Preckwinkle vows to fight to retain her Cook County presidency

After the defeat of the Cook County sweetened beverage tax, what the Chicago Tribune called a “cockamamie” tax, Board President Toni Preckwinkle proclaimed that she would issue a series of severe, even draconian cuts that would be at least tantamount to 11 percent across the board; she then later relented saying that she was only responsible for 8 percent of them.

With a looming deadline of Nov. 30, to pass a budget, and dire warnings from State's’ Attorney Kim Foxx, and Sheriff Tom Dart, that even 10 percent cuts would jeopardize public safety, and threaten an “already depleted office,” negotiations began “to save at least 85 jobs in the Cook County Sheriff's office, and the Public Guardian's’ office,” reported the Chicago Sun-Times.

“Through shared sacrifice and cooperation we were able to develop and pass a balanced budget,” President Preckwinkle said in a statement this past Tuesday. “We have had to make exceedingly difficult but necessary choices, but we have met our fiscal obligation to the people of Cook County. While at the same time protecting key public health and public safety services.”

In total there are 300 layoffs coming as a holiday gift to long-time employees, some with nearly two decades of service.  Also, on the chopping block are the closing of a North Side court house, and including some in the Cook County Assessor's office, the Board of Review, the Chief Judge, the sheriff's office and others, said local NBC affiliate Channel 5.

The deadline for bringing petitions for all of the board positions, including the president, came on Monday, and heading the line was Preckwinkle herself, in her trademark solid colored suit, and sensible shoes, with bales of petitions, at her side, containing more signatures than she actually needed, and vowing to fight off contenders, as she gained the coveted top spot on the ballot.

A popular board president, she gained an immeasurable amount of support nearly seven years ago, as she defeated her predecessor, Todd Stroger, and his sky high sales taxes,and those opposed to his dynastic hold on county politics. She also became the darling of many liberals with her supportive stance for fair sentencing guidelines, and her support for dialing back jail time for low-level offenders, caught by police with marijuana.

Preckwinkle might have continued riding this wave of popularity, had it not been for the tax, and a somewhat lame projection, which few believed: that she was doing it to improve children’s health. She was later forced to reveal that it had been a revenue builder all along.

Another sustained injury is that Preckwinkle brought back the higher sales tax that she ran against, and now at 10.25 percent, the area holds the dubious distinction of having one of the highest in the country.

“I have a strong record and I’m going to run on it,” Preckwinkle said while talking to reporters before filing.

She faces no strong opponent and there are some that would like to see her defeated, while others, fearing her powerful political supporters, do not want to risk their reputations, such as, some have said of RIchard Boykin, a frequent critic.

Now, smelling blood in the water are Stroger, and old-school veteran, Bob Fioretti, to get the top job that serves the county’s 5.2 million residents. Yet, uncharacteristically, the former was not at the County Clerk’s office, with some saying that he did not get the required 8,326 signatures.

Following Preckwinkle are a string of names, some familiar, and others less so, all who have seen their vote, or their opponent's vote as commissioner, as a litmus test of reform in this populous county, that contains all of Chicago. That tax also saw some ironies in partisanship, in this bluest of blue states, where it brought about 63 percent of Democrats in support, with 57 percent of independents, and only 44 percent of Republicans. Adding even more irony is that all but four of the 17 elected commissioners are Democrats, bucking a statewide trend.

That could change, or even remain the same with the March elections, and with the decision of Jerry “Iceman” Butler, a 32 year veteran, not to run, and opening up a wide berth for five candidates from the South Side.

Political alliances rebound, in nearly a cyclical fashion, with Chicago area politics, and this election proves to be no exception, with Edwin Moody, (who voted for the beverage tax) and who is also a political operative for the powerful, and indomitable, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Michael Madigan.

He was chosen last year, to fill the seat of  the late Commissioner Jean Patricia Murphy, who died of cancer; and her daughter Patricia Jean Murphy is also slated to run.

Joining them is John Ritchey who opposed the tax and wanted to fill the county coffers with money from a proposal to legalize marijuana; he is a Republican.
Nipping at the heels of the pack is Chicago Teacher Union organizer Brandon Johnson, who is after Boykin’s seat and has said, “Unfortunately, what you’re hearing from Richard is about cuts, closures, consolidations and efficiencies,” and “He’s going after working-class people. Those are the talking points of the Republican Party.”

Longtime local pol, the avuncular Larry Suffredin, from the Northern suburban lakefront communities, now is being challenged by DePaul University student Barbara Amiwala; Suffredin was one of two commissioners who voted for the beverage tax.

“Also in the line that snaked through the basement of the County Building downtown was Assessor Joseph Berrios, who doubles as county Democratic chairman. Berrios has drawn a primary challenge from Fritz Kaegi, an asset manager who has been hitting the incumbent over what he says are problems in the tax assessment system highlighted this year by the Tribune,” they reported.

“People are dissatisfied with the corruption they see in the process, that’s in the pay-to-play and the nepotism, the favoritism and the indifference to neighborhoods that have been impacted by the housing crisis,” Kaegi said.

Gosh, does this sound like Chicago?

Price tag maybe too high for a Chicago bid for Amazon HQ2

While Adam had Eve to pluck the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, it seems that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has all manner of help to pluck the corporate fruit of Amazon’s second world headquarters, but critics are saying that there was no reptilian voice urging him on, only the desire for legacy, and perhaps a tiny bit of hubris.

With the Oct. 19 deadline looming, Emanuel and even his arch rival Gov. Bruce Rauner, have held hands to lure the world’s retail giant, ready to seemingly pounce on the lucrative needs of worldwide retail, a place where everyone from the suburban millennial to the future Queen of England, the Duchess of Cambridge, seems to shop.

In a story that has legs, this is the best for most of the nation, as they have answered the Requests for Proposals from the corporate giant, and its CEO Jeff Bezos, with the promise of jobs, and ancillary services and prestige.

Cities like Chicago are looking at a $5 billion investment,and 50,000 jobs; and Emanuel has touted the city as having the right combination of “talent, transportation, technology,” as the draw.

He has also leaned heavily on clout rich people such as lawyer Jamie Gorelick, Environmental Systems Design head, Zackery House, and employer food provider Dustin Lasky to provide a plan and financing, and has scoured various sites for consideration, including the grand Art Deco style, old Post Office Building, or a site near the ever so chic River North, with a twinned tower of residential and corporate tenants, in a mix that some say suggests Buck Rogers meets Frank Lloyd Wright.

Waggish critics aside, the most pressing concern is meeting Bezos’ conditions for consideration, and that includes a prominent request for incentives,  that is described as a “significant factor in the decision making process,” in other words big bucks, be it in infrastructure breaks, or most seen as tax breaks.

For a city that has been reeling in red ink for several years as it struggles to pay for earlier pension holidays for teachers, municipal workers, firefighter and police, how much of a tax break can be proffered to Bezos, when Emanuel closed over 50 schools in predominantly black neighborhoods, and mental health clinics in his first term, and the largest property tax increase in modern Chicago history?

Not to mention a public school deficit that has, despite heavy borrowing, still need $500 million dollars and that with a new state funding formula cut millions of dollars from South and West Side communities, that just happen to witness some of the most violent crime.

Some are saying that this is the new definition of bailout a term that has been bandied about the state for several years, and where each penny gained seems to tie the city to the rails for help, like a damsel in distress, as she pleads for mercy from the Eastern banking elite, who gloat over the interest Chicago has paid to keep the doors open on the schools alone.

All in all, Chicago property owners can expect to see an addition to the already $543 million in taxes, they currently pay. Not to mention, the phase in of the burgeoning contributions to police and firefighters pension fund, pegged at 10 percent, and even those living in the North and South Suburbs can see a surge of 6.5 and 3.9 percent.

These are part of four-year increases set to expire in 2019, but more will continue when the ARC payments begin; these are formally known as Actuarially Required Contributions, which require payment from the city to the pension fund while the city sets aside enough money for future payments.”

Can Emanuel afford what some are saying is a bailout of $2.25 billion while slashing public service and hiking taxes? For example, a 28 percent fee for dialing the emergency number 911, or increases in water and sewage, just to ‘stuff billions more into Jeff Bezos’s pockets says Anwar Patel, head of a liberal umbrella group called Grassroots Collaborative.

“Without a trained workforce ready to take these tech jobs, they will go to transplants. One only has to look at San Francisco — a shell of its former self, full of businesses and housing developments for the wealthy but lacking basic amenities for the poor — to see what a tech-company paradise looks like,” claimed Jacobin Magazine.

If Chicago wins the contest, costs in increased housing and services will force many from the city, who has already faced a significant population drain due to a myriad of taxes, including shopping bags, and a recent sweetened beverage tax, due to expire on Dec. 1 after loud protests to Cook County commissioners.

To add insult to injury, “More recently, reports have surfaced showing that Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Forrest Claypool, an Emanuel appointee, cut the special-education program budget by $29 million. At the same time, he’s trying to increase payments to outside consultants to a total of $28 million: almost enough to fully restore special-education services to the schools,” the magazine noted.

Drawing a cautionary note is State Rep. Kelly Cassidy who in a press release said that she has “introduced a resolution and a companion bill requiring a measure of common sense in our State’s pursuit of Amazon.com, Inc.’s new headquarters.”

“Just recently, the State of Illinois in conjunction with the City of Chicago responded to Amazon’s“request for proposals” with an offer of tax and land incentives. Though the full details of this offer have not been released to the public responsible for subsidizing it, initial reports place the total at several billion dollars. HR655 urges caution and requests public hearings before any final deal is struck, complete with expert testimony demonstrating to the public whether this is an economically effective use of their money.”

“Job growth and retention is crucial”,  Cassidy said. “But fighting with taxpayer money to win a bid from a corporation that has absolutely no financial need for subsidization is a dangerous path to tread.”

Citing previous examples she cautioned that “Illinois has been burned in deals like this before. In 2011, Illinois gave Sears $275 million to keep its corporate headquarters in the state. Only a few months later, it laid off 100 workers. Illinois taxpayers filled the corporate coffers and actually lost jobs in the process.”

Cassidy stressed that “Capping subsidies at $50,000 ensures at the very least that Illinois won’t get stuck in a deal it regrets for decades. But even so, public hearings should be required before any final deal so Illinoisans know exactly what we’re signing up for.”

Improved bond ratings for CPS still show need for better grades

In what many are considering to be a step in the right direction, two bond rating agencies have given thumbs up to the recent Illinois school funding formula, with reservations but praise nevertheless.  S&P Global Ratings “revised the outlook on the Chicago Board of Education’s junk credit rating to stable from negative on Tuesday, citing a boost in state and local funding for the cash-strapped school district,” reported Reuters.

“The outlook revision is based on our view of the district’s higher state aid revenue as a result of the state’s new funding formula, and lower pension costs, with the state now picking up more of the employer pension contribution, and the district’s ability to extend a higher property tax levy to support the pension contribution,” S&P analyst Jennifer Boyd said in a statement.

Last Friday, Fitch upgraded the Chicago Public School bond rating from B-plus to BB-minus, again attributing the new funding formula as the reason and also stating that Chicago Public Schools will still be very dependent on borrowing money; a fact that swells the deficit due to high interest payments.

They also stress that while they feel that the upgrade is warranted, but the “potential volatility of state aid,” is still a factor, and as S&P Global notes will still be “dependent on external cash,” as Fitch noted, even as critics bemoan the specter of even further tax increases despite the historic property tax, that was passed, last year under the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Others are sanguine such as Civic Federation President Laurence Msall who also notes that the rating is still beneath investment grade.

Earlier during the year it was announced that CPS would need even more money, $269 million to be exact, which of course meant more taxes. As CPS noted in its October statement: “The initial FY18 budget also included $269 million in local resources to address the district’s budget gap. As a result of both the new funding law and management efficiencies taken by CPS, the district now requires significantly fewer resources from the city and will fully resolve the budget gap through the following steps:

-$130 million increase to CPS’ property tax levy for Chicago teachers’ pensions
-$80 million in City of Chicago funding for school security and student safety costs
-$55 million in debt refunding savings and purchasing savings
-$4 million in additional state aid above the amount assumed in the original budget”

As we noted before, “Expected is a tax increase of $130 million per year, yet CPS officials claim that they always want to separate pension expenses from operating, but that is still under discussion.

All in all, Chicago property owners can expect to see an addition to the already $543 million in taxes, they currently pay. Not to mention, the phase in of the burgeoning contributions to police and firefighters pension fund, pegged at 10 percent, and those living in the North and South Suburbs can see a surge of 6.5 and 3.9 percent.

These are part of four-year increases set to expire in 2019, but more will continue when the ARC payments begin; these are formally known as Actuarially Required Contributions, which require payment from the city to the pension fund while the city sets aside enough money for future payments.”

Critical opinion is divided over whether or not the good outweighs the bad, that is the very high price tag that Illinois, and especially Chicago residents, who are now on the hook for even more, and that does not include the $75 million dollar tax break given to the wealthy, under the guise of scholarships, but that as most define it as a voucher program.

The hold harmless provision, while pleasing to liberals, has become anathema to conservatives, especially those those seething that Gov. Bruce Rauner signed what they are calling a bailout for CPS.

In a recent blog post the conservative Illinois Policy railed at it in a litany of abuse, and called for more school closings for what they say are underutilized buildings. Here is what they are saying:

“It’s easy to see how some of those bailout elements are playing out by looking at CPS’ annual enrollment. The new formula forces state taxpayers to pay for CPS’ inefficient and underutilized schools.

CPS is shrinking. Its student enrollment is projected to fall by another 8,000 this year, according to the Chicago Tribune. That’s on top of last year’s loss of nearly 11,000 students.

In fact, CPS’ student enrollment fell 13 percent between its last peak in 2002 and 2016 – a loss of over 57,000 students. And with the city’s overall population declining as well, there is no reason to believe the loss of students won’t continue.

A decline in the number of students should logically result in a smaller amount of total state aid for the district. But thanks to the state’s new education funding formula, CPS won’t lose a dime in state funding, no matter how many students it loses.

That’s because of the “hold harmless” rule in the new funding formula that says no district can ever get less money from the state than it did the year before.”

Others, especially the Chicago Teachers Union, feel that the new budget proposal from Emanuel takes away from the education of black and brown students, who are its majority, and adds further to the debacle of the 50 school closings by Emanuel, four  years ago, in their neighborhoods.

In her address to the Chicago Board of Education, President Karen Lewis said, “Rather than holding schools harmless, as the new state law does, the mayor’s and this board’s budgeting system punishes low-income schools and further attacks neighborhoods already subject to the wholesale elimination of affordable housing, widespread unemployment, and a surge in violent crime.”

“Mayor Emanuel’s budget address is built on fiction and spin instead of the hard facts. First, it’s fiction that Chicago’s public schools do better under this budget. In fact, Emanuel’s school budgets have cut hundreds of millions of dollars from neighborhood schools and angled to enact policies that short-change students—especially Black and Latino schools,” CTU noted in an earlier statement.

“The result has been extreme shortages of guidance counselors, school librarians, teacher assistants and school social workers at a time of record violence and ever-increasing demands on teachers and school staff. Emanuel’s school bosses, for example, worked secretly to rob special education students of support, deny them a federally guaranteed equal education and use bogus statistics as the basis for harsh attacks on our most vulnerable students,” said CTU Vice-President Jesse Sharkey”

Using corporate money, for education, and social services can be a risk, especially for Chicago, to address its huge pension deficits, and perhaps no where is this more clearly seen than in the decrease in funding for special education, that makes the improved bond ratings, and the new funding formula unhelpful.

CTU is referring to “A WBEZ investigation into that 2016 overhaul found officials relied on a set of guidelines — developed behind closed doors and initially kept secret — that resulted in limiting services for special education students, services like busing, one-on-one aides, and summer school. This overhaul was orchestrated by outside auditors with deep ties to CPS CEO Forrest Claypool. They had no expertise in special education.”

Lewis has said, “Even with all the school-level cuts embedded in this proposed budget, and with prior rounds of cuts remaining unaddressed, the budget still relies on more than $500 million in phantom revenue.

Even after accounting for additional funding CPS hopes to get from the state from the passage of SB1, their budget will still have a gaping hole. Duly noted. CTU can honestly state that “This fragile budget is also patched together by unsustainable short-term borrowing.”

Here is a history of just that:

“In FY2015, CPS had a $700 million credit line, in FY 2016, CPS had a $1 billion credit line, In FY 2016, CPS spent $35 million just to pay the interest expense on maintaining their credit line, in FY 2017, CPS had a $1.5 billion credit line, in FY 2017, CPS spent $35 million just to pay the interest expense on maintaining its credit lines.”

Looking at the present: “in FY 2018, CPS plans to rely on a $1.5 billion credit line,” and to make matters worse, “the district is already relying on short-term borrowing to open the school year, with $400 million in borrowing to cover delayed state grants from the last fiscal year.”

In addition, Lewis points out that “District high schools are again taking the brunt of the impact. High schools will lose nearly $15 million, or a 2.3 percent cut. District schools stand to lose a total of 1 percent, or more than $18 million in funding from their final FY2017 budgets, but this masks the steep declines that are happening across many schools.”

Especially hard hit are South Side schools, still recovering from “budget reductions of $6.8 million from their final FY 2017 budgets. The 10 high schools in those networks are losing $3.4 million overall, “ she continued.

In light of the increased violence in these neighborhoods associated with economic impoverishment,  and disinvestment, these reductions further disenfranchise those students that want a solid education to compete with their peers, for a better economic future.

As we’ve noted before, the new funding formula came with a very high price tag, and now a peek under the tent, shows a debilitating tax burden, that creates a hardship for specific neighborhoods, already under siege, both within and without.