Almost simultaneously we have heard from two Illinois politicos, George Dunne and Gov. James Thompson, telling us of the ”needs” which have to be met, of course, by increased taxation. These ”needs” are usually followed by touching stories of ”extreme damage to roads by potholes,” ”Our schools are underfunded,” ”We may have to lay off critical police and fire protection”, etc.
I never hear, ”Perhaps we may need to cut back on our salaries until the needs are met.” Who determines these ”needs”? We love to mouth Lincoln`s words ”government of the people, for the people and by the people . . . ” If these are meaningful words, then let us challenge our political leaders to place these tax-met ”needs” squarely before the people in a referendum!
Yes, they too know the fate of ill-supported referendums and therefore will hide behind constitutional loopholes to avoid letting the people decide what are true ”needs.”
