Forys appointed to state board of health by Governor Pat Quinn, faces battle in 17th District

Dr. Victor Forys, the leading Democratic candidate in the 17th Cook County Board district's battle for the party nomination in the Feb. 2, was named this week by Gov. Quinn to the Illinois Board of Health.

Quinn and a laundry list of leading Democrats have endorsed Forys in his bid to the win the Democratic primary, but many media have been pretending he doesn't exist as a candidate to promote their friend and heir to 19th Ward political clout Pat Maher, the controversy-plagued president of the Orland Fire Protection District.

The 17th District is solidly Republican and the seat is now held by Elizabeth "Liz" Doody Gorman, who in two terms has become the leading advocate for tax reduction on the Cook County board.

It's a fascinating race and any Democrat who wins the primary will have a tough time defeating Gorman, whose record on fighting taxes has emboldened not only other county board members but the Illinois General Assembly to fight the tax-raising administration of Cook County Board President Todd Stroger. Two other candidates are running in the Democratic primary and one more is running in the Republican primary. (You can read a complete story by clicking here.)

Forys is being written off because the district is a bowling alley that geographically looks like it is founded on Orland Park. But while Orland Township may look like it has the weighted vote, as you move north, the voter density increases significantly.

The district, as you can see, stretches from Wheeling and Northfield all the way down along the Cook County Board to Orland Township in the South.

Forys ran in the last battle for the Congressional seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff to President Barack Obama, which was won by former County Commissioner Mike Quigley. Although Forys did not win, he raised a substantial amount of money and received strong endorsements, as he is doing again this year.

Forys believes that he can win the Democratic Primary on Feb. 2 by allowing Maher, who is backed by the 19th Ward Machine that is trying to put Orland Township is a political headlock, to fight with Gorman. And Maher hasn't hesitated to attack Gorman, even though the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries won't face off until 9 months later. Maher is hoping to deflect voter attention away from the Orland Fire Protection District's outrageous tax increases and from the fact that the OFPD takes the largest bite out of the district's taxpayer's pocketbook of any other taxing body save for the schools -- more than 12.5 percent of the county's bills pays for Maher's fiefdom.

Maher is the politically ambitious son of Orland Park's part-time village clerk David Maher, who  is a county patronage employee working for 19th Ward superstar and Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Stroger oversees their budget and all are Democrats.

But Gorman has elevated herself above Maher and others by being the most vocal anti-tax member of the Cook County Board. Gorman was the only county commissioner to challenge a $190,000 county loan to controversial Regional Schools Superintendent Charles Flowers.  Flowers budget has since come under scrutiny. A report by the auditor general shows that Flowers has since mismanaged millions of dollars in funds. His office has an annual budget of about $1 million and is reportedly more than $1 million in debt. The audit shows that Flowers has borrowed money to pay for all kinds of expenses, without proper records, but he insisted he has repaid everything.

Gorman was the only voice to challenge Flowers' poor leadership. But this past June, the entire County board joined Gorman to repudiate Flowers and reject the loan and acknowledge Gorman's leadership.

And, Gorman was the leader of a coalition of Republicans and Democrats on the Cook County Board to repeal Todd Stroger's repressive 1 percent sales tax, which is crippling the county's taxpayers and forcing businesses to relocate to neighboring counties. Stroger used his veto to block the last effort. Gorman was so persistent that she help force the county board to try three times to repeal and roll back the tax and that caught the attention of the Illinois General Assembly which then voted to reduce the number of votes needed to override Stroger's outrageous 80 percent override vote need.

Now, Gorman and others are planning to launch another drive to rollback the sales tax with a better chance of withstanding Stroger's pro-tax veto.

Forys will have his work cut out for him in November against Gorman, but first he has to win the February Democratic Primary, and that's a race some don't want you to know he is in.

Of course, don't right off  Donna Sanders who also hails from the Orland Township district and is running in the Democratic primary. A popular library turstee, Sanders has real credentials and you can't ignore the powerful woman's vote in this district. They have a voice. On the Cook County Board, that voice, though, belongs to Gorman.

-- Ray Hanania

www.RadioChicagoland.com

County Commissioner Liz Gorman does the heavy lifting on the Sales Tax Repeal

While others were grabbing the spotlight, credit Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman with doing the "heavy lifting" to put together the campaign to repeal the abhorent Todd Stroger 1 Percent Sales Tax. Gorman came up with the original proposal and got strong help from fellow commissioner Larry Suffredin. The original plan was to repeal it in stages, .25 percent each of four years. Gorman then pushed to have the repeal expedited, with Suffredin's backing and the backing of others, and she went around and rounded up the vote for today's meeting.

In the end, the board decided why waste their time playing piecemeal rollbacks and they went full steam -- after finding their courage with Gorman and Suffredin's help -- and rolled the Todd Stroger 1 Percent Sales Tax completely as of Jan. 1, 2010.

Stroger's flak, Christien Geovanis, was on Chicago Tonight blathering about how the sales tax has been raised in years and it was costing county government money. Are you kidding me? The sales tax is a built-in tax generator that Geovanis either ignored or is just to blinded by her exhorbitant taxpayer salary. As the cost of products rises, so too does the revenues from the originals ales tax of .75 percent.

Geovanis also tried to argue that Stroger does not fear the public's wrath. Great. She said he will veto the repeal Wednesday (May 6, 2009), the next day of the vote. When he does that, he will seal his fate as one of the shortest serving and most despised Cook County Board Presidents in Cook County History.

But, he still has time to hang out at his favorite exclusive clubs and restaurants to hire the wait staff when one of his lackies expresses some favor for them.

Gorman stepped back to let the talking heads grab the spotlight, but she is working hard to bring that sales tax down. Even if Stroger vetoes the repeal -- he only needs four lackies to do it and he has three (who voted against the bill already -- losers Commissioners William Beavers, Robert Steele, and Jerry Butler. Pathetic. Uncaring. Bureaucrats who are enjoying their clout at the expense of the public trough. Gorman's drive may well have put the first of many nails on Stroger's Political Coffin.

Hopefully, he'll be out on the street where he'll be forced to enjoy his clout on his own dime instead of at the expense of the taxpayers. I wonder how many of the consultants will bail on Stroger and suck up to the successor once Stroger finds himself trying to recover from his political illness. Tragic.

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

I interviewed Gorman and Suffredin on WJJG 1530 AM Radio Tuesday afternoon when I subbed for Judy Baar Topinka. Click here to listen to the Podcast Audio of the 60 minute interview.

County to consider full roll-back of Stroger Tax at next board meeting

Fearing a real backlash from over-taxed residents in Cook County, Board President Todd Stroger proposed rolling back only a modest .25 percent of the 1 percent he added last year to the county's sales tax. The Stroger Tax raised the county portion of the sales tax from .75 percent to 1.75 percent, which in turn increased the burden on taxpayers already strapped by state and local sales tax hikes. That proposal was swiftly sent to committee during this morning’s Cook County Board meeting. But tonight, a coalition of Republicans and progressive Democrats are weighing a new plan to roll-back the entire Stroger Tax not just by one .25 percent increment, but by four .25 percent increments in each of the next four years beginning this year until the entire “Stroger Tax” is repealed. 

Leading the charge is 17th District Commissioner Elizabeth Doody Gorman, who has the backing of several commissioners whose ears have been ringing with voter opposition to the Stroger Tax. Stroger can count on his City Machine minions to defend the tax, but there might be nine of the 17 commissioners who like Gorman have the courage to stand up to Stroger’s waste-filled rule. “We plan to introduce the proposal to the next board meeting,” Gorman said Wednesday night. “I just got off the phone with several commissioners and the proposal has a lot of support.” That puts emphasis on the comment from her anticipated county board rival, Pat Maher, that “there is more to just voting no” at board meetings. Gorman actually has not just voted “No,” she puts meaning behind the word voting “no” to unnecessary tax hikes that Stroger has forced upon the over-taxed residents of Cook County. Gorman questioned the need for the millions that the Stroger tax will reap from over-taxed county residents, and challenged Stroger’s claim that the county can use the $100 million in stimulus money to pay county operating costs. “That stimulus money should go to stimulate the economy and not to cover his expenses,” Gorman said. “We can’t put that in operating expenses. It’s supposed to go for new project to help create jobs and strengthen the economy.” Gorman is right on when she argues that the money shouldn’t go into Stroger’s back pocket to pay for his city Machine patronage army, cronies and consultants. The next board meeting is on May 5th. In the meantime, voters can help make this work by contacting their local county board commissioners and telling them to follow Gorman’s lead. -- Ray Hanania http://www.radiochicagoland.com/

New taxes and higher fees headed for Orland after the election?

They're talking candidly about how Lt. Gov Pat Quinn will either help or be the victim of massive income tax and fee increases in the state after he takes over as acting governor from his former colleague and running mate Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Isn't that the way? Always raise taxes and fees in a sneaky way?

Quinn takes the fall and then Mike Madigan's daughter Lisa Madigan, the Illinois Attorney General, will point fingers of blame at Quinn and spend, spend, spend like there's no tomorrow.

And now, I read this in the Southtown/Star from Orland Park Trustee Brad O'Halloran, the chief ally of Mayor Dan McLaughlin and the strongest link in the 19th Ward Chicago Machine chain:

O'Halloran said the board had asked village staff during budget sessions last spring to explore ways to increase revenue and cut costs. But the timing for the proposal does not seem right now.

The village of Orland Park was going to raise the fee on vehicle stickers, and then backed down after we blew the whistle on the plan that was to be presented, quietly, to the village board next week. But fear of a public backlash obviously derailed that increase.

Read the sentence above. " ... the timing for the proposal does not seem right now."

Ah, O'Halloran and McLaughlin are up for re-election April 7. The key word in this is the word "timing."

They have hiked property taxes, raised fees for water related services, cut programs, imposed fees on previously free programs, and are watsing a fortune on that 143rd Street Bermuda Triangle project to nowhere.

Why stop on a puny little vehicle sticker hike?

Oddly, the huge property taxes really hammered everyone, but it is always the small thing that people actually pay themselves out of their checkbooks that wrankles the public. We have to write the check to buy the stickers. My property taxes are taken automatically out of my mortgage payment, a year later for the year of the hike.

I'm glad at least one newspaper is writing about the tax hike proposals. The village officials know they don't have to be accountable. They don't have to explain anything. Few people attend the board meetings. None of the board meetings are broadcast on Comcast Cable TV (instead we have those worthless parades that people barely show up for, running over and over again and the PR flak kissing up to the officials interviewing them all the time as if the public isn't worth anything.)

Orland Park needs accountability and if the elected officials we have now won't give it to us, then we need to insure that there is an independent voice either running the village as mayor or on the board of trustees. Someone who will stand up to bad policies and tax hikes and wasted spending and poor leadership and lack of accountability.

We all know what the problem is. The question is, are we going to fix it or continue to let the Chicago Machine run our community like a Soviet satellite banana republic?

It only took a little fear to stop them from raising the vehicle stickers. Imagine what might happen if people stood up and said something?

Hey sheep! Wake up. Start the mantra :) ... "Baaa ram mo. Baaa ram moo. (From the movie "Babe!") You raise taxes you'll be in deep doo doo."

-- Ray Hanania
www.OrlandParker.com

Okay, here's a simple question for Mayor McLaughlin

If you gave us the property tax rebate as a way of off-setting the .75 home rule sales tax you imposed -- telling us that by returning the property tax through rebate it would compensate for the sales tax increase (and keep it focused on non-residents who come to orland Park to shop.)

Well, now, you'r trimming the property tax rebate, but you're kepping all of the .75 sales tax. It sounds like an election gimmick?

Bet that's a question you won't read in the local newspapers :)

-- Ray Hanania
www.RadioChicagoland.com

When you scale back a rebate, you are raising taxes

Orland Park officials are very creative. They've done a great job in spinning the budget deficit of $4.8 million, according to news reports this past week. It is really amazing. What's more amazing is residents of Orland Park don't care that they are going to pay more in taxes, even though village officials are saying they are not raising taxes.

Let me give you a civis lesson in municipal budgets.

When you collect a tax and then give it back. It is called a rebate. When you rescind all or part of a tax rebate, you are raising taxes.

In otherwords, you can't have it both ways and claim you are doing the taxpayers a favor by rebating the village portion of their property taxes, and then claim you are doing the taxpayers a favor when you say you will scale back the rebate by as much as 1/3.

The headlines of the news stories about the issue are hysterical, especially if you don't care about the rising taxes in Orland Park.

The Orland Park Prairie, my favorite local newspaper, wrote:

At a budget meeting held Thursday, July 24, the revised, balanced budget was presented to the board with village services left fully intact."We've balanced our general fund budget by making cuts, none of which will affect the services the village offers," Finance Director AnnMarie Mampe said.

Village services left intact. Maybe I read that wrong. Fees are going up. Some recreation programs are being shuffled around and trimmed. The Village Portion Property Tax Rebate that Mayor McLaughlin and the board have touted as proof that they are the best leaders in the Southwest Subrubs is being curtailed DRAMATICALLY. It really amounts to a significant increase in your property taxes, because, well, THE BOTTOM LINE IS YOU ARE GOING TO BE PAYING MORE.

But then, maybe you don't care. Chances are your home hasn't been foreclosed on by the bank so you have lots of money to spare. Or maybe, you are one of the mayor's chums and are doing pretty well with that connection.

This is what the Southtown/Star wrote:

Orland Park has found a way to make up for a $4.8 million budget shortfall in its operating budget without cutting village services or raising taxes. The village's annual practice of rebating local property taxes also is safe, but the formula likely will change.

I know the sigh of relief that we're going to get our village property taxes rebated is overwhelming. Well, it will remain "intact."

Well, not really "intact," though.

Later in the story, the reporter wrote:

The board is proposing to change the way it rebates residents' property taxes, Mampe said.
The change would provide more money for the village's capital improvements, Mampe said.
Under the existing formula, if a taxpayer pays $200 in property taxes to the village of Orland Park, then the village uses what it collects in home rule sales taxes to rebate the entire $200. The rebated amount includes what is levied for pensions.
Under the proposal, the taxpayer who pays $200 in property taxes to the village would receive $133 back, and the remaining $67 - the amount levied for pensions - would go toward capital improvements.

Can you say SHELL GAME.

Ah. I paid $200 in taxes and used to get it all rebated. Now, under the rebate plan that the media reports isn't really changing, I'm only going to get $133 back and the remainder will go to fund the pensions of, well, the people who are making the decisions in the village. Not you, the taxpayer, the circus people at Village Hall.

So, they have split up the village property taxes into two parts. One if the actual property tax, and the other is the property tax (that goes to fund the pensions.)

Hmmm.

There is no question in my mind that McLaughlin really understands creative financing.

I want to keep paying my "Water Bill" but since the Water Bill doesn't just include water, but also garbage removal and a hefty tax increase in village fees for the administration of that bill, I will just deduct the 60 percent of the "Water Bill" that isn't really the "Water Bill" and, according to village logic, valla! I will have restructed the Water Bill payment, keeping it "intact." I just won't pay it.

I don't think McLauglin would go for that at all.

Shell Game. It's a new program the village is going to offer as a part of its Winter programs to keep their salaries (and raises) "intact."

Ray Hanania
www.OrlandParker.com

Who voted how in screwing the taxpayers by refusing to repeal the Sales Tax

Breakdown of who screwed the public at Tuesday's Cook County Board meeting:

Voting For Sales Tax Reduction (Yeaaaaa1)
Forrest Claypool (D-12th)
Mike Quigley (D-10th)
Tony Peraica (R-16th)
Liz Doody-Gorman (R-17th)
Peter Silvestri(R-9th)
Gregg Goslin, (R-14th)
Tim Schneider (R-15th)

Voting to Maintain Sales Tax Hike (Boooooo!)
Earlean Collins, (D-1st)
Robert Steele, (D-2nd)
Jerry Butler, (D-3rd)
Bill Beavers, (D-4th)
Deborah Sims, (D-5th)
Joan Murphy, (D-6th)
Joe Moreno, (D-7th)
Roberto Maldonado, (D-8th)
John Daley, (D-11th)
Larry Suffredin, (D-13th)

At least for Orland Park residents, Gorman came through.

The worst part is not one of the Sales Tax proponents protested President Todd Stroger's insult to them when he refused to allow the rperesentatives for the people speak out against the sales tax. Stroger arrogantly appeared before reporters after boasting he's been doing a great job.

Yes, a great job at screwing the public, Todd!

Ray Hanania
www.OrlandParker.com

Hypocrisies abound on Cook County Board to silence Peraica's fight against the sales tax hike

You can listen to my podcast with Cook County Board Commissioner Anthony Tony Peraica on my audio podcast web page at www.TheMediaOasis.com/pointtopoint.htm. Peraica calls out Board President Todd Stroger who cut public discussion ont he oppressive sales tax he authored, which gives the City of Chicago the dubious honor of having the highest sales tax in the nation, 10.25 percent, and his colleagues for hypocrisy including Commissioners Larry Suffredin and Debra Sims, who said it's not the tax chasing people to buy in other counties, but public discussion about that tax that is pushing other counties to keep their taxes low to attract Cook County residents. (Commissioner Suffredin is dead wrong on this issue, although he has taken the appropriate pro-taxpayer stand on other issues. We agree with Peraica's assessment that Suffredin is being a hypocrite on the sales tax issues. Here is how one of Suffredin's supporters defended Suffredin's vote in favor of the sales tax increase, from the commissioner's web page.)

Also go to http://www.swnewsherald.com/ to read my column on the topic.

AND, view Ray Hanania's World comic strip on the fli-flopping at the Cook County Board on the Todd Stroger oppressive Sales Tax increase. Go there?

Ray Hanania
http://www.radiochicagoland.com/