Over the years Mayor Daley has proven to be a master at blaming the city’s budget woes on someone or something other than himself. Usually it’s the federal or state government, but this time around he has an even bigger bogeyman to blame: it’s the economy, stupid.
And what does he intend to do about it? Apparently he’s hoping to spend his way out of the doldrums, via the Olympics. “The way out of a recession is infrastructure spending,” he said. “If you don’t it’s going to be a real crisis in America.”
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Besides, property taxes will continue to rise no matter what the mayor says, thanks to his best friend, tax increment financing. As you may recall, every time the City Council—at the mayor’s urging—creates a TIF district, it freezes the amount of money the schools, parks, county, and other taxing bodies can take from these areas. To compensate for the money they’re not getting because it’s being funneled into the city’s 160-some TIF districts, these taxing bodies have to raise their rates, and your property taxes (or your rent, if your landlord passes the cost off to you) go up.
Then the little people of Chicago got to address their mayor. One by one they stepped to the microphone to plead for their favorite programs. Clearly, most of them had decided that if you want funding for your park, library, or health clinic, it’s important to butter up the mayor—tell him the city never looked cleaner, remind him of all the wonderful things out-of-town visitors say about Chicago. Never mention the CTA, but by all means say the Olympics is a great idea—some people may even believe this.
Care to comment? Find this column at chicagoreader.com. And for more on politics, see our blog Clout City.
