So a homeowner who takes off between Christmas and New Year's comes home from Grandma's house to a stack of mail Jan. 3: The county collector may grant a grace period for late fee/penalty to the mass of torch-bearing protestors. However; the IRS won't allow you to itemize your 2011 tax payment as a deduction until you file in 2013.

They also do not care if local government raises taxes without a vote of the people in order to make up the difference from the lower assessments. There are a lot of administrators' salaries that must be maintained high in order to get the highest quality administrators in the many areas of government bureaucracy.

Remember the quality of county collection when Michelle McBride asks for your vote.

Bruce Helenbart, St. Charles