MADISON - ST. CLAIR RECORD

To The Editor:

If you own a business or work for a business, STAR bonds are your sales tax dollars being used to fund your competitors and put you out of business. Hundreds of millions of dollars in sales tax you pay will not be used for the State of Illinois but to enrich a small group of developers: Bruce Holland, Chad Holland, Ryan Holland, and John Costello. Note the last guy named and ask yourself these questions:

1) Would you be surprised if Congressman Costello, pride of the Obama Administration, was waist-deep in this deal?

2) Would you be surprised if you found out Congressman Costello had traveled to Chicago to cut a deal with our Illinois power brokers – say, Illinois Speaker of the House Madigan?

3) Would you be surprised if these guys were putting pressure on legislators, say, Tom Holbrook, et al to support this deal?

4) Would you be surprised if you found out that a lot of promises were being made to put this economic black hole across the finish line?

5) Would you be surprised if you found out Congressman Costello's son was going to get very rich from this taxpayer deal?

6) Would you be surprised to find out that the success of the Holland/Costello group would materially damage every city, town and village within 150 miles of this subsidized economic black hole?

7) Are you surprised that virtually all of the mayors in this region oppose this bill?

8) Would you be surprised if you realized that the loss of business would cause property values to drop and schools to fail?

9) Would you be surprised if the Holland/Costello developers told you that none of this was true?

10) Would you be surprised... ?

Contact your governor, legislator, county board member, mayor, or school superintendent and tell them you're not surprised and you want your taxes spent to reduce the debt, not make developers rich.

Pat Patrick
Shiloh