Years of poor leadership behind state’s problems
A recent heading saying “anyone can do Gov. Rauner’s job” is an affront to our executive office and to the people of Illinois who elected him. We did not get into this financial mess in the last year. It’s been 25-plus years of irresponsible leadership among our elected officials, and number one among them is House Speaker Mike Madigan.
He rules this state because enough people keep voting him back into office. They are convinced that without Madigan pulling the strings in the House, they would lose their connections to patronage jobs, favors paid for by the taxpayers and, most of all, political clout to allow them to continue to feed at the public trough.
Madigan is a multimillionaire whose main reason for staying in office is the power it gives him; power that he wields to promote personal agendas rather than do the people’s business, which should be his primary purpose for serving in the legislature. His army of supporters do his bidding without any thought that they might be following a Pied Piper leading the state to doom.
Only by enacting some major changes in the way Illinois does business, will we ever begin to see improvements that will move up our state’s standing from being one of the worst states in the union. We cannot continue to spend more than we take in. Everybody knows that. Yet Madigan and his followers continue to spend dollars that can only become available through higher taxes unless other solutions are implemented.
Rauner is trying to get our state on a more sound financial platform.
Only the voters can make this happen. Getting rid of the incumbents who have served multiple terms in office is a good first step.
Vote in new elected officials who pledge to accept the realities of our current situation and select a new leader that will have greater responsibility to the people of Illinois than they have to their personal ambitions and selfish motives.
Of course, the reality is that Madigan and his followers have constructed the rules that permit them to stay in power. Professional politicians have sway over the democratic process in Illinois, and the future looks bleak in terms of any meaningful legislative changes.
If anyone can think of a way to give this situation a happy ending, I’d like to hear it.
Mike Sutko, Oak Lawn
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