More Praise for Emanuel's Budget

Image Credit: misterbuckwheattree

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is receiving kudos for his recently unveiled budget from watchdog groups and out-of-town journalists. But then we suspect this budget would have received the praise anyway because it wasn't crafted with Eye of Newt, Scowl of Daley.

City Inspector General Joseph Ferguson was among the first to congratulate Emanuel for crafting a budget that "for the first time in (his) tenure, we will be able to fill vacancies, many of which have been empty for years."

"The administration's honest approach to budgeting, which includes ending the prior deceptive use of vacancies as a budget-management tool, is welcome," Ferguson said before adding he was disappointed with the Emanuel Administration's continuing lawsuit to limit the IG Office's ability to obtain city documents.

This morning, The Economist weighed in on Emanuel's budget, writing that it's an example of how to slash a budget without raising taxes*. The Economist also spoke to Civic Federation President Laurence Msall, who echoed Ferguson's sentiments on the Emanuel budget while reminding us of a looming pension crisis that could blow the budget to splinters if not tackled soon.

(*The Economist article does make mention of the numerous fees and small tax increases, led by the Hotel tax, that are one of the lynchpins of Emanuel's budget.)

The Economist article could serve as further fuel for Tribune columnist John Kass, who calls the out-of-town praise for Emanuel by the "Rahmantics:" "reporters flying into town, eager to plant big wet kisses on the skinny mayoral behind."

Emanuel's budget also shows he's been a quick study on Chicago politics. The budget leaves two discretionary funds untouched. The two accounts have been used by aldermen to hire relatives, pay political consultants and lease expensive cars. Emanuel is also renewing a multimillion-dollar program that lets council members order up neighborhood improvement projects.

Slashing those budgets could have been tantamount to declaring an all-our war with City Council. 33rd Ward Ald. Dick Mell told the Tribune, "I think that there are a lot of things in the budget that guys might not vote for. But I think he wants to work with the City Council. Maybe that's one of the ways that they (the mayor's office) felt that they could probably get it through the best." Another unnamed alderman said eliminating those accounts could have jeopardized Emanuel's budget.

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By Chuck Sudo in News on October 24, 2011 10:30 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

chee1rs

good job Rahm

steven v. kaszynski

The proposed cuts to the Chicago Public Library are preposterous. The attached post was written by a professional librarian currently under the employ of CPL. http://golibrarians.wordpress....

Julie Jurgens

While there is no question that measures need to be taken to correct a
$600M budget deficit, the Chicago Public Library stands to bear an
unfair portion of these cuts.

The budget calls for 517 city layoffs, but 363 of those come from the
CPL. This includes 60 full-time librarians, every part-time clerk, and
every page.

While the layoffs are a tragedy, this measure will make it impossible
for remaining staff to effectively serve the public. The increased
workload means that many "extras" like storytimes, job-finding programs,
and detailed research assistance will have to be put aside.

The result is death by a thousand cuts: as quality continues to
decline, CPL becomes more attractive for those seeking further cuts. We
saw this after the previous round of cuts in 2008, when hours were
reduced and half the pages were eliminated. Now the City says "library
use is down" - gee, I wonder why?

Libraries bring tremendous value. Parents and caregivers who attend
storytimes often frequent nearby restaurants and coffee shops after.
Job-seekers and entrepreneurs have access to resources and programs to
get back on their feet or get their ideas off the ground. Kids have a
place to go after classes to do homework or simply decompress. Internet
access is available for all, helping to address the digital divide. And
there's the considerable cost savings taxpayers receive from access to
thousands of books, DVDs, and CDs.

Libraries do this more efficiently and at a lower cost than their
competitors. Children's events aren't cheap. Entertainment prices go up
almost weekly. Unemployment costs affect all of us and remove wage
earners from the tax base. And if kids can't visit a library after
school, where will they go?.If you think libraries cost a lot of money
now, wait till you see how much you'll pay for their absence.

I urge
everyone to contact their alderman to make your voice heard on this
issue.

ChicagoD

Even though your spammy, too long rant was spammy and too long, I just wrote my alderman. I proposed using TIF funds, or reallocating aldermanic slush funds.

ElectricLibraryLand

www.savechicagolibraries.org

Navin_Johnson

The true mayor:

Emanuel Pushes Tax Break For Top Donor
http://www.nbcchicago.com/blog...

REEEEEED

Thanks for cutting 1/4th of the Chicago Public Libraries staff, Rahm.

ChicagoD

I'd rather see that money come out of aldermanic discretionary funds. I know that aldermen say they use that for street paving etc., but that should be funded more transparently anyway.

Kevin_Robinson

I'd rather see that money come out of the TIF funds. That's where it went in the first place.

Navin_Johnson

Emanuel's budget also shows he's been a quick study on Chicago politics

From his time as senior adviser and chief fundraiser for Daley's campaign in the late '80s he's been knee deep in Chicago politics for well over two decades. Just sayin'..