Many who live in the Sauk Valley area might have read the column written by Austin Berg. Austinpointed out how our real estate taxesare spent oops, er, wasted.

Austin informs us of lavish salaries paid to some local government employees, courtesy of real estate taxes being assessed property owners. (The tax is also paid by those who rent, with property assessments passed on.)

Some workers, depending on thejob description, are earning as much as 60 percent more (often six figures) than those who are paying the taxes.

Other news: Lawmakers bank on bets to break a deadlock and help bail out the budget. Gambling? Soundcrazy? I agree with Anita Bedell, the director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems; gambling will create more problems than it will solve.

Chicagosactionsusually have an effect on those of us living outside the city. So when Mayor Emanual comments that President Trumps stand on immigration is un-American and doesnt represent Americasvalues, well, having a bankrupt city and state is also un-American!

And, to make matters worse, the mayor and others of like mind are fine with having the city designated as a sanctuary city for illegals. That ought to helpeveryones bottom line!

Im attempting to figure this all out. The city of Chicago and the state are underwater financially, real estate taxes are near unsustainable, and now, more gambling? The questionable horses of gambling and property taxes arent going to cross the line as the winner or to place, unless, of course, its a race to the bottom; Illinois has already won that race.

Illinois would be a good state to be from. Would the last person to leave please turn out the lights?

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Gambling will not fix state's many problems - SaukValley.com