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Mari Harrer May 29, 2013 at 01:35 am
Mari: No need for 401 plans, just look to the Ill. Municipal Retirement Fund, an employees plan. It…Read More is not run by the state government and it is solvent.
D.DouglasThomas June 2, 2013 at 08:55 am
Let's send the naper patch comments to Darlene Senger..think she might take a minute to "read…Read More them" and do something instead of doing nuthing!
Grumpy Old Man June 4, 2013 at 06:55 am
I agree with Butch on control of pensions. I do not agree however that any state employee, other…Read More than first responders, should be receiving a public pension, or in the case of Boss Daley and others of his ilk, multiple public pensions. The vast majority of Americans enjoy Social Security as their primary pension and if they are smart, IRA or 401(K) plans. I could support a public employee 401(k) plan so long as it was primarily paid by the employee contributions with fixed government contributions with no COLA increases out of the public treasury, but privately invested. Obviously the current problem involves current obligations which can't be eliminated but there is no good reason to maintain this public pension system for future specially privileged employees, most of whom have jobs which are protected from at will termination (unlike the vast majority of American workers who have no such protection). If the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund is a satisfactory alternative great. The granting of pensions to public officials, appointed or elected is a travesty and must be ended. And, although I've always in the past opposed it, I think that it is time for term limits. Especially for the Mayor of Chicago.
Steve Lobber May 26, 2013 at 02:19 am
Maybe not everyone needs to go to college. A plumber will make more money than a college graduate…Read More with a degree in Ancient French Literature. Potential students need to weigh the pros and cons about taking out a student loan for a degree program that does not offer much of a chance to obtain a job with that degree.
Dan May 25, 2013 at 02:11 pm
Shared sacrifice should included those blessed with substantial pension income to pay state taxes…Read More like the rest of us do. Why should the 10,000 individuals that earn over $100,000 in pension income from a former government job receive this income tax free? We need a progressive pension tax to correct this tax loophole.
Johnson H. May 28, 2013 at 10:56 am
Your shared sacrifice should not include the public employee who has faithfully paid into the…Read More pension system that the politicians set up. The politicians now want to force the public employee to pay more, and the taxpayer to pay more for the states mistakes. Shared sacrifice my A$$... The only sacrifice that should be happening is the politicians give up their pay for the next 10 years to pay for the mess they created by not paying/delaying payments into a system that would have been in good shape if they had payed in to begin with. The politicians made this mess, by skipping payments, setting re-payment schedule @ 50 years with balloon payments and now they want to cry broke and walk away from their obligations. That is horrible. Take a look at what Mayor Rahm is doing in Chicago. Closing schools because he is crying broke, now he is proposing a new $50Million stadium to be built for DePaul. As I have said before "The rich get richer and the poor get screwed" Go into politics and you can become part of the elite in this country and screw everyone else. !
Grumpy Old Man June 4, 2013 at 06:24 am
Dan, right on and the first overly paid pensioner is Boss Daley who I understand collects more than…Read More one. I have yet to understand how there are more than one pension plans. I don't believe in any public employee pensions save for first responders and I definitely do not believe that the public office holders, e.g., Mayors, aldermen, state senators and representatives, Governors, Lt. Governors, Comptrollers, State Treasurers or elected officials at the county and local level should receive one penny in public pensions. Until some common sense takes over Illinois all of these separate governmental pensions should be rolled into one and no one entitled to more than one pension check. If that requires amending the state constitution and getting rid of home rule so be it.
Seriously? May 29, 2013 at 03:31 pm
Is this still happening? The Fire Marshall just dropped off an alert stating that Sky Lanterns are…Read More now on Illinois' "Prohibited Consumer Fireworks" list. http://www.sfm.illinois.gov/documents/APPROVED%20AND%20PROHIBITED%20FIREWORKS%20-%20Revised%2005-22-2013.pdf
Susan Bishop May 21, 2013 at 05:43 pm
Honey I'm so proud of you. "We" have come a long way but yet a ways to go. I so can't wait…Read More till June 1st. To be able a family as a whole....to be together. .. to heal ... to ....remember and love life. AND spread the love. To help and hope that David's death will help just one so it won't be in vain.
Courtney Eddy Nixon May 21, 2013 at 06:57 pm
Wow! This blog has touched me in so many ways!! I was one of the many friends that placed a rose on…Read More David. We were classmates and friends for years. I still am in shock when I go to class reunions and cornfest and don't see him next to us where he belongs. two years later after we lost David, I also lost my own brother he was only 27,with a whole life ahead of him. I never really had the chance to morn my brothers death. I did all the planning for his funeral cause it was to hard on my parents, that week is when I really became an adult!! To this day I can't talk about him with my family cause I can tell it hurts them to much. Thank you for writing this, I now know I'm not alone out there
Susan Bishop May 23, 2013 at 08:45 pm
I hope you will be able to come to the festival Courtney. I think it wiuld benefit your parents…Read More also. :-)
Grumpy Old Man June 4, 2013 at 07:25 am
This bill will not save the life of a single person. Oh, I know, someone will trot out some…Read More "statistic" to prove it will. Just like the Chicago Gun Ban saved 1000 lives over a period of 10 - 15 years. Right. More statistical nonsense. The majority of deaths in America is from gang bangers in the inner cities using handguns and who fire a few rounds, not from nutjobs like Lanza with their imitation assault rifles (which are not since they can't fire on fully automatic). Sorry, that's just a fact. I know gun grabbers don't want to be confused with the facts. The story on Lanza having to reload his 30 round magazine assumes that if he had a ten round limit he wouldn't have been able to kill more. Really? The limit would work, I suppose, if he was confronted by someone with a weapon, but with time on his hands he could reload at will. I really can't understand how we won WWII using the M1, a semi automatic rifle clip fed with an 8 round capacity. Oh, I know that the artillery won the war, but the M1 was the principal weapon issued to American troops. Oh well, the gun grabbers (and let's be frank, these gun controllers are really nothing but gun grabbers in sheep's clothing) can stand on their graves and rant and rant. By the way, I have no problem with background checks and severe penalties for straw purchasers. Registration is the usual resort by the gun grabbers so that they can come and get em when the time is right. Yeah, I'm "paranoid"! I have nothing but sympathy for the families of the children who were murdered by Lanza. However, their loss does not make them experts on urban violence. And there is no such thing as gun violence, the left's term to de-sensitize us from individual responsibility and blame the "gun." There are individuals who use guns to commit crimes, including murder. I have no problems with laws which regulate conduct of individuals which are strictly (but impartially and fairly) enforced. But silly laws that avoid the problem and criminalize law abiding citizens are not worthy of this society.
Frank Palmer June 18, 2013 at 02:05 pm
Canada, with more gun controls, somehow has fewer shootings per capita. We see a lot of people…Read More assuring us that there is no connection between the two.
ALLEN CALVIN SR May 26, 2013 at 01:20 pm
I didn't know that your ability to say "ALAKAZAM" was so crucial to the success of this…Read More trick.
Susan Milewski May 19, 2013 at 04:24 pm
The sad reality is a woman's value in our society is based mainly upon her being physically…Read More attractive. This is nothing new and the pressure was much worse " back then " when a divorced woman was delegated to the typing pool or hatcheck girl, unless she was able to reel in a wealthy suitor by dazzling him with her beauty. To be divorced was to be scorned and living in near poverty.
I am bringing this up in my comment so you may have an idea of what life may have been like for mom and her inability to be a healthy role model for her own daughter.
The pressure to fit in to society's rigid definition of what constitutes beauty was based upon commercial interests and still is. Ask any woman of color how it feels to have their ethnic beauty defined by mainly white corporate interests who have a financial stake in selling creams to lighten darker skin or straighten curly hair because they have defined ethnic beauty as white features with darker skin.
The daughter of mom #1 needs to overcome her own pain in a group setting where she will find many other woman with similiar stories. Perhaps she can move beyond her pain to speak out against silly beauty pagents and tanning salons and other enterprises meant to make money off of insecure women, even if it means endangering their health.
She needs to know that beauty and attractiveness is a cultural matter pumped up in the US by commercial interests and packaged to make women feel ashamed of their physical self so they spend.
Denise Williams May 20, 2013 at 01:31 am
Susan, I don't disagree with anything you've said. As an adult, daughter #1 has accepted herself…Read More physically, but the real damage done to her was the message of un attractiveness based on the personality her mother said she inherited from the hated ex-husband. That message was much more insidious and much harder to unlearn.
Both daughters have grown into accomplished and wonderful women despite their mothers best efforts. I wrote this for them, knowing how many people out there have at best conflicted memories and a hard time dealing with the social pressure to 'celebrate' their mothers.
Denise Williams May 20, 2013 at 01:46 am
Daughter #1 is still very overweight and does not care about that, which is good except for the…Read More health problems she is now dealing with due to a lifetime of obesity. The real shame is she was taught she wasn't of enough value to be worthy of the effort of even basic grooming.
I too wish we lived in a world that didn't judge based on physical attractiveness, but we do. But this wasn't about being pretty enough, it was about being valued. And about still being pressured to honor a woman who cared for herself at her daughters' life long emotional expense.
John Wayne May 20, 2013 at 03:24 pm
The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability is nothing more than a left wing fascist organization.…Read More
Those who support progressive taxation pretend to be on the moral high ground but, in fact, they have no ground to stand on. Envy, not justice, is at the root of the argument for discriminatory taxation. That is why those who most strongly advocate progressive taxation are in favor of the welfare state. If we are to restore civil society and move from tax socialism to tax justice, we need to abolish progressive taxation, institute a fair flat tax and limit the size of government. Otherwise, class warfare and welfare will prevail.
PaulRevere May 20, 2013 at 06:05 pm
"tax expenditures" needs clarification.
States are "non profit ventures".…Read More Therefore , states cannot have any expense called "tax expenditures". People and For profit businesses have "tax expenditures". Those are "tax revenues" to the states.
States have "REVENUES" and "SERVICES SPENDINGS".
A potential Tax revenue cannot be "spent". To label any less tax revenue as an expense is absurd. Why? Because that would suggest a 6% corporation state Tax rate really means 94% more Taxes could have been collected. Is that a Tax expenditure?
Only liberals would label 100% of anyone's income as "tax revenue" to be called "tax expenditure" for any % not taxed. "STATE TAX REVENUE". Whatever is left for the taxpayer to keep is therefore a "tax expenditure" to the State. LOL! You guys running our Govt have warped minds.
Just try to get those "tax expenditures" as revenue and watch the businesses close shop. When will you admit the real problems of "Highly overpaid Govt Public employees". They are the ones creating an undue "TAX EXPENDITURE" on every living Person.
Glenn Brooks May 22, 2013 at 03:28 am
We can't Reboot because the system file is corrupted. I/O error.
Grumpy Old Man May 20, 2013 at 05:37 pm
Unfortunately some of the inspiration were some of the most divisive comments I've seen on Patch…Read More outside of and including the Sunday cartoon. Just look at the one on Long Journey to change minds and the article about the pit bull rescuer. I'm not sure that this was the type of inpiration that Grape Nuts intended.
Jason Akai May 21, 2013 at 10:58 am
GOM - you're right. The worst part of the Patch is comments. You find me a feel good patch…Read More article, and I will show you a list of people who are angry about it. People just like to vent, I suppose. Its easier to do behind an anon name.
Tawny Quinn May 23, 2013 at 04:06 pm
Why is there anything wrong with the way this woman is living her life? That's great for her if she…Read More can retire at 50, and if her story can help others in a similar lifestyle situation, that's great too. I do agree retirement at 50 is a lot easier with no children though. Those of us who have children obviously have different interests and priorities (I said different not better), and as a result have to make different choices...and probably can't retire at 50, lol. We all have to deal with the choices we make!
Herc May 16, 2013 at 06:34 pm
Well if they don't I'm sure the Obama Administration will vote for them!
David Deegan May 16, 2013 at 06:37 pm
More illegal aliens coming in for free Obamacare (If only these were Bush jokes...or about Sarah…Read More Palin's kids, those never get old)
Resurrected May 17, 2013 at 11:35 pm
When are people going to grow up and learn there's no such thing as UFO's or extraterrestrial…Read More beings!
Maori Tuakana May 19, 2013 at 09:50 pm
That totally IS a burger, & it sounds awesome! I keep mine simple. I use more of an 85% ratio,…Read More on a half pound patty. Once finished, the stacking is simple. Two slices of American Cheese, Habanero Pepper Sauce (Marie Sharps or Melinda's), Grilled White Onion Slice (about 1/2 inch & whole slice intact), Mustard, Mayo (not Salad Dressing), & that's all. Of course the type of bun is up to you. I use a Gonnella Gourmet Bun.
Maori Tuakana May 19, 2013 at 09:51 pm
Now that's a great idea! I was told to use Italian Sausage, but this sounds like a winner.
Kibitzer May 16, 2013 at 01:48 am
Of course things are going to get worse. I tell people that all the time. They listen politely and…Read More then go their way. No one believes we are in a economic sink hole. I look for the Rapture of Christ's people and once that happens, all hell will break loose. Don't know what the "Rapture" is about? Check out "Rapture Alert.com". It totally breaks my heart for those in denial. About the economy, and the Lord Jesus.
Wheaton Watcher May 17, 2013 at 11:04 pm
Yep. I guess that explains the economic growth and the jobs the economy has been adding the last 4…Read More years.
David Vancina May 14, 2013 at 03:14 am
"An essential component of IVS’ success is our highly qualified, Illinois licensed…Read More teachers facilitating each course."
Really? Parents who home school have been achieving this kind of success for a long time. For anyone who's interested, http://www.hslda.org is a great place to learn more.
Edea Krammer May 22, 2013 at 11:35 am
Points taken! I have to say that my greatest advice is curtailed the things that aren't important…Read More and get the best videographer, DJ or a Band, and photographer that you can bear. A month after your wedding no one is set to recollect your centerpieces, your veggie platter, your flowers or your cake. What they will recall is whether they had an incredible time with the DJ that you picked, and when they see the wedding photographs with an astounding work your photo artist did!
www.timgunther.com
Carol Lynn Grant-Strathmann May 23, 2013 at 10:25 pm
So much to plan for just with pictures alone! Thanks for all the tips.
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