Bailing out homeowners

Your June 16 editorial “Tornado warning” is absolutely correct to point
out that “every part of the country has its risks.” But these risks
aren’t the same everywhere.

Even
with the recent spate of tornadoes, the chances of a Chicagoland home
being destroyed by high winds remain a fraction of those for a typical
home along the coast in hurricane-prone South Florida. That’s why it
simply doesn’t make sense to do what some in Congress—including Sen.
Barack Obama (D-Ill.)—have proposed and set up a new federally run
insurance company to help bail out homeowners in other states.
Insurance premiums are high enough in the Chicago area. Why raise costs
even further to bail out other states?