Make it easier to follow the money — it’s ours, after all
August 31st, 2007 by moniesWhile the secession talk is just that — talk — for now, it shows that people are angry at the arrogance, growth and spending of layers and layers of government. It’s not just the county government that’s become huge; it’s also the city and state governments. These governments — and their spending — cost us, the taxpayers, a lot of money, a subject that is raw right now, particularly since the first installments on property taxes have just come due.
I paid mine on March 1. Right on time. No reason to let the county make any interest on my money while it could be making interest for me — especially after reading about all the new hires of friends, relatives and neighbors Todd Stroger has made since winning election as president of the Cook County Board. Your and my tax dollars are paying for this.
And what are our tax dollars going for on the state level? Not much better story there. The Sun-Times has just uncovered the latest account of government excess. The secretary of Illinois’ Human Services Department, Carol Adams, has a man on her staff paid solely to drive her about. Adams’ chief of staff, Teyonda Wertz, also hired a chauffeur — at $70,000 a year. This chauffeur has filed a suit in which he claims Wertz wanted more than just a car ride. He claims she asked him to go to bed with her!
In private business, you might expect Wertz to be suspended. That’s not what’s happened here. In fact, Wertz’s public salary has gone from $93,500 to $101,088 since she was accused. And our tax dollars are being spent on the case.
Add that to the government workers who are getting paid more than $100,000 a year to do jobs they’re either not yet doing or have been placed in because they’re related to or friends of people with clout. The nepotism is one thing; it’s another to consider the big pensions our taxes are underwriting and will continue to underwrite for years and years to come for these public employees.
But there is a possible cure.
My friend Mick came up with an idea as a group of us had breakfast one recent morning. “I think every single check the city, county and state writes should be registered with the name of who signed it, who it was written to, the address of the recipient, when the check was written, for what product it was written, and it should all be posted on the Internet for anyone to read,” Mick said.
Great idea. Everyone at the table agreed.
It’s not an impossible task. It’s already done by political candidates as ordered by election law. When donations are made to candidates above certain levels, the candidates have to report the name and other information about the donor. The information is then posted on the Internet for anyone and everyone to see.
If campaigns have to do this, why not the government? After all, the candidates are getting private donations and spending private money while the government is writing checks and using our tax dollars. It’s only fair that we get to see where those dollars are going.
We might learn that some people are getting lots of checks. We might find that some people are getting paid for working in more than one job at the same time. Some might even hold jobs with the city, the county and the state. It’s called “triple dipping” and has been turned into an art form by some in Illinois. Their bonuses really kick in at retirement time.
We should have a chance to see the names of the people getting paid in jobs and contracts by the city, county and state. We should be able to learn who our hard-earned taxes are paying.
Who knows, we might even learn how many tax-funded chauffeurs are taking us for a ride.
e-mail: marylaney@aol .com
Author: Mary Laney
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