Coalition Urges Legislators To Reject $8 Billion Tax Hike

Legislation Does Little for 'Education Funding' or 'Property Tax Reform'

A coalition of seven organizations from across Illinois are urging lawmakers to oppose legislation (SB 2288) that would raise personal income and corporate taxes by $8 billion, representing the largest tax increase in state history. Proponents of this bill claim this legislation would level the playing field in education funding and provide property tax reform, yet less than half of the revenue generated is actually dedicated towards these goals.

"Taxpayers, businesses and families in Illinois are under attack by lawmakers whose only solution to irresponsible spending is raising our taxes," said John Tillman, CEO, Illinois Policy Institute. "We have the 42nd worst economic outlook in the nation, the state's largest county [Cook County] has the highest tax rate in the nation and state lawmakers just passed two tax increased to bail out two of the most fiscally mismanaged agencies in the state. If this $8 billion tax hike passes, this will be the nail in the coffin for our economic future."

The Senate Education Committee recently passed SB 2288 whose proponents argue that this tax hike is necessary to equalize education funding across the state, yet only 7.5% of the projected revenues from this hike will go to education. Instead, monies from the tax hike are going to pay for state-debt, road construction, state employee pensions, and unpaid Medicaid bills. Proponents argue that the 36% of the new revenues will go into a new created special fund called a property tax abatement fund, but there is nothing in the proposed legislation that would stop local authorities from raising property taxes further. Moreover there is nothing in this legislation that prevents future administrations and general assemblies from raiding the abatement fund to pay for other priorities. The Illinois Policy Institute and these other anti-tax organizations are urging lawmakers to reject this tax increase.

This letter was spearheaded by the Illinois Policy Institute and co-signed by organizations such as NFIB, Americans for Tax Reform, Family PAC, Family Taxpayers Foundation and Americans for Prosperity. A copy of the coalition letter can be found at http://www.illinoispolicyinstitute.org/articles.php?articleid=78

Thanks To Those Who Help The Helpless

As a member of the 15th Judicial Court CASA Board, I would like to thank the volunteers that have come forward to help our abused and neglected children in Lee, Carroll and Ogle County. It is heartwarming to know we have such caring people in our community.

However, we are unable to remain idle. In fact, there are still more children in need of CASA Volunteers.

At the present time we have 21 cases in Lee County, 9 cases in Ogle County and 7 cases in Carroll County needing a (Court Appointed Special Advocate) "CASA" volunteer to speak in court on behalf of an abused and/or neglected child. These precious children are in dire need of someone who will take time out of their already busy life and invest in the future of a struggling or hurting child with burdens far too big for them to carry all alone. The situations that have caused their pain are most assuredly through no fault of their own! These children desperately need their voices to be heard in court.

Thank you in advance for your concern in making our community a safer place for our kids. For more information on how you can help, call Vanessa White at the CASA office 1-815-288-1901or e-mail casa@grics.net

Kathryn Lundquist,

CASA Board Member

Capitol Report

By Jim Sacia, State Representative, 89th District

Since January of this year when I began my quest to learn about large scale dairy operations, I have had only one objective: learn as much as I could, pro or con, and let the chips fall where they may (not a pun). I truly believe that the more you know, the more you understand.

I have, at the time of this writing, visited nine dairies, two in California, five of the ten in Fair Oaks, Indiana, and two of the three at Three Mile Canyon in Oregon. All of the operations I visited have been built in the past ten years. Most of what I have learned over the past three months has been positive, but my quest for information will continue.

Because most of the information I have reported to date has been positive, I have been portrayed by some as a surrogate for A.J. Bos, the proposed developer of a new large dairy operation near Warren. Sorry folks, Jim Sacia has never been nor will he ever be for sale. It is also an insult to Mr. Bos to make such an insinuation.

Dairies built in the past ten years, based on my research, subscribe to and if I may quote Marty Myers, the manager of two of the three dairies at Three Mile Canyon in Oregon, "dairymen today must exercise an abundance of caution", in building and managing these dairies.

In my research I have intentionally avoided the internet as a source of information. I long ago learned that whatever the issue, you can find postings, websites and other information on the internet to support any position you want.

I understand that some will be angry about what I have learned and am reporting. It became very clear to me early-on that there are some who will stop at nothing to prevent the proposed dairy from moving forward. I felt it was imperative that I see these operations first hand to separate the facts from the myths. Here is some of what I have learned:

Myth: Don't visit Fair Oaks in Indiana as it's not indicative of the Bos proposal.

Fact: Five of the ten 3,500-cow dairies are owned by the extended Bos family, and they are among the largest tourist attractions in Indiana.

Myth: Three Mile Canyon Farm is the third largest ammonia polluter in the nation.

Fact: Investigations by OSHA, through the organization NIOSH, spent a week with a boat in the center of the manure lagoon and found that all three dairies are well within compliance of both State of Oregon and national EPA standards.

Myth: Cattle at large dairies are abused.

Fact: Contented cows give more milk. Every Holstein dairy I visited had an average production of 70 pounds of milk per cow every day. The 8,500-cow Jersey herd at Three Mile Canyon averages nearly 60 pounds per cow per day. Ask any dairyman, that's phenomenal production, and all with somatic cell counts below 160,000.

Myth: Cattle grazing on grassland pollute less.

Fact: Cattle on a ration of mixed feeds equaling low in potash and phosphates will create emissions of ammonia, potash and phosphates of 90% less than grazing cattle. Large scale dairymen subscribe to this philosophy.

There are many concerns with the introduction of a new, large dairy operation and Mr Myers' advice of "an abundance of caution" truly resonates. Manure storage and nutrient management are major concerns. Every single dairyman I visited with, emphasized the nutrients (manure) cannot exceed what the ground and that particular crop calls for. It is incumbent upon dairymen to have an excellent nutrient control plan, be it injected, incorporated or topically applied. These folks do their "due diligence" and I would welcome them in my backyard.

As always, you can reach me, Sally or Barb at 815/232-0774 or e-mail us at jimsacia@aeroinc.net. You can also visit my website at www.jimsacia.com. It's always a pleasure to hear from you.

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