Mayor’s Row……..by Ned Mitchell

Pardon the pun but here is the deal! Expanded gambling in Illinois to fund a massive construction bill in Springfield is not a cost effective way to do business. Our legislators are wrong on this issue as they have been wrong on many other issues that have come forth recently.

Here we go again, the democrats who control everything in Springfield and the whole state as a matter of fact, are proposing this expansion. Governor blabbernot is running all over the state saying this will create over 700,000 good paying jobs. Okay Governor, say it does, (it won’t even come close) at whose expense are these so called jobs being created? All of this free medical care, free housing, free lunches, free tuition, and free this and free that, folks the bottom line here it is not free! You and I are paying for every bit of these freebie give away programs and I am here to tell you there is no such thing as a free lunch. Someone has to pay for these programs and that is the part that is being left out.

The casino expansion which will give Chicago its’ own casino and provide for two others at undisclosed locations as well as allow existing casinos to greatly expand is a losing bet. I can’t even fathom the idea of legislators allowing Chicago to run their own casino that is not under the control of the Illinois Gaming Commission. In case you have not heard, Chicago and the Governor would appoint a special gaming board to oversee only the Chicago casino. This is a classic example of the fox being put in charge of the hen house! Once again we are going the extra mile to see to it that Chicago does not fall under the same rules and guidelines as the rest of the state. I am sick and tired of special treatment being given to this bunch that time and time prove they can steal everything that is not nailed down while watch dogs are supposedly watching. Giving Chicago its’ own casino is bad enough, letting them control the oversight board is asking for trouble. Remember this is the place that one of Mayor Daley’s cronies managed to steal over a million dollars in quarters from the toll authority and nobody missed it. Legislators, a question, what are you thinking?

Tazewell County State’s Attorney Stewart Umholtz last week came out in opposition to expanded gambling in Illinois. I do not know what political party Umholtz is aligned with but he is the prosecutor dealing with the Par-A-Dice casino in his county. Umholtz says “since the Par-A-dice casino arrived in Tazewell County, we have prosecuted a number of crimes directly related to the casino and many that are indirectly related to the casino.” He further stated “I have seen the depletion of estates, children’s trust funds, cemetery care funds, church funds, festival funds, and different types of government funds by individuals who have a gambling addiction.”

Then we have Dave Smith who is executive director of the Illinois Family Institute who points out that for billions of dollars to be made on expanded gambling, then billions of dollars have to be lost by gamblers. Why didn’t I think of that? Better yet why don’t the legislators think of that?

Along comes Anita Bedell, executive director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems who are also opposed to this expansion and point out as I have said before that gambling is merely a tax on poor people.

Lastly a story in the Chicago Tribune last week talked about a national study that shows a huge increase in gambling addiction involving teenagers. Gambling among college age men last year increased 4 per cent, the largest one year increase ever. Gambling is an $85 billion dollar industry in this country and it is not going to go away. Gambling is here to stay but that does not mean that we need to expand it here in Illinois. The reformer/unreformer was opposed to expanded gambling in the election he just won. Now he has flip flopped on the issue. Legislators need to face the music here and pass either an income tax increase or sales tax increase or a combination of the two to pay for the construction bill that is proposed. I know the reformer/unreformer ran on the promise to not raise taxes, but he also ran on the idea to not increase gambling. He flip flopped on that promise so that makes him a classic politician. He can flip flop on the taxes too and that will be fine with me.

Lastly on this subject and I point this at all of our local legislators, if this is such a grand idea why are we willing to settle for only $195 million dollars out of a pot of gold worth $25 billion dollars. I’m no mathematician but that looks to me like we get less than 1 % of this money. I don’t think that is a very good bet either and the odds are against us. What are you thinking?

We need help! The newly formed Opera House Company is a local stage company that is bringing back live theater to the grand old Sesser Opera House. This building was the idea of Sesser businessman Charles Gualdoni and was built in 1914. We have spent the last 30 years restoring this grand old building to its’ original beauty adding such niceties as central heat and air, new stage lighting and a café next door. The physical work is basically done and now we need you. The Opera House Company is asking for volunteers to help with the production of our next show “El Grande De Coca Cola”. We need help building the set which includes painting and such. We need stage hands and that might include just pulling the curtain open, but we do need help. There will be something for everyone to do.

The show will be performed during the Ocktober Fest weekend of October 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st. We also have Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” and Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Ruddygore” to round out our first season. We will need actors, actresses, stage hands, ticket sellers, publicity people and a whole wide range of helpers. We also need you to attend one of the upcoming performances to make this show a success. We figure that it will cost about $3,000.00 to put on this show. If you buy a ticket and attend not only will you be entertained but you will also help us keep the Opera House alive and you will be supporting live theater at the Sesser Opera House the way it was originally set up in 1914. Call us at 625-5322 for tickets or to volunteer.
 

Congratulations to Eva Basso of Sesser who last week turned 95! Happy Birthday Eva, one of my favorite Sesserites! Also congratulations to Alyn and Tim Newbury on the birth of their new baby Layla Belle.
If you need us give us a call at 625-5322 or 625-3611 or write nedmitchell@verizon.net  or P. O. Box 277, Sesser, Illinois. We are always happy to hear from you!
 

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