Excerpts from NBCChicago.com:
A preliminary budget released by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel shows a gaping budget shortfall for 2016 that could grow to $754 million and beyond — a total that is so high that the mayor might be forced to raise property taxes.
The budget estimates released Friday by the mayor’s office paints a bleak picture for Chicago that will get even worse if the struggle over police and fire pension funds don’t go the city’s way. While the mayor projects a $426 million budget shortfall, that figure doesn’t include the $328 million that would cover payments to the police and fire pension funds that were left out of this year’s budget.
Now, after a Cook County judge about a week ago threw out a law aimed at reducing multibillion-dollar shortfalls in the two pension funds, Emanuel is pinning his hopes on the state Supreme Court to reverse that decision. At the same time, that $328 million could grow to well over a half-billion dollars if Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner does not sign legislation to give the city more time to increase contributions to the funds.
“It is very difficult to see how the city could come up with $328 million increased contribution to the pensions without a significant increase in the property tax and/or the sales tax,” said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a budget watchdog group.
Emanuel has not ruled out a property tax increase. At the same time, the city is scrambling to find ways to bring in more money, with aldermen making suggestions that include adding a tax to sugary beverages, extending the cigarette tax to smokeless tobacco and charging for garbage pickup.
And Emanuel has dispatched his budget director, Alexandra Holt, to meet with the city’s inspector general who in the past has recommended a host of ideas to cut costs, including reducing firetruck staffing and requiring all city documents be printed on two sides.
Msall said for Emanuel and the City Council it is “also a reality that they are going to need new tax revenue” even if the city follows all the recommendations of the aldermen — a few of whom have even wondered about legalizing and taxing the recreational use of marijuana.
thanks Asher
#1 by Eric Haak on August 8, 2015 - 6:18 PM
And yet we continue to build, build, build. If I were to judge the condition of the cities finances based on what I see being built, I would say they were in tremendous condition. If you are not a Northsider, check out the construction of the park being built on Rosehill cemetery property off Western. It doesn’t get as much coverage as Maggie’s or the 606. I love parks as much as the next guy but I thought we were in some kind of crises here. Either stop building stuff or stop lying that you have no money.
#2 by mike on August 8, 2015 - 8:58 AM
The Chicago fire annuity website shows their pension funding. As far back as I could go 2007 it showed that the city only put in half the amount suggested by the actuary to fund the pension at 100%. From 2007 till today.. The firemen and medics pay their portion every check. This crisis was engineered by the city and should be fixed by the city without raising taxes. We didn’t need the chrome bean downtown, or Maggie Daley park. Those are not necessities, funding a pension is because they already collected taxpayer monies for pension and used that money elsewhere. The city has mismanaged for so many years, tell me another city that sold their skyway, or sold their parking meters.
#3 by Robert on August 9, 2015 - 10:28 AM
Mike the parks downtown that “we don’t need” have become a big part of the scenes to check out when people visit Chicago from around the country and world. Travelers come here and spend their money. Other than that you’re right about the selling of parking meters and skyway were a bad idea.
#4 by grumpy grizzly on August 8, 2015 - 7:39 AM
Tax this, tax that, raise this fee, increase that penalty. This is why I am moving downstate. I know there are problems there also but the BS is not as deep.
#5 by Eric on August 7, 2015 - 9:40 PM
Not trying to turn this into a political flame war, but it’s hardly just the Democrats. The Republicans continually pay lip service to being for the common man when they’re all also a bunch of self-absorbed millionaires. They can all hang—on both sides of the party line—for all I care.
#6 by Tom Foley on August 7, 2015 - 9:14 PM
The can simply can’t be kicked down the road any longer. Quite frankly, it should be criminal what these politicians are doing (or not doing) with tax dollars.
There is a lot of blame to go around. Mainly at the politicians who have written and approved budgets that either didn’t pay enough and in some cases didn’t pay anything at all into the pensions.
The concept of a pension just doesn’t largely seem like it’s sustainable any longer. I wouldn’t propose taking away pensions from those who have already earned, but it’s time unions embrace 401k and other retirement options like other companies.
You don’t just wake up one morning and owe over $750 billion. It’s sickening. Union shops are quick to vote in a Democrat because they feel they are “union friendly”. But come on, in the end, what’s the benefit to the union worker who may not have a funded pension, whose property taxes go up, whose sales tax goes up, and whose job could be on the line in the name of trying to balance the budget? I’d suggest that’s not really union friendly in the long haul.
#7 by Michael M on August 7, 2015 - 9:09 PM
I agree with Mike. Redundancies really do need to be eliminated, I cannot imagine how much money is spent on BS and redundancies.
#8 by Frank on August 7, 2015 - 8:40 PM
Chicago needs to quit crying about money
#9 by mike on August 7, 2015 - 8:12 PM
How about using the TIF money? How about cutting out redundancies? How about not spending money on Bullsh!t and not spending beyond your means? Just a start.