Metering is ON

kadner

Phil Kadner biography

Phil Kadner’s column appears five times a week on Page 2 of the print edition of the SouthtownStar.

He believes columnists should advocate for readers …

Read More

Search recent columns

More Columns

Kadner: DeLuca can’t pass buck on Crete detention center

It seemed strange that a decision not to vote on something would be interpreted as a “yes” vote. But that’s what state Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) told me during a telephone call. If the Crete Village Board failed to take a public position on …

Kadner: Madigan plan takes cash from suburbs and schools

Confusion. Panic. Division. It seems those are the goals of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as he leads the Legislature toward teacher pension reform. On Monday, groups representing suburban mayors and school districts were in a state of panic because of three legislative amendments that …

Kadner: Why one man cared about burials for the poor

“What we do about the dead says more about the living than the dead.” Those are the words, spoken to me many years ago, of the Rev. Joseph Ledwell. Ledwell, the longtime pastor of Homewood First Presbyterian Church before his death in 2008, presided over …

Kadner: Orland Metra lot has parking but no handicapped access

I’m going to call this the Metra Challenge for the Handicapped. That’s because I recently visited a Metra station in Orland Park that has handicapped parking, but where everything but a climbing wall has been installed to make access impossible for disabled commuters. Located near …

Kadner: GOP leaders almost oppose pension shift

Republican leaders in the Legislature oppose shifting the cost of suburban and downstate teacher pensions from the state to local school districts. Sort of. Kind of. Not exactly. Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) and House Minority leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) participated in a conference …

Kadner: Kirk talks about tax cuts due to quality health care

U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) on Tuesday released a brief videotape of his recovery process from a severe stroke he suffered Jan. 21. He speaks in a halting voice, thanks his nurses and doctors at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and then sends a message …

Kadner: Senior struggles to pay his property tax bill

There’s no tax as unfair or more harmful than the property tax. Tony Ruffalo, 74, understands that in a way he never did before. Ruffalo, who lives in Crete Township, has an income of about $29,000 a year. He’s been trying to sell his home …

Kadner: Trying to get insight from a fill-in lawmaker

There seems to be a disconnect between state lawmakers and their constituents that baffles me. I was hoping that Charles “Chuck” Krezwick might be able to bridge the gap. Krezwick in February was named to fill the unexpired term of state Rep. Kevin McCarthy in …

Kadner: Where the local florist buys Mother’s Day flowers

Tucked inside an industrial park in Alsip, surrounded by belching smokestacks, is the sweetest-smelling place you’re likely to find in the Southland. Vans Floral Products supplies flowers, plants, vases, ribbons, baskets, statuary and just about everything else they might need to 1,200 retail florists in …

Kadner: Debt and taxes grow, Cook County treasurer reports

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas believes that if people find out how local governments are spending their tax money they will do something about it. So Pappas has accumulated an impressive amount of financial data on 489 of the 553 government bodies that collect property …

Kadner: Local voters trust leaders to buy cheap electricity

It could be considered a poll on how much voters trust their suburban governments. Cook County Clerk David Orr isn’t making that kind of judgment, but he has gathered some statistics on the March primary election that are interesting, if not especially revealing. Of 62 …

Kadner: Unincorporated areas exist for a reason

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle wants to eliminate unincorporated areas to cut her budget. After a failed attempt to persuade municipalities to take control of these areas last year, she appointed a task force to study the issue. On Monday, the task force, after …

Kadner: When government decides how people can protest

Elected officials in Crete claim they’re worried about protesters from Chicago’s NATO Summit invading their quiet suburb next month. That’s the excuse they’re using for proposing an ordinance that would require organizers of any public protest to purchase $5 million in insurance, obtain a parade …

Kadner: Baldermann’s gas price war wins hearts of motorists

Motorists are bewildered by gasoline prices. When New Lenox Mayor Tim Baldermann urged his residents this week to boycott local gas stations, he struck a nerve with people throughout the Southland. In response to Thursday’s column about Baldermann’s boycott, I’ve received telephone calls from readers, …

Kadner: Mayor tells residents to boycott gas stations

When I asked Tim Baldermann if he could do something about the price of dress shirts in department stores, he laughed. Baldermann, the mayor of New Lenox, made news this week by asking residents of his village to boycott their local gas stations. According to …

Kadner: Legislators don’t deserve state pension benefits

Illinois lawmakers ought to give up their state pensions. Legislators are part-time employees, but they make nearly $70,000 a year and in some cases can qualify for a pension after as little as four years in office at age 62. If they were elected before …

Kadner: Pension-funding switch hurts school districts

For two months, I’ve been warning readers of the state’s plan to shift the cost of teacher pensions onto homeowners. Last week, Gov. Pat Quinn announced general details of his plan to reform the state’s five pension systems, and sure enough, he mentioned shifting the …

< Previous
  • 1
  • 2
Next >