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I'm no fan of "Chicago Way" politics that have permeated the State Government the past 10 years BUT I believe if you look at the details of where the taxes go, it is ALL to local and county government functions. So why are you blaming this on "the North"? Much different than income taxes.
Property taxes are certainly very local, but I think a state government with a myopic focus on a single city does bear a good deal of blame for higher property taxes statewide. Local taxing bodies have suffered mightily in general across Illinois as the payments the state is legally obligated to make to them are just another blip in the state's multi-billion dollar backlog of unpaid bills. Even local taxing bodies that, unlike the state, have been fiscally responsible and lived within their means for years are hurting because the state's fiscal irresponsibility introduces revenue pressures for them. The difference has to be made up somehow, which I think we see in higher property taxes. A state government also seemingly dedicated to making it exceedingly difficult for business to operate anywhere in the state does no favors to areas like far southern Illinois, areas that need to reinvent their economies after a long decline of their traditional industries and employers. Now I do think the number of units of local government in Illinois is absolutely absurd and a concerted effort of consolidation and dissolution needs to take place. That's another discussion though.
You are probably correct.
Curious as to why you love Arlington Heights? What is sooo special about that town?
It was pleasant and all that; had nice trees and well kept homes but so does much of America.
It goes back to my comment, for life long Chicagoan's, it is pretty nice - to to rest of America - meh.
I believe people above me have already answered this question.
I am not a lifelong Chicagoan.. I moved to US 10 years ago.
Funny, I spent a substantial portion of my childhood in Arlington Heights, couldn't wait to get the hell out. Recently went back to help get my mother's affairs in order. Traffic was beyond belief, route 12, Arlington Hts Rd, Euclid, etc, were almost gridlocked. It's amazing how much it has grown with so little foresight or municipal planning.
And I was floored at for how much and how fast her home sold, it wasn't on the market for 24 hours. I wouldn't have given anyone half as much for a home in that shape on a postage stamp lot, but I guess location location location is the mantra.
It's a good thing that we don't all want the same thing.
#4...IL is a broke nanny state with insane taxes and very limited when it comes to decent jobs. I can hardly wait for mid July to come around...I will be westward bound. Final stop...Denver, CO.
The job market in Chicagoland (and IL as a whole) is crap. There is no hiking and obviously zero mountain activities. The cherry on top is a much better climate. Sure it gets cold, but there are a lot more days with highs in the 50s or 60s than there are below freezing in the winter. Sure it snows, but it is so dry, mild, and sunny that it quickly melts. Oh and the sunshine...over 3100 hours. That is more than San Diego and 90+ percent of Florida.
Funny, I spent a substantial portion of my childhood in Arlington Heights, couldn't wait to get the hell out. Recently went back to help get my mother's affairs in order. Traffic was beyond belief, route 12, Arlington Hts Rd, Euclid, etc, were almost gridlocked. It's amazing how much it has grown with so little foresight or municipal planning.
And I was floored at for how much and how fast her home sold, it wasn't on the market for 24 hours. I wouldn't have given anyone half as much for a home in that shape on a postage stamp lot, but I guess location location location is the mantra.
It's a good thing that we don't all want the same thing.
Funny, I spent a substantial portion of my childhood in Arlington Heights, couldn't wait to get the hell out. Recently went back to help get my mother's affairs in order. Traffic was beyond belief, route 12, Arlington Hts Rd, Euclid, etc, were almost gridlocked. It's amazing how much it has grown with so little foresight or municipal planning.
And I was floored at for how much and how fast her home sold, it wasn't on the market for 24 hours. I wouldn't have given anyone half as much for a home in that shape on a postage stamp lot, but I guess location location location is the mantra.
It's a good thing that we don't all want the same thing.
So for comparison's sake, where do you live now?
Glad you live in an area with less traffic. But by urban/suburban standards, the traffic is good to tolerable. It slows down during rush hour. But almost grid-locked? Save the hyperbole
I frequent these roads during rush hour and it's not "near grid-lock" unless the weather or an accident wreaks havoc. What kind of municipal planning do you want? Tear up all the old, mature trees on Euclid through downtown? Ah, NO! There are plenty of secondary roads to use, you just need to be inquisitive and, perhaps, pull out a map. The only stretch of road that I find almost gridlocked occasionally is Palatine Rd. going west in the afternoon rush hour. It sometimes get quite stacked up from Windsor all the way to Rte 53. The solution to that is to expand rte 53 in Lake Co. so that Palatine and Lake-Cook are not used as connector roads between 294 and rte 53! I wouls also like to see Palatine Rd. turned into a mini-expressway all the way to rte 53, but that would cost a lot of $$ and the people with homes backing up to Palatine Rd and nearby would object. Next best plan would be to make Palatine Rd 3 lanes in each direction from Schoenbeck to rte 53. This was moving forward, they were going to add an underpass at Wheeling Rd. and reconfigure from Schoenbeck to Kennicott with 3 lanes in each direction and normal intersections with left turn lanes to replace the frontage Rd alignment. But with the State's budget crises, they opted for a much smaller plan to resurface and rebuild bridges instead.
The other improvement would have been to build an underpass for Arlington Heights Rd under the Metra tracks. they did rebuild the train station farther west so that when a west bound train is in the station, the gates go up and traffic flows again. Used to be that traffic was backed up until train departed station.
#4...IL is a broke nanny state with insane taxes and very limited when it comes to decent jobs. I can hardly wait for mid July to come around...I will be westward bound. Final stop...Denver, CO.
The job market in Chicagoland (and IL as a whole) is crap. There is no hiking and obviously zero mountain activities. The cherry on top is a much better climate. Sure it gets cold, but there are a lot more days with highs in the 50s or 60s than there are below freezing in the winter. Sure it snows, but it is so dry, mild, and sunny that it quickly melts. Oh and the sunshine...over 3100 hours. That is more than San Diego and 90+ percent of Florida.
Nice! Please come back and share what you like and dis-like about your new home. Helps those who are looking at other areas now or in retirement. I think Denver area is quite nice.
Just suffice it to say that where I live now is not something that I am going to divulge on the internet, but it isn't currently where I want to be, since I am still too close to metro Chicago for my liking, and that this particular area has also lacked foresight to plan growth better.
I lived long enough in Arlington Heights to still know my way around quite well, every day that I was there last year, the area from Rand Rd & Olive through Rand and Palatine, Palatine all the way to 53, Thomas Rd & Arlington Hts Rd was basically gridlock, every intersection is a stop light, it took 2-3 cycles to get through a left turn arrow from Rand onto any left turn, it took 2-3 cycles to get through any red light, and as soon as one was through one red light, the next red light at the shopping center or next street was red, and so on, and so on. And I am talking at 2:30 in the afternoon, not rush hour, not winter, no accidents. It isn't at all hyperbolic, that wasn't over the top, it was my experience that for several weeks, several days each week, I experienced first hand a reminder of some of the reasons why I hated Arlington Hts and the surrounding areas. Too many things crammed in too small a space.
I am glad you like it in Arlington Hts, I am glad that other people like it so much in Arlington Hts, this simple fact allowed us to sell an old home in poor condition with much deferred maintenance for a gobsmackingly unbelievable amount of money, way more money than I would have given anybody for a home in that condition on that small of a lot. Because of that, we were able to take care of my mother more comfortably than otherwise would have happened. It just isn't for me, at all. I don't see the appeal, I didn't see the appeal 25 years ago before the last growth spurt. I am not saying, however, that it isn't for you cubssoxfan, I am saying that it isn't for me.
Just suffice it to say that where I live now is not something that I am going to divulge on the internet, but it isn't currently where I want to be, since I am still too close to metro Chicago for my liking, and that this particular area has also lacked foresight to plan growth better.
I lived long enough in Arlington Heights to still know my way around quite well, every day that I was there last year, the area from Rand Rd & Olive through Rand and Palatine, Palatine all the way to 53, Thomas Rd & Arlington Hts Rd was basically gridlock, every intersection is a stop light, it took 2-3 cycles to get through a left turn arrow from Rand onto any left turn, it took 2-3 cycles to get through any red light, and as soon as one was through one red light, the next red light at the shopping center or next street was red, and so on, and so on. And I am talking at 2:30 in the afternoon, not rush hour, not winter, no accidents. It isn't at all hyperbolic, that wasn't over the top, it was my experience that for several weeks, several days each week, I experienced first hand a reminder of some of the reasons why I hated Arlington Hts and the surrounding areas. Too many things crammed in too small a space.
I am glad you like it in Arlington Hts, I am glad that other people like it so much in Arlington Hts, this simple fact allowed us to sell an old home in poor condition with much deferred maintenance for a gobsmackingly unbelievable amount of money, way more money than I would have given anybody for a home in that condition on that small of a lot. Because of that, we were able to take care of my mother more comfortably than otherwise would have happened. It just isn't for me, at all. I don't see the appeal, I didn't see the appeal 25 years ago before the last growth spurt. I am not saying, however, that it isn't for you cubssoxfan, I am saying that it isn't for me.
No argument with your preferences, likes and dislikes. I have lived near palatine & Schoenbeck since 1992 and the traffic conditions you describe are simply NOT what I experience! I have experienced what you describe only if there is poor weather, heavy rush hour, an accident or breakdown or construction. The only accurate part of your post is the fact it can take 2 cycles to turn left from SB Rand to EB Palatine and that you do have a lot of traffic lights on Rand north of Thomas. I also know how to avoid Rand, Palatine and AH road as well.
I was imagining all the stuff that I experienced. Insert slappy head emoticon here, or rolly eyes, or which ever.
OK, so I could have done the 25 miles an hour all the way up Oakton to Wilke to 14, this route is filled with stop signs, stop lights, and the occasional P/O looking to make quota, or the teenager who is infuriated that someone would dare to do the speed limit riding one's bumper. Dryden to Euclid to 14? Pretty much the same thing. Oakton to Kennicot to Palatine? More 25-30 MPH with lots of stop signs, school zones, etc.
Look, maybe you're just used to that traffic. But to say that the only accurate part of my post is a cherry picked bit, that's just condescending and dismissive. You moved into the area a few years after I moved out, when I moved out, I was glad to be gone because at that time, there were already too many cars for the main roads, and little to nothing has been done to improve these roads, or improve capacity, or to offer up alternative transportation. Live in the 'burbs? You really will need a car. It wasn't just traffic. It's that the city is creeping further and further out, so the suburbs are experiencing much of what is negative about Chicago, without having much of what is positive. What's the point? 25 plus years after I left Arlington Heights, I still scratch my head over what the demand is, except now, there are more people, more cars, more stop lights.
I am sure that my idea of what is good would horrify a lot of people who find the suburbs of Cook County to be a good place. A lot of those people have moved out to my neck of the woods, and have turned what used to be a peaceful, bucolic town with dairy and horse farms into the place that they came from.
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