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In his 2010 budget presented last week, Daley included 24 unpaid days (12 holidays, 12 furlough days) for all non-union and many union city employees. One group he can't force these unpaid days upon are the Police and Fire Departments. But that's not stopping Daley from making overtones suggesting that those departments should take one for the team and join the unpaid train. Said the Mayor, “Everyone has to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. And that’s why I’m taking 24 days without pay, and I got other people to take that, because you have to show that government understands the suffering that is going on throughout your communities.”
Daley's not alone, though. A few aldermen and city officials have joined the Mayor in urging the departments to consider the furlough days. Per the Tribune's report:
If police and fire unions agreed to furloughs, the city would save $120 million, city Budget Director Eugene Munin said in response to a question from Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, at a City Council budget hearing today.“That’s 120 million we could save the taxpayers of the City of Chicago if we had cooperation from just two of the outstanding four unions,” Beale responded...
"Why can’t everybody take part in bringing the expenses down so that we don’t have to force a lot of these folks to take furlough days?" [31st Ward Ald. Ray] Suarez asked. "Because I think it’s a little unfair to ask a single provider from a family who’s making forty-five or fifty thousand dollars to give back not just 12 furlough days, but the 12 holidays. Why can’t this be done? What’s the problem?"
Of course, as we said, Daley can't force these unpaid days on the departments; they have to be approved by the unions. And, as the Trib points out, the city's contract with each union has expired and the negotiations with the police union has been particularly contentious. Bottom line, expect a lot of blustery pressure from the mayor but, given the lack of new contracts as well as the continuing issue of being understaffed - the Sun-Times reports today that the CPD is 2,000 officers short of its authorized strength of 13,500 officers - don't expect much budging from either union.
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How about we double the size of each Ward and cut the City Council in half? How much will that save? A lot, I'll bet. Exactly what do they do anyway, except rubber stamp anything Daley wants. We can easily do that with half their current number. Most of them have other jobs, so they won't be out on the street.
Good idea, Nicholas! It's not like the Aldermen are the first point on contact for residents. It's not like they are doing things behind the scenes to make sure the trash is picked up, the streets cleaned, streets repaved, lights installed, aid not-for-profits, etc, etc, etc.
My alderman doesn't do jack shit for the ward. Oh wait, recently a block near my place was resurfaced to facilitate the speedy flow of motorists cutting through my neighborhood. It took them three weeks to do it. My trash gets picked up by a private company. Recently my alderman voted in lockstep to TAX our private dumpsters. The city is years behind in paying rebates to large buildings that must pay for private waste hauling. The streets are cleaned to generate revenue off the people who forget to move their cars. I guess I'm lucky my alderman's one of the handful who actually posts the street sweeping schedule on her Web site. Numerous calls to her office over the years regarding flooding and traffic issues have been ignored outright. A few years ago, I found out a gangbanger down the street who was shot in front of my building and not cooperating with police lived in a building right by mine. I contacted the owner of the building and he was nice but didnt know anything and didn't know what to do. The Alderman's office wanted nothing to do with it. One of my friends is a supervisor (alderman) in San Francisco. The have 13 and they have term limits. If we cut the city council in half, no one would notice any change.
The city does not need 50 aldermen.
The notion that somehow the current 50 are more responsive is purely magical thinking. I've worked with Aldermen on the North and South side. Try getting an appointment to see Bernie Stone. We needed 15 minutes to pitch him on a community arts program for kids, IN HIS WARD and it took 5 months for our organization to get a meeting. With his kid. Who agreed to "pass it on". End result? The project moved out of his ward.
On the opposite side of the coin, Scott Waguespak called us back the same day, met with us the same week and got something rolling (and done) within the month.
The quality of the representation is not directly related to the quantity.
Given a choice between cops and firemen (who are already underpaid and overworked) going on furlough and losing some Daley rubber stamps sucking on the public tit, I'm gonna go with the latter.
Waguespak is pretty solid as far as this city's aldermen go (and happens to be mine). Besides from questioning Daley's choice to raid the Meter funds last week, he was one of the only aldermen to vote AGAINST the original meter deal and is - with Flores - responsible for the TIF Sunshine Ordinance.
Underpaid? You do realize that the average salary of cops and firemen is over $80k, right? Perhaps some of them are "overworked" but I wouldn't use blanket statements.
Also, the city is not "years behind" in issuing the rebates for buildings with private haulers. It sure is nice to make assumptions without any factual basis. I encourage you to keep it up. If your building hasn't received their rebate, perhaps you should check with your management company. The reality is that they more likely than not filled out the forms incorrectly.
You may have "worked with" some Aldermanic offices in the past, but that doesn't mean you know what is going on. Sorry to break it to you.
80 grand? Wow. they're even more underpaid than I thought.
Cops, Teachers, Firemen, EMTs, Doctors, Nurses. These people should all be making six figures. Why do we, as a society, reward people for pushing paper instead of the people who, EVERY DAY, put their lives on the line to make our society better? And yeah, teachers and medical personnel are at risk too. So Pinco, how much would you take to pull a ride along in Altgeld Gardens on a summer night?
Fremo's forgetting to add in the 73 grand that aldermen get for their expense accounts. Which has been used to lease luxury SUVs, pay relatives for do nothing jobs and pay for useless consultants.
Don't wag your finger at people for "not filling out forms correctly". The Aldermen in this city have been gaming the system for decades. Now that the system itself is cracking under the strain maybe we can get some actual reform.
Also, the city is not "years behind" in issuing the rebates for buildings with private haulers ... If your building hasn't received their rebate, perhaps you should check with your management company.
This is just a lie. I live in a self-managed condo building. Our board includes a former City of Chicago attorney and has years of collective experience dealing with the city and the rebates. We have NOT gotten one in several years. You're just simply lying. And I like how you didn't respond on the dumpster tax issue. The'ye taxing us on a service they don't provide.
Underpaid? You do realize that the average salary of cops and firemen is over $80k, right?
Show me where you pulled that out of. Average? I highly doubt it. My Uncle is a lieutenant in CFD and he makes around $80k. You drop $80K as if it's gobs of money. For a person in their fifties with a family, it's not. That's for over 20 years of being a fireman. That's for being shot at while trying to put out a fire in Englewood. That's for falling through a second story floor and landing in the basement. That's for the training. That's for seeing some of your friends get disabled or die. That's for 24 hour shifts and sleeping at the firehouse. That's for all the non-fire-related EMT calls he's been on where he's seen people who had their heads blown off, or people who died of cardiac arrest on the toilet. That's for the numerous holidays and special occasions missed. That's for the increased risk of health problems like respiratory disease. Oh, and let's not forget he and his family must pay more to live within the borders of the city because they are forced to. Yes, my highly-paid uncle. What a laugh. Meanwhile, our esteemed aldermen unsurprisingly GIVE THEMSELVES raises every few years.
You're obviously a goon ... do you miss the days of standing outside the polling place, smoking cigarettes and telling the voters who to vote for?
Oh, and my alderman (who was appointed to her job 20 years ago by Richie, and has never run as anything but an incumbent) makes about $25,000/year more than my uncle. She lives in a house worth over a million dollars.
One of my friends who grew up in Chicago told me the first time he ever saw a cul-de-sac, it was on his alderman's block.
I love your description of the good old machine goons. I worked with a guy who retired from the city and used to do just that kind of "campaigning" for Daley-approved candidates.
Anyone who thinks that cops and firemen is arguing from such a position of profound ignorance they might as well brain-dead.
My Godfather was a chicago cop for 22 years.He's in his early 60's and his health isn't good, largely from injuries he suffered on the job including being shot twice and in three high-speed collisions with fleeing suspects. He gets a decent pension and health coverage. Compare that to his brother, who worked in an office for most of his life and runs in the Chicago Marathon every year. My Godfather calls it "the soft life".
Thank your Uncle for putting his ass on the line.
Funny, I live in a managed building and I get my rebate every year. I must be connected...
As for the average, why don't you go look at the Better Government site. You can pull all of the individuals that work for the police department and come up with an average. I actually have a spreadsheet here that I update on a regular basis. The exact average for a police officer is $87,848.31.
As for CFD, I think your Uncle is pulling your chain. There isn't a lieutenant in the CFD that makes less than 84k (actually closer to 85k). All of these salaries are public record.
And forgive me for thinking that 80k is a lot of money. I'm going to be lucky to pull in 40k this year. I've got a family and a mortgage and all that. Last time I checked, 80k is 30k more than the median income in the United States.
Oh Mikely, you caught me! I must be a goon because I don't agree with you! Do me a favor, tell me all the things that I should believe so that I am never called a goon again by a tough guy with a computer.
You're right, my uncle makes $87k, per the BGA's payroll database. I can't find a way to search their database by City department, so I can't find the "average" salary of police officers and firemen. Even if I could, what does that mean? What does a young uniform cop make on average? That's more valuable info than a statistic that's been balanced off with brass salaries.
It's not that you disagree with me. It's your comment history. You're pretty much the counterpoint here recently on anti-city or anti-Olympics comments. Your first comment on this thread is a great example ... you practically elevated aldermen to hero status for doing their jobs ... (Oh, thank you alderman for getting my trash picked up! I'll name my firstborn after you!) and that you would post your initial and subsequent comment here, an article about furloughing CPD and CFD, just makes you appear to have an agenda. I'm surprised you haven't trotted out the old standbys ... most CFD have sidejobs ... teachers should consider themselves lucky they get the summers off ... yadda yadda.
And just because you don't make a lot of money doesn't mean my uncle is rich.
The thing about young uniformed officers is that they have a range from 43k on up. There are many factors that play into that...education, etc. There is a large bunch of "police officer" titles that are 55k and up...more than in the 40k range.
My comment history should have nothing to do with it. Because I post a counter point, i'm immediately a shill and wrong? Maybe, just maybe, I have some knowledge about what's going on. Maybe I have some information that might not be widely known. I don't mean to make it sound condescending, but maybe my tone is off or rubs you in the wrong way. I'm not defending the actions of some individuals (beit Aldermen, police officers, firefighters, etc) You have to remember that there are bad apples in every bunch. That said, when I see information posted on here that I believe to be off base (based on what I know), I feel that I have an obligation to set the record straight, so to speak. Again, I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I can understand how you might think that way.
You see a lot of side taking on this site. You are on one side or the other and those sides have their "stand bys" as you said. I don't believe in that. I have many friends who are officer and who are firefighters. I am grateful for what they do, don't get me wrong. There are many great officers and firefighters out there. That said, there are also some that feel they are above other city employees and that they don't have to "share the pain." I can guarantee you that, if someone suggested that officers and firefighters take their first 2 sick days as unpaid, they wouldn't do it. Let's keep in mind, if they call in sick, they aren't coming in anyways, so it wouldn't be affecting public safety, per se. I am eternally grateful for the job they do, but I certainly don't appreciate the attitude. Similarly, I wouldn't appreciate the attitude from a Streets and San worker or someone on an Aldermanic staff.
Finally, I don't mean to insinuate that 87k makes someone rich. I know better than to suggest that. All I mean to say is that double my salary seems worlds away. The pain that I am feeling with supporting my family wouldn't seem NEARLY as bad if I was making that amount.
80K is a lot of money. But I wouldn't be a cop or a fireman for twice that, hell, three times that.
It's a tough, mean, dangerous job. You put your body on the line day in and day out to keep people safe. It wears on their families too. Alcoholism, abuse, divorce all spike for cops. Good cops find themselves fighting a culture of corruption too. My Godfather had more than one run-in with a "F-O-D" (Friend of Daley) working at Belmont and Western. Guys who drop a name or a phone number when they get picked up with an eighth in their car and demand they be allowed to skate. And higher-ups who will make your life hell if you don't play ball.
So you make 40 grand a year. Do you get shot at much? Any fires you need to put out in the middle of winter when the hoses freeze up? How about kids telling you, in graphic detail, how their parents have been raping them for years?
You don't have value for the work of people who make your life possible.
Without cops and firemen (and EMTs and Nurses and Doctors and Teachers too) your 40K a year would be cold comfort.
While we're spitting at each other Pinco, the Alder-criminals are cashing big checks.
I'd rather have the cops and firemen make $80,000+ than the aldermen make $100,000+ a year for doing nothing but rubber stamping most of what Daley wants. Every alderman should take a cut in salary and have furlough days before asking the cops and firemen to do it.
Don't even get me started on the aldermen's expense account...
One of my proudest moments in life was telling Bernie, to his face, just how big a piece of shit he is. And that's the gentle version of what I told him.
God, what a tool.
I heard him on Tom Roeser's gabber on WLS say that a vote for his opponent was a vote for "Jews out!" of his ward.
That on top his leased Lexus SUV (paid for by his city expense account) and his usual race-baiting nonsense makes him a world class dirtbag.
"but that doesn't mean you know what is going on. Sorry to break it to you."
So what is going on? I'm seeing a whole lot of nothing in my ward (46th).
I'm fine for 80K salaries to officers and firemen who could conceivably be killed on the job. More so than 106K for an alderman.
Term Limits should be enforced for government officials at all levels.
Term Limits should be enforced for government officials at all levels.
Agreed. Remember when that was the Republican cause celebre in Congress during the early 90s? At least, you know, until they took over Congress.
Two terms for every elected official. I think that's plenty.
My home congressman was among those Republicans who ran on the term limits platform in 1994. He ran on it again for the next seven congressional elections.
That said, I'm not really a fan of term limits. I don't think it solves the problem of graft so much as it spreads it around. In some ways, I can see how it might even encourage it, as politicians know they only have so much time to grab what they can.
Term limits also could increase the power of unaccountable, unelected technocrats, FYI. There are dangers to both approaches.
Term limits not a good idea. Reinforces a lack of faith in the system. May as well not vote and stop complaining. If we ever were to get a good alderman/senator/congressman etc, i may want him/her around for awhile to fight the good fight, ie. Ted Kennedy.
I disagree, I think it shows a faith in the system, not the individual. Look at John Kerry, whose idealism and passion as a young man calcified over decades in office into a droning "I was against it before I was for it" miasma of double-speak. Good men and women, faced with the soul-sucking prospect of re-election cycle after re-election cyle become less responsive, more fearful and generally less in touch with their constituency.
Fresh faces, fresh ideas, especially in local government, is key to keeping government vibrant and not mired down in decades of graft. 20 years of Daley and the city is a spider-web of favoritism, nepotism and corruption.
Two terms is more than enough to contribute meaningfully and move on.
You can always find examples of those who've exceeded their expiration date. I want options. If someone is doing a bang up job, it'd be a real shame to have to let him/her go just because some other assshole abuses their position. We have the ability to vote them out the next election. For every 3 Kerrys, theres a Kennedy. I liked Ted Kennedy.
Ok, so say you have a Ted Kennedy. He serves 2 terms as a state rep (4 years) two terms as a congressman (4 years) and two terms as a senator (12 years) that's a 20 year career in public office. Say he starts at 30 or so, that puts your hypothetical Teddy at about 50 years old. And we're not including losses, gubernatorial runs, or (the brass ring) the Presidency.
I'm not opposed to the same person building a career in public service. I just don't want them setting up a fiefdom like many Aldermen do. Bernard Stone, who doesn't get half the shit-kicking his antics deserve, will serve in that office til the day his black little heart stops pumping ichor.
Of course, I also believe in non-partisan redistricting. So I'm clearly mad as a bag of badgers.
Alright, getting back to aldermen, where this started ... if you're going to bring up Stone, then yes, i would consider term limits for Chicago aldermen. He's the epitome of all that reeks in local politics. Locally speaking, I also am intrigued by less wards, less aldermen, smaller city council, etc. ... and more badgers.
He is the Stom Thurmond of local politics. All due respect...to Strom.
Larger wards would not only save money on salaries and expenses, it would save on redundancies. Each ward requires an infrastructure of beauracracy that is shameful. Wards that incorporate both affluent and poor communities would be ideal. What if the 46th and 48th were one ward? Uptown and the north tip of Lincoln Park/Montrose harbor?
The problems in this city don't respect the arbitrary, and often ridiculous, ward maps. The only reason to keep the current system is to say that it offers some benefit to anyone beside incumbents.
To say nothing of badgers. Poked with spoons or otherwise.