McHenry County Blog relayed the Sunday before last that Jeff Berkowitz had discovered that McHenry County’s State Senator Pam Althoff was a weak link in the Republican opposition to the Democrats’ income proposed 50% tax hike.

Now, Pete Gonigam’s First Electric Newspaper reports that she still might be open to the idea.

Her office phone number is 815-455-6330. Her Springfield number is 217-782-8000.

Although Governor Pat Quinn has almost figured out that House Republicans are going to force him to wait until January to have a chance at getting a huge income tax hike, Senate Republicans have been being quite squishy on the matter. A call to her office might help strengthen her backbone on the issue.

And, if you would like a logical reason why the Democrats should be the only people voting for a tax hike, let me fill you in on how we got in the current financial mess.

Rod Blagojevich gets elected criticizing the efforts of Governor George Ryan to economize. Blagojevich campaigns to keep open or to open every state institution that Ryan has decided is not needed.

After taking office, Blagojevich concludes there is a $5 billion deficit. As far as I can figure out it is a two-year deficit which could have been worked off, except…

Rod Blagojevich and his Democrats have added $1 billion of expenditures each of the last six years.

Add $6 million to the $5 billion deficit that was never worked off and you have an $11 billion deficit.

Two-year again, it is my belief.

So, the Democrats caused this problem.

They are the ones that allowed illegal aliens to obtain taxpayer-paid medical care, as just one example.

For having been so irresponsible, it is their responsibility to figure a way out of this mess.

That is not the job of Republicans like our State Senator Althoff.

In January, the Democrats can pass whatever they want with a bare majority and they have, of course, much higher numbers than that.

Every Republican who votes for the Democrats’ tax hike bill will allow another Democratic Party legislator to escape the voter wrath they so justly have earned by their irresponsible spending since gaining total control of Springfield six years ago.