Area Soldier Killed In Fort Hood Rampage
Stroger Makes Hollywood Play
Put Down Your Nanowrimo And Leave The House
Sox Shuffle Continues
Mayor Daley unveiled his $5.4 billion budget today, and with it the expected $108 million increase in property taxes and the 10-cent charge on bottled water. City stickers for SUVs will be more expensive, parking fines will be higher, the tax on liquor will also increase, and the monthly phone surcharge that covers 911 costs will go from $1.25 to $2.50. Also, every time you hear a baby giggle, you have to give the City a quarter. Tough times, people. Tough times.
According to Daley, "Our revenues are flat and the cost of government continues to increase," and he wants to "keep Chicago moving forward." He scrapped plans to double the gas tax and the tax on restaurant meals, but the budget still includes $260 million in increased taxes and fees.
In his inaugural address last May, Daley promised to
... continue to challenge city government to do more with less, including restructuring our operations to further improve the delivery of city services and provide them more effectively and efficiently. We must do all we can to protect our taxpayers.
We'll have more as the story develops — and aldermen start squawking — but for now we'll point out that these tax increases come at the same time the County is discussing raising taxes, and the CTA budget clusterfuck is far from resolved.
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I used to think Daley was a decent, if flawed, leader when I first moved here some 10 years ago, but I can't think of anything big he's done right. He has stumbled on the O'Hare expansion; flipped-flopped on the Olympics (a decision that allowed Soldier Field to be ruined for Olympic use); mishandled cop contract talks; sucked money into viritually secret and barely regulated TIF funds; allowed the public schools to continue to suck balls; hardly said a peep as the CTA ran itself into the ground; hardly done shit for middle and working class people who find it harder to afford to live here; and, finally, allowed corruption to go on and on and on, meaning taxpayers pay more for crappy services and lawsuits.
Now, of course, the inevitable post-election tax increase--god forbid our Dear Munchkin Leader had proposed relatively minor increases over the duration his reign instead of this fucking whopper--and the inevitable blaming of the tax increase on other forces: labor costs (he does have a point there) and state dysfunction (much less a point).
Why do you Daley supporters keep electing this fuck? Are you so scared of Chicago without a Daley in charge? Dear god, the munchkin leader can't do shit right. Everything he touches turns to crap. Either that, or he just ignores it (see: CTA).
Spare me the crap about the 80s unless you can explain how New York, Miami and other cities managed to rebound from that experience without having a messiah named Daley in charge.
Good points. Often wonder myself what makes him so good.
o.k., my crystal ball is cloudy. Hold on, hold on, I can see something, its getting clearer, yes yes...o.k. two predictions. First this post won’t draw nearly the venom that the post about Stroger's two percent increase drew around these Chicagoist parts.
Second, unlike the Cook County Board of Commissioners, Darth Daley won’t have a problem passing his budget.
And big ups to you Guest 1, I'm glade I'm not the only one willing to admit error. And I've never witnessed a citizen reassess Darth Daley under a critical eye. Gives me a thimble full of hope. And I always say, better a thimble of hope as oppossed to a thimble of beer
i think the bottled water tax is good, as is the tax on city stickers for SUVs (considering 99% of them never leave the city.) But raising the fees for parking tickets? Good God, Rich - they're already insane!!!! You can really, really hurt the working class by doing that, especially when they double so quickly. What if you don't have the cash in hand to pay them within the grace period? I went three years without one, but a friend got slammed this year for about three months and it just about put him under.
And then there was the time that they "relocated" a friends car for an unannounced street construction project.....seeing the construction, she phoned the city, they told her they had no record of it, so she should report it stolen. She resisted the idea, spent the better part of a week looking for it on her bike, and found it with $400 worth of tickets on it, because the city had relocated it to a METER.
You just can't pull crap like that and expect people to eventually take you down, Rich.
By the way - Illnois needs a bottle bill.
Living here 7 years I have seen the light and seen what a hack of a Mayor Daley is. I wish I won't have voted for him.
Him and 99% of the Alderman need to voted out.
I bet it's a long time before Chicago lands a major Corp. headquarters let alone his ill conceived Olympic bid.
See? This is what all you Daley lovers get.
YOU re-elected this incompetent oaf!
Now, because of all of you who either couldn't get off your lazy asses to vote on election day or who did get off your ass and vote for the incompetent boob, we have to pay more and more taxes!
All so that Daley can have his CTA superstation and so that he can reward campaign contributors like the Merc with $40 million handouts!
Daley is a worthless, incompetent moron.
Its about time the people of this city woke up to that fact.
He's every bit as bad, if not worse than, the Toddler. Wake the Hell up!
(by the way spook, was that enough venom from this guest #5?)
from guest 7/6 - I guess I ended up being guest 6, not 5 before.
I will not register!
People always talk shit when tax increases are proposed, but I have been amazed how many of my friends and coworkers in the past year or so--all of them people who prefer city living over other forms of life--are seriously talking about leaving Chicago, and how many are actually forming what you might call exit plans. Some plan moves to other big cities, while some might stay in the Chicago 'burbs--though, perhaps, outside Cook County. Either way, this is alarming. The reasons? Taxes, increasing housing prices, declining services (mostly the CTA) and the realization that it remains difficult to get a good education for your kid here unless you have connections to get into a good public school, or money for a private school.
I'm one of those people, too. I'm leaving next year, after being here since the 1990s. I will choose another major city over the 'burbs, a city that has relatively efficient services or, perhaps, more affordable housing (I was content with high housing prices when I didn't have to pay for a car, but that option is quickly fading in Chicago). I cannot believe that I will actually leave. I wish it were possible to stay, as I grew up in this state and always thought Chicago was the best big city in the USA. I just am sick of paying for such a high cost of living while services get worse and the Daley machine continues to rip us off. I see no evidence that Daley will suddenly change or that enough voters finally will wake up.
I have a feeling that Chicago is about to go downhill again--perhaps not as bad as the 70s and 80s, but downhill in any case. More and more people--natives and newcomers--seem to think this, at least in my experiences talking to people and reading commentaries and blogs. And if Chicago does sink, even a bit, it will be much harder to recover now, I think, because of the increased global competition among cities and regions. Daley talks like he understands this, but I see no evidence he really does. Instead, he keeps working in the outdated, 20th-century Machine style of government, a form of government that produces decreasing benefits for its increasing costs.
I think history will show that Richie was among the worst mayors this city has had. He is a local version of Dubya more or less. No real leadership, only stubborness and a drive to enrich his cronies. And a hopeless lack of ability.
I am thinking of leaving and it won't be to the burbs. It would be another City.
I agree I think Chicago is going to stagnate.
Hope the Feds finally nail him that will be our only hope.
It's hard to understand why people who can recognize that George W. Bush and Kim Jong-Il are incompetent buffoons who got where they are through rank nepotism persist in thinking that Richie Daley isn't an incompetent buffoon who got where he is through rank nepotism.
The halfwit has yet to ever complete a major capital project remotely on time or remotely close to budget. The CTA, after ten years under his hand-picked hacks, is operating at a level Nigerians would consider inadequate. The police force is a disgrace everywhere, and appears to constitute an absolute threat to the safety of non-white Chicagoans. I haven't seen a Streets and San worker in my neighborhood since election day. Accordingly, I'm not certain what "services" he refers to.
If Richie puts all of the TIF money back into the pot, ends all of the TIFs, and puts the airport modernization in the hands of someone independent, honest and competent, and that still doesn't balance the books, I could see a tax increase. Otherwise, we shouldn't give the illiterate little Bar exam-cheating tool another nickel.
I have an easy way to avoid paying the new higher parking tickets.
DON'T PARK ILLEGALLY!!!!
This goes for you too poor people. You'll find parking legally will allow you to avoid unnecessary costs on your time and money like late fees, court appearances, and the ole Denver boot.
Make the first parking ticket free so people can be aware of the situation. Then, $250 a ticket for #2, and up $50 for each one. This will create the other benefit of clearer roadways, ambulances that can park in front of hospitals, and streets that can actually be plowed efficiently.
SUV stickers costing more are a good idea as well. I drive one, but there is no denying it takes up more space when street parking or driving on arterials.
It is reasonable to pay more money for this than someone in a smaller car.
I don't feel sorry for anyone who is complaining about this.
This is YOUR CITY. Take it back. Quit voting for Daley and his cronies, take an active interest in civic politics, VOTE REPUBLICAN once in awhile - civic republicans in Chicago are not the same as Texas republicans (look at giuliani and bloomberg in nyc), ORGANIZE, DEMAND TO BE HEARD.
Without the voters this city would be nothing. It was nothing in 1980 and could once again be called "beirut on the lake." Get it together you complainers and do something about this mockery of a civic government.
Also it is sad that people who are complaining about this are too scared to register. Do you think the daley gestapo is going to come get you?
Raarr, I am more pissed off at the voters in this city than I am at Daley. At least he's only acting within the boundaries that you have let him.
also, like many of you are saying, you COULD just move. But make sure that when you do you send a letter to the Mayor's office that you are taking Hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime taxes with you.
This City could be great. It could rival New York. We have the infrasturcture, the resources, the businesses, all of those things. Chicago is the only answer to NY in the nation (SF is too small, and has crap subways, L.A is car city) and it can only be great if you people, the tax payers, make it great.
Jesus Christ I want to run for office today. I am so sick of this garbage that is happening in Springfield, Chicago and Cook county.
Matty: OK, big guy, tell me what to do:
1) I have never voted for Daley or any other Machine goons
2) I often vote GOP
3) I often write letters to and call all elected representatives
4) I often have my letters published in local media
5) I try to get my more ignorant friends to realize what is at stake
6) I work on local anti-Machine political campaigns (unpaid work)
7) I donate money to my causes
8) I have almost been arrested because of protests against this shit.
I am pissed off at voters, too, but some of us have actually put some work behind our words.
And don't act like a fucking fool: A panda pic next to your name that may or may not be real is hardly showing bravery, pal.
Spook, though I think Stroger is a buffoon I agree with your point. The same media and citizens who put Stroger under an electron microscope give bumbling Daley a pass. I can't help but think race is a factor.
However I think the ground is starting to shift. Daley's aura of invincibility has been weakened by Hired Truck and city hiring scandals. Aldermen are slowly starting to assert themselves. Even blue-city Chicago has its breaking point for higher taxes and Daley may be crossing the line.
Daley is a crook. Maybe if he wasnt diverting hundreds of millions of property tax dollars into tif districts that should be going to the schools, Cta, Pensions, and city services he wouldnt have to cry poor AFTER every election. The TIF funds are a huge piggy bank the mayor controls with little oversite. The TIFS drain the city and county of needed property tax money and let Daley hand out money to his rich developer friends. Higher taxes the mayor doesnt care what anyone thinks he has BS'd the citizens of chicago for 20 years.
sorry for the rant everyone. i read this at 7am today and have been mulling over it all day.
i do think it is a power play by daley to get springfield to pass their budget, just like what the cta is doing, but sometimes this city gets me so frustrated.
#18...I hear ya. That said, unless I personally do it, i don't think anyone is ever going to organize. Alot of people in chicago are transplants and didn't realize how bad this government is.
I dunno, start a blog, do something. Maybe I will. But gah. I was so mad today.
Again, sorry.
All the new buildings downtown and new developments around the city are in TIF zones so they dont pay property taxes into the city or county budget get those property taxes paid into the city budget and we wouldnt need any increase in taxes. TIFS are destroying the city by overtaxing the homeowners of this city.
Damn, alright again I was wrong, so take note Guess 5. But honestly there is never enough venom when it comes to Darth Daley so spread the word, ya heard, because I belive that when enough working folks get feed up, then change comes
Can we Obama to run for mayor or governor if he loses the Democratic primary? It's obvious we need some leadership in Illinois, and since Senators never seem to win the White House...
i agree fed up. ben joravsky has been harping on this for years.
new taxes ARE NOT needed. Government restructure IS.
I have a feeling that Obama isn't the leader we need right now. If he was, why isn't he stepping up to support his constituents in the city that he supposedly lives in? He speak up against Daley right now.
I am so fed up. Time to move.
when there's an increase in the monthly 911 phone surcharge...does 100% of the increase go toward covering 911 costs or can the city use the extra $$ for other projects? for that matter, does 100% of the current $1.25 go to 911 costs?
the other posters are right; vote for someone else or move (although the power of your vote is diminished when a candidate wins an election or a primary then "retires" and appoints a relative as their replacement...)
Obama is a fine orator but he wasn't even a leader in the Illinois Senate. I don't recall him ever making waves or crossing his patron Emil Jones. Obama will not run for mayor. He and Daley have traded endorsements and despite Obama's Audacity of Hope he's a creature of the Chicago political establishment.
As far as a potential gubernatorial bid I'd put him third behind Rod (don't underestimate him on the campaign trail) and the truly worthy Lisa Madigan.
It’s always interesting how Goo Goos just ignore the fact that Evil Emile created O'Bama.
Yea he would never cross The Machine; this is why this soulless man isn't able to spark any flames beyond the liberal elite. Common folks can spot a phony. I just wish he would stop spreading himself as a modern day Lincoln.
Lisa Madigan yea I'm leaning that way, but I am still worried about Madigan, but I do like her spunk.
Holy crap, things must be bad when what matty says makes sense. But the thing is, Daley screws the city for his PR purposes, creates diversions [children's museum flap anyone?] to take the spotlight off what he's really doing, then blames the victims, shouts at and intimidates reporters, talks tough about crime but treats cops like crap, and ... no one minds.
Why can't the police union, the firefighters' union, all the disgruntled city employees, the people who contribute to this great city but who aren't impressed by the wrought iron fencing and talk of olympics get together behind someone who would dare to challenge him? oh wait, the elected officials we'd look to [junior, luis, no one else] are as spineless as most of the rest of us.
Daley is destroying this city with taxes. TIFS are so overused that tax icreases are required to make up for the diverted money. There is no oversite when daley hands out tif money to developer buddys, I hope the feds look into this.
On a side note spook it is good to see the whole state isnt blind to the fact obama has never done anything and is Emil jones creation. I was appalled that lisa madigan won the AG spot over a much more qualified canadate but she has been a plesant surprise. Blago is a joke.