Mayor's Row..by Ned Mitchell
Most every household that I am familiar with has a tooth paste squeezer in residence. This is the person who can get just one more brushing out of that tube of tooth paste before tossing it in the trash. I volunteer at the Mitchell household to take the almost empty tooth paste tube and squeeze it one last time. That comes in part from my upbringing right here in Sesser. We did not waste much around the house where I grew up and we were recycling long before it became the politically correct thing to do. I can well remember taking a bath in a big metal tub behind the Warm Morning stove that sat in our living room with my mother heating water on the kitchen stove. I remember a day when my clock did not automatically set itself for time changes. I remember not having air conditioning, telephones and television so I feel like I am qualified to comment on some things today concerning the state of things in Illinois.
I am continuing to monitor the latest tax and spend proposals from that great reformer/unreformer governor of ours. On the surface some of the programs seem worthy. We all know there are many new schools that need to be built and health care for everyone is a noble cause. Just like the All Kids program that the Governor started a year or two ago without the funds to carry it through, most of these programs also do not have the money to see them through. Even though Governor Blagojevich has promised for years to not raise taxes, this latest proposal sure looks like a huge tax increase to me. Businesses are squealing about this will put them out of business. Folks who do not have health insurance think this program is really great.
The thing that bothers me most about all of this is the way I see it no matter what new programs we start now or what new taxes we create or increase, in a matter of three years we'll be broke again. Really, do you think those that run things in Springfield have been good managers of our tax dollars? Every week we read another story about $70,000.00 chauffeurs hauling around mid level managers. Are our public servants so egotistical that they somehow try to justify being driven around? Sadly from my experience in Springfield the state is crawling with folks just like that. Or then we see the woman with close ties to the Governor's wife (whatever that means) is now accused of stealing over 2 million dollars from a state agency. Week after week there are horror stories flowing all over that detail millions of dollars being pilfered in this state. What guarantee do we have that the money raised through these increased taxes will be well spent? Based on what I know for a fact and what I see, I don't think we have the system in place to handle this much cash.
Will the legislation pass you ask? I can assure you the votes are being counted right now and believe me all the marbles will be on the table with this one. Already one Senator up north claimed it would be political suicide to vote for this proposal and then in the very next breath he admitted however that he had a lot of projects in his district that needed funded. Does this mean he might be persuaded to vote for the idea if the money is allowed to flow into his district? Now there is a real statesman who is looking out for me and you. The only problem is Springfield is awash with this mentality.
Sure corporations need to pay their fair share and if they are not why don't we just fix the system that allows that? I noticed that the State of Indiana to the East of us has just done away with the very tax that is now being proposed in Illinois. Indiana officials claim that tax was running off business. How will it work in Illinois? Who knows but I am betting we'll be the last ones to know. It appears to me that we need a new batch of folks in Springfield that are willing to squeeze the toothpaste tube one last time!
While we are picking on the Governor I thought it was interesting about his trip to a small factory in Harrisburg to promote his latest tax hike. While on the tour one of our larger daily newspapers questioned the Governor on the AmerenCips rate hike. The Governor spewed out some double talk claiming that he has been fighting these rate increases for several years now. Excuse me Governor, but not too long ago you promised to fire the Commerce Commission members if they voted for a reverse auction. They voted for the reverse auction and as of this writing they are still in their jobs. It is really pretty simple for the Governor to replace these goof balls; all he has to do is do it. I simply find it hard to believe that journalists, if you call them that, don't ask the hard questions. The Governor could stop this today if he wanted to. And by the way Governor and your entourage, you forgot to visit the shuttered plants such as MUMS in Pinckneyville and Maytag in Herrin. Would it not be fair to also take some sort of blame for losing those factories while you all are taking credit for the one in Harrisburg? A little common sense would go a long way here!
Even Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is on board as he is promoting the concept of replacing the Commerce Commission and electing their replacements. Governor Blagojevich should look no farther that Missouri to our West where their Commerce Commission is still in the regulating business and their power rates from Ameren are much lower than ours. Who on earth is electing these folks in Illinois and what are they thinking? We must be happy with the status quo because we keep re electing them!
There is some good news though concerning politicians in Illinois. Newly elected State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has already lived up to one campaign promise. As most of us know in a highly political move several years ago the state financed two hotels, one in Collinsville and one in Springfield. There were big name politicos from both parties involved in this scam and for years they have not paid any money back on those loans all the while continuing to operate them. This hot potato has been batted around for years with nobody willing to put a stop to the nonsense. Along comes Treasurer Giannoulias and in two months he has ran off the dead beats that owned the hotels and forced them into receivership. On top of all of that he has requested a reduction of $400,000.00 in his budget for his office. Now there is a breath of fresh air! Giannoulias has solved the hotel scam and wants less money to run his office. Yours truly was the first elected official in the State of Illinois to endorse his candidacy against that great dragon slayer Mike Madigan and his henchmen. I continue to be proud of that endorsement! We need more just like him and less of what we have been getting!
Congratulations to the Sesser-Valier cheerleaders who last week placed 2nd in state cheerleading competition. Our school's Lacey Vercellino earned a $3,000.00 scholarship for college. We also had four of our girls make the All Stars team and they are Lacey Webb, Tori Shurtz, Lacey Vercellino and Sammy Bauman. I probably botched the spelling on some of their names but due to deadline exact spelling was not available. Anyhow, we are very proud of these girls, their sponsors, parents, and fans for representing us so well. It was a tremendous team effort and reward for hard work!
The SVHS Booster Club is sponsoring a Trivia Night on March 23 at 7:00 pm at the High School. Call 625-5105 ext 252 for info.
The 4th Annual Lukas Gunter arthritis fish fry and shooting match will be held at Bubba's Place in Nason on March 24th from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Call 279-7220 for info.
Come celebrate St. Patrick's Day with us in Sesser at the historic Opera House Café. We'll have evening specials and invite you to wear some green and join us. This will be March 17th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. Call 625-6300 for info.
If you need us call 625-3611 or 625-5322 or write nedmitchell@verizon.net
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