http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/ ... 06.article
Seceding from Cook County big voting issue in Palatine
TAX ANGER | 3 challenge mayor who's pushing for separation
Five-term Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins is determined to remain in charge of her northwest suburb -- though she's not sure her village should remain part of Cook County.

Whether Palatine should consider seceding from Cook County is one of the key issues in a heated race that has the 63-year-old Mullins trying to defeat three other candidates to win a sixth term as mayor.

Her challengers -- business owner Vito Manola, ex-Chicago Bear-turned businessman Jim Schwantz and former village trustee Warren Kostka -- want to send her into political retirement.

But Mullins isn't daunted by the competitive race. "I'm not old enough to retire," she said. "Besides, I love the job, and I love my community."

The outcome of Tuesday's election could help determine whether Palatine and other Cook County suburbs continue exploring the untested path of separating from Cook County and forming one or more new counties.

Mullins is the strongest proponent among the candidates of exploring secession as a way of escaping what some see as a lack of services and an unfair burden of taxes imposed by Cook County -- especially since county officials recently raised the sales tax by 1 percentage point.

"I think forming another county would be worth looking at,'' Mullins said recently -- though she said state law needs to be changed first to make the process easier and more politically attractive.

She favors continuing long-running efforts to revitalize the suburb's growing downtown area to attract residents and businesses.

The other candidates are more cautious in their interest at breaking away from Cook County, though none is happy the County Board boosted the sales tax dramatically, a move that financially hurts Palatine residents and businesses but that they contend provides no extra county services.

"They didn't increase services after they increased taxes,'' said the 39-year-old Schwantz, a former sports radio broadcaster who works as sales manager for a Palatine-based moving company.

But Schwantz -- who has raised the most campaign contributions and is viewed as the candidate most likely to challenge Mullins -- said Palatine needs to make sure it doesn't act hastily and without the support of other dissident Cook County suburbs.

"We need people to go with us. We cannot go it alone,'' Schwantz said, adding that in the meantime he favors trying to shore up the suburb's bottom line by encouraging business development that will bring in more tax dollars.

Manola, who owns a local bakery and narrowly lost to Mullins four years ago, says he doesn't think seceding would be worth the effort.

"I would be opposed. It would be a fairly large task to leave the county,'' Manola said during a recent forum.

Kostka, who served two terms as a village trustee from 1997 to 2005, also questioned the practicality of seceding from Cook County.

_________________
You know anyone can say what's wrong, That don't make it right to me. http://www.cuil.com

Wrong Section Nos/Riles, you dumbshit.

_________________

No one can beat our Schwantz!

_________________
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Now Francis don't B a DB. It's a story about a Bear in the Bears section - capiche?!

_________________
You know anyone can say what's wrong, That don't make it right to me. http://www.cuil.com

Jim's in the lead to be the new Mayor Schwantz of Palatine.
I need to steal some signage.

_________________
Jackie "Smoke" Davis. Da Butcha Da Betta.