As expected, the Alvarez-Daley faction attacked us this week - attempting to change the subject from Anita's troubling and questionable campaign contributions. In case you missed it, Alvarez has received contributions from more than 80 current employees of the State's Attorney's office. Those are employees who - if Anita won election - would work for her at the State's Attorney's office. We don't have to tell you that this poses a MAJOR conflict of interest.
What's more, Alvarez has accepted $70,000 in campaign cash from Blagojevich fundraiser/insider trial attorney Bob Clifford. Clifford is making a small fortune suing Cook County to win taxpayer-funded legal settlements. Talk about the lawsuit lottery!
So, predictably, Alvarez attacked us for taking some miniscule (about $2700 total) contributions - during past campaigns - from individuals who later ran afoul of the law.
Fair enough. A candidate for State's Attorney should avoid even the apearance of impropriety - so we are returning those contributions in question.
But we now challenge Alvarez to return her tens of thousands of dollars in "conflict of interest" campaign cash. Will she do it? We bet she doesn't - and, in the process, proves that she is little more than a political insider out to defend the status quo.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TODAY TO RESPOND TO THESE ATTACKS....
Please read the following stories and add your comments in the comments section...or consider writing a letter to the editor. Tell your fellow citizens that Tony is doing the right thing - and that Anita needs to come clean with her questionable campaign cash.
This video is from February 2008 when the political insiders first threaten Tony.
And this video is from July 2008 when Tony tried to repeal the "Corruption Tax" and was attacked again.
Surprise, surprise, the political insiders are trying to stop any type of reform from taking place in Cook County. They wish to just do business as usual and attack anyone that tries to have a different opinion.
Daley and Stroger are just starting to use their political clout to attack a true reformer in Tony Peraica.
Daley will use his influence with media contacts to attack Tony in the upcoming months.
The insiders do not want Tony to win and are just starting in their smear campaign.
Residents in Cook County are now paying the single highest sales tax in the entire nation as of July 1st.
The sales tax increase was passed to fix budget shortfalls in Cook County.
It's the same Cook County where family members and friends of County Board President Todd Stroger receive jobs that pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. This is outrageous.
I attended the Palatine meeting with President Stroger and found myself in disbelief. I am 19 years old and come from a middle-class family. The Democrats in Illinois aren't fighting for my family. They are fighting for themselves.
Time after time, the Democrats in Illinois have been given the chance to lead and to get things done for working families across the state. They have failed. They have not led.
It's time for a new brand of leadership in Cook County and in the state of Illinois.
Here is a video from Larry Suffredin's campaign during the Cook County State's Attorney primary.
"I've stood up to Todd Stroger's tax increases"
What a difference a few months makes. During the Primary Season, Larry portrayed himself as a corruption-fighting tax-cutter.
But after losing the Primary - he became the deciding vote to pass the massive Cook County sales tax.
Then, last week, he voted to uphold this "Corruption Tax" to protect his friends, the political insiders.
It just goes to show that political insiders like Larry - and his friend, Anita Alvarez - can't be trusted to fight the corruption being perpetrated by their friends and cronies.
Rogers Park Bench filmed and broadcast the following video from today's press conference announcing Tony's ordinance to repeal the recent Cook County sales tax increase:
On a 10-7 vote today, they successfully voted to defeat my ordinance to repeal the recent 1% Cook County sales tax that has given us the largest tax increase in the nation.
Still think this race for State's Attorney isn't important?
Their tax increase is going to cover the millions drained from the budget to pay for the cronyism, the waste, the fraud and the abuse.
That's why I call this tax the "Corruption Tax."
So it's not a coincidence when we see my challenger for the State's Attorney office going out and touting the fact that she's raised $1 million for her campaign coffers ... because she was handpicked by the political insiders to continue the State's Attorney's office record of inaction.
Now those insiders are doing their best to protect their investment in the status quo by filling her bank account with cold hard cash.
It's time for a change. Want to Axe the Corruption Tax?
Chicagoan Giao Nguyen thinks it only makes sense for savvy shoppers to try to minimize sales taxes on their purchases. The 32-year-old software developer does that by buying books, consumer electronics and camera equipment on the Internet, where he often pays zero in tax and shipping, compared with the 10.25 percent sales tax he would shell out in Chicago.
“There is little incentive for me to buy locally,” he said. “I’m just frugal.”
Now, Nguyen is trying to make a business out of it, developing an iPhone application that will calculate sales tax no matter where you are and compare it with other areas.
He may be on to something.
Another sad story of how our citizens are forced to bend over backwards to avoid the Corruption Tax here in Cook County.
Chicago Business has an article about how businesses are starting to flee Chicago. Could this be because of the highest taxes in the United States?
"The 0.72-percentage-point jump in vacancy is the largest quarterly increase since the fourth quarter of 2002"
This jump came right before the taxes rose to their current level of 10.25%. Businesses knew the tax hike was coming and decided to jump ship. Why would they stick around if all they are seeing is corruption and fraud in the Cook County government which leads to higher taxes? When we cut the waste and corruption in the Cook County government, it will cause the taxes to lower, and those businesses will come back to Cook County. We need someone to root out the corruption, and Tony Peraica is the person to do that.
Earlier today, we held a press conference to call on my fellow Commissioner Larry "The Lobbyist" Suffredin to support his ordinance to repeal the 1% sales tax increase.
Larry knows it's the right thing to do ... the question is, will he do it?
If you recall, Suffredin was the commissioner who provided the crucial deciding vote in favor of the sales tax increase. Larry had opposed the tax increase right up until the 11th hour, when he made a backroom deal in exchange for his support for the massive tax increase.
Larry did the wrong thing. Now, he has a chance to do the right thing.
Will he?
You can help make sure he does by calling his office at 847-864-1209 and urging him to support our ordinance to repeal the Corruption Tax.
Insider Code Language: 'Revenue' Really Means 'Tax Increases'
If you watch the latest WGN News story on Tony's plan to roll back the massive tax hikes, you notice that Commissioner Steele talks on and on about "revenue" for the government.
Any time a politician talks about the importance of "revenue" ... hold on to your wallets.
You see, a political insider's number one priority is bringing money into the government. That money equals political jobs for friends and family.
When they talk about "revenue" they are also talking about increasing your taxes.
The problem with their calculation? Higher taxes usually means less revenue.
Why? Because higher taxes means consumers and employers spend less. High taxes chase residents and businesses away.
When people and businesses spend less or relocate, that means there's less tax revenue being produced.
So, when the politicians pass taxes to fund the government - they're actually enacting a policy that is counterproductive.
Higher taxes equals less tax revenue. It's Economics 101.
The insiders would do better to create a better economic and jobs climate so that more people have jobs and more businesses are coming to Cook County.
That increases the tax base. And an increased tax base means more government revenue.
Then we go to Step 2: forcing government to live within its means.
But that's a separate battle ... and one that Tony has been fighting for years.
