North Cook News

A bipartisan crowd got the chance to vent its frustration over government gridlock to two Illinois congressmen at a Palatine town hall meeting — and Rep. Tom Morrison (R-Palatine) wants to say thanks.

"I want to thank the more than 100 citizens who joined Sen. Tom Rooney (R-Rolling Meadows) and me for our Town Hall meeting on Thursday in Palatine," Morrison posted on his website. “One key takeaway for me was the overall level of frustration and disappointment by constituents who want state lawmakers to pass a balanced budget. One of the main difficulties is that constituents enjoy and expect a certain level of services from their state and local government based on the significant taxes they already pay today, when most are not grasping the simple truth that the level of taxes collected at present does not cover current costs."

While grateful to those who attended, Morrison stressed the need for reductions to government spending. He applauded the support for maintaining spending levels for things like education, social services, public safety and transportation, but added that either spending has to be cut or reforms need to be enacted.

"Another way to accomplish this without simply cutting current services involves streamlining government by encouraging consolidation and collaboration, by providing relief on unfunded mandates, and by passing reforms that the private sector wants that would also benefit the public sector — such as worker's compensation reform," Morrison wrote. "We need worker’s compensation insurance reform because it would help the private sector, and also benefit the taxpayers who are covering public employees."