Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.
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Health Care Bill Heads To U.S. House Floor For Debate, Vote
Alleged Lottery Ticket Con Artists Charged
Daley’s preliminary budget is expected to include a $400 million budget shortfall, the largest in recent history, and some are speculating it will lead to layoffs. One union leader said the City’s Chief Financial Officer Paul Volpe and Intergovernment Affairs Director John Dunn have tried to prepare him for the worst.
The mayor has already promised to hold the line on property taxes after last year’s record increases. On Friday, he told the Sun-Times:
Food prices go up. Gas prices go up. And expenses go up. The dollar is losing value continually. We are in a serious financial crisis in America. I keep saying that. People look at it and, maybe, dismiss it. But, I think we're in a much more serious financial crisis than people . . . believe. It's gonna have a long effect on this economy.
Last year’s tax increase was expected to carry the city through to 2011, but that was before the housing bubble burst. [S-T]
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Great manager, that Daley. The "financial crisis" has been building for quite some time, and instead of working harder to provide a reserve-fund cushion, or to limit stupid behavior that leads to multimillion-dollar judgments against the city, or limiting handouts to corporate mooches, we are left talking about even fewer cops on the streets and a reduced level of services. You would think a wise city leader would have shoveled some gains from the decade or so of relative prosperity into a larger rainy day fund*
*I do give Daley credit for using the Skyway deal to help pay down the city's debt, a move that helps bond ratings, even if I don't like the idea of selling public goods to private firms.
The first thing I would do is fire all the traffic aides.
They're not useless, they're worse than useless as they screw up traffic more than it already is.
Everyone of them is an idiot with a reflective yellow jacket, shades of Frank Kreusi, also a total incompetent!
i agree w/ scooter also increase red light run fines
and speeding ticket fines and for god's sake do a license plate road sharing thing like in mexico city (if your tag # ends with an odd #, you're off the roads Tues, Thurs, and Sun) it's high time for more bureaucracy!
When you read about a round of token layoffs and budget cuts, hold on to your wallet. There will be a tax increase right around the corner.