We all recognize these words as the big selling point for realtors. And it’s always an accurate assessment. Now we have another assessment by a man named King Harris. Mr. Harris chaired a “task force” for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Most people don’t know who he is, but Mr. Harris is the son of the man who co-cofounded Toni hair products which made the famed permanent solutions for ladies’ hair. With vim and vigor the current Mr. Harris has found yet another way to curl our hair…recommend that unincorporated areas of Cook County be added to existing municipalities, like Niles. Does that mean anything?
You bet it does! The Preckwinkle “task force,” aided by real estate lawyer Barry Nekritz (if the name sounds familiar, think ‘State Representative Elaine Nekritz-D, Northbrook’), has decided that county government spends too much money providing services to unincorporated areas---- so, let Niles and other suburbs annex these and spend the villages’ monies! That’s so creative. So public spirited. So typical! A badly managed and poorly financed county government wants relief. Relief from its own tired patronage empire and tax gouging policies. Should Niles assume yet more problems?
The media quotes high ranking Preckwinkle employee Mayor Andrew Przybylo on this issue. Hizzoner says of his boss’s suggestion “I do think it’s a good idea…” Yeah? Lots of people like me DON’T. We don’t want to add areas which have infrastructure problems, policing problems, public safety problems as well as zoning and code problems. We have enough problems already with local flooding and if Mayor Andrew goes along with King and Toni, we would increase our own taxes to make county politicians happy. Not a good prospect.
Mr. Harris lost money when Bernie Madoff made off with billions of investors’ cash. So he should appreciate our sentiments, that he and Toni and Andrew shouldn’t be looking at our wallets and purses to bail out Cook County. Maine Township residents are lucky they have their township supervisor Carol Teschky says it all ---“I like it the way it is.” Thousands of us Niles residents feel the same way.
