Arlington Heights should support wage

To the editor: On March 20, the board of trustees in Arlington Heights first considered the Cook County Board ordinance that incrementally would raise the minimum wage to $13 over four years starting in July. Sick pay would total 48 hours of time.

Because of home rule, a municipality can choose to “opt-out” of this ordinance. There was a great deal of input from the community on this important issue and Mayor Tom Hayes wisely decided to postpone the vote until the trustees had time to consider this input and carefully sort through all the facts and feelings about what is truly best for our community.

The vote for the Minimum Wage Ordinance is now scheduled for May 1. I believe that our Village of Arlington Heights should not opt out of raising the minimum wage. There has not been an increase in the minimum wage for many years and it is time to do it. The Minimum Wage Ordinance will be in effect in Chicago and in other suburbs. It is also true that many suburbs are opting out.

Arlington Heights has been a leader in many important quality of life matters. Now is the time to, again, show that same leadership. It is well known that the minimum wage is really too low to live on. For example, we have many nursing care facilities in this community with many workers trying to live on these low wages.

Let’s do better. Give this some real thought and communicate your beliefs to our board of trustees. The meeting on May 1 will be very important for all of us.

Kathy Motto

Arlington Heights

Don’t ‘opt out’ of minimum-wage hike

To the editor: Arlington Heights and Des Plaines are considering taking away the rights granted by Cook County to minimum wage increases and paid sick days. Mount Prospect already did.

This is being done despite the fact that Arlington Heights, Des Plaines, and Mount Prospect citizens overwhelmingly voted in favor of both policies in 2014 and 2016 election referendums: 65-67 percent of voters supported the minimum wage increase and more than 75 percent supported paid sick days.

The county ordinances are already law. However, all three municipalities actively drafted laws to “opt-out” of the ordinances at the request of local chambers. These drafted laws were created without input from local residents.

Mount Prospect’s Board passed their law to take away these rights without hearing from citizens. Arlington Heights agreed to delay their vote after receiving hundreds of calls and emails from constituents and listening to testimony from many constituents.

Business interests claim that the Cook County ordinances will cause businesses to relocate, cut jobs and close down. However, the available data proves these assertions are false. Areas where similar laws have been passed show no statistically significant impact in terms of job loss, job relocation or business failure (small or large).

In fact, the data shows that such policies benefit employers and local economies. With paid sick days, employers save on reduced turnover and training costs. Local economies in cities like Seattle experienced growth in service industries and a decrease in unemployment after a minimum-wage increase.

In short, the Cook County laws will help struggling working families move out of poverty, boost the local economy, and improve local businesses.

Suburban Cook County municipalities: Don’t do something that will damage your reputations, your democracy, and your communities’ economic and physical health. Don’t take away your citizens’ rights to the minimum wage increase and paid sick days.

Ann Gillespie

Arlington Heights

New D15 board: Get out of 10-year pact

To the editor: I was pleased to see that the current board of District 15 received a resounding rebuke from the property taxpayers in the district by all of them being ousted for their ill-conceived, reprehensible, fiscally irresponsible 10-year contract with the teacher’s union.

Agreeing to 40 percent over 10 years for just showing up every day in a foreshortened work year is nothing short of irrational. Forty percent quite unrelated to performance or effectiveness or results. Forty percent exacerbated by the step and lane increases that will inflate the base on which the increases are computed.

Forty percent that leaves the taxpayers committed for 10 years, regardless of how economic conditions may fluctuate. Forty percent, no matter that this is grossly disproportionate to the generally modest, if at all, wage increases in the real world.

I think back to board President Peggy Babcock’s assertion in the Chicago Tribune last year that “It was a pleasure to put in place the kind of fiscal planning that successful businesses do.”

How naive of her to think that successful businesses would engrave “fiscal planning” irreparably in stone, rather than providing the flexibility to adjust and revise their plans as conditions dictate. How absurd.

Worse yet, it was quite incomprehensible that this reckless board would blithely ignore the huge opposition to their abominable 10-year contract and try to foist another $130 million debt on taxpayers last November. Thankfully, this later fiscally thoughtless, misguided plan produced an unqualified defeat.

I can only hope that the incoming board, people who seem to have a sense of responsibility to taxpayers as well as to students and educators, will instruct their attorneys to find some way to rescind this outrageous contract and negotiate an agreement that is fair and sensible for everyone.

Ronald C. Brown

Rolling Meadows

Another successful township job fair

To the editor: On behalf of the Hanover Township Officials, staff and all of our volunteers, I would like to thank the 78 area businesses and community partners that made the sixth annual Hanover Township Job Fair a complete success.

We are especially grateful to state Rep. Fred Crespo for continuing to co-sponsor this great event.

More than 330 residents came through the job fair on March 29, and 84 participants have been offered positions with candidates are still being considered for positions in connection from the event.

Many of the attendees will receive follow up phone calls and leads from potential employers as a result of their participation.

The township recognizes that our local economy is strong and successful when more of our residents are gainfully employed.

Thank you again to all of the companies and organizations that took part in the Hanover Township Job Fair.

Brian P. McGuire

Hanover Township supervisor

Overhead walkway still the best solution

To the editor: Over a year has passed since the tragic bicycle accident on Central. I’m sure every type of solution has been gone over again and again. Why the need to pay $38,000 to an outside firm to rehash everything? It is a waste of time and money.

The most logical solution would be to have a crossover bridge, which was mentioned months ago.

An overhead walkway surpasses the benefit of a traffic light because it also allows the elderly and disabled the time needed to cross the street.

Human nature is what it is. Drivers and pedestrians will try to “beat the light,” and sometimes there are no winners.

Elk Grove Village is a perfect example of solving the problem. Just visit Busse Woods near Higgins and Arlington Heights Road where they have an overhead walkway.

This $38,000 should be used to build this bridge and not for a useless discussion going over everything that has already been said. Can’t our village trustees make a decision among themselves? After all, they do live here.

Judith Reed

Mount Prospect

Thanks for being nice to my dog!

To the editor: I want to thank one of the Mount Prospect police officers who stopped and gave my dog a treat while we were on our morning walk. Also, my mailman, Larry, always has a dog treat as well when he sees my dog.

What a nice gesture, and I thank them for their service to residents.

Jean Krueger

Mount Prospect