Tag: Chicago
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More Bankruptcy Coming (to a city near you)
The top 10 biggest U.S. cities on the brink of pension bankruptcy. #1 Philadelphia – Unfunded liability of $9 billion, $16,696 per household, only 1 year before the pension accounts are empty #2 Chicago – Unfunded liability of $44.8 billion, $41.966 per household, money runs out in 4 years #3 Boston – Unfunded liability of…
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Moody’s Downgrades Chicago’s Motor Fuel Debt
Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded to A3 from Aa3 the rating on the City of Chicago’s (IL) $181 million of outstanding rated motor fuel tax debt. The outlook has been revised to negative. via Moody’s. Surprises no one. Barely qualifies as news actually. The City’s broke. Unemployment (real unemployment, the U6 number) is out of…
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Most Shooters In Chicago Never Face Charges
Last year, gunmen who shot and wounded someone got away without criminal charges 94 percent of the time, according to a DNAinfo.com Chicago analysis of police data. That’s even worse than 2011, when 91.5 percent of shooters escaped charges, according to the data. Chicago’s top cop said the “no-snitch” code of silence on the street…
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Gun Violence and Race
Chicago is home to some 2,707,120 people (U.S. Census.) We’re also told that about 32.9% are black while 45% are white. That equates to about 890,642 black people and 1,218,204 white people in Chicago. So far, nothing unusual. Over at the Red Eye (a Tribune Media property) they have a worksheet showing the murder victims…
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Chicago’s New Billboard Deal All But Signed
Kudos to Alderman Bob Fioretti: A Chicago City Council committee signed off Monday on Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s latest privatization deal—even though, after nearly five hours of testimony, aldermen still didn’t quite know how it added up for taxpayers, what its shortfalls might be, or exactly which companies were included in putting it together. In more…
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Rahm: Higher Cigarette & Amusement Taxes
Mayor Rahm Emanuel is considering an increase in city taxes on cigarettes and entertainment to help close an anticipated $369 million gap in next year’s budget, City Hall sources said Wednesday. … It’s unclear how much the cigarette tax might be raised. A city tobacco tax increase would come on the heels of a $1-a-pack…
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Ald. “New Tax” Cardenas Wants $5/mo
Chicago should impose a “safety and security fee” — as high as $5 a month on homes and businesses — to generate the $70 million needed to hire 700 additional police officers, an influential alderman said Thursday. Ald. George Cardenas (12th), chairman of the City Council’s Health Committee, said Chicago desperately needs a surge in…
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Illinois – 4th Worst Legal Climate for Business
Illinois, along with California, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia, are among the worst states in the country for businesses because of their legal climates, according to survey of corporate attorneys released Monday. Two Illinois counties did not fare well in the survey by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s institute for legal reform, either. Cook County…
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Fioretti: 35 Member Council & Term Limits
Alderman Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward) believes Chicago would do fine with just 35 aldermen instead of 50 — especially now that workers are handling garbage pickup and street cleaning on a system of ten “grids” instead of 50 wards. … Besides a smaller City Council, Fioretti is calling for term limits. “Just look at the…
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Bankrupt Stockton Chicago
Yesterday’s news: Officials in Stockton said Tuesday that mediation with creditors has failed, meaning the Central California city is set to become the largest American city ever to declare bankruptcy. … The river port city of 290,000 in Central California has seen its property taxes and other revenues decline, while expensive investments and generous retiree…