I have finally figured it out. I know why every municipal taxing body in the state that can levy a tax increase is trying to do so at the same time. They want us to beg them to approve the new casino legislation. Try to follow my reasoning.

According to the IRS, the richest 1% of Americans earned more than 21 percent of U.S. income in 2005. Furthermore, a Harvard Economics professor says today’s middle class has about half as much spending money as their parents did in the early 1970s, after taking care of essentials like housing and health care. So there’s hard data that proves most people are barely hanging on financially.

So why do our elected officials believe that we can handle a Chicago property tax increase, a Cook County sale tax increase, a state sales tax increase, and whole host of other tax and fee increases, from a new phone tax, to a tax on bottle water, to higher vehicle sticker fees, etc. all at the same time?

I think they are piling it on so that we will beg for a way out. Then they will say the only way that we can create enough revenue to solve our financial woes is to add 3 new casinos.

I know it sounds like a conspiracy theory and of course not all of these taxing bodies will get a share of the casino revenue, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t lingering in the back of one or some of their minds.