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Tag: Rahm

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Illinois Unemployment at 9.1%

    Unemployment across Illinois rose to 9.1 percent in August, the third straight month of increases in the state, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Thursday. … Unemployment in July was 8.9 percent. Increases in the unemployment rate in June, July and August followed nine months of slow but steady declines. The federal government said…

  • One Word for CPS Teachers: Save

    Save. Save as much money as you can. Live well below your means. The pension time-bomb is coming. One of the most vexing problems for Chicago and its teachers went virtually unmentioned during the strike: The pension fund is about to hit a wall. The Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund has about $10 billion in assets,…

  • CTU Deal Will Lead to School Closings & Layoffs

    Four years of up-to-the-limit property tax increases for Chicago homeowners and businesses. Closing scores of under-enrolled and underperforming schools. Thousands of layoffs of teachers and other school staff. More cuts to the central office. That’s what could await the Chicago Public Schools, thanks to the tentative agreement between teachers and the district that is expected…

  • Teachers’ Unions vs. Children

    When schoolchildren start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children. — Albert Shanker, former president of the United Federation of Teachers I wrote about this before, how the truth is that CTU, WEAC, and all other teacher’s unions have a fiduciary duty to the union members.  The union cannot do anything…

  • 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…

  • Chicago Teachers Union: It’s About Children Greed

    According to the Chicago Tribune key issues separating Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union: SALARIES AND BENEFITS. The district offered 16 percent increase over four years and “modified step increases that both reward experience and provide better incentives for mid-career teachers.” The union said it’s closer on pay but is still concerned about…

  • 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…

  • Less Cops = Less (Reported) Crime

    In the city’s most violent districts, police officers say, they may be assigned half a dozen jobs or more—covering everything from traffic accidents to assaults—at the start of a shift. Their watches are spent racing from call to call, while anything that requires investigation stacks up. Officers describe having to weigh whether to make an…