For Larry Suffredin, it's not about keeping his word, it's all about sound bites. Like this one in defending his "Yea" vote for the budget.
"I've heard them say that for 30 years. I look downtown and only see cranes." - Larry Suffredin.
A budget weeks earlier Larry Suffredin said we didn't need. Remember when he said this....
"At this point, I see no need for any increase in taxes. I am opposed to a sales tax because it is regressive and adversely affects the poorest members of the community."- Larry Suffredin.So, which is it, Larry?
Blognotes: I'm not much on living in the past. Especially 30 years ago. I try to deal in real life, real time. Thirty years ago I was a teenager living on a farm. It's now 2008 and I live in your district.
But, if you want to look in the past, let's just look at the last 8 years, shall we? I see my fellow business owners moving, laying off, cutting back and going out of business. The new businesses I see opening up, 80% fail to stay open more than 2 years.
The only real development I see going up are over-priced luxury condos that aren't selling to well at the moment. I see fraud in our mortgage and loan system, which compounds the problem. I checked the records and it shows we've lost over a 1/2 million residents in Cook County since 2000. Read the papers or seen the news lately, Larry?
As for business, the only businesses I see moving in the city are the big money corporate types. You know, the type of businesses you lobby for as a side job. After all, isn't that how you got your nick-name Larry "the Lobbyist" Suffredin?
And when I finally get read the fine print on the deals the well connected "Pay-to-Play companies make, I find they're being lured, or a better term, bribed to come to the city with TIF money.
What world do you live in Larry Suffredin? Here's what a economist says what's happened from 2000 to 2005.
* The Chicago area economy continues to lag the U.S. economy. This follows a recession that hit the Chicago metropolitan area more severely than it hit the nation overall.Source.
* Annual data show that payroll employment declined -4.1 from 2000 to 2004, versus a -0.2 decline for the nation.
* But the declines in the pace of Chicago’s economic growth during the early years of this new century cause us to ask how much progress Chicago has really made.
As a small business owner, this is the last straw. My industry (publishing) has taken a major whack in the last year, and this will only make it worse. Take a look, Larry.
* Chicago Tribune to Cut 100 jobs by End of March.
* Chicago Sun-Times newsroom layoffs only just beginning.
* The Reader has new owners, now prints out of state.
* Time-Out Chicago Eliminates Six Positions - Cuts attributed to paper costs and uncertain economy.
And we all know about our local weekly paper. We almost lost that one too. Now our weekly newspaper's headquaters is located in Oak Park.
So, Larry, don't tell me businesses will not relocate. They already are. When my lease is up I'm going to find a near-by suburb to run my city publication from. In my industry, that seems to be the trend. This insane tax hits home, and now I think I'm going to have to find a new one. Thanks a lot, Larry.
42 comments:
Every one of these clowns has to be voted out next election.The "Toddler" keeps padding the County payroll with his friends and family plan at 100k+ salaries and none of the so-called commissioners will do a damn thing to stop it. So we chumps keep hearing all the shouting and fake outrage coming from the county building and all wedo is keep paying for this massive waste and fraud.
Cry, cry, Craig. Boo-hoo. Move already you homo.
Watch out if you buy one of these new River North condos. They promise you free assessments for the first couple of years then the 3rd year they hit you with $600 + monthly assessments. It only gets worse after that.
Don't move to Evanston. We're getting the shaft also.
I read the government wants buy up and restructure billions of dollars in delinquent mortgages. The home-building industry is pushing a plan to give $10,000 tax credits to buyers.
Craig, you've got a disposable income niche market. I doubt you'll have to close shop. You and your late father, (god rest his soul) have been around forever. I read the magazine every week. You and Stacy have done a fine job with his legacy. If you have to move to the suburbs, I'll still read.
Good. I'm glad they approved that tax hike. That's what all you starry eyed liberals get for continually voting in these Democraps. Anybody with an ounce of common sense could have seen at the last election what was going to happen yet you voted them into office.You get what you deserve and you deserve the likes of Sufferdin, Stroger, Daley, Moore, the list goes on and on. Year after year, election after election you vote these guys in simply because the are Democrats even though even Helen Keller could see that they are nothing but a bunch of thieves munching at the public trough. Keep voting for the Democraptic Machine every election. Pretty soon one will have to be a billionare just to afford a condo in this cesspool. I can't imagine what will happen when this you elect this Barak Hussein Obama fella into office.You reap what you sow!
It's not just businesses and residents, Craig. Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce officials think the increase in taxes on hotels, food and beverages will scare away major conventions and some restaurant managers agree. "We dropped a few conventions in '06, we lost a few more in '07, inevitably we'll drop more conventions," said Ditka's manager George Laftsidis.
Larry took the heat off JoMo today.
My industry (publishing) has taken a major whack in the last year, and this will only make it worse. Take a look, Larry.
It's called the Internet Craig.
And we thought Jomo was bad-
Lying Larry has him beat for the time being-
"make us sufferidin" doesnt realize that those crains were planned during a boom of housing, which is over, but the construction goes on.
"make us sufferidin" also doesnt understand that downtown is only a part of who will be affected by these steep taxes.
make the sufferidin go away!!
AMEN ... BigDaddy.
You speak the truth!
Parking taxes are going up next.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/821795,CST-NWS-county02s1.article
Oh, how could I forget that other major embarrassment to Illinois, lil Dick "The Turban" Durban. Another reason the state of Illinois is the laughing stock of the nation!
Hey Craig, I got an idea. Why don't you start sucking up to these thieves like your buddy Jimmy.
Speaking of businesses that closed. What happened to the Pet Shop on Morse that took over the spot Sweet Occasions left behind? That location must be jinxed.
Bank One's exit from Chicago in 2004 hurt me bad.
If Larry thinks we needed to raise taxes, then I'm all for it.
I recently had to lay off 5 workers due to the lack of work. Business is so bad I'm looking for a 6 figure do nothin' county job.
If you show just the slight bit of being a conservative in this 'hood' you get labeled by Congresswoman Jan and her mob of lakefront liberals as right wing or racist or worse, republican. Who needs that?
I've had my 2 br. condo on the market for over a year. Started at 239K. Just had a offer last week for 165K. It was a major bite. But I took the offer.
Cook County Vehicle TAX stickers are on the way, Huge increases in all parking fees and amusement fees to name a few. Go liberals go!! Want to get really screwed vote Obama Total democratic.
On my income, by the time the Morse Theater opens I won't be able to afford to go there.
If the county wants stickers, fine. I just won't buy them.
I haven't bought a city sticker in years.
Screw 'em.
Should I get a ticket, I'm still saving money, over the long haul.
As for Obama ..., should he get the White House, he'll bring his Illinois politics with him. The entire country will suffer like us.
We're all fools for allowing these morons to rule.
I hope this tax hits the poor the hardest since they voted this jerk into office. They wanted to dance the tax dance, now the piper wants to be paid.
The estimates of revenue generated by this tax increase are way over inflated. Just look back at the mistakes made by Cook County regarding the cigarette tax increase. They ended up with a large shortfall because of the bungled estimate. This will be no different. I know that I will buy larger items outside of Cook County to avoid the tax. And I am sure that many others will do the same. Also, all they have been given is another "bonus' so that they can continue and increase their haphazard spending. Money will continue to bleed from the inefficient system. They will be asking for more in 2010. If you purchase a $20,000 car in Cook County, you will pay $200.00 more. And that is on top of the wheel take of another $175.00 on the same vehicle. Taxation on taxation. Make sure that you remember all of these things when it comes time to elect commissioners and the Board President in 2010. And Larry Suffredin and Todd Stoger should be the main targets.
I recently got my property tax bill... I can't believe how much it's gone up. I can't take anymore taxes. I'm going to have to sell my house I've lived in for 35 years.
We're all drones to the Imperial Empire. The force is not with us.
We're all drones to the Imperial Empire. The force is not with us.
Whoever said that it was the "poor" who voted Suffredin into office.... pleeeeeeeease, already!
The people who keep voting these machine stooges back in are the middle and working classes of Chicago, including the clueless, politically non-engaged denizens of the outer neighborhoods, who, almost down to the last voter, wholeheartedly approve of their masters' graft, theft, payroll-padding, monument-building, and welfare grants of hundreds of millions of dollars to corporations.
These folks love all the pomp and importance of stuff like the Olympics and the toilet bowl atop Soldier's field and all the other "gimmes" for the rich and positioned that nobody who makes less than $250K a year can afford. They can't come near being able to take their own brats to Sox Park, but they nevertheless take pride in the amount of money the city and county toss on these things because these things "bring money in", mostly to people who are already worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Rogers Park and Edgewater are among a handful of wards with citizens that are in any manner politically engaged. The rest of the middle-class non-citizens of this city are sheep, human ballast who will keep on showering adulation and votes on Daly, Suffredin, and, yes, the Toddler.
The relatively tiny minority that pays attention doesn't weigh much against all that.
To one other poster, Banc One did not "exit" Chicago.
It is still here. It was bought by Chase Bank, whose branches are proliferating like weeds.
Wonder how many of those newly opened branches will be shuttered not only as result of the rising cost of doing business in the city, but as a result of the bloodbath in the credit markets.
I will do my best to avoid spending any money in Chicago, especially on big-ticket items. Sure, doing a grand shopping day on Michigan Ave is fun, but when the stores are all chain stores anyhow, why not just go to Old Orchard or another mall that has the same merchandise for a cheaper price?
Too bad Chicago won't get a cent of my Bush rebate this spring!!!!!
Too bad Lying Larry only sees cranes- Cranes aren't a good sign for low income-
Polticians -Yes
Cook County can't afford this tax hike yet Lyin' Larry thinks it does.
The property, transaction, sales, and other taxes mean we will all have less money to allocate to all the things our masters want us to become debt-slaves to purchase...
...like property, for example. No matter how little I was willing or able to spend on a home until now, I can spend still less now. A place that was manageable at the price seems less so now, especially since property taxes have a way of escalating faster than rents. In fact, they are the biggest factor in making rents increasingly unaffordable to the working poor.
Another thing that is totally off the table is forming any kind of business that means getting a business license in Chicago, or renting space. Commercial property taxes are death duties, and the city is hellish for business people to deal with in terms of harassment and obstruction from city inspectors, local officials, and the neighborhood residents. I have a friend who can never again obtain a business license within the City of Chicago, because of a minor complaint from ONE customer in 10 years, whose brother just happened to be a city attorney.
Who needs the obstruction, fees, taxation, and other hell just to have some neighborhood thug smash your plate glass in the night?
People, don't forget that we are talking about the Cook County Board. If you decide to make your purchases reflect your disgust with all of this remember to shop OUTSIDE of Cook County, not just Chicago. Old Orchard is still in Cook County. Go to one of the neighboring counties like Lake or DuPage especially for big ticket items. I know thats what I will be doing.
Now when I go to Family Dollar with 10 bucks, I'll only be able to buy 9 items.
Lying Larry is just working his way up through the corrupted system. Or at least, he’s trying to.
It never ceases to amaze how truly dumb politicians are. 1) The U.S. is in recession territory which means that spending will be down period the end. You can increase sales taxes all you want but if people are buying less. . .
2) whatever I wasn't buying on the internet, out of state, I now will. By and large, excepting for local entertainment and dining, it is almost too easy for most people to ease around the increase. It takes about 20 mins. to get to Highland Park where the sales tax is 7.5%. I bet Charlie starts shopping in IN where it looks like the tax rate is about 6%.
I'll just say one thing. I represent commercial developers in the region, and many wouldn't touch Cook County (before this insane tax increase), though some managed to make the numbers work because of population. This move tilts the scales against future investment in Cook County. I am fortunate to live in a Cook County community near the DuPage border...guess where I'm doing my shopping. And further guess where new development, jobs, and retail sales will be directed - anywhere but Cook County. Great job guys - many of us have the "yes" votes identified on a slip of paper as a quick reminder in case any of you have plans to run for higher office. Great job in further setting back the future development of our county - dopes.
Post a Comment