takes a look at how the dramatic jump in property tax bills is affecting people and what you can do about it.
According to the Cook County Clerk's office, tax rates are up for schools, park districts, municipalities and other government bodies. Some of those tax levies have made double-digit increases in tax rates.
The property tax reality was setting in with Markham homeowner Patricia Taylor on Wednesday.
Asked if she can keep her house after receiving an $8,100 property tax bill, Taylor said, "I don't know right now. It's bad right now, it's really bad."
That's because her property tax bill for her three bedroom, one bathroom house shot up from $6,400 last year to $8,100 this year — a whopping 27 percent jump.
Taylor took time on her day off to head to the Cook County Assessor's office to see if anything could be done for herself and her mother.
"What do they expect? I don't live in Beverly Hills, I stay in Markham and this is ridiculous," Taylor said.
Kelley Quinn, spokeswoman for Cook County Assessor Joseph Berrios, said the office has had thousands of taxpayers like Taylor walk through their halls this week, wondering what was going on with their bills.
Countywide, property tax bills will jump an average of almost 2.7 percent, according to Quinn.
"What we're seeing are a lot of anxious people," Quinn said. "But what we're also seeing is once they leave here, they're satisfied and many of them are happy because they are seeing a tax bill that does go down a bit."
Quinn said many of the people voicing complaints about their tax bills are senior citizens who didn't apply for their senior exemption, which they must do every year, because of a new law.
Those seniors can still get their exemption with help from the county.
But everyone else? They could be out of luck, because taxing districts — from schools to parks — needed the extra revenue and the taxpayers were forced to foot the bill.
"So your local tax rates are going up, even though your assessments are going down, which results ultimately in a tax bill that could be a little bit higher," Quinn said.
People who believe their tax bills are incorrectly assessed can appeal through the Cook County Board of Review, but dates for that are very specific and depend on your township.
Reap what you sowed, Don; it couldn't happen to a better guy than you, Don.
