Madigan (Skokie: sale, crimes, school districts)

[linicx]

WE may be vassal counties, but I doubt seriously that Chicago politics affects any other state. Tax money is collected across the state and dumped into one pot. According to the state it is dispersed based on need. Chicago would be the neediest as it is the largest city with the most residents, and the most services. The state could shut down some duplicate services that are not critical such as the IL Tourism and that money pit called the Governor' Mansion.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Good point

And as they call it the (peoples home)
Tear the darn thing down and put it a park that the people
can enjoy!

You bring up a very good point as there have been many stories about the despair that home is in.

Normally I am not this hard on an historical place but this one can go...........

[linicx]

If there is enough land build a skate park, a basketball court, and a 2-3 acre fenced dog park - with the same kind of rules Naperville has in place for dogs, and fees, too. .

[Zoness]

Originally Posted by linicx

WE may be vassal counties, but I doubt seriously that Chicago politics affects any other state. Tax money is collected across the state and dumped into one pot. According to the state it is dispersed based on need. Chicago would be the neediest as it is the largest city with the most residents, and the most services. The state could shut down some duplicate services that are not critical such as the IL Tourism and that money pit called the Governor' Mansion.

Of course Chicago will take most of the money because of its sheer size and need but you addressed it yourself, if we could kill of all of this corrupt, vanishing money then maybe it could be redirected to useful services down here. At least they are doing loads of construction on I-74, even though its a nightmare getting into Peoria from Galesburg at times.

[linicx]

150 will get you into the same place if it isn't torn up, too. It comes in through Brimfield and by the Grand Shoppes.

Originally Posted by Zoness

Of course Chicago will take most of the money because of its sheer size and need but you addressed it yourself, if we could kill of all of this corrupt, vanishing money then maybe it could be redirected to useful services down here. At least they are doing loads of construction on I-74, even though its a nightmare getting into Peoria from Galesburg at times.

[sunnyandcloudydays]

Originally Posted by Zoness

Of course Chicago will take most of the money because of its sheer size and need but you addressed it yourself, if we could kill of all of this corrupt, vanishing money then maybe it could be redirected to useful services down here. At least they are doing loads of construction on I-74, even though its a nightmare getting into Peoria from Galesburg at times.

I even hate to even open the door and let the flood gates open, But Illinois benefits from Chicago to.

In some cases the so called black hole gives back to the state.

Take for example THE CPS if I am not mistaken isnt the pension funded thru chicago taxes?

Even though CHicago residents pay a tax which funds the states teachers fund the same is not reciprocated for the CPS pensions from the rest of the state.

This was just my understanding and I may be wrong but thought I have heard this someplace.

In addition millions upon millions of federal dollars pour into the state due to the states population.
this money automatically does not feed into chicago or even cook county rather a portion goes into the area and the rest is disbursed among the states needs.

This money can be utilized for many uses including bridges, highways, police depts , fire depts , transportation works, damns , flood control, highway safety, funds to spur economic activity or assist with poor areas.

Granted there are cases where it seems Chicago sucks up more than its fair share but this IS a two lane street.

[linicx]

It is a two way street. Federal funds must be spent on federal projects. The pols can ill-afford to spend it all above I-80 considering the sheer number of US and Interstate routes in Illinois. Look at Peoria. There are six bridges in Peoria and Tazewell County that moves traffic, generated from from fourteen feeder routes (five national highways, plus nine state routes), in and out of Peoria County. The same can be said about the repair and maintenance for the many Locks & Dams and power plants in Illinois.

[cubssoxfan]

IIRC, Illinois has the largest number of taxing bodies of any state in the country. A real "friends & family" program. Eliminating the salaries and pensions of redundant taxing bodies would help tremendously. Making smaller , neighboring school districts merge is another. Why does Skokie, population under 70,000 need 6 school districts? There are many other examples.
Next eliminate the high salaries for serving on state appointed boards. One Senators wife grossed almost 100k serving on a board that met 4 times in one year. Make it like school boards, and have it voluntary!!
Many more examples can be found if our leaders truly cared more about their constituents than their bank account

[linicx]

Well said! Patronage needs to end too. Why should a well paid Senator's wife be paid to serve anything? Family should not be allowed. If grocery taxes ware raised from 1% to 2% it would bring in a lot of money - even if Chicago was excluded. Gasoline is obscene. There should be a cap. MO caps at 10% per gal profit. All is not fair in Illinois. It's why Chicago gas prices can be $0.50 a gallon higher than downstate; it's not right. Volume alone Chicago and Cook County outsells gasoline sales downstate by far more than 1000%. The cap wouldn't be the loser, but gouging driver's "because they can" would stop. Some state offices could merge or close. Tourism Office is useless as it doesn't represent the entire state equally. The residents in unincorporated counties should have equal representation, but that doesn't happen either. We are not important even though we produce much of the grains and livestock exports.

There is a lot wrong, but the only way to change it is to get every resident on the same page to accomplish the same goals. Won't happen.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by linicx

Well said! Patronage needs to end too. Why should a well paid Senator's wife be paid to serve anything? Family should not be allowed. If grocery taxes ware raised from 1% to 2% it would bring in a lot of money - even if Chicago was excluded. Gasoline is obscene. There should be a cap. MO caps at 10% per gal profit. All is not fair in Illinois. It's why Chicago gas prices can be $0.50 a gallon higher than downstate; it's not right. Volume alone Chicago and Cook County outsells gasoline sales downstate by far more than 1000%. The cap wouldn't be the loser, but gouging driver's "because they can" would stop. Some state offices could merge or close. Tourism Office is useless as it doesn't represent the entire state equally. The residents in unincorporated counties should have equal representation, but that doesn't happen either. We are not important even though we produce much of the grains and livestock exports.

There is a lot wrong, but the only way to change it is to get every resident on the same page to accomplish the same goals. Won't happen.

Good points. But from what I have read the gasoline retailer makes very skinny profits. The price difference is due to local/county taxes and reformulated gas to meet EPA emissions requirements