"IL NOW A JOKE TO INDIANA"

http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/3262506-522/illinois-indiana-daniels-chicago-leaders.html

(Phil Kadner wrote this today:





Mitch Daniels is having a good time making fun of Illinois.

Daniels is not a performer on “Saturday Night Live” or a stand-up comic.

He’s the Republican governor of Indiana. That’s the home of fecal greaseballs, Hoosiers and hicks.

Well, that’s the way people in these parts used to look at Indiana before their co-workers, friends and relatives started moving there for a better standard of living.

On Tuesday, Daniels appears on WLS-AM Radio’s “Don Wade and Roma” show and compared living near Illinois to being neighbors of the Simpsons. You know, it’s like living down the block from that goofy family that’s always doing something bizarre and completely wacky, he said.

Earlier, in interviews with Indiana newspapers, Daniels said he was looking forward to Illinois passing its income tax increase.

“We already had an edge on Illinois in terms of the cost of doing business, and this is going to make it significantly wider,” he said.

You could almost hear him tittering, “Hee, hee, hee.”

In his six years in office, Daniels has cut the state budget and eliminated government programs, avoiding tax hikes.

I’ve written previously about the gleeful manner in which Indiana business leaders and public officials view the zany behavior of Illinois politicians.

Many years ago, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley took passenger fees collected at Chicago airports and handed that money to Indiana for development of the Gary/Chicago International Airport.

Those millions of dollars could have been used to develop a south suburban airport near Peotone, creating construction jobs for local residents, but that was exactly what Daley didn’t want.

When former Republican governor Jim Edgar implied he was going to use that money to build a new Illinois airport, Daley protected his Chicago airports by funding the Indiana airport that he felt would never actually compete with Midway and O’Hare.

Daley was right. Southland political leaders, with the exception of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-2nd), of Chicago, didn’t even squawk.

When Illinois launched its riverboat casinos, it conveniently neglected locating one near the Illinois-Indiana border. As a result, the parking lots of casinos in Gary and Hammond are full of vehicles with Illinois license plates, while tour buses loaded with senior citizens from the Land of Lincoln drop off their passengers.

But the biggest boom to Indiana’s growth may be the property tax situation in Illinois. As this state refused to sufficiently fund the public schools, local property taxes soared to do so.

Young people seeking to buy their first house were priced out of the market. Businesses, watching their profit margins erode, moved to Indiana.

And during this entire time, the Illinois budget crumbled. This state has about $6 billion in unpaid bills and a pension debt so large the numbers are hard to grasp.

That’s bad publicity for Illinois and good news for Indiana.

Added to all that crazy behavior the corrupt administrations of two governors, and this state does look like its being run by some out-of-control cartoon characters.

None of that seems to register with our leaders in Springfield, who seem to have no idea how badly they’ve screwed up the image of this state.

The governor of Indiana thinks Illinois is a joke.

During Tuesday’s radio show, Daniels seemed to realize at one point how cruel he sounded, sort of like the rich kid in the mansion laughing at the poor boy with holes in his jeans.

So he said it’s never a good thing to see your neighbors in serious financial trouble and expressed some hope that there will be better times ahead for Illinois and Wisconsin (snicker, snicker).

Some people point at the tax burden as the biggest problem in Illinois. But it isn’t.

The real problem is that our leaders, who fancy themselves kingmakers and wheeler-dealers, are a joke.

Every time they try to solve a problem, they create an even bigger one. And it’s always someone else’s fault.

In the words of Homer Simpson, “Operator, give me the number for 911.”

Wow, (I'm stranded without a car today, so I'm bored!)

I clicked on the Drudge Report and then clicked on the topic where the Demobrats raised the income tax rate. Those who are making $50,000 a year are used to paying $1,500.00. They will now be paying $2,500.00.

Corporations are being taxed at 50%. Anyway, after clicking on the link, the comments were expected, but still surprised me!



Most of the comments (CBS News is where the link goes to) shows that some are moving their businesses out of state. Residents are moving out of state. Then what's left?

Who will pay those poor politicians...who depend on the taxpayers' to support them?

No inkling in the article about how the legislatures are going to tighten their belts, cut budgets, etc.

Wow, talk about taxation without representation!

Thought Blago was bad...this Quinn is a spineless idiot.

He's not really the governor, though. Cullterton and Madigan rule the roost.

The worse thing is...they won't gain a dime. How can say, a family of 4 or 5 that make $50,000 a year, ever keep up with the rise in insurance, the increase in property taxes, and now a portion of their paycheck is shrinking ever more.

This is an opportunity for Indiana to make a pitch for Industrial Parks, etc.

What surprised me in the above article was that Daley gave Gary Airport all that money. I never knew that. What the hell did they do with that money?

It's still sitting there like an empty parking lot.

It should be a cargo hub.

I get the impression Daniels' just doesn't give a damn about where the money goes in Lake County. Like Rudy Clay collecting two paychecks. Driving a hummer because the mayor KING had something similar, as he stated justifies it.

In California, they just ripped away the cell phones, from everyone in the state that works for the state.

Start there...then the gas and cars to drive one or two miles to work.

Ramblin' on!

Wow, anybody watching the news?

Channel 2 CBS interviewed employers in Chicago.

They are moving out.

It's critical. They already layed off people, but now this hike in tax.

If Indiana had any brains, the gov, especially, if I were him, I'd be out there publicizing the tax breaks here.

Wow, just like I predicted...people moving out of that state and corporatios seeking the best state to relocate to.

What a dumb demobrat they got. Vote the same party in and out.

Maybe Blago was right: Corruption happens, shitz happens. but you won't find anyone different than me!

Indiana better take advantage of this crop of crap from IL.

Not a peep, yet this article would draw out the puppets elsewhere. Maybe I should send it to Kinsling?

Indiana doesn't have the office space to handle these IL office companies. Hopefully they can convince some industry to cross state line. Our housing stock can compete, but are the IL homeowners going to be able to sell there homes before they move here? It will be interesting to see how this all unfolds.

Those that can, will relocate outside of IL.

My bro and sis-in-law bought a new house 8 or so years ago. Three houses in their court are in foreclosure.

Because one homeowner a block away couldn't get a lower interest rate from the bank, he ripped out all the copper, A/C, furnace, and is residing in Indiana somewhere.

Because of dad's health, they are going to stay until he is better...but plan on moving down to Texas by her sister. My youngest sister is planning to move to Florida after the last kid leaves for college in 5 years.

My two nephews are moving to Texas and they own houses.

They are willing to sell it at whatever, just to get the hell out of IL.

Won't have any relatives living in IL after that.

There are empty industrial parks by my bro's house in nearby New Lenox. A lot of them are vacant between there and Bolingbrook.

I don't know why they don't have industrail parks somewhere in Hammond, are do they?

That's what Gary, IN should do...make the whole city an industrial park, with all the houses and buildings that need to be shot down, the convenience of the railroad/airport hub...

Am I dreaming?

They blame the boats for their dismal problems. My question is, with the guy who owns the Majestic I and II, he also has two other boats in Tunica, MS and some other state, all four are in bankruptcy, so what would Gary have done anyway, if those boats didn't exist?

Nothing changed while they were getting paid. Nothing will ever change with a new mayor unless she/he is not a crook like Clay. They are a liability to the state, they should just bull-doze it and make it a giant industrial park.