By Mike Flannery
Lightfoot, Vallas trade war of words over city finances
Once the current coronavirus crisis fades, budget experts say Chicago’s taxpayers face an ugly day of reckoning.
CHICAGO - Mayor Lori Lightfoot says it's too early to discuss.
Experts, though, warn that her already-unbalanced city budget will likely be hit very hard by the coronavirus crisis.
Back before hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans lost their paychecks as large parts of our economy
shut down, Mayor Lightfoot drew up an optimistic city budget reliant on revenues rising by hundreds of millions of dollars. Once the current coronavirus crisis fades, budget experts say Chicago’s taxpayers face an ugly day of reckoning.
“I’m not blaming Mayor Lightfoot. She wasn't in a position to have prepared us. We're certainly not prepared. We are certainly not prepared for the financial pandemic. And we would be foolish not to consider some legitimate ideas out there on how we could shore up the city's cash reserves,” said former mayoral candidate Paul Vallas.
Vallas, who's overseen government budgets in at least four states as well as City Hall, offered some ideas in a Tribune Op-Ed, including:
-Temporary pay cuts for elected officials and top city executives;
-Temporarily defer pay raises for rank and file city workers;
-Reduce payments to city contractors;
-Shift to City Hall some of the $750 million expected to flow into Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funds this year.
Mayor Lightfoot's response? A snarky blast at Vallas.
“Unfortunately, some people are desperate to be relevant,” Lightfoot said. “The suggestion that somehow our city budget is in tatters, as Mr. Vallas dramatically suggests, it's just foolish.”
“They have not prepared us for the financial pandemic. And like the health care pandemic, the failure to prepare is going to have long-term, extremely negative consequences,” Vallas said.
There is one budget bright spot. Chicago's public schools could get a couple hundred-million dollars from the giant federal stimulus law approved last week.
Vallas is offering common sense financial advice to the mayor. I can't believe she is going to do nothing. The city budget is in tatters and she has to start cutting now.
Murph, I hope you save this posting as it will serve as a great reference point in the Lightfoot mayoral administration. None of us will enjoy this "I told you so moment" but at least it will serve to underscore the indifference democrats have towards the taxpayers
ReplyDeletelooking like a one termer.
DeleteThis will be the opportunity Democrats have been waiting for to make a move on city workers' pensions. There will be a big push to change the Illinois Constitution.
ReplyDeleteRahm Emanuel always said, "Never let a crisis go to waste."
I'm sure they are already working on just that. I'm betting that they're going to call this a natural disaster and use that as the wedge
DeletePolice and fire payrolls and pensions are killing us.
ReplyDeleteNeed to cut those salaries by 30%
Cut maximum pension to $100,000 a year.
Nice idea, but it's far too little as nd too late. I could write a book about the billions of dollars that have been wasted or stolen due to mismanagement and fraud Chicago, affiliated agencies, Cook County and the State and never run out of material. The time to fix things is long gone. That ship has sailed.
DeleteAnd who captained that ship?
DeleteThey will tax all pensions at the source that originate from an Illinois based entity such as a unit of state or local government or any publicly traded corporations based in Illinois. Even if you move out of state you will get taxed by Illinois so you might as well stay here and enjoy what you voted for.
ReplyDeleteUm. Federal law says they can't do that. Sorry Charley. Enjoying my pension in Florida. While it lasts at least.
Delete