You can add this to the growing list of “goodbye Chicago” letters. We have lived here for 27 years, the last few as retirees, and have come to the conclusion that living on a fixed income is incompatible with the insatiable rapacity of House Speaker Michael Madigan, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and the Chicago Teachers Union.
The moment of clarity came last year when our property taxes were raised 35 percent (negotiated down from the original charge of 65 percent). The week after we received this notice, the tax assessment on our Florida vacation property arrived, showing a 10 percent decrease. That decision makes itself. Since then, of course, we’ve seen the state income tax increase, the soda tax implemented, and who knows what other small fees flying beneath the radar were raised.
It would be more palatable if we had a voice, but as Chicago residents, we have exactly two votes that count: for governor and senator. All other offices are settled by a faceless political machine. The number of uncontested races on the ballot seems to grow with each election.
So goodbye Chicago. We love you, we’ll come to visit, but we just can’t live with you.
— Lawrence Taepke, Chicago
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Why I’m moving back to Chicago
