Category: Finance
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Unions Investment in Chicago (Elections)
Four years ago, SEIU spent almost $2.5 million in Council races, spearheading a union effort that helped depose Daley allies like Madeline Haithcock, Shirley Coleman and Dorothy Tillman. Asked about the budget for this election, Balanoff said SEIU expects to be involved “at the same level as last time.” Total expenditures by SEIU and other…
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Big Tax Hikes Result in Less Revenue
Last year, voters in Oregon voted to raise taxes on the highest income earners in the state, giving Oregon the highest tax rates of any state in the nation. It hasn’t worked out too well for Oregonians, according to the Wall Street Journal: In 2009 the state legislature raised the tax rate to 10.8% on…
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Wisconsin ‘Open for Business’
Wisconsin is open for business. In these challenging economic times while Illinois is raising taxes, we are lowering them. On my first day in office I called a special session of the legislature, not in order to raise taxes, but to open Wisconsin for business. Already the legislature is taking up bills to provide tax…
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$5/gal gas? Yes Says Former Shell Exec
NOTE: This story is a few weeks old. 12/28/2010 Gasoline rationing and $5 pump prices are predicted by 2012 for consumers if U.S. politicians don’t get their act together, a former Shell executive said. … John Hofmeister, a former president at Shell Oil, told the Platts news service that energy shortages and record-high gasoline prices…
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O’Hare Bonds Downgraded
The cost of debt is going up because of years of bad management. A major credit rating firm delivered a stern warning Monday regarding the mounting risks that Chicago is taking by going deeper into debt in an attempt to build more runways at O’Hare International Airport without securing financial support from the airlines. Moody’s…
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Convicted But Still on the Payroll
Chicago, the city that works, is also the city that keeps on paying city employees long after they’re convicted of corruption.Nine former city employees were paid a total of $383,205 after they pleaded guilty or were found guilty in corruption cases, records show. (Full story here.) Simply unbelievable. Another clear example of how one no…
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Parking Meter Analysis
So Monday is the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board review for the Second Ward candidates and as I was having breakfast this morning I got to thinking. How bad really was the parking meter deal? So I started poking around to find out. Ten minutes later I was shocked!! Based on this story here I estimated…
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State Dems Press Ahead on Tax Hikes
Gov. Pat Quinn and top Democrats are pressing forward on a major income-tax increase and a $1-a-pack hike in cigarette taxes. The personal income tax rate would rise from 3 percent to 5.25 percent, Senate President John Cullerton said this evening. The amount tracks with what the Tribune reported today. After four years, it would…
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Media Drops Ball on Taste Proposal
Chicago aldermen responded coolly Tuesday to a lone bidder’s proposal to charge Taste of Chicago patrons a $20 admission fee — and up to $65 for tickets to a music stage that draws the biggest-name talent to the lakefront festival. (Full story here.) This is the whole story; $20 admission & $65 concert tickets. Completely…
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Truism
Someone sent me this quote today as part of a longer email: It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world. — Thomas Jefferson I can’t help but thinking that the debt we have created for…