But the blame game hasn’t been working that well around here lately. Some aldermen, tired of being attacked by voters for slow snow removal, spikes in crime, and the parking meter fiasco, have been griping that a lack of planning and transparency by the administration has made Chicago’s financial problems even worse than they would have been. As an example they cite the administration’s poorly conceived plan to put a tax on Dumpsters.
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Aldermen howled, calling it a burdensome tax that would be passed on to renters and small businesses already struggling through the recession. “They said it’s the waste hauler who will be picking up the fee, but we know they’ll pass it on to consumers,” said 32nd Ward alderman Scott Waguespack. “That’s economics 101.”
But aldermen still aren’t signing on. City officials now estimate there are 75,000 Dumpsters across the city, nearly double the last figure, which has only served to make aldermen even less confident. “Nobody knows how many Dumpsters there actually are,” concluded 2nd Ward alderman Robert Fioretti.
