Ned, I thought you might be interested in reading the letter I recently sent to Scott Stevenson surrendering my Diversey Harbor slip I can no longer afford. Hutch Liebewein, Paols Park, Il

February 1, 2009 Scott Stevenson, Westrec Marinas Dear Scott, It is with sincere regret that I am returning my 2009 Chicago Park District Diversey Harbor Mooring Assignment unsigned. I have been a Diversey Harbor tenant since 1979—exactly 30 years! But as a retired senior citizen, I can no longer afford the outrageous slip fees that the Park District is charging, particularly for suburban boaters like myself. A 9% increase for us alone is absolutely criminal. I am moving my boat to another Illinois harbor which, unlike Diversey, provides FREE electricity, FREE dock boxes, FREE satellite TV, with a resultant slip fee almost HALF that charged by the Chicago Park District for the same 35 foot slip, a yearly saving well over $2000. The nasty fee proliferation continually added by the greedy Chicago political machine—Non-resident FEE, Chicago Mooring Tax, Water usage FEE and now a $25 electronic Transaction FEE—demonstrates the grubby mendacity of these politicians who consider boaters their cash cows. Well, not any longer will they bleed this boater! Sincerely, Hutch Liebewein