Unions marched in Chicago protesting for a $15 minimum wage. The shooting totals aren’t in yetb but as of Sunday nightb it was 9 killed and 46 injured. DACA protesters marched in advance of today’s announcement by Trump. The schools will open this week with tax money from the suburbs to support the deficit. Part of the great compromise with the governor and the Democratic state legislature. The city is just about tapped out on the ability to borrow and tax. The soda tax for Cook Country is in and has angered thousands. They are running ads on local TV to quiet the masses. Technically the city is bankrupt it’s just when. The populations of the city and state of Illinois are shrinking under the tax load put on the residents in every form. The root cause is simple:
More than one of every three employees for the City of Chicago made at least $100,000 in 2016 according to a new analysis from the Chicago Sun-Times. The report revealed that 13,767 of the city’s 35,274 employees pulled in six figures, making up over $1.7 billion of the city’s $3.1 billion payroll. The number of employees making six figures is up from the previous year, with 36 individuals making more than Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s $216,210 paycheck. The percentage of workers making six figures for the city is significantly higher than it is for Cook County or the state of Illinois. Of the county’s 25,158 employees, 2,918, or 11.6 percent, made at least $100,000. Of the state’s 65,535 employees, 8,640, or 13 percent, made at least $100,000 in 2016. Ginger Evans, who serves as the aviation commissioner, tops the list with total pay of $400,000. The second highest paid employee is actually listed as an unidentified undercover police sergeant who is bringing in $261,442 per year.
The Sun-Times also highlights the fact that the seventh highest paid employee, retired police sergeant Donald Koplitz, made $252,482 in 2016 based on accumulated compensatory time. The Sun-Times reported that Koplitz has been retired for three years. Most of the 36 employees that make more than Emanuel come from the police department and the fire department. While Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson is the second highest paid employee by base salary, nine police officers under him made more than he did because of overtime pay and other benefits. The average worker for the City of Chicago brings in $87,090 a year. The average police officer makes about $100,000 and the average pay to Fire Department employees is $117,046.
Union rules impact the number of workers on every job.
So, problems are not just the inflated pay negotiated by unions but the cost of jobs because of work rules.
Conventions have left Chicago and McCormick Place due to pay and work rules. Now, we want to pioneer a $15 minimum wage? Good luck.
In Chicago we have the makings of another Detroit. A city run by Democrats forever that is sinking under their leadership. Rampant crime, poor schools, high taxes, shrinking populations, union abuses, and protests asking for more of the same. But, it’s a sanctuary city.
Right to work laws are our only solution to the problem
The pensions must be revised but the courts have stopped any changes.