Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is unhappy with the city of Chicago and the CTA, so she is taking matters into her own hands. more ›

According to the Civic Federation, financial Armageddon is at Illinois' doorstep. The Sun Times reports that the watchdog group, one of many in our state, released an analysis yesterday recommending the state increase the income tax, cut $2 billion more from the budget, along with some other measures to alleviate a $12 billion budgetary black hole. In an interview with the Sun Times, Civic Federation president Laurence Msall said “Doomsday is here.” more ›

Amid the myriad financial problems facing the state of Illinois these days, paying for social services is one more. Both the Courier-News and the Batavia Sun profiled social services in the state - a women and children's domestic violence shelter in Elgin and a senior services group in the Fox Valley, respectively - that depend on state funding to carry out their missions. Both are struggling with covering expenses, including payroll, that the state hasn't paid for since this summer. While the Elgin Community Crisis Center was able to raise about $160,000 through community contributions, Executive Director Gretchen Vapnar knows it won't be enough to keep operating long-term. more ›

The City Council today voted 42-6 to approve 15 unpaid furlough days for non-union city workers in an effort to cut costs for the city as it continues to deal with massive budget issues. Ald. Edward Burke (14th) insisted it was to keep from losing jobs, saying, "I don't think we have much choice." Ald. Helen Shiller (46th) said, "We have to show [the unions] we're serious." According to Clout Street, the six votes against the plan were from Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), Robert Fioretti (2nd), Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Leslie Hairston (5th), Sandi Jackson (7th) and Joe Moore (49th). No word on who the two missing votes were from. more ›

Well it's a good thing the City got short-changed on that parking meter deal, eh? Because today the City announced that they're going to have to cover a budget hole that could reach $300 million. The money will come from a "budget stabilization fund" set up following the $1.15 billion deal to privatize the parking meters. But that's not the end of the city's money woes as outlined by the City's Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold today. The City Council is also closing in on a deal to force non-union workers for the city to take 15 unpaid days off: six unpaid furlough days, six unpaid holidays, and three "reduced-service" days. Per The Trib's Clout Street: more ›

Following up on their successful pothole repair project in Louisville, Kentucky, KFC is offering to fix potholes nationwide. KFC president Roger Eaton has sent a letter to the nation's mayors, including Chicago's offering to fix our roads in exchange for free advertising. KFC's promotion involves a private road crew and an actor dressed as the Colonel, fixing potholes and then spraying "Re-Freshed by KFC" on the repair, promoting their claim of using fresh chicken in their dishes. While Chicago prohibits advertising on city streets because they may cause distraction, and therefore a safety hazard, the city hasn't ruled out using the Colonel's services just yet. more ›

Strapped for cash? Had to cancel the Netflix membership? The Chicago Public Library has added video to its Downloadable Media Catalog page. According to Library Director Mary Dempsey, any downloaded programs would be available for a three-week period after which they would delete themselves. The catalog features around 530 titles currently but looks to expand in the near future. This comes on the heels of yesterday's announcement that circulation at area libraries is up 28 percent. The bad news? Not even the library is immune from budget cuts: late fines are going to double and five employees are being laid off. In addition, 443 vacant full- and part-time positions are being eliminated, but there is no indication that library hours will be cut. more ›

Mayor Daley announced today that he'll combine several city departments and cut 240 jobs in an attempt to save money in the face of the city's $420 million budget deficit, mostly among management positions. Sayeth the Mayor:

This is a national, worldwide crisis. This is going to get worse. It will not get better. That’s the sad thing. During these challenging times, we all need to work together to provide the services our people need, but in a way that our taxpayers can afford...Sometimes in a crisis, you can do things you can’t do [during good times]. You have to realign and look at everything...I’ll make the choice, just like what your company and others [have to do]. You have to make choices

Last week, we wrote about the shortage of police officers as crime in the city was rising, a correlation Mayor Daley denied. In keeping with his line of (faulty?) thought, a number of the proposed job vacancies being eliminated in the City's attempt to get it's $420 million budget under control includes several hundred police positions. According to the Sun Times, "the Chicago Police Department has 329 sworn vacancies and 424 openings for non-sworn police employees. That's in addition to the 705 officers on medical leave and 625 officers on limited or convalescent duty status." These vacancies would be eliminated in spite of Daley's promise earlier this year to add more officers to the force. more ›