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Is the sky falling on Chicago?

Are we going to be able to afford to leave our homes in the city of Chicago in 2008?
It seems as though the air we breathe will be the only thing not taxed next year under Mayor Daley's budget proposal.. which includes.. among other things.. a major property tax hike, higher taxes on bottled water, on sewer, on phone usage, higher liquor taxes, more money for car leases, parking offenses, and higher prices on city vehicle stickers for SUV's.
Okay so we'll cut back on entertainment, drink from the tap, stop using a phone, won't buy liquor, and take public transportation. But wait.. that won't work either.. The CTA's doomsday scenario is about to cut service and increase fares.
Mayor Daley has expressed regret for all he is asking of Chicago residents, and I understand his desire to "keep Chicago moving forward", but will it force Chicagoans to move out? Or even deter possible new residents to move outside the boundaries, deflecting new monies from the city coffers? And then because of that do we see more hikes next year?
For now the budget is in the preliminary stages and will likely not end up as it was laid out. The property tax hike could get cut or pulled off the table depending on the folks in Springfield, who themselves are still wrestling with the State budget. Good thing the sky can't really fall.

Posted on October 11, 2007 5:41 PM | Permalink

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Comments (4)

S.A. Wagner:

Todd Stroger works for US - we pay his salary. Daley works for US - we pay his salary. Gov. Rod works for US - we pay his salary.

We need for them to manage finances so that WE get the most from every dollar paid in taxes. They are not doing that. WE should hire someone else.

Posted by S.A. Wagner | October 19, 2007 9:43 PM

Posted on October 19, 2007 21:43

Paul Young:

Amazing how elected officials have strayed so far from the philosophies of our founding fathers.
Maybe leadership would improve by having term limits.

Posted by Paul Young | October 17, 2007 12:22 AM

Posted on October 17, 2007 00:22

Mike Ross:

It is all part of Napoleons (aka Daley) masterplan,flush out the woking poor and the middle class and create his flower infested psuedo Disneyworld he has dreams about every night.He should focus more on the people of Chicago instead of being so hyper focused on the 2016 olympics and who told him that he had a lifetime membership to City Hall. At the rate he is going we are going to need a visa just to leave our homes !!!

Posted by Mike Ross | October 15, 2007 2:43 PM

Posted on October 15, 2007 14:43

N eil J. Cacciottolo:

I have had the same thoughts Amy.
About the only item left is taxing the air we breathe...and you can count on one of our illustrious Aldermen to suggest that! I am a native of Chicago, single, and make a decent income. However, even I am feeling the pinch and actually thought about relocating for the past few years.It is simply getting too expensive to live here anymore. The bottom line lies in mismanagement on State, County and Local levels.Let's face it...do we really need all of the upper management? Look in the budget books and one can see that every year low end jobs are being replaced with either contracts or upper management positions. Our unions are another culprit.Do you realize that a laborer employed by the city is making an average of 65K per year! We have people with degrees that make nowhere near that amount and I hear some employees complaining that that amount is still not enough.Another group is the contractors. Who monitors the quality of materials that are needed to pave our roads, etc. Let's also factor in the quality of workmanship.
I believe in time, that if this rediculous practice continues, there is going to be a complete meltdown.
Some years ago, I was asked to run for Alderman in the ward where I used to live. I decided not to because I was not in any of the political cliques-so needed to push the votes through. Maybe I made the mistake of not running, perhaps I could have had some opportunity to offer serious input with all of our important issues at hand.
Meanwhile, as the old saying goes; "save your money...taxes are going up."

Posted by N eil J. Cacciottolo | October 12, 2007 6:42 AM

Posted on October 12, 2007 06:42

Is the sky falling on Chicago?

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