My Blog

Category: Society

  • The Rahm Situation, Part I: Enforce the Law

    The surest way to get a bad law repealed is to enforce it strictly. — Abraham Lincoln While editorial boards, talking heads, and policy wonks from near and far are condemning the recent Appellate Court decision removing Rahm from the ballot based on emotion, there has been little discussion in the media as to what…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Robbery using Pepper Spray (instead of handgun)

    Three men attempting to rob a Loop Old Navy store Tuesday by deploying pepper spray fled without stealing anything. Three men entered a retail store at 35 N. State St. about 7 p.m. and one of them deployed pepper spray or a similar chemical agent on three patrons in an attempted robbery, police News Affairs…

  • Daley: Giffords Tragedy Show Need for More Gun Laws

    Mayor Richard Daley expressed sadness and outrage in the wake of the Arizona shooting rampage, and said the incident is yet more evidence that stronger gun control is needed.  … “But unfortunately, events like this happen far too often in America. We have to come back with some common sense gun laws. I mean no…

  • Your in Debt, Your Children are in Debt

    Tribune ran a great story this week about how the city is hopelessly in debt.  The story is worth reading and can be found here; but what’s really interesting is a chart (actually a series of charts) attached to the story.  Here’s what you need to know: Chicago’s cash debt is about $6,87 Billion or…

  • Yes Virgina, People Flee High Taxes

    The results of the 2010 Census are coming in and show: First, the great engine of growth in America is not the Northeast Megalopolis, which was growing faster than average in the mid-20th century, or California, which grew lustily in the succeeding half-century. It is Texas. Its population grew 21 percent in the past decade,…

  • Illinois, Worst for Retirement

    The list, with Illinois leading the pack, comes from website TopRetirements.com. According to John Brady, president of TopRetirements.com, the 10 states earn this dubious distinction largely because of three factors: fiscal health, taxation and climate. (Full story here.) Fiscal health?  We’re bankrupt. Taxation?  We’re taxed to death. Climate?  We’re heading into 5-6 days below freezing.…

  • Little do to in Property Tax Battle?

    In an article with technical problems over at the Sun-Times, Terry Savage writes under a headline, “Little you can do in property tax battle”: While home values are down, many homeowners are shocked by the increases in second-half-of-the year tax bills. Fingers are pointing at the assessor’s office, the Cook County Board and the state’s…

  • You Owe $11,647, & That’s Just for Pensions

    Part 1 of 2 on just how completely broken the City’s pension system has become. Chicago’s public pension funds are teetering on the brink of insolvency in large part because city officials and union leaders repeatedly exploited the system, draining away billions of dollars in the last decade to serve short-term political needs…. As a…