Chicago over All

Where to start. I feel like running away from home, but I'm over 50 and I own my home. At least I do for now. Government is getting more intrusive around here. First we have a report that Chicago-dominated Democrats are bullying the village of Bensonville for opposing O'Hare expansion. The legislature passed a law specifically targeting the village for cross-training their police and fire-fighters. Two other villages were left untouched by the law. More in the Illinois Republican Project here. Story in the Daily Herald:

In a lawsuit filed Friday against Blagojevich and the state of Illinois, the village alleges the law violates the state constitution.

The suit says state officials acted “arbitrarily and unreasonably” by prohibiting public safety departments in any non-home-rule community that did not have such a program before Jan. 1, 1998.

Bensenville is the only community fitting that description.

And in today's Tribune we have the news that Cook County officials are considering a county-wide smoking ban. Now I am not going to argue the merits of a smoking ban, but if it is going to be enacted, it should be by village officials. Those of us who live in suburban Cook County are forced to tolerate a lot of corruption and incompetence, but this is reaching a new level! I don't care whether you are a Democrat or Republican or largely apolitical, most reasonable people would agree that local government is closest to the people and most representative of and accountable to them. These arrogant county hacks are substituting their judgement for that of our local elected officials and citizen volunteers on what should be a local matter and this is WRONG. At least locally we have some chance of "throwing the rascals out" if we don't agree with them. This is not the first time communities or small groups of them have been specifically targeted by Chicago and its allies. That is why a number of communities around here are considering or have switched to home rule. We are virtually being annexed to the City of Chicago. Here's a quote from the Cicero town spokesman:

"It's disconcerting when County Board members have nothing better to do than politically grandstand and usurp local authority when they can't even keep criminals behind bars and run a county hospital system."

Wake up! Fight back! We non-Chicagoans around the state have got to unite or we will continue to be pushed around by a group with more clout than sense. And that includes the governor.