Mayor’s Row……………….by Ned Mitchell
It is getting to where one does not need a calendar around here to know when the weekend is approaching. All you have to do is pay attention to the price of gasoline and when you see it spike, you know the weekend is just hours away. I’m just really getting fed up with the price of fuel. Not too many weeks ago I watched as one of the major chain convenience stores in Sesser raised the price of gasoline 3 times in an 8 hour period. Here is the drill in Sesser. One of the two major convenience stores will trot out to their pricing sign and up the price of gasoline by .10 cents or so. They will watch for several hours and see if the others go along. If the other major convenience store runs out and raises their price, the price stands and within 24 hours all stores in Sesser are selling at the same price. If one major store does not up their price, suddenly the culprit that tried to raise the price lowers theirs. I know it is the law of supply and demand but in our little corner of the world I happen to think they charge what they think the rest of us will pay. I can only guess that game is also played in your town.
A few years ago I talked with two convenience store managers in Sesser and spoke of my concerns about this “price gouging” as I called it. Both managers informed me that it was illegal for them to consult one another about the price of gasoline in that it would constitute price fixing. It appears to me they have found a loop hole in the law and they are now price fixing in a different manner with the same end results.
At one of my visits to the pump in Sesser I overheard two married women with children discussing the price of gasoline. Both young women worked in the fast food industry while their husbands held other jobs. It takes two working non stop to raise a family these days as we all know. It is getting tougher all the time to make ends meet. Both of these women discussed the cost of what it takes them to travel to and from work on their family income. They both described in great detail that when gasoline costs went up for their family, they simply had to do away with something else to continue to make ends meet. The way I see it, most of the folks living in Sesser have a pretty set income every month. If gasoline goes way up or utility prices raise, they will have to do without something else to get by. There is no means for these families to increase their income to make up for additional living costs.
Don’t expect any help out of the government; they are absolutely baling money through sales tax on gasoline. If you think for a minute that the State of Illinois is going to complain about the high price of gasoline, you need to think again. Sales tax is based on the dollar amount sold. If gasoline is $4.00 per gallon, the state collects sales tax on that amount just as they do if it is $2.00 per gallon. There is no incentive here for the government to complain. It was reported just last week that Illinois is the worst state in the nation as far as debt. We have more debt than any other state! While a vast majority of states in the nation last year reported a surplus of funds, here comes Illinois leading the way once again, we owe more money than anybody! It is no wonder business owners are running, jumping, and pole vaulting over the two rivers that border Illinois to get out of here. We are drowning in a sea of red ink! Illinois desperately needs the additional money to try and keep its head above water. So far we are not doing a very good job according to the experts. Judy Barr Topinka, the republican candidate for governor is calling for a special session of the legislature to freeze or lower the sales tax temporarily on gasoline. I’m not sure about that idea as I suspect it is merely political puffery.
When I read that one of the major oil companies recorded a $10 billion dollar profit in the latest quarterly report I do stand amazed at the lack of intervention by those we elect to represent us. Once again this is another fine example of the cost of living hurting those who can least afford it the most. Silence from those who serve us at the state and federal level is deafening!
Is there trouble in the camp amongst the democrats? I know local democrats are still reeling from the scandal plagued Superintendent of Schools office. They also have the real estate tax problem whereby we now know that not everyone has been paying property tax like the rest of us. Franklin County is financially broke for all practical purposes and while local democrats try to put a lid on those problems I hear there is trouble elsewhere politically speaking. Recently the Circuit Judges of the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Illinois decided they needed an additional Associate Circuit Judge. Associate Judges are appointed to their jobs by the Circuit Judges. I’m not real sure how many Circuit Judges there are, but I am sure the democrats control at least 75% of those seats. Local democrats are in a quandary about how the majority democrat judges picked a White County republican for the job at hand. Applications for the job are solicited and then a vote is taken by the Circuit Judges. Apparently there were some qualified democrats who applied for this position but they were overlooked in favor of a republican. You can rest assured a deal was cut somewhere for this to happen. We don’t know at the moment exactly what that deal was or who was in on it. I won’t even get into the argument that judges should be above the political system, I have mixed thoughts on that idea. And no, I am not saying the republican from White County who was appointed is not qualified. From what I hear he is a very qualified individual. I also hear a lot of democrats complaining about how the appointment came down. Franklin County democrats for years have saved the bacon so to speak for all judges who run for retention in the fall election. The Franklin County democrat party has for years put forth a special effort to get the word out to vote YES on retaining circuit judges. There have been many instances where those up for retention would have lost their election had it not been for the Franklin County democrat organization strength on Election Day. I am hearing rumblings from the cheap seats in Franklin County that a move to unseat some judges up for retention this fall is in the works. It will be interesting to watch!
Special wedding anniversary thoughts go to Sesser residents Sadie and Don Lewis who recently celebrated, I believe 65 years together. I recently visited with them and some family members at Pop’s Bar B Q in Benton while they were dining out. Sadie said that is a long time to live with Don. Don thought a minute and being the wise man he is, just smiled and did not comment. We men could all learn something from Don on keeping quite at the right time!
Sesser residents on Callie Street have been inconvenienced for a few weeks now as city workers install a new water main. The old water main was in poor condition and Callie Street is one of the last curb and gutter streets that we will excavate and rebuild. The street work will begin next year but as we have learned the hard way it is better to replace the water main before fixing the street. We have a few blocks on South Walnut and East Murray Streets to excavate this year and then next year move on to Callie. Once we have that done we will be ready to asphalt the curb and gutter sections of town. We never claimed to be fast around here as we have been building streets for 30 years now but I think you can recognize that fact when you drive in Sesser. Special thanks go to our workers who replace water/sewer lines and build streets. They literally save us thousands of dollars each year by doing this work. I appreciate their service and dedication to Sesser.
If you need us give us a call at 625-5322 or 625-3611 or write to P. O. Box 517, Sesser, Illinois 62884 or nedmitchell@verizon.net or www.sesser.org
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