The Chicago Sun-Times goes after seniors, veterans and the disabled.
Talk about going after the most vulnerable.
The Chicago Sun-Times joined forces with Larry Msall of the Chicago Civic Federation to go after Cook County’s biggest property tax cheats.
Seniors.
The disabled.
Disabled veterans.
I’m mainly familiar with Msall and the Civic Federation for their relentless attack on public pensions.
I’m not sure about the current status of Sun-Times ownership. I’ve read they’re going non-profit and hooking up the WBEZ, the local public radio outlet. For a while they were owned partly by the Chicago Federation of Labor or the AFL-CIO. But whatever. They were supposed to be the progressive paper in town.
The scandal Msall exposed isn’t about the rich not paying their share.
That’s hardly news.
That is also not something that bothers the Civic Federation. In fact, they’re all for that.
The Sun-Times is outraged that a legless war vet gets a property tax break.
And senior freeloaders.
By the way, I just got my property value assessment in the mail. I’m retired, 73 years old and my tax bill isn’t zero.
Which brings me to my real point and this isn’t a rap on Fritz Kaegi because the Tax Assessor is only doing what the law allows him to do which is the difference between him and the crook Joe Berrios who preceded him.
My point is that not only aren’t seniors and disabled tax cheats, out property taxes are too damn high.
In gentrifying neighborhoods like mine where I have lived for nearly fifty years and where I plan to die, property taxes have skyrocketed causing elderly residents and working class immigrant homeowners to sell and leave.
This only speeds the rate of gentrification.
And three flat affordable rental buildings being torn down and replaced by ugly million dollar single family homes that are ugly and increase neighbors property taxes.
Senior, long-time home owners and the disabled SHOULD have their property taxes capped. This isn’t Fritz Kaegi’S job. It is the job of state and local legislators.
And shame on the Sun-Times.