I found myself in the Wells high school auditorium last week eagerly anticipating the big public hearing on the city budget. You know—the annual rite in which the taxpayers get to tell Mayor Emanuel what they think about his plans to spend about $8 billion of their tax dollars.
Then they wait a couple weeks before approving almost everything the mayor asked for.
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The public doesn’t participate in the City Council hearings because—well, this is not some small village in New England.
This year he’s holding none. Instead, he put together a series of private focus groups with carefully selected batches of citizens.
Rim shot.
In short, these are my people. It sounded like a greatest-hits collection of the stuff Mick and I have been writing for years.
The next year, the mayor generally raises taxes and makes cuts, with the hope that the voters will have another three years to get over it.
