Impending Chicago Exodus

Chicago is a microcosm of life in a Democrat controlled world.  The Windy City has been dark blue for so many years that cronyism is a way of life.  It is no wonder that the City of Chicago and Cook County are going broke and that the response of Democrat leadership is RAISE TAXES!  What Democrat leaders fail to understand is that if the tax burden gets high enough, a concept that they will never understand, there is considerable risk of mass exodus by people looking to live in an affordable community.  

The Democrat leadership in the Chicago area, Cook County, and the state of Illinois as a whole will never grasp this; until it is too late.  They believe that the people who live here consider it a privilege and will put up with anything.  They are unable to conceive of people moving to Wisconsin, Indiana, or farther in their search for relief from the excessive tax burden laid upon them by Democrat politicians.  We have been called a “donor state” because we pay so much in taxes and get so little in return: 

CHICAGO - What is it about Democrats and raising taxes?  They simply can’t seem to get enough money from the hardworking men and women of Illinois for their liberal agenda.  

From the top to the bottom, their answer to every governmental issue remains the same: we want your money…and lots of it.  

However, it was unfortunate to learn from the Associated Press that Illinois is once again considered a “donor state” – where taxpayers send more money to Washington D.C. than they get back in federal spending.  (Associated Press, October 10, 2007) We Are Illinois  

The social programs that are dragging down Cook County are driving the taxes of its residents to the highest levels in the Nation.   

"The increase, which would give Chicago the nation’s highest sales tax, at 11%, was proposed and strongly advocated by board President Todd Stroger…" (Crain’s Chicago Business, October 1, 2007) 

On of the biggest drains on Cook County Tax Payers is Stroger Hospital which is County funded.  It would make too much sense to privatize this albatross and have someone run it as a business.  The majority of the people bearing the burden of this money pit will never go their in their entire life!   

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger wants to hike property taxes, gasoline taxes, downtown parking taxes and the sales tax to help pay for the county’s 2008 operations. 

Additionally, hundreds of new jobs would be added to the government payroll to improve operations at county hospitals and the criminal justice system. Cook County Taxes 

The battle in Cook County is far from over and there are those who are standing against Stroger’s ridiculous push to drive taxes higher:  

Civic Federation President Laurence Msall said it's a sign of Stroger's "insatiable appetite for new and expensive taxes" and shows "no signs of restraint during times of great economic difficulty for many." 

Commissioner Forrest Claypool said giving more cash to Stroger would simply "allow him to continue to protect patronage jobs and bureaucracy at the expense of public health and public safety." Sun Times 

Commissioner Claypool has hit the nail on the head when he said that this is all an attempt to protect patronage jobs and bureaucracy at the expense of the public.  Despite claiming that his 3.2 billion dollar budget can’t cover the expenses of Cook County, he wants to create an additional 1,152 new jobs!  

Mayor Daley has no shame when it comes to his proposed tax increases:  

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley insists the only way to keep Chicago moving forward is to stick his hand into the pockets of citizens and yank out more hard-earned money than they already pay to keep the city government afloat.

Daley, who's trying to bring the 2016 Olympics to Chicago, deserves a gold medal for the most brazen tax hike request in city history. Hizzoner is seeking a $290 million increase in taxes, fees and fines. That includes $108 million in property tax hikes, a figure that would result in an increase of $100 to the owner of a home worth $225,000.  Chicago taxes 

As if this weren’t enough, people considering moving to neighboring Dupage County may not fare any better given that their budget situation is a complete disaster as well: 

Jorgensen and Birkett, along with Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas and Coroner Peter Siekmann, urged the County Board to place a referendum question on the February ballot asking voter approval for a one-quarter percent sales tax to support public safety. 

County Board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom also expressed dismay but said revenues are insufficient to meet rising costs, leaving him no choice but to offer a budget with severe cuts. 

"This is not a budget I want. It is not a budget you want," Schillerstrom said. "It is not a budget that will meet the needs of DuPage County or our constituents. ... [The proposed cuts] are deep and they are real, and they will affect every department across our county." 

You have to sense that the real estate taxes will be coming soon: 

The budget proposal calls for a total real estate tax levy of $64.43 million, which is about $3.1 million more than the current levy, and total spending of $375.9 million. Dupage County 

Throw in the budget impasse that has been raging at the State level where the Governor is making threats every other week and the Speaker battles him to a stalemate time and time again.  There are big taxes looming on the horizon at the State level that; combined with the County and Chicago taxes will make this area practically unbearable in terms of the tax burden imposed on the people. 

The long and the short of it is that the Democrat run bureaucracies in Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois as whole have run themselves into the ground.  They talk about what they have cut and can’t cut and yet they can’t seem to operate with out taxing their residents at unprecedented levels.  This is the typical tax and spend mentality of the Democrat leadership, and anyone who wants to observe a classic example of how this system fails its people they need only look at Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois.  

The question I have is what is the incentive for people to stay?  Why would anyone want to work and live in the state, county, and city with outrageous taxes and little or no return?  Do the Democrats believe that people are willing to pay through the nose to say they are from Chicago?  Time will tell, but I think that the Democrats that run this circus will soon find out that residents and businesses are willing to relocate to areas of the country where they can afford to live.  I fear that Northern Illinois is heading for a watershed moment where the people say enough is enough and a mass exodus from the area takes place.

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