Letters

07/15/2009 10:00 PM


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State doesn’t need tax increase

We do not need an increase in our state income tax! What we need is accountability for what we pay now.

Patricia Fuller
South Loop

Now we can actually park

Lost in all the complaints about the meters, the rates, the aggressive ticketing, etc., is a silver lining in the dark clouds. I operate a business on Devon Avenue, east of Western Avenue. I live in the South Loop. Both my business and personal life take me downtown and to the River North area often. The big advantage to raising the rates for the meters is that there are now meters available all the time! No one is camped out in a parking meter while at work for 8 hours. When the rates were $0.25 per hour, people could drive to work and park for 8 hours for $2! It was virtually impossible to drive to the Loop or the River North area and find a meter at any time of the day. Now, my customers on Devon Avenue can park in front of my store with ease, provided they put a quarter in for 15 minutes. The overall charge of $1 per hour is reasonable, and parking has become readily available.

I can now go to a restaurant in the South Loop or River North, and find a meter to park in, not being held hostage to a valet service for $10 or more. I wasn’t in favor of the change initially, but now that it has occurred, I couldn’t be more pleased.

Bradley E. Prendergast
South Loop

Demand more from the city, aldermen

After living in Chicago for 33 years, working in the West Loop for more than nine and seeing our city government spending us into mountains of debt, I have a few observations.

Chicago Journal reported in its July 2 edition that the city council voted 42-6 to require non-union city employees to take unpaid furlough days this year to save the city $14 million. It seems as if there are other money-saving, more logical ways to save money.

First, how about reducing the salary of every member of city council? For years they have voted lock-step with anything our mayor presented, regardless of cost, consequence or need. They had a large part to play in why we are in this condition. If they each took a 10 percent reduction in city pay — not a cut in their outside salaries — we could save about $504,850, according to my rough estimates. Seven aldermen, as of June 10, 2009, failed to take unpaid furlough days. I bet they voted to compel city employees to do so, but failed, again, to lead by example.

Does our city really need 50 Aldermen with staffs? If we make this a full-time job, disallow outside employment and reduce the number of aldermen to 30, we could save about $2,019,420 in salary alone not counting administrative staff and facilities costs.

Why is our city paying a contractor to destroy perfectly good sidewalks and ramps on intersections throughout the West Loop, only to replace them with the same thing plus two red plastic rubber mats? This makes no sense.

At the intersection of Jefferson and Tilden, the sidewalk and ramp even had a marked area for the red plastic mats. The crew still destroyed the existing sidewalk and replaced it, over a two day period. This act has been repeated in the area of Union Station over the past few weeks. I wonder if our city has paid for a contract compliance person, who should review and audit the work of this contractor.

I know many readers of the Chicago Journal agree that our city leaders take and take with one hand while giving away our hard-earned money with the other. It is time for us to send many messages of discontent to the persons we elect to work for us rather than against us.

Thomas Kinsella
Jefferson Park
Commuter to the West Loop


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