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Bruno,

This is Mary, the retired school teacher that talked to you on air just now.  I was a public school teacher for 26 yrs. in _____.  I am now retired, and yes, I have a very nice pension.  (BTW some districts pay into the pension fund (TRS) for their staff and other districts don't. I was a union rep. at both _____ local. Believe you me at some meetings I felt like I was at a solidarity cell meeting of the former soviet empire! Most are very socialistic in their thinking.  It all depends upon the union contract.)

Ironically, this just appeared in today's Wall Street Journal...

Jersey School Scam
Wall Street Journal (Subscription Required)

The last thing people want to hear in a high-tax state notorious for political corruption is that their tax dollars are being mismanaged. But according to a two-year probe of school superintendents by New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation, that's exactly what's going on in Tony Soprano country. No wonder there's a property-tax rebellion brewing there as in many places around the country.

The report -- "Taxpayers Beware: What You Don't Know Can Cost You" -- sampled 71 of New Jersey's more than 600 school districts and found a pattern of "questionable and excessive" practices that included boosting salaries and padding pensions surreptitiously and in ways that have cost unsuspecting taxpayers millions of dollars. A school chief in Ocean County was paid nearly $350,000, or 65% more than he reported to the Department of Education. A Camden official received $223,000, which included $43,000 in undisclosed bonuses, car expenses and an annuity. And a Bergen County superintendent received more than a half-million dollars in extra pay for unused sick time and other benefits.

...

By the way, those absurd superintendent contracts were negotiated by school board members chosen in elections held in April, when no one votes. "If you think the superintendent contracts are bad," says Gregg Edwards, a former school board member who now runs New Jersey's Center for Policy Research, "wait until you get into the teachers contracts. And it's not just the money. It's the work rules."

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2007 Contract negotiations, here we come. No worries now, folks. We've got LOADs of cash!

Well, it appears that the people have spoken, and they want to continue the status quo of funding a bureaucracy and pretending it is for their kids.

Oh well.

As G. B. Shaw said, "The government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul." Of course, outspending your opponents 23:1 doesn't hurt either.

So it goes in Illinois. A parental rubber stamp for "business as usual" and the choice between which gubernatorial candidate is more corrupt.

Life goes on.

Thanks to all those who expressed their support.

This post origanally appeared on March 8th. A River Forest mom took me to task on my views, and we got a good conversation going. I thought I'd share it with all of you by posting it "above the fold."

For the discussion/debate, click the "Comments" link.
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I received this e-mail yesterday...

Just happened across this site.

Just curious, Bruno, what is your experience in the classroom? Are you a teacher - former teacher? Is your experience in private schools, public schools? What credentials, official or unofficial, do you possess that make you an expert in education?

Pop

This was my reply. I typed it up fast, so forgive the lack of my usual standard of brilliant articulation. I felt that editing it before posting would be unfair. For website purposes, however, I did bold certain sentences.
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Pop,

Good question. Here are my credentials...

1. I'm a parent of a 15 year-old human being. I see what goes on in schools. I see what I went through in schools and I compare over the years. I have the same allocation of common sense as the average human being, and unlike most suburbanites who buy the "money = education" nonsense, I actually use my common sense.

2. I'm a highly educated member of the intellectual class. I've read Kohn, Friedman, Kozol, Sykes, Pinker, etc etc etc. I'm easily over 30-40 books on Education. I'm a licensed attorney that understands how legislation is written. I'm experienced with the political process by which interest groups purchase legislators and legislation.

3. I'm pretty good at economics too. When real spending has been climbing for over 40 years while results have been falling, I tend use my common sense, and realize that something is wrong. Applying my common sense to my knowledge of the the political process, I do some research and discover what the problems are. The problem is an unaccountable politically protected monopoly that is bankrupting the nation while mis-educating its most precious resource.

4. I reject the false "credentialism" of the protected education industry. I'll bet I could walk into virtually class room and perform at least as well as 80-90% of the teachers up to Algebra 2. I'll bet America is full of Masters of Chemistry and Physics who could outperform many others in your industry. (I'm assuming you are a member of America's biggest protected industry/priesthood). I'll bet I could perform this well in class of 30 to boot. I don't need an "Education Masters" to know that such a masters is about fulfilling a Union contract clause, and not about Educating Children.

5. I've read the studies and the data necessary to come to the utterly intelligent and reasonable conclusion that there is no intellectually sound argument against 100% fully funded school choice. I know that the best thing that could happen to the nation would be to break up the corrupt Education Monopoly.

Any other questions? You are a welcome guest on my radio show. I'm aggressive, but inalterably polite. I will debate any one of these issues anytime, anyplace, and with any one.

A civilization is a terrible thing to waste.

Sincerely,

Bruno Behrend

...I'd like to thank all the Teachers and Adminstrators at District 90 for burning up their servers checking out my site.

Win or lose, I appreciate the exposure.

Think of me as a "change agent" bringing needed openness and ideas to the "entrenched culture" of this little franchise of America's moribund education system.

Come for the tax battle, stay for the necessary debate. I hope you enjoyed the "Brain-Based learning" and 7 (or is it 8) "multiple intelligent" arguments against tax increases.

Sacred Cows make the best Hamburger.

Click Continue for one last message...

Ok, Ok, the previous post WASN'T the final thought...

This one is....

Maybe.
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Out of all the propaganda promoted by the Pro-Tax crowd, nothing is as absurd as the idea that your property values will drop if this TAX HIKE doesn't pass.

Now, if you are SERIOUS about using tax policy to increase property values, try this on for size.

1. Vote "No" Tomorrow, it's a spending problem, not a funding problem

2. River Forest Schools were "good" in 1999 with $11 million, and now, with $15.4 million, they are still...."good". For the money spent, they ought to be graduating college prepped kids.

3. The money isn't "for the children." It's for the payroll and benefits. The huge run ups in veteran teachers' salaries didn't add one extra iota of education to your child's head.

4. School districts often don't follow through on the blackmail and threats when it comes to "draconian" cuts. If they do here in River Forest, I suggest River Forest residents elect a board that has the interests of ALL of River Forest in mind, and not only the members of the entrenched interests that probably funded their campaigns.

All of us know that with a little creativity, the important things can be funded here in River Forest. And yes, some things may need to be cut. It's called fiscal responsibilty.

I've seen 5 or 6 houses in River Forest that ooze wealth and privilege, all adorned with the green ribbons that indicate their desire to tax my 80 year-old fixed income neighbors out of the community they helped to build.

It's shameless. The mandarins in these 6 houses alone could fund a not-for-profit "Child Care Center" for any River Forest parents that may need it. It ISN'T about reason, rationality, or decency. It's about connected financial interests controling an ever greater amount of pork, patronage, and power.

5. The link between quality of education and spending is a myth. River Forest's results would be good if we spent $8000/child, and they wouldn't be any better if we spent $15,000/child.

If spending were the answer, America would have the best schools in the world. It doesn't. It has the most expensive, and the most mediocre. Crow about River Forest ISATs all day if you wish. The real question is, "How will your kids fare against an 8th grader from Belgium, China, or India?" Is this causing you some discomfort? It should!

Hmmmm. Maybe that's why Sylvan and Huntington are so popular....

__

I could go on for days (you've figured that out on your own, haven't you). The protected and pampered Education Monopoly has had their time at the trough. It's time to put them on a diet.

Please Vote No Tomorrow.

If you want to get some good "Vote No" information to your neighbors, click the link below.

Download file.

Print, cut, drop off.

It's a spending problem, not a funding problem.

Please Stop. Take a deep breath and ask whether these local battles are good for your town and your neighbors.

Question the dominant paradigm. Question whether it needs to be this way.

Start here.

Then here.

Then here. (Leah Vukmir is now a legislator in Wisconsin. We need legislators like her in Illinois, and not those bought and paid for by Teacher's Unions.)

This is from McHenry County Blog...
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Here’s part of an email from a Kane County District 300 referendum opponent:

My husband was out driving in Capenstersville
yesterday, and he saw a Dist. 300 truck with a bunch
of VOTE NO signs in the back of it. He immediately
came to Otto (Engineering) to see Jack (Roeser). (Next
to the bridge in Carpentersville is Otto Engineering,
from whose building the Family Taxpayers Network
operates. Those wanting “Vote No” signs can park
across the street, walk in and get one.) They called
the Police and filled out a report.

What a shame that D300 would pull such tricks. They
removed signs in all surrounding yards in our
neighborhood. And along the other key locations.

Removing "No" signs and bad-mouthing opposition are signs of intellectual bankruptcy. It appears that we don't have much of problem with this in signless River Forest. I can also happily report that I've not come across personal attacks yet, but I wonder if that would change if they thought they were losing.

More from D300...

They asked all team members to join in a rally on Saturday, March 10 and go around and BANG ON PEOPLE'S DOORS TO TELL THEM TO VOTE YES..... (identifying reference removed) coach also told (identifying reference removed) team that the (identifying reference removed) Team went around an pulled up VOTE NO signs, Talk about USING THE STUDENTS.

Yes, and if parents tried to use students to oppose a referendum, how do you think teacher would treat them in a classroom? Why do you think parents are so afraid to question the system. The social pressure placed upon parents in referenda battles is oppressive.

Some one has to break this "group think." I've heard from a few people who support what I'm doing here who have acted as if they for the referendum. They are AFRAID to speak out.

The people who have created this social environment ought to be ASHAMED of themselves!! Just one more reason why referenda HAVE TO GO based upon the divisiveness ALONE!

More...

I would point out to District 300 employees that a Crystal Lake School District 155’s superintendent decided to resign and save his pension, rather than be prosecuted for what sounds like a similar activity.

Readers with other news of unethical or outright
illegal behavior from the campaign front are
encouraged to share that information by emailing it to
McHenry County Blog. Keep your camera in your car
between now and the election and email me or mail me
anything you think should be published.

Unlike BIG ED's River Forest Franchise, I'm not showered with campaign donations from businesses and parents...

[to see which of your neighbors want you to pay for their "childcare" services, click here]

... in the district.

If I was, I'd follow up on some of the inside information I'm receiving on how school property and assets are being used to promote greater tax increases. This is just another example of Illinois' culture of "legalized" corruption. But I digress....

The best "trick" of all is to Vote NO, even if you told all the people pressuring you that you will vote "yes" for this unnecessary tax grab. I know of at least of few. Let's work to make it more.

I've decided to start calling those who blindly support Public Education members of a "religion" or a "cult."

The level of support for public education is far greater than it should be, given its cost and its utter failure to educate kids. This simply argues for the proposition that people support public education for what are closer to religious beleifs than anything that has to do with 'reason.'

The person to whom I am replying posted a comment to an old post where I argued against the "spending orgy = high property value" myth so prevalent among suburbanites.

She takes issue with my propostion that I (or any of you) could educate children just fine if we got $12,000/kid (an absurd spending level by any standard) and were allowed to use it at any school.

I wrote:

Give me 10 kids and that $12,000/year/kid, and I'll guarantee a college prep level education for each kid by age 16-18. I'll rent the space, spring for materials and education aids, and still have enough left over to make a nice living.

Alison wrote:

Bruno, will your program provide an orchestra for my daughter the violinist, and a band for her friend the clarinetist, with trained musicians to run them? Will your program provide organized basketball, volleyball and cross-country? Will you offer instruction in 3 different languages?

Will you have a computer lab and library with thousands of books? Wll you offer music and art instruction by specialized teachers in these fields? Will you provide advanced instructon for the advanced learners and special education for disabled kids? I DIDN'T THINK SO. WHAT A JOKE. Funny how people aren't flocking to give you $12,000 to educate their kids.

There you have it. An overweaning sense of entitlement, a complete misunderstanding of economics, all combined with a snide attitude for those who don't share their brainwashed, cult-like mania for our over-funded, underperforming education system.

For my lengthy reply, click the "Continue" link.

With a $300/year for 4 years tax increase in the offing, River Forest District 90 will soon unleash their parent/citizen "ringwraiths" with the same tired old arguments about how the entire universe will collapse upon itself if the tax increase isn't approved.

Don't Buy It.

Here is all the proof you will need.

According to the 2005 School Report Cards: Central District 51 ($4,438 a student); Aviston District 21 ($4,789); Germantown Hills District 69 ($5,036); Oak Grove District 68 ($5,189); St. Rose District 14-15 ($5,421); Washington District 52 ($5,429); Breese District 12 ($5,545); and Geff District 14 ($5,584) all had a higher percentage of students meeting the state's math and reading standards than Lake Forest's Rondout District 72 ($23,799 a student), at a quarter of the cost.

River Forest spends $10,301! If a district can get good results for around $5,000, River Forest doesn't need more than $10,000. Furthermore, that $10,000 will increase naturally with Assessed Valuation increases.

VOTE NO! on March 21st. It isn't for the Children! It's for the bureaucracy!

Vast numbers of suburbanites have fallen for the myth that the exorbitant spending on public education in their specific District increases the value of their homes.

Interestingly, it is entirely fair to say that this myth -- all by itself -- does have a positive impact on home values.  Like most myths, there is a grain of truth behind it.  The grain of truth here -- and it is a tiny grain -- is that the perceptions of the herd (herd of suburbanites in this case) actually does have a slight positive impact the value of their properties.

However, your typical suburbanite ignores the fact that high property taxes have a far greater negative impact on the value of their home.

Let me give you a brief example. [WARNING! - the following demonstration involves the use of mathematics.  Anybody who has graduated from an American public school in the last 20-30 years may have difficulty following this process.]

I just opened Excel a few seconds ago and entered a very simple "net present value" calculation.  I used an interest rate of 5% (a low estimation of a mortgage rate).  I then assumed a 10-year period of home ownership with a slightly lower than typical upper-middle-class suburban education tax bill of around $4000 per year.  [Most people in the middle-class suburbs of Chicago pay more than $4000 to Big Ed.]

The net present value of a 10-year series of payments at 5% is just over $30,000.  That is the amount that the education portion of your property tax bill takes right off of the top of the value of your property.

Obviously, this number will vary greatly depending on how long you plan to remain in your home and what interest rate you use to calculate that present value.  This was just intended as a simple demonstration.

Now, it may be arguable that this myth [that an expensive, inefficient bureaucracy increases your property value] actually does have a greater positive impact on your property than the exorbitant education taxes have a negative impact.

However, should the herd of suburbanites ever come to understand the true level of mediocrity in their public education system, they will revolt against that system.  It is my bet that the collapse of this myth will not have a dramatic negative impact on property values.

Here is why.  Real estate values are a function of location, not education spending.  People buy in desirable areas because social factors, and they believe that education spending is one of those factors.  The truth is that the education "outcomes" (which are nowhere near as good as people think they are) are far more a function of the socioeconomic status of the area than they are of exorbitant spending.

The link between education spending and property values is a self-propagating myth.  Myths of this nature can endure for a longtime.  The economic havoc that Big Education is wreaking upon state and local finances cannot.

There is a great liberal word that describes public education today.  "Unsustainable."

This Link--->Download file is the updated version of River Forest District 90 Compensation/Spending for staff.

I've added an extra sheet that gives you percentage increases in spending.

Read that sheet, ask yourself - What Tax Cap? If you want to know how to stop a referenda in YOUR town, e-mail me

If you ever want to experience the emotion of utter dislike from your fellow townspeople, go to a school board meeting and argue against a tax hike.

I did so this evening, and after the obligatory nonsense of "it's for the children" and "my property values will go down if I don't increase the taxes on it", I was given a huge 3 minutes to convince the suburban equivalent of the converted that their belief in "school spending" was misplaced.

I doubt I made much headway, but I'm confident that many people who didn't show up to tout being taxed into oblivion will vote against the levy.

Regardless, My testimony is available below. Next time, I think I'll stay home and work on flyers to get to the voters that haven't drunken the public education Kool-Aid.

Just so you all know, River Forest has 1380 kids, and wants to spend just over $19 million dollars. I'd be embarrassed.

Do the math people. The idea that you need to spend that kind of money to educate a child is absurd.

Any parties in Illinois interested in fighting tax referenda should contact me. I have access to voter data, phone numbers, and autodialing services, which are powerful tools in defeating tax referenda at the local level.

I (and other organizations) would be more than willing to come to your district and give a presentation on the manipulations and misrepresentations districts use to extract money from local tax payers.

The fact is that the 886 district model is a formula for corruption and abuse, and the education establishment executes that formula with ease.

It is in your interest, and your child's interest, to defeat these referenda and keep your money. If you are interested in an alternative education system that actually educates, see below.
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1. Zero out local property taxes for education and Abolish the 'School District'.

2. Hike State Income and Sales taxes so as to fund education 100% from Springfield.

[Steps one and two equate to an approximate $2-3 billion TAX CUT for Illinois individuals and businesses.]

3. Fund EVERY Illinois Child equally through a $6500/7000 scholarship sent directly to PARENTS/FAMILIES (indexed for inflation). Allow parents to save for college by creating Education Savings Accounts for any portion of the scholarship not used in any given year.

4. Make every IL school that takes or receives transfered credits an independent Charter School (public or private)

5. Each school must meet broad "NCLB Style" testing requirements. Repeal all other mandates.

____

The current education system in the US (and Illinois in particular) is a legalized (yet totally immoral) money laundering scheme that "privatizes" tax payer dollars by enriching a protected class. Educating the populace is a pretense for this scheme, not a goal.

You can't be for "educating children" and funding this system. The two are mutually exclusive.

There is no intellectually sound argument for teacher tenure. If anything, some one paid to teach (K-12) should be MORE accountable than virtually anyone else in the workplace.

Tenure is a travesty.

There has been a pretty good discussion of this over here (Look for a post called "And back again". Direct links to the post and responses seem to turned off)

The link to a whole series of good data is here.

[If only the Chicago Tribune or Sun-Times had colunmists/reporters of this quality. Too busy buried in California Divorce Records I guess.]
____

Stories from the "Hidden Costs of Tenure" series

Tenure frustrates drive for teacher accountability

Co

mbine teacher tenure, softball evaluations and a reluctance to use remediation with underperforming teachers and you get a dysfunctional system. Kids are paying the price.

School boards lose power to fire poor teachers

Procedure trumps everything when a school attempts to dismiss an incompetent teacher. The slightest error on any of the many forms to be followed can result in a problem teacher remaining in the classroom.

Bruno's comment: School Board don't want the power to fire teachers. The seats are bought and paid for by teacher's unions in more cases than not.
__

If you need a primer on why and how BIG ED has built the massive money laundering scheme called Public Education, THIS is great place to start.

As you may have guessed, I used the opportunity to speak last night as another platform to point out the massive overfunding of the education bureaucracy.

This got me some "blow back" from our Village President, who called me a "demogogue" (or perhaps of using "demogoguery"). He flatly stated that I was using figures from other districts/entities, and that River Forest was (of course) an exception to the rule of waste and abuse that goes on in public education finance.

You decide!! Download the last 5 years (2000-2004) compensation schedule HERE --->Download file
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I got another question from a trustee regarding the neeeeeeeds of the district, given increased enrollment.

A little Pink Floyd "The Wall" comes to mind here...

"If we don't get that tax, we can't fund our bonuses! How can we fund our bonuses if we don't get that tax!!"

Here is one solution. Tell the teachers now that they won't be getting big payouts, end of career bumps, or raises above inflation (INCLUDING STEP INCREASES).

Let them quit. There are plenty of people to fill their spots. It is time to run education for the taxpayers and the students, not the political class that bought the legislative class.

You may want to tell your legislator that. Here is how.
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If I had the budget to put a similar spread sheet (for their district) into every IL voter's computer, this state would see the fastest turnover in leadership (in both parties) in decades.

You can help with that. E-mail me and find out how.

I was the one and only "anti-Home Rule" presenter in the River Forest Home Rule dog-and-pony show brigade (3 "town hall" meetings over 3 mos.)

Listening to the "pro Home Rule" guys was truly a enlightening experience. The municipal governing class has taken "technocracy" to an extreme. It isn't that they aren't aware of the issues facing us taxpayers so much as it their utter inability to understand any concept that doesn't enhance their power to tax, borrow or regulate.

With out a trace of irony, the citizens are told openly how home rule is "so much more than taxation" in the same presentation where they talk about how they only want to raise some tax. ("But trust us not to raise others")

Voters are supposed to buy (or ignore) the increased powers of borrowing and regulation, and believe that all the goverment really wants is to "stick it to retail customers outside the town."

Stay tuned to this blog in the next few days. I'm going to do audio of my presentation downloadable from this site.

Yeah, this is boring and complex stuff, but if you ignore it, it will show up on your tax bill.

If you want to go directly to the developing issues of Home Rule in River Forest, as well as the fight to stop the next tax increase for River Forest's Education Bureaucracy, simply click the "OPRF" link on the bar above.

Here is a letter from a former school board member in Wilmette.

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Bruno,

I am very behind on reading your web site postings. I just noticed that you implied that home rule MIGHT bring the ability of local governments to raise taxes.

As a resident of a long-term home rule village, Wilmette, I can assure you that the home rule designation automatically brings with it the ability of village trustees to raise taxes without a referendum. Non-home-rule communities must go to referendum to raise local taxes.

---------, who was on the Wilmette village board for many years, can talk to you about this at length! You should have --- on your show, if you want a non-appeaser who knows local shenanighans. For instance, did you know that Wilmette used eminent domain to take over a viable International House of Pancakes (15 years ago or so) for the purpose of building a village parking lot?

Then, part of the land was sold to a developer, who built a strip mall. The village president at the time, -------, lives in two units of another condo buillding the same developer built in Wilmette, for which he is reputed to have paid $1. None of us had the money to sue back then, but what a huge mistake to let that precedent go by.

Cheers, name witheld

Home Rule is an invitation to corruption. Not only does the municipality have the right to raise taxes with out a referendum, but the opportunities for corruption expand dramatically, simply based upon the increase "rent-seeking" of the connected class.

As an aside, after seeing how corrupt school management and local government has become, the entire municipal classs of governance needs term limits FAR MORE than the federal government does. What ever happened to the citizen legislator & citizen executive.

...and Oh Yeah...

We don't need 'tax rate' (extension) caps. We need Budget Caps. No Municipal Fund should be allowed to grow faster than the rate of inflation plus the population increase....EVER..

So here I am with my new OPRF page, scanning the Web for OPRF / "Home Rule issues, and I come across this article from neighoring Forest Park (close enough to make the OPRF page of this transnational blog).

The writer apparently want all the voters to "grow up" and accept being "parented" by a nanny government. The irony of it all....

___

Take a gander at these excerpts:

Home Rule: Stepping into political adulthood

There comes a time when young folks need to move out of their parent’s house and start to make decisions for themselves. So too with municipal governments, but apparently voters here didn’t think that time had arrived in 2001, when they defeated a Home Rule referendum soundly. For whatever reasons- and I’m not saying they didn’t have reasons- voters didn’t see fit then to slip the shackles that the Illinois Legislature allowed larger communities to shed back in 1970 when it rewrote its Constitution.

Mr. Dwyer's "growing up" metaphor fails on various counts. First, he completely misses the point that the world is not made up of only Federal, State & Local Governments. It is made up of citizens (individuals & families) that have proven themselves far more capable of "self rule" than local & state petty tyrants have proven capable of "ruling" anyone.

"Home Rule" communities are not "growing up & moving out". That is the wrong focus. The reality (using Dwyer's metaphor) is that Home Rule communities are trading in an evil step mother (the state) for a perverted uncle (local government). The metaphorical equivilent for "moving out" would be to stop relying on ANY government to provide you with the fake security brought about by beggaring your neighbors with taxes.

[As an aside, the idea that Americans trust government to educate their children is frightening. 80+ years of public education that has taken in more real dollars in exchange for poorer results is an indicator that Americans are already slaves to evil step mothers, perverted uncles, and bevy of dysfunctional "family" members. "Growing up" means learning what education REALLY is, and not rubber stamping a corrupt system's fake "experts."....but I digress]

I'm not a big fan of big state government, but I have noticed that every proponent of "Home Rule" wants greater local taxing powers and reugulatory powers. I'm happy to accept the state's interest in shackling these petty tyrants on my behalf.

Home Rule is a scam to bust tax caps. That pretty much sums it up.

More from Mr. Dwyer...

After losing the 2001 Home Rule referendum vote, the mayor said of its opponents, "on a good day, (they) don’t know but 15 per cent of what Home Rule is about." He couldn’t be more correct there. Opposition to Home Rule has, historically, been anchored by both a deep distrust of government and a fear of increased taxes.

What, pray tell is the other 85%?! Land Fill Regulation? Greater Parental controls? We need to have a officer in charge of regulating childrens' lemonade stands. Some one might ingest a bee or mosquito.

These are the types of smoke screens proponents of "Home Rule" use to obfuscate the fact that they want to tax very orbit of the Sun as it passes through their town.

__

Recently, there was a commercial that showed some truck putting up a stop sign every 20 feet on wide open street with no intersections. This commercial captured the soul of virtually every local official I've ever met.

There are many issues hopping in the "Oak Park / River Forest" area these days, and, since I live around here, I thought I'd keep OPRF residents up to date on all with news and views on the OPRF area.

These posts will show up on the regular blog automatically, but people who want only the OPRF news can go right to www.extremewisdom.com/oprf.

I doubt I will devote much radio air time to OPRF issues, but I will be keeping busy posting on local items like the "Home Rule" battle and the River Forest's school board attempt to increase taxes for their over priced education system. (Can you guess that I'm against both?)

Check back often for insightful OPRF commentary. Comment freely.

I'm very disappointed in River Forest's elected leadership and their attempt to sell us the "Home Rule" bill of goods. First, the people of River Forest deserve a debate on adopting Home Rule, and not a series of lectures from proponents masquerading as "disinterested experts."

River Forest's Leadership seems to be trolling around for any reason, no matter how thin, to foist this expansion of Government Power over the Citizens of River Forest.

First, they attempted to sell this power grab as a way to "help River Forest's Schools with out a property tax increase." That pretense was rapidly dropped when the School Board realized that "Home Rule" might put at risk their attempt to saddle River Forest's taxpayers with an even larger tax increase.

The Village and the School Board are engaging in a charade here. Both the Trustees and the School Board know that Home Rule status allows a Municipality to circumvent Illinois Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL). This push for Home Rule status is nothing more than an attempt to saddle River Forest residents with ever greater spending and larger tax bills.

Proponents of Home Rule are trying to persuade us that its adoption will allow us to "control our own local affairs." This completely skirts the real issue. Home Rule is not about "local versus State Control." It is about "Government versus Individual" control. Make no mistake about it. Adopting Home Rule in River Forest will strengthen River Forest's Government at the expense of River Forest's residents.

Allow me to demonstrate using Home Rule's proponent's own words.

They stated that Home Rule expanded "authority to regulate landfills, implement parental responsibility laws or enact bans ranging from handguns to street vendors." River Forest has precious few "business entities" that require such regulation (unless the Trustees have plans to get River Forest a landfill.)

River Forest parents are already responsible. To think that the city can impose "parental responsibility" through more laws is bad policy, as well as insulting. We don't have problems with street vendors. We don't need "bans" on our behavior. We are a well-behaved bunch already. Strip away the pretense. These supposed "features" of Home Rule are a smoke screen obscuring the true goal of the proponents. Circumventing the tax caps.

Home Rule proponents pretend that it is somebody else's taxes that will rise. They stated, "A key issue of home rule is that it gives greater latitude in taxation and issuing debt. It allows the village to shift the reliance on property taxes and impose it instead on non-residents in the form of a hotel tax, restaurant and amusement taxes."

Yes, that is all River Forest residents need - more taxes and more debt. The idea that we can impose taxation on "non-residents" is laughable. In reality, our town has a relatively small number of business establishments, most of which serve primarily River Forest Residents. Our retail establishments don't need another "competitive disadvantage" with communities that have lower rental or labor costs, and River Forest residents certainly don't need new taxes layered upon their already steep property taxes.

There is only one way to relieve the burden of government for River Forest residents, and expanding powers for more regulation, debt and taxation isn't it. There is far more obvious solution. Cut spending. This will reduce the reasons for monies to be spent. Live within the means already provided. With the large run up in property values and expansion in the housing stock through Condominium development, River Forest has all the resources it should need to meet the needs of government (and education).

We need to seek out ways to reduce the cost & power of government at the local, state, & federal level. Home Rule in River Forest weakens its families and individuals and empowers government, primarily by circumventing Illinois property tax-cap. I urge everyone to call the Trustees and tell them to vote no on a Home Rule referendum. Anyone willing to organize opposition to a referendum, should it pass a vote of the Trustees, should feel should feel free to contact me.