The police department accounts for about one-third of the city’s corporate budget. But cuts have long been politically thorny in a city struggling with street violence. more ›

On Monday mornings, we invite our readers to gather around our table and discuss a culinary issue of the day. If you have anything you'd like to talk about, send it to anthony@chicagoist.com more ›

As the CTA prepares its 2011 budget, it's already making cuts for next year. CTA President Richard Rodriguez announced today that more than 70 jobs, mainly management and office positions, will be cut for next year in an effort to save money. The CTA is hoping to save $53 million and, according to Jon Hilkevitch, "About $36 million of the total will come from personnel efficiencies, including spending cuts, limiting overtime pay, delaying hiring and freezing wages for non-union officials." Rodriguez also said that he's hoping that fare hikes and services cuts won't be necessary but nothing is solid yet as the budget preparation continues and more cuts are possible: "The economy remains sluggish and isn't rebounding as quickly or robustly as had been predicted." more ›

Who says the economy is recovering? Not Playboy Enterprises. The Chicago-based company (with offices also in LA) announced yesterday more job cuts are coming as they struggle to save $3 million. There's no word on how many jobs will be lost in the next round of cuts, but the company had already cut 78 jobs in the period from the end of March 2009 to the end of March 2010. Maybe that 3D issue wasn't as profitable as The Bunny had hoped? more ›

Mayor Daley's budget for 2010 has been presented and, as expected, there were no new taxes but lots of cuts. There will also be much taken from the parking meter lease fund. In fact, by this time next year, don't expect much to be left from the $1.15 billion/75-year deal, the deal we may have gotten hosed on. Having already spent $400 million of that money this year, according to the Tribune, Daley is looking to spend an additional $600 million of that money in 2010. We're no math geniuses and even we know that doesn't leave a whole heck of a lot left in the pot for the remaining 70+ years of the lease, something that concerned Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) earlier this week. All told, Daley claims that there will still be around $700 million left in reserve funds - the combination of the Skyway and parking meter leases - next year. A cut in the city's tourism budget also raised eyebrows. And besides the cuts to entertainment and furlough days for non-union employees and elimination of vacant jobs, there are smaller cuts, too, such as the scaling back of the city's recycling program. more ›

The Bears get their season underway Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers this (7:00 p.m., NBC) and now we know which men will be on the sidelines. The Bears kept only two QBs - Cutler and Caleb Hanie - sending Brett Basanez to the practice squad. Wide receiver Devin Aromashodu's flower gifts seem to have worked; he was one of six receivers that made the cut. Three players were placed on IR: Running back Kevin Jones (knee), safety Dahna Deleston (hamstring), and defensive end Henry Melton (ankle). more ›

An internal memo revealed non-union Chicago Public Schools staff will “have to take six unpaid furlough days this year,” adding to CPS’ woes on a local level. Earlier this week, Mayor Richard M. Daley encouraged the city’s agencies to make “such cuts,” according to a Chi-Town Daily news report. CPS Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman was behind the July 28 memo, confirmed CPS spokeswoman Monique Bond, the report said. The memo states: more ›

With the state budget crisis growing worse by the day, Governor Quinn has prepared $1 billion in state cuts he plans to announce today in an effort to show legislators he's done all he can to save the state money. A good portion of the cuts will include laying off state workers and Quinn also plans to ask those who remain employed to take 12 furlough days. Said the Governor, "Nobody should be exempt from making sacrifices when all of our state finances are in peril. If the rest of state government is taking 12 furlough days, including my office, I think all the legislators and all the legislative staffs should participate in the sacrifice." more ›

Following up on our earlier post about the budget crisis facing the state, Gov. Pat Quinn today announced he was vetoing part of the budget that had be presented him by the state assembly. The part Quinn vetoed dealt with social services, calling the fight to hold out for more funding via his budget and tax increases was a "fight worth fighting for." Per the Tribune: more ›

That's right, Illinois, it's an exciting day as the new Fiscal Year has begun and- what? There's no budget but rather a huge budget hole? Between $7 billion and $9 billion? Shit. Didn't we just boot a corrupt as all Hell governor so that the state government could right this sinking ship? Well...crap. more ›

As expected, the Regional Transportation Authority board agreed this week to slash public funding for Chicago-area transit services by $67 million over the next six months. The nine board members in attendance voted unanimously for the cuts, in the hopes that they will bring the transit agencies' growing budget deficits in line with lower tax revenues. more ›

The 2009 Chicago beach season may have officially begun yesterday, but cutbacks on lifeguard hours and increased fees to visit beaches may put a damper on your summer sun. more ›

After much hand-wringing, doomsdaying and speculation, Mayor Daley and his administration finally laid out how serious the city's budget deficit is. The city's 2009 budget has a $420 million gap and the mayor is saying nothing, except an increase in real estate taxes, is out of the question. That includes as many as 1,800 layoffs. "We’re not gonna speculate on the number of layoffs or if they are even necessary. Today, we’re simply framing the issue for you," the city's Chief Financial Officer Paul Volpe said Thursday. "Today, everything’s on the table. That I would tell you. The mayor has said that he will not increase property taxes. That’s a certainty. Anything else, we’ve got some tough choices to make," he said. more ›

Just a week after seeming amenable to concessions to help the city close a projected $400 million budget hole, Fraternal Order of Police President Mark Donahue said that his members aren't really feeling Daley's calls for cuts, which include city workers forgoing promised pay raises and accepting extra unpaid leave days. "We base what we're gonna do in the future on what we've seen happen in the past. And what we've seen in the past is a scandalous waste of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars," Donahue said, referring to the Hired Trucks scandal, city contracting and hiring fraud charges, and 14 months of contract negotiations that have stalled. In fact, Lodge Seven's third Vice President, Greg Bella, wrote in an editorial posted on the FOP's website that they "will sit down and help the mayor find solutions to the problem but not at the expense of our officers." more ›

The Chicago City Council agreed on Tuesday to mandatory unpaid furloughs of two-days for non-union city employees and three day furloughs for those who are unrepresented or are earning more than $75,000. The city expects to save an estimated $3.3 million, as they scramble to close an expected $400 million deficit in the city's budget 2009 fiscal year budget. But the pain won't stop there. The mayor refused to give specifics on layoffs or furloughs for front-line city workers, saying he wanted to talk to union leaders representing city workers first. "You have to sit down and talk to these people...They understand how important these jobs are to them...We're gonna work with them...If you can work this out and you can keep a number of people working, it helps the economy," Daley said. Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon said "they're not asking for anything yet, [but] everything is on the table. You can assume that furlough days are part of the mix. Layoffs could be part of the mix...We'll be united wherever we make our stand. We're gonna have a coalition meeting next week to discuss what actions the unions will take collectively - if any." more ›