The latest doings of some familiar names:
- Yesterday the board of Chicago Public Schools, claiming poverty and a huge deficit, voted to raise property taxes to the highest legal level they could. And how will they, in part, be spending this money?
"Jamiko Rose, executive director of the community group Organization of the North East, was hired to the new $152,000 position of Chief Family and Community Engagement Officer."
- In an article about rebuilding a mixed-income housing development near the former Cabrini-Green site:
"The worst criticism I’ve heard so far comes from, of all people, another developer. Peter Holsten, whose North Town Village replaced some Cabrini units, said the Atrium Village plans would “generate a lot of traffic for an intersection [Division and Wells] which already doesn’t work.”
Holsten, president of Holsten Real Estate Development Corp., also said he’s talking with village officials in Lincolnwood about taking over the forlorn Purple Hotel, 4500 W. Touhy. But he has a twist in mind. Holsten, experienced in both housing and retail developments, said he wants to keep the existing building and add things around it. He might have a hard time selling that idea to a town that wants the decaying property gone forever."
This is what the welfare state looks like. The formerly great state of Illinois, having thoroughly run its budget into the ground, is considering digging an even deeper hole by raising taxes. Exactly the shot in the arm the economy needs!
ReplyDeleteOf course, public sector unions are in full-throttle support of the tax grab. (No recession for those that live off taxpayers.) On Wednesday, a phalanx of public sector employees, including SEIU, Illinois Education Association, Illinois Federation of Teachers, AFSCME, and AFL-CIO, rallied in support of the tax hike in the capital, Springfield.
I wish these familiar names would vanish for good.
While I don't necessarily disagree with what you've said, Wiseguy, lets not go overboard and completely demonize the existence of unions. That would be unfair.
ReplyDeleteGranted, this state is a mess. But unions also helped give the middle class decent wages and working conditions. And it's a large middle class with money to spend in the economy that helped make this economy great in the first place. You keep slashing the wages of the middle class, and you hurt the economy.
Unions with too much power are bad for business and bad for the economy. Corporate power with no union opposition to represent workers means working people get completely taken advantage of. Balance is needed in my opinion.
another thought. maybe if we didn't have all these b.s. TIFs taking money away from the CPS, this property tax hike wouldn't be necessary. okay, i'm done.
ReplyDelete1 - Ms Rose got an executive level position as a liaison btn CPS and the community due in no small part to her long, illustrious history of positive community outreach in Uptown.
ReplyDelete*cough*
2 - $152,000/yr / $84 = 1,809(ish) home owners whose increased taxes will go straight to financing a position which sane persons might argue isn't even necessary.
And that doesn't count benefits or expenses.
If this is the type of leadership we should (continue to) expect from CPS, pull out your hankies folks as it might be time to weep for the future.
Jamiko is one of the hardest working and professional person I've ever known.
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect...YO...very sane people people could argue that the schools need this position filled more then ever...
Wishing her well........of course Uptown is still in Jamiko's area...YaY!
The real issue at hand here isn't whether Ms. Rose is going to be a model employee, or even whether the position is necessary -- those discussions devolve far too much into "it's for the CHILDREN!" territory. Rather, we should be asking whether CPS could have possibly found $152K (plus perks, benefits, and pension) in its budget to hire her before raising taxes.
ReplyDeleteAs bloated as CPS' payroll is, I'll bet they wouldn't have had to fire any more than half a dozen underperforming teachers to make up the difference.
Also: you've gotta hand it to the Ballerino -- he's keeping his "no tax hikes" promise by making everyone else raise taxes for him. Bravo!
"The $150 million property tax increase will raise the bill of the owner of an average $250,000 home by $84, or 2.4 percent, CPS officials say."
ReplyDeleteIs that $250,000 right now, or $250,000 before the housing crash? Are properties going to be reassessed to reflect that many, including mine, have lost more that half their value in the last two years?
@Littleton-I see your point. CPS needs some good PR in the community. The war on teachers and public school education has really taken a toll on CPS's image as a bloated, broken system-which is sometimes deserved- but my question is this: Where in God's name is the Union!? Why aren't they putting any effort into organizing to improve community attitudes toward public education or demanding reforms that don't screw teachers? Why are we hiring someone who probably doesn't know s&@# about education to do the job, and to the tune of $152K? That isn't even considering that it's a waste of time. Public education is going to be run like a business, and charter schools are the new black. It's practically a done deal.
ReplyDeleteAs an dues-paying employee (forced for all intents and purposes) of CPS, I can tell you that a new day is coming. Morale is in the toilet as we all realize that the micromanagement, impossible demands in dire circumstances, and constant flux in the state of things are nothing more than ways to give us the rope with which we should hang ourselves. Failure is inevitable. I don't really have much faith in the Union these days. It's all about the corporation.
@Yo, my hanky is out and I am weeping.