Jim, allow me to say that your wife Betty was indeed the heroine in this unfortunate saga that has captivated many of us in Sun City over these past five months. Betty’s drive, determination, and perseverance was the stimulus that we needed to weed out the chicanery that became so ever prevalent in the community. Yes, her efforts were indeed extraordinary, and we owe a great debt to her for her untiring work. As I stated to the members of my organization, a victory has been won — but the battle continues to drive out the elements on the Board that brought about this miserable state of affairs and to bring back sanity and fair play to Sun City. I know that you and Betty will again be at the forefront in this next phase of the effort. I know that we will all get behind David Rosenfeldt and plan for the election in October to get decent people on the Board that will truly be dedicated to fair play, transparency, and honesty in order to return the good name of Sun City, Huntley, where it rightly deserves. We have the candidates, and we will do all we can to get them seated.
Fred Leznek
Sun City Resident
To all who cared:â¨â¨The Board’s decision to bring the rental issue to a close is a welcome relief to all concerned. â¨â¨My thanks to all the residents and the official and unofficial committees who played any part in encouraging the Board to bring about the much needed closure.â¨
And …please allow a personal note:â¨My wife, Betty, has cooperated with all the organized efforts to resolve the contentious issue which faced us and at the same time pursued her own initiatives during this trying period. She was thorough, persistent, and initiated a number of investigations which produced telling motives and information that was not in the best interest of the community as a whole.â¨She has devoted countless hours to the cause, all of which achieved the goal of maintaining the promise of Sun City.â¨Betty does not expect anything more other than the satisfaction of accomplishing the task at hand. Her efforts were extraordinary. As an admiring husband, I felt compelled to say, publicly…thanks for a job well done.â¨â¨
Jim Darow
Re. your article on âApportionment,â which summarized the meeting on June 18, dealing with disproportionate property tax bills, the comments by Sen. Chris Lauzen are worth follow-up. Sen. Lauzen said, âLook at the power in this room. Run for office. Get involved. Learn what these Boards have oversight of.â
To that end, the Sun City Symposium Club is attempting to set up meetings with some Taxing District Board members:
School District 158 accounts for 61% of the property tax bill. Dr. Brukey offered speakers, and we have contacted him in this regard, hoping to have School Board members speak at one of our August meetings. And we have learned that inviting more than two members constitutes an âopen meeting,â ie: open to the public at large.
The next largest item on the property tax bill (9%) is the Huntley Fire Protection District.
There are six (6) âPension Districtsâ on the property tax bill, mandated by 1997 Legislation. Combined, these pension districts add to 6% of the property tax bill. Efforts to identify these board members are proving difficult. They do not pop up neatly on websites. Calls to county offices have drawn a blank. An email to an elected official brought a suggestion that we contact IMRF (Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund), which we will do.
Symposium Club will keep you posted
Mack Titus
Sun City
Dear Mr. La Pelusa
Mr. Rossâs answers to the questions were very disappointing. Most of the answers were nothing more than doubletalk. It is unfortunate that public officials canât respond fairly to simple questions without using gibberish that no one I have talked to can understand. There are two valid questions I would like answered.
In very difficult times, why were taxes increased by 15-20% when the value of our property decreased by about the same amount?
Who are the people or persons responsible for this kind of excessive increase?
It is time to hold those accountable who are paid to protect the taxpayers and fail miserably in their efforts. Mr. Ross should be ashamed of himself by responding with a lot of mumbo-jumbo about tax multipliers. It appears those in charge determine the amount they want and adjust the tax multiplier to reflect that amount.
Very truly yours,
Jack H. Doyle
Sun City
1 Comment
My father in law has lived in Sun City since 1999. I was concerned about the move, then, because my in-laws would now be 27 miles away from my family. As time went on and I saw the growth and transition of the city of Huntley from farm to residential, I knew it was only a matter of time until the city would come after Sun City residents looking for “revenue” to build and expand its infrastructure. I told my in-laws that all you older folks concentrated in one place like Sun City now had a target painted on your backs, that target is a HUGE dollar sign and Huntley has its sights pointed right on it! All those schools, pools, and libraries have to paid by someone and I can tell right now it wont be the farmers that are going to pay for it! Good luck getting the pols to anything for you, you’re outnumbered and out gunned!