Dire_Wolf
2013-04-27 07:27:20 UTC
Some of his stats are off, but you can agree with most of his
statements.
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2011/03/20/roger-keats-says-good-bye-to-crook-county-illinois/
Former State Senator and Republican Cook County Board President
candidate Roger Keats and his wife Tina are leaving Illinois to live
in Texas . They bid farewell to their Illinois friends with the
following letter.
Dear friends,
As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye and wish all of
you well. I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of "The Land
of Lincoln " state.
After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart. But enough is
enough. The leaders of Illinois refuse to see we can't continue going
in the direction we are and expect people who have options to stay
here.
I remember when Illinois had 25 congressmen. In 2012 we will have 18.
Compared to the rest of the country we have lost 1/4th of our
population. Don't blame the weather, because most of us love the 4
beautiful seasons of Illinois .
Illinois just sold still more bonds, and our credit rating is so bad
we pay higher interest rates than junk bonds. Junk Bonds!
Illinois is ranked:
50th for fiscal policy
47th in job creation
1st in unfunded pension liabilities
2nd largest budget deficit
1st in failing schools
1st in bonded indebtedness
Highest sales tax in the nation
Most judges indicted (Operations Greylord and Gambat)
Five of our last 9 elected governors have been indicted. That is more
than the other 49 states added together! Then add 32 Chicago Aldermen
and (according to the Chicago Tribune) over 1,000 state and municipal
employees indicted.
The corruption tax is a real cost of doing business. We are the butt
of jokes for stand-up comics. We live in the most corrupt big city, in
the most corrupt big county, in the most corrupt state in America . I
am sick and tired of subsidizing crooks. A day rarely passes without
an article about the corruption and incompetence. Chicago even got
caught rigging the tests to hire policemen and firemen!
Our Crook County corporate tax system is intentionally corrupt. The
Democrat State Chairman, who is also the Speaker of the Illinois House
(Speaker Mike Madigan), and the most senior alderman in Chicago, each
make well over a million dollars a year putting the fix in for their
clients tax assessments.
Cook County 's property tax system is a disaster: The assessed value
of our Chicago home was 50% higher than the sale price. Our home value
is down 40%, our property taxes are up 20%, and our local schools have
still another referendum on the ballot to increase taxes more than 20%
next year.
The Illinois system is unfair and incompetent. In the Hill Country of
Texas (near Austin and San Antonio ) we bought a gracious home on
almost 2 acres with a swimming pool. It is new, will cost us around
40% of what our home in Wilmette just sold for, and the property taxes
are a third of what they are here.
We are moving to Texas where there is no income tax, while Illinois
just went up 67%. Texas sales tax is half of ours, which is the
highest in the nation. Southern states are supportive of job
producers, taxpayers and folks who offer opportunities to their
residents. Illinois shakes them down for every penny that can be
extorted from them.
I could go on, but enough is enough. I feel as if we are standing on
the deck of the Titanic and I can see the icebergs right in front of
us.
I will miss our friends a great deal. I have called Illinois home for
essentially my entire life. But it is time to go where there is
honest, competent, and cost effective government. We have chosen to
vote with our feet and our wallets.
Our best wishes to all of you.
Cordially,
Roger and Tina Keats
statements.
http://mchenrycountyblog.com/2011/03/20/roger-keats-says-good-bye-to-crook-county-illinois/
Former State Senator and Republican Cook County Board President
candidate Roger Keats and his wife Tina are leaving Illinois to live
in Texas . They bid farewell to their Illinois friends with the
following letter.
Dear friends,
As we leave Illinois for good, I wanted to say goodbye and wish all of
you well. I am a lifelong son of the heartland and proud of "The Land
of Lincoln " state.
After 60 years, I leave Illinois with a heavy heart. But enough is
enough. The leaders of Illinois refuse to see we can't continue going
in the direction we are and expect people who have options to stay
here.
I remember when Illinois had 25 congressmen. In 2012 we will have 18.
Compared to the rest of the country we have lost 1/4th of our
population. Don't blame the weather, because most of us love the 4
beautiful seasons of Illinois .
Illinois just sold still more bonds, and our credit rating is so bad
we pay higher interest rates than junk bonds. Junk Bonds!
Illinois is ranked:
50th for fiscal policy
47th in job creation
1st in unfunded pension liabilities
2nd largest budget deficit
1st in failing schools
1st in bonded indebtedness
Highest sales tax in the nation
Most judges indicted (Operations Greylord and Gambat)
Five of our last 9 elected governors have been indicted. That is more
than the other 49 states added together! Then add 32 Chicago Aldermen
and (according to the Chicago Tribune) over 1,000 state and municipal
employees indicted.
The corruption tax is a real cost of doing business. We are the butt
of jokes for stand-up comics. We live in the most corrupt big city, in
the most corrupt big county, in the most corrupt state in America . I
am sick and tired of subsidizing crooks. A day rarely passes without
an article about the corruption and incompetence. Chicago even got
caught rigging the tests to hire policemen and firemen!
Our Crook County corporate tax system is intentionally corrupt. The
Democrat State Chairman, who is also the Speaker of the Illinois House
(Speaker Mike Madigan), and the most senior alderman in Chicago, each
make well over a million dollars a year putting the fix in for their
clients tax assessments.
Cook County 's property tax system is a disaster: The assessed value
of our Chicago home was 50% higher than the sale price. Our home value
is down 40%, our property taxes are up 20%, and our local schools have
still another referendum on the ballot to increase taxes more than 20%
next year.
The Illinois system is unfair and incompetent. In the Hill Country of
Texas (near Austin and San Antonio ) we bought a gracious home on
almost 2 acres with a swimming pool. It is new, will cost us around
40% of what our home in Wilmette just sold for, and the property taxes
are a third of what they are here.
We are moving to Texas where there is no income tax, while Illinois
just went up 67%. Texas sales tax is half of ours, which is the
highest in the nation. Southern states are supportive of job
producers, taxpayers and folks who offer opportunities to their
residents. Illinois shakes them down for every penny that can be
extorted from them.
I could go on, but enough is enough. I feel as if we are standing on
the deck of the Titanic and I can see the icebergs right in front of
us.
I will miss our friends a great deal. I have called Illinois home for
essentially my entire life. But it is time to go where there is
honest, competent, and cost effective government. We have chosen to
vote with our feet and our wallets.
Our best wishes to all of you.
Cordially,
Roger and Tina Keats