Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Raising taxes is never about healthy living Instead of raising taxes on soda pop, how about cutting the obscene $4.4 billion a year budget for Cook County. Merge Cook County into Township government. Eliminate redundancies that are outrageous. End the double dipping pensions and payrolls politicians in Cook County now get. Published in the Southwest…
Orland Park approves 375% increase in mayoral salary Nearly 100 residents crowded the Orland Park village hall to complain that the pay hike should be presented to the voters for approval and not the board members, who voted unanimously to hike the salary following two hours of public discussion and debate. By Ray Hanania (Note: You…
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Remembering the Daily Newspaper, and when big city journalism had more credibility. But today, the community newspaper and the Internet offer more variety, more diversity and more news that is of interest directly to you. Not even a fish wants to be wrapped in today’s dailies Read the column or listen to the author read the column…
In Suburbs vs Chicago, the city needs to improve By Ray Hanania I don’t hate the people of Chicago, but I do worry about the city where they live. The fact that everyday at least one or two people are murdered on the streets of the city is enough to cause worry. You can’t blame…
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State Rep. Lou Lang has proposed a brilliant and fair plan to help the state of Illinois dig itself out of its multi-billion dollar debt. Change the state’s fixed income tax rate for everyone and replace it with a scaled tax that actually reduces the state tax for most taxpayers, those earning under $200,000, and…
Read More “Graduated state income tax for Illinois makes sense” »
State should prevent candidates from suing each other By Ray Hanania Part of the job of running for office is to tell the voters why you should be elected. And another part of the job of being a candidate is to tell the voters why your opponent shouldn’t be elected. That means that you give…
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Red light cameras would be good, if they were fair By Ray Hanania If there is one thing that most drivers hate, it’s red light cameras. But I think red light cameras, and even speed cameras, are necessary to crack down on reckless drivers who we all see blow red lights, or who race 20…
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Most communities are automatically given Home Rule powers. But some communities have to fight for it, and overcome the ignorance of some politically active whiners who complain about everything because they are not in power By Ray Hanania The last election shows that newly appointed Mayor Sergio Rodriguez is very popular in the Village of…
Read More “Home Rule makes Summit equal to other communities” »
I finally found a great place to work out, at Charter Fitness. I’ve bounced around a few health clubs but Charter fitness so far is the best. And I think seniors in Southwest Suburban Chicago should give it a closer look. It’s also the least expensive of all the clubs By Ray Hanania I think…
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Will controversy follow recent sale of Palos Church to Muslims? The southwest suburbs have a history of community opposition to the building of a mosque or Muslim center, reflecting growing racism and discrimination against Muslims nationwide. Have things changed? By Ray Hanania More than 15 years ago, tried to purchase the abandoned Reform Church of Palos…
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Great teachers are hard to find. Chicagoland schools in the city and the suburbs are deficient and not doing their jobs. A major responsibility falls on the teachers, whoa re not doing enough, and the excessive focus and resource commitments to school administrations. Cut the administrations and grade teachers for their work By Ray Hanania…
Common Core and our failing high schools. Too many high schools are graduating students who are “not ready” for college, achieving under 21 on ACT testing. By Ray Hanania When I was young, if my grade point average was under 60 percent, I flunked. The grading system we used then applies today: A=90+; B=80+; C=70+;…
Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman resigned from her 13 year position on the board to take an important private sector job at a Fortune 100 company. It’s a loss for Cook County, a loss for moderation, a loss for Gov. Bruce Rauner and a loss for taxpayers By Ray Hanania Liz Gorman, the Orland Township…
Would Chicago just stop whining already? Chicago’s financial mess is dominating the news and dragging the state of Illinois down. The only solution Chicago mayor’s have had over the years is to make the State bail out the city. But I think it’s time we stopped By Ray Hanania I’m so tired of listening to…
Too often, I see people briskly step out of their vehicles parked in handicapped parking zones and displaying handicapped licenses plates or handicapped rear view mirror tags. They just don’t look like they need the plates, but who in government is courageous enough to set this abuse straight? By Ray Hanania Three times in the past…
Pete’s Fresh Market opened a new store in Bridgeview recently that offers the widest range of fresh deli salads and buffets, the largest I have ever seen. And I love grocery stores. By Ray Hanania I love food, especially from the Middle East. That’s one reason why I spend so much time meandering around grocery stores…
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This week, another major grocery retailer entered the battle for the growing Middle Eastern food market in Chicagoland offering a wide range of Arab food products. The past half century has seen Arab food migrate from the shelves of small ethnic neighborhood food stores to the premium shelves of the largest national chains. Chicagoland has been no exception, just…
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Gorman gives Rauner some added ‘Big Mo’ By RAY HANANIA Southwest News-Herald Newspaper Friday, December 27, 2013 Winnetka Businessman Bruce Rauner may be new to politics, but he apparently knows more about Republican politics than his rivals. Rauner won the endorsement of the Cook County Republican Party over GOP rivals State Sen. Kirk Dillard and Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford,…