“When Gary flourishes, so does Lake County and so does Porter County and so does Indiana. We’re all connected.”

 

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Transcript for Gary Is Part of Us

Well, in terms of rightsizing, you know, Gary has a lot of area but it doesn’t have the tax base to maintain all of that area and provide services for all that area.  The jobs left.  The taxes left.  You know, the new mayor’s doing what she can, but it comes down to money in a lot of cases, and the city doesn’t have it.  You know, I think there is some validity to, you know, Indianapolis not really paying much attention to Northwest Indiana, and only-when-they-have-to kind of thing, so, but I think the state has a responsibility to Northwest Indiana, and the state has a responsibility to Gary, and we all do.  I mean, it’s part of us.  Gary is part of our region.  We can’t ignore it, and when Gary flourishes, you know, so does Lake County, and so does Porter County, and so does Indiana, so, we’re all connected.  

Being a good neighbor means being there when you’re needed, or lending a hand, or being a friend, and knowing that you can be counted on, and, you know, so all the things that are important to be a neighbor to somebody in your own neighborhood, your next-door neighbor, are also important in being a good neighbor to the county next door, or the city next door.  Over the years, you know, there hasn’t been a lot of warm feelings between Lake County and Porter County.  Lot of that has to do with, you know, individuals and politicians, probably more so than people in general.  

A few years ago, a lot of people got riled up about a city in Porter County—I don’t even remember who it was—helping out Gary in the middle of a snowstorm, or something like that.  You know, ‘Why send our tax dollars over to Gary to help them out in this snowstorm?’  You know, ‘Tax dollars should stay here in Porter County,’ and pretty good example of not being a good neighbor.  You’re really showing who you are when you comment negatively on something like that.