BND readers sound off on Illinois debt, cancer care, Belleville sinking
Celebrate Democrats
Illinois leaders mark the state’s 199th birthday and celebrate the state’s 200th birthday next year. State Rep. Tim Butler said the bicentennial offers an opportunity for Illinoisans to “foster a renewed pride in our state.” Decades ago, Illinois was a prosperous state. However, after decades of Democratic and Chicago rule, Illinois ranks 49th in the union as the worst state. People and businesses are leaving Illinois in droves. Between 2015-2016, people moving out of Illinois increased to 86,000, and 2017 will be another record loss year. In 2016, 25 percent fewer people filed tax returns in Illinois. Less income, so Democrats raised your taxes 36 percent this year. Illinois owes $17 billion in unpaid bills and $230 billion in total pension liabilities. Even college students are fleeing Illinois for better colleges and lower tuition. Chicago is the murder capital of the world with 636 homicides so far this year. Let’s celebrate all the Democratic accomplishments, shall we?
Close cancer care
Building a Siteman Cancer Center in Shiloh will provide numerous benefits. Having a quality local cancer treatment center for area residents will be the primary benefit. Illinois patients and families will no longer have to travel to St. Louis for treatment. New jobs and possibly residents will come to Shiloh. The infusion of new taxes will certainly help the residents of Shiloh. Wonder what Eckert is thinking about doing with the empty St. Elizabeth Hospital building?
TIF bribe
It’s a shame Belleville won’t have a 74th Street Walmart. Unlike Eckert and TIF monger Wigginton, who don’t properly evaluate projects before handing out your tax money as TIFs, Walmart determined the 74th Street area wouldn’t provide a good return on their investment. The decline in the area is obvious, and the failures of Eckert and the Belleville police in this area are equally obvious. Hey Eckert, you can’t bribe every business with TIF money to come to Belleville.
USS Belleville
No Walmart on the west end — who is shocked? Until Eckert realizes he doesn’t know a thing about economic development, Belleville will continue to lose business to all its surrounding communities. There are people who do economic development for a living; you are not one of them, Eckert. Have you ever asked yourself: why does everyone drive through Belleville to go eat in Shiloh, O’Fallon, Fairview Heights, Waterloo, Columbia, Collinsville, Edwardsville, Glen Carbon? Why do businesses continue to flock to those communities? The old reliable answer, “They have the interstate,” won’t work. Belleville is a sinking ship and you’re the captain at the helm. I’m sure you will jump in a dingy with your cronies before it sinks and continue to comment about how great it was while you were there and it’s someone else’s fault Belleville failed.
View from bluffs
Keller’s still planning on building a hotel, Hyatt Place, next to the Hofbräuhaus on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and St. Louis skyline. In reality, the bluff vantage point will allow guests of the Hyatt a bird’s eye view of the old Cahokia race track area, which is home to a junkyard now. Then, they can have a beer counting the trucks coming and going from the Pilot. If their eyes are good enough, they can watch East St. Louis crumble. Great view. Say, didn’t Eckert promise a gas station and soccer fields, too?
Costello’s style
I read with delight the story about Southwestern Illinois College President Georgia Costello retiring in 2018. She is, without a doubt, the worst president in the history of our community college. Enrollment has declined by 50 percent or 15,000 students, more political appointments of incompetent people have occurred during her tenure than at any other time. The board is just a rubber stamp controlled by the Democratic party. The next college president will no doubt be a political appointment. The employees of the college say her management style is “it’s her way or the highway.”
SWIC politics
It would be interesting to find out more about the administrative jobs that were added and let go or retired under Georgia Costello. I remember many politically connected people were hired on at substantial salaries. It seems like the only increase in student population were high school students being sucked into SWIC while they were still in high school. How much did that cost the taxpayers? How much did that affect enrollment from year to year? Were there any building additions or improvements made while she was there?
Clayborne’s replacement
A black Democrat has held the 57th state Senate seat for 30 years. When I read the BND article, it bothered me. One problem, the news media has to make this a black and white issue. My question and challenge to the voters is why don’t demand and elect someone with the qualifications and competency to hold the Senate seat? For way too long, voters have elected gravely unqualified Democrats to lead. Democrats, run by Madigan, have destroyed Illinois, while playing their political games and enriching their pockets with taxpayer money. Voters need to wake up and use a little brain power to elect Clayborne’s replacement. It’s not black or white, people. It has to do with qualifications and competence. Just because someone is a failed lawyer, doesn’t make them qualified to be a legislator. James Clayborne was a politician, not a competent legislator.
Yank the meters
If Belleville isn’t going to enforce its parking meters, why not remove them? As it stands, honest people that feed the meters are penalized because the dishonest people who aren’t feeding the meters don’t get a ticket. Make it fair to everyone. Remove the meters.
Retail parking
With as much decline in the city of Belleville with losing hospitals, car dealerships and other smaller retail businesses to the mall in Fairview and O’Fallon, if Belleville had any sense, it seems like they’d get rid of the parking meters altogether. It could lure people into Belleville and kick the sales tax back to the city. But, these are Democrats running the city.
Chief’s uniform?
I was a bit surprised with Belleville Police Chief Bill Clay’s photo on the front page of a recent BND. Is a polo shirt his normal every day work attire? Whatever happened to the days when policemen wore uniforms on duty?
Wind-up doll?
The local Democrat machine’s pick for un-seating Mike Bost is off to a rocky start. His comments on tax reform were disappointing. Schumer, Durbin, Duckworth and Pelosi said the same things. Is that what we’re to expect? A wind-up doll? Pull string, repeat. Prosecuting might be what he should stick with. If he is to get elected, he’ll need Republican voters to cross over. By the way, isn’t that refreshing to say in the 12th? Repeating and reciting Durbin-isms will not get him there. Jerry Costello learned this.
Gotham needs Kelly
Mike Bost is like the anti-Robin Hood. He takes from the poor and middle class and gives to the rich and the corporations. Why else would the Joker vote for the latest “tax reform?” It’s high time our Dark Knight swoops in and puts a stop to the Joker once and for all. Someone shine the Brendan Kelly signal into the sky tonight. Gotham needs you.
BJC boosts care
The BJC partnership with Memorial Hospital has greatly improved the care and administration provided by Memorial. BJC ownership of Memorial would most likely raise emergency room and other hospital services to the same level as BJC in St. Louis.
BJC harms care
About the merger of BJC and Memorial in Belleville, things have really gone downhill with the hospital since the partial merger. Now BJC wants to take over the hospitals completely. I feel like we’re going to see the service go downhill more than it already has.
High taxes, lies
Voters were supposed to get a $1 million residential development on Frank Scott. Instead, you will be getting an assisted living complex. Of course the city council will approve it, there’s a democratic politician building it. Plenty of pay-off money to go around. Eckert has taken the voters for another ride. As Eckert says, “use TIF money to build sewers and they shall come.” The people that voted to re-elect Eckert deserve all the high taxes and lies they get.
Women’s rights
I spent several decades in the private sector. I sat in countless meetings dealing with the consequences of sexual harassment in the work place. I find it unbelievable we have sick Democratic sexual predator senators Franken and Conyers who wouldn’t immediately resign after being caught red-handed. In the private sector, these two perverts would have been shown the door immediately. Democrats always seem to be above the law and morality. Just say you are sorry and it will all go away. Isn’t it funny all the big liberal sexual perverts that have popped out of the woodwork lately? Obviously, Democrats think women are pretty stupid, since they claim to be for women’s rights, unless the women are behind closed doors where they can drop their pants.
This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 4:30 PM with the headline "BND readers sound off on Illinois debt, cancer care, Belleville sinking."