Rahm Emanuel

Mayor Emanuel’s property tax hikes: $750 million is just the beginning

04/08/2014

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pension proposal, which is headed to Gov. Quinn’s desk, does very little to reform how Chicago’s pension systems work. Under his plan, workers and taxpayers would experience more of the same tired game, except they would be expected to contribute more to keep it afloat. But if Emanuel is going to rely...

TAGS: pensions, Rahm Emanuel

What Mayor Emanuel’s pension proposal does and doesn’t do

04/01/2014

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has reportedly struck a pension deal with city employees who are members of the Municipal and Laborers pension funds. The deal only affects half of the city’s workers. Firefighters and policemen, as well as its teachers, park and transit workers, are not included. The deal, which calls for a five-year, $750...

TAGS: pensions

Rideshare drivers and customers to Chicago City Council: don’t kill these jobs

03/31/2014

I don’t usually enjoy sitting through Chicago City Council committee meetings. The ones I’ve attended have typically involved aldermen blustering about how the city needs to ban, restrict or control one thing or another, with no regard for individual rights or economic sense. But last Thursday’s meeting of the council’s Committee on License and Consumer...

The 6 worst things about Illinois’ proposed ridesharing law

03/27/2014

Taxi-industry lobbyists have been working hard to get Chicago to hobble or ban popular ridesharing services such as UberX and Lyft, but they haven’t gotten very far. The problem: these services are just too popular. Aldermen have been overwhelmed with calls and emails from Chicagoans asking them to leave ridesharing alone. So now the taxi...

TAGS: Lyft, rideshare, Uber

Chicago City Council committee taking up anti-rideshare ordinance – let them know you oppose it

03/26/2014

In February, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office proposed an ordinance that would force popular ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft to severely change the way they do business, if not shut down entirely. We pointed out some of the proposal’s many serious problems, and Chicago aldermen reported thousands of people emailing them asking them...

TAGS: Lyft, rideshare, Uber

Moody’s downgrades Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park District

03/15/2014

When Mayor Rahm Emanuel went to SXSW to pitch Chicago as a destination city, he touted the city’s buzz. There’s no denying Chicago’s arts and tech scene is on the rise. But Emanuel failed to tell Austin crowds there’s a buzzkill on the way – the city’s fiscal collapse. Chicago continued its decline when two of...

TAGS: Chicago Park District, CPS: Chicago Public Schools, credit rating

Government unions protecting Chicago city worker scofflaws

By Justin Hegy

02/27/2014

Remember in 2011 when Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he was going to get “deadbeat” city workers to pay up on unpaid parking tickets, fees and fines? Back then, he threated lengthy suspensions or termination. Emanuel scolded workers, stating “the free ride is over for everybody.” It turns out public unions are making this a lot...

TAGS: Chicago, labor, parking violations, Rahm Emanuel, unions

Is Chicago retreating from threats against Uber and ridesharing services?

02/26/2014

At the beginning of this month, things weren’t looking good for “transportation network providers” such as Uber and Lyft in Chicago. On Feb. 5, Mayor Rahm Emanuel unveiled a proposed ordinance that would force these services to severely change the way they do business, if not leave the city entirely. That same day, aldermen Ed...

TAGS: Chicago, Lyft, taxis, Uber

How to stop Chicago from ruining Uber and Lyft

02/18/2014

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed an ordinance that would force the popular ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft to drastically change the way they do business, if not shut down operations in the city entirely. The proposal contains numerous unnecessary provisions that would harm Uber and Lyft drivers as well as consumers and serve no...

TAGS: Chicago, Lyft, nanny state, taxis, Uber

How much are Chicago’s public servants really paid?

By Brian Costin

02/16/2014

The city of Chicago spent a shocking $197 million in overtime pay over the last year. Some public servants were paid more in overtime pay than their regular salary. One city employee, Police Communications Operator Lisa Jamison, earned $122,088 in overtime pay, on top of her $80,136 annual salary. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “107...

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

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