Tuesday, November 18, 2008
News / Clout City Same time next year
Posted by Mick Dumke on Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 7:47 PM
When they take it up for a vote Wednesday, expect aldermen to kvetch about the 2009 budget even as they pass it--and by a large margin.
Nothing new there. In fact, it's another reason why the City Council is so ill-equipped to fight for major budget revisions: there's no structure or precedent for it. Aldermen simply don't carry much weight on the budget, even though oversight of it is arguably their most important oversight legislative job.
A year ago, when the economy was showing signs of a slowdown, the council signed off on the mayor's 2008 budget, with its millions in tax and spending increases, by a 37-13 vote. (A separate ordinance specifying the tax hikes generated more resistance but still passed 29-21.) That amounted to the most opposition to a Daley budget in 16 years, since the still-new mayor had to fight for 30-18 passage of his 1992 plan. Starting in 1993 (when the 1994 budget was passed), the council went 14 straight years without more than four votes against an administration budget; in seven of those years, the votes were unanimous. Were all of the budgets sound, fair, and just what the city needed? Aldermen said so.
A few aldermen do take pride in shouting out nay at budget time. The alderman with the most no votes under Richard M. Daley is the 46th Ward's Helen Shiller, but she hasn't uttered anything but aye for almost a decade now. In the past few years it's been Toni Preckwinkle of the Fourth Ward who's been the mayor's leading annoyance.
In case you're as geeky about such things as some of the rest of us, here ya go: This chart shows how the votes have gone down every year since this Daley has been mayor. (Again, the budget is always voted on at the end of the previous year. The 1990 budget, in other words, was approved at the end of 1989. DNV=Did Not Vote, for whatever reason.)
Showing 1-10 of 10
You forgot, Lil Mick, to ask who is their favorite baseball team. The only thing true in the whole piece is the part about you being a geek.
"Orion November 18th - 8:15 p.m. You forgot, Lil Mick, to ask who is their favorite baseball team. The only thing true in the whole piece is the part about you being a geek." What a surprise, more feces laced spittle from daley's most consistent butt licker, old reliable.
50 Alderman to do the job of 1. lets serously think of reducing the number of alderman in the City Council by 2011. Lets get it on the ballot. The savings in money, will be secondary to the amount of bull-shit we won't have to hear every year at this time.
The federal prosecutors can't stop Daley, what makes you think a bunch of aldermen or a newspaper can do it?
"...what makes you think a bunch of aldermen or a newspaper can do it?" Alderman, being the legislative branch of our city government, possess the authority to stop, dead in it's tracks, practically anything the executive branch of our city government wants to do. The fact that the 50, gutless, greedy wonders, infesting our city's legislative branch have failed to exert their legal authorities and responsibilities, in no way diminishes those authorities and responsibilities. Our city council is like an army with plenty of weapons, plenty of ammunition, but lacking the will to fire a single, meaningful shot. A collection of limp dicks. Of no use to anyone.
"...what makes you think a bunch of aldermen or a newspaper can do it?" As for the newspapers, why do you think that they still exist, if not for the fact that advertisers, both business and political, still know that the influence which newspapers have upon their readerships does, indeed, still affect what those readerships do, on election day? And why do you think there are so few newspaper articles, and/or editorials, clearly, and without political bias, describing and criticizing the many misuses and mismanagements of our tax dollars? Why is there so much effort made, on the part of this city, county and state administrations, to influence and shape what the newspapers print? Newspapers still have the power to inform the public, to influence the public and to publish the truth. They, like our city council, just don't have the balls to take aim and pull the trigger.
counterpoint, You have me a woody!
Daley will fall under the weigh of his own corruption. All good things come to an end knotheads. History bear this fact out.
The Daley Show "After Mayor Richard Daley pushed through his first city budget for 1990, the Buildings Department was headed by a commissioner, two deputy commissioners and an assistant commissioner," the Tribune reports. "By this year, the mayor's budget has ballooned to include two managing deputy commissioners, a first deputy, five deputies and six assistants - even as the department has far fewer workers." When Todd Stroger does it, he's a hack. When Richard M. Daley does it, he's an international management darling. "The City Council is set to trim eight high-level managers from the Buildings Department when it votes on Daley's 2009 budget Wednesday. "While Daley is cutting non-union top bosses, those layoffs will only partially offset the dramatic growth in upper-echelon management during Daley's reign. A Tribune analysis of city budgets found that since 1990 the number of department heads, deputies and assistant department heads has risen from fewer than 200 to almost 350, despite the slow shrinking of the city workforce."
Patrice McDonough is running for Mayor of Des Plaines. Neil Bluhm offers $#50,000.00 seed money to get the ball running!Lets hope Des Plaines get gaming, it is fun!
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