Cook County Board votes to overturn Stroger's Sales Tax Hike

[HuskyCaucasian]

Peraica Twittered Budget Cuts:

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica defied Board President Todd Stroger's claim that his critics have no solutions to the county's budget woes by offering seven of his own -- 140 characters at a time.

 

On Wednesday Peraica, one of Stroger's most outspoken opponents, posted on his Twitter feed measures he said would cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the county budget.

 

1. Reduce county payroll from present 25,000 to 22,000 over two years. Savings=@$150M...county's natural annual attrition is @1300/year

 

2. Divert non-violent drug self-abusers from the county jail (@cost of $100/day/detainee) to EM @ local treament centers @cost of $25/day

 

Diversion of detainees to EM (electornic monitoring), day reporting, etc., along with direct police station adj'ts save @$100M/year

 

3. Change county pension system for non-vested and new employees from a defined benefit to a defined contribution one. Savings= @$50M

 

4. Change the benefits contribution and co-pay rates for county employees to something more than token amounts charged now...Savings=@$50M

 

5. Divert non-life-threatening patients from county hospital emergency rooms ($1000/patient) to local medical clinics ($50/patient) = $100M

 

6. Combine county treasurer, assessor and recorder of deeds office functions under one umbrella. Savings @ $20M

 

7. Combine county clerk, secretary to the board and clerk of the circuit court under one umbrella. Savings @ $40M

 

Total savings: $510 million, and possibly the NW suburbs.

[NorthSideSox72]

LOL, not sure if anyone saw this, but apparently the IRS put a $12,000 tax lien on Mr. Stroger. He claims it was a tax bill too big for him to handle all at once, and that it was taken from a deferred compensation of some type.

 

Um, Todd, Mr. County Board President, did it not occur to you to leave some of the money aside to pay the taxes against it? Your excuse is only making things worse, as it appears you don't understand taxes and how to budget your own money.

 

This guy is such a joke.

 

[HuskyCaucasian]

LOL, not sure if anyone saw this, but apparently the IRS put a $12,000 tax lien on Mr. Stroger. He claims it was a tax bill too big for him to handle all at once, and that it was taken from a deferred compensation of some type.

 

The family made over $250,000 last year.

[StrangeSox]

Gee, Mr. Stroger, I didn't know taxes could be expensive! What a moron.

[NorthSideSox72]

The family made over $250,000 last year.

This is what I am getting at. His own life is an analogy for how bad he is running Cook County - he makes a lot of money, draws from some sort of deferred compensation, and doesn't have the sense to put aside money for taxes. And this is a guy some people want running county government?

 

 

[southsider2k5]

LOL, not sure if anyone saw this, but apparently the IRS put a $12,000 tax lien on Mr. Stroger. He claims it was a tax bill too big for him to handle all at once, and that it was taken from a deferred compensation of some type.

 

Um, Todd, Mr. County Board President, did it not occur to you to leave some of the money aside to pay the taxes against it? Your excuse is only making things worse, as it appears you don't understand taxes and how to budget your own money.

 

This guy is such a joke.

 

Yup, this is a class act right here. Hopefully all of Cook County can think this is too much and not pay their taxes either.

[CanOfCorn]

Yup, this is a class act right here. Hopefully all of Cook County can think this is too much and not pay their taxes either.

 

This brings up a good point. And maybe it's own thread. But, what response do we, as citizens, have to retaliate. And I don't mean directly to Stroger or any public figure who doesn't get it. But, I'm talking on a grand scale. When we get screwed, and a public employee, corporation, etc. gets off or a slap on the wrist or less than what is deserved...what can we do?

 

One example is ss2k5's above. Another would be airlines. They charge us for everything. So, what if I am unhappy with the service I get, could I send them a bill for what I think it was worth? (Obviously not, because the amount of time they would have to spend going through all of that would cause fares to rise across the board.) I guess, besides switching banks, moving out of Cook County, etc., there isn't much we could do. But...is there something more direct?

[NorthSideSox72]

This brings up a good point. And maybe it's own thread. But, what response do we, as citizens, have to retaliate. And I don't mean directly to Stroger or any public figure who doesn't get it. But, I'm talking on a grand scale. When we get screwed, and a public employee, corporation, etc. gets off or a slap on the wrist or less than what is deserved...what can we do?

 

One example is ss2k5's above. Another would be airlines. They charge us for everything. So, what if I am unhappy with the service I get, could I send them a bill for what I think it was worth? (Obviously not, because the amount of time they would have to spend going through all of that would cause fares to rise across the board.) I guess, besides switching banks, moving out of Cook County, etc., there isn't much we could do. But...is there something more direct?

Hard to blend private business and government that way. If the airline screws you, you go to another airline, or drive or take a train or whatever. With government, elections are supposedly the way to do this. But maybe there should be more liberal laws allowing for recalls.

 

How often do we vote for Cook County Board? If its every two years, then I think that works fine.

 

[CanOfCorn]

Hard to blend private business and government that way. If the airline screws you, you go to another airline, or drive or take a train or whatever. With government, elections are supposedly the way to do this. But maybe there should be more liberal laws allowing for recalls.

 

How often do we vote for Cook County Board? If its every two years, then I think that works fine.

 

I know the question was very broad...but it was meant not so much as a private vs. public question, but as a broader consumer vs. service question.

[SI1020]

LOL, not sure if anyone saw this, but apparently the IRS put a $12,000 tax lien on Mr. Stroger. He claims it was a tax bill too big for him to handle all at once, and that it was taken from a deferred compensation of some type.

 

Um, Todd, Mr. County Board President, did it not occur to you to leave some of the money aside to pay the taxes against it? Your excuse is only making things worse, as it appears you don't understand taxes and how to budget your own money.

 

This guy is such a joke.

So is the mayor.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

So is the mayor.

No, the mayor is corrupt but also intelligent and relatively effective. Stroger appears to be none of those things. They aren't in the same league.

 

[SI1020]

No, the mayor is corrupt but also intelligent and relatively effective. Stroger appears to be none of those things. They aren't in the same league.

That's funny. Bush is dumb and Daley is smart? They are both pretty inarticulate. You can have Daley's Chicago. A city with two classes and neither one middle. Red light cameras everywhere, and you can get your car towed even if its legally parked. Everywhere you turn you're getting gouged and Chicago is one of the biggest Nanny State places to live. No, the city of Sandburg, Algren, Dreiser and even Mike Royko is no more. There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss it, but there's very little chance I would ever go back. I often wonder what path the city would have taken if Adamowksi had been elected in 1963. New York could elect a John Lindsay and a Rudy Giuliani. In LA a Richard Riordan. In Chicago and Cook County it's the same Cro Magnan machine types recycled over and over.

[NorthSideSox72]

That's funny. Bush is dumb and Daley is smart? They are both pretty inarticulate. You can have Daley's Chicago. A city with two classes and neither one middle. Red light cameras everywhere, and you can get your car towed even if its legally parked. Everywhere you turn you're getting gouged and Chicago is one of the biggest Nanny State places to live. No, the city of Sandburg, Algren, Dreiser and even Mike Royko is no more. There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss it, but there's very little chance I would ever go back. I often wonder what path the city would have taken if Adamowksi had been elected in 1963. New York could elect a John Lindsay and a Rudy Giuliani. In LA a Richard Riordan. In Chicago and Cook County it's the same Cro Magnan machine types recycled over and over.

I've never said Bush was dumb, he was just a terrible President, and is entirely different than Daley, for good and bad.

 

Daley is corrupt, and the city has its annoyances. But if you think the city is worse now than in the 60's or 70's, you really aren't paying attention. This city has undergone a renaissance not seen in many other cities int he country, from about the early 80's until recently. Only in the last few years has that progress really stalled.

 

Hate on Daley all you want, there is a lot to hate. But he has gotten results.

 

[SI1020]

I've never said Bush was dumb, he was just a terrible President, and is entirely different than Daley, for good and bad.

 

Daley is corrupt, and the city has its annoyances. But if you think the city is worse now than in the 60's or 70's, you really aren't paying attention. This city has undergone a renaissance not seen in many other cities int he country, from about the early 80's until recently. Only in the last few years has that progress really stalled.

 

Hate on Daley all you want, there is a lot to hate. But he has gotten results.

I was afraid the remark about Bush would get miscontrued. I have no great love for him or his administration. As for the other part I was alive and in Chicago in the 60s and 70s. It was declining. Where I disagree is this feeling that gentrification has been the pathway to a better city. It has remade a few areas to the detriment of the middle and working classes. I'll agree that the lakefront, the museums and cultural institutions, what I call showcase Chicago is in some ways better than ever. As for the entire city, hell no. Do a checklist of all 77 community areas and the smaller individual neighborhoods within. Go back one, two and three generations and compare to today. Do the same with the public schools. What you now have is an upper crust, the urban poor and very little in the middle. Sorry, we'll just have to agree to disagree about Daley and the city. Do you work for the city?

 

[NorthSideSox72]

I was afraid the remark about Bush would get miscontrued. I have no great love for him or his administration. As for the other part I was alive and in Chicago in the 60s and 70s. It was declining. Where I disagree is this feeling that gentrification has been the pathway to a better city. It has remade a few areas to the detriment of the middle and working classes. I'll agree that the lakefront, the museums and cultural institutions, what I call showcase Chicago is in some ways better than ever. As for the entire city, hell no. Do a checklist of all 77 community areas and the smaller individual neighborhoods within. Go back one, two and three generations and compare to today. Do the same with the public schools. What you now have is an upper crust, the urban poor and very little in the middle. Sorry, we'll just have to agree to disagree about Daley and the city. Do you work for the city?

No I definitely do not work for the city. But there is no question in my mind that it has improved dramatically for the great majority of its population (though not all) in the past few decades. No doubt at all.

 

Heck, go for a walk. There are so many neighborhoods now that were anywhere from crappy to war zone 25 years ago, that are vibrant and relatively safe now. All over the place there are these neighborhoods. Now, try to tell me about some neighborhoods that have declined - there are a few I am sure, but very small in number compared to the flipside.

[lostfan]

I just think it's pretty ironic that the whole revitalization thing was brought up and then Giuliani was mentioned as an alternative.

[NorthSideSox72]

Veto override attempt fails. Needed 14 of 19, got 11.

 

The tax stays.

 

So much for the will of the people.

 

[CanOfCorn]

Veto override attempt fails. Needed 14 of 19, got 11.

 

The tax stays.

 

So much for the will of the people.

 

I hope people remember this vote (or are reminded) at the next election. Time to clean house.

 

And to weigh in on the Mayor discussion...Daley has done A LOT for this city. More than any other I can think of back to Bilandic. What he does is keep his distance from the corruption and if he's implicated, he's incredible at deflecting the criticism and changing into a "Yeah, but, look what I HAVE done." /high, screechy voice

Edited May 19, 2009 by CanOfCorn

[SI1020]

No I definitely do not work for the city. But there is no question in my mind that it has improved dramatically for the great majority of its population (though not all) in the past few decades. No doubt at all.

 

Heck, go for a walk. There are so many neighborhoods now that were anywhere from crappy to war zone 25 years ago, that are vibrant and relatively safe now. All over the place there are these neighborhoods. Now, try to tell me about some neighborhoods that have declined - there are a few I am sure, but very small in number compared to the flipside.

North Side or anyone else that might care to read this please be advised, this may be long. Most will probably find it boring.

 

When my family first moved to Chicago in 1953 it was a totally different city. It was before the Immigration Act of 1965, so most Chicagoaons were either white or black, the city as a whole was about 80% white. Many neighborhoods were to change from all white to all black in the 40s, 50s and 60s as this was the era when southern blacks were leaving in droves in hopes of getting jobs in what was then the industrial north. In 1953 neighborhoods all over the city like Austin, South Shore, Avalon Park, Calumet Heights, Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights, Roseland, West Pullman, Grand Crossing, and Chatham just to name some, were pretty stable and solidly middle class. Grand Crossing and Chatham were at the beginnings of racial change but blacks moving in were for the most part upwardly mobile. Other neighborhoods like South Lawndale, Brighton Park, most of Lincoln Park (believe it or not), West Garfield Park were more blue collar and lower middle class but had stability, tradition and healthy business districts. Almost the entire NW side from Fullerton north to the city limits, Pulaski on the east and the city limits on the west was solid and stable. Ditto for the SW Side, I'm talking about West Elsdon, Archer Heights, West Lawn, Marquette Park (mostly called Chicago Lawn back then), Ashburn, Clearing, and Garfield Ridge. In the 50s many homes sprung up in Clearing, Garfield Ridge and Ashburn in what had been prairies. There were real ethnic neighborhoods then too. Lincoln Avenue from North all the way up to Lawrence was German. Taylor Street was a teeming Italian district as was a long stretch along Grand Avenue. Chicago Avenue between Kedzie and Pulaski in the Our Lady of Angels parish had the most unique and lively Italian American business district I've ever been in. Albany Park had a large Jewish community that was more blue collar than it's decidedly wealthier neighbor North Park, which had a Jewish community more upscale. There were also large Jewish populations in Rogers Park, Uptown, West Ridge (mostly called Northtown back then) and Lincoln Square. Great swaths of the south side were Irish, parishes like St. Sabina, St. Killian, Little Flower and others in neighborhoods from West Englewood to South Shore to Beverly. Chicago had the largest Polish community centered at Milwaukee and Division, and working its way north on Milwaukee all the way to Jefferson Park. In addition to this there were some Irish up north (Rogers Park, Edgewater and Albany Park) and Jews on the south side, and a good sized Polish community in Brighton Park and South Chicago. Being older I remember what it was like to experience the sights, smells and experiences of those old neighborhoods and compare it to the remade latte crowd areas of gentrification today. It's not even close. The Chicago of that era blows the Chicago of today right out of the water. Yes, gentrification has improved parts of the city. I had a relative that lived in the Kenmore-Winthrop corridor in Edgewater in the 70s and 80s when it was really bad. I lived on the Western border of Edgewater near Hayt School and could relate all kinds of urban horror stories from a generation or so ago. Yes some neighborhoods have definitely improved, that can't be denied. I still contend that when you look back the city as a whole has declined. I will say this, of all the so called rust belt cities Chicago has by far done the best job of both reinventing and preserving itself. Change is inevitable and all the large American cities have been under incredible social and economic pressures for over half a century. I'll stop here for now. There is so much more I would like to say. Maybe I'll write a book, but there is no guarantee anyone would read it. I've noticed a few books written recently about 1940s and 50s Chicago, particularly about certain far north side neighborhoods.

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

North Side or anyone else that might care to read this please be advised, this may be long. Most will probably find it boring.

 

When my family first moved to Chicago in 1953 it was a totally different city. It was before the Immigration Act of 1965, so most Chicagoaons were either white or black, the city as a whole was about 80% white. Many neighborhoods were to change from all white to all black in the 40s, 50s and 60s as this was the era when southern blacks were leaving in droves in hopes of getting jobs in what was then the industrial north. In 1953 neighborhoods all over the city like Austin, South Shore, Avalon Park, Calumet Heights, Auburn Gresham, Washington Heights, Roseland, West Pullman, Grand Crossing, and Chatham just to name some, were pretty stable and solidly middle class. Grand Crossing and Chatham were at the beginnings of racial change but blacks moving in were for the most part upwardly mobile. Other neighborhoods like South Lawndale, Brighton Park, most of Lincoln Park (believe it or not), West Garfield Park were more blue collar and lower middle class but had stability, tradition and healthy business districts. Almost the entire NW side from Fullerton north to the city limits, Pulaski on the east and the city limits on the west was solid and stable. Ditto for the SW Side, I'm talking about West Elsdon, Archer Heights, West Lawn, Marquette Park (mostly called Chicago Lawn back then), Ashburn, Clearing, and Garfield Ridge. In the 50s many homes sprung up in Clearing, Garfield Ridge and Ashburn in what had been prairies. There were real ethnic neighborhoods then too. Lincoln Avenue from North all the way up to Lawrence was German. Taylor Street was a teeming Italian district as was a long stretch along Grand Avenue. Chicago Avenue between Kedzie and Pulaski in the Our Lady of Angels parish had the most unique and lively Italian American business district I've ever been in. Albany Park had a large Jewish community that was more blue collar than it's decidedly wealthier neighbor North Park, which had a Jewish community more upscale. There were also large Jewish populations in Rogers Park, Uptown, West Ridge (mostly called Northtown back then) and Lincoln Square. Great swaths of the south side were Irish, parishes like St. Sabina, St. Killian, Little Flower and others in neighborhoods from West Englewood to South Shore to Beverly. Chicago had the largest Polish community centered at Milwaukee and Division, and working its way north on Milwaukee all the way to Jefferson Park. In addition to this there were some Irish up north (Rogers Park, Edgewater and Albany Park) and Jews on the south side, and a good sized Polish community in Brighton Park and South Chicago. Being older I remember what it was like to experience the sights, smells and experiences of those old neighborhoods and compare it to the remade latte crowd areas of gentrification today. It's not even close. The Chicago of that era blows the Chicago of today right out of the water. Yes, gentrification has improved parts of the city. I had a relative that lived in the Kenmore-Winthrop corridor in Edgewater in the 70s and 80s when it was really bad. I lived on the Western border of Edgewater near Hayt School and could relate all kinds of urban horror stories from a generation or so ago. Yes some neighborhoods have definitely improved, that can't be denied. I still contend that when you look back the city as a whole has declined. I will say this, of all the so called rust belt cities Chicago has by far done the best job of both reinventing and preserving itself. Change is inevitable and all the large American cities have been under incredible social and economic pressures for over half a century. I'll stop here for now. There is so much more I would like to say. Maybe I'll write a book, but there is no guarantee anyone would read it. I've noticed a few books written recently about 1940s and 50s Chicago, particularly about certain far north side neighborhoods.

That was actually very interesting, thanks.

 

I do agree that the more ethnically vibrant neighborhoods have faded. I also recall some of that. Chicago was once 200 small cities, and you got a lot of interesting culture that way.

 

But, that same factor also resulted in much more amplified segregation. There were, back then, virtually no neighborhoods that had a racial mix, a you stated. Now there are many, if not most. So that is the offseting factor.

 

By the way, a neighborhood you didn't mention was Englewood. My father was born there, but the family moved out to the NW side (near Six Corners) when he was about 7, as the neighborhood went downhill in a serious hurry. They had "street guards" who would more or less try to filter who came onto the block. Sad situation all around.

 

[SI1020]

Absolutely true. The Chicago of my youth was very segregated. I had a few asian and hispanic classmates in grammar school. The first time I had black classmates was in my Freshman English class, two girls. Many all or predominately white areas had a nice ethnic mix but yes Chicago was then a very segregated city.