Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
1. One-Fourth Of Chicago Home Borrowers Under Water.
“At 25.1 percent, Chicago’s rate of ‘negative equity’ was third-highest among major U.S. cities, according to Zillow, an online real estate marketplace. The area was behind only Las Vegas, at 26.4 percent, and Atlanta, at 26.1 percent.”
Posted on March 24, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
I have to fight with the Illinois Department of Revenue today about them trying to charge me for last year’s taxes twice, which they oddly decided to do recently. I mean, I know the budget situation is tough, but do you really need my $67 all over again? Bruce?
The appearance of a proper Papers column today will depend on how much that takes out of me. Given the first two rounds of this battle, my guess is you shouldn’t count on it.
Posted on March 23, 2015
By Natasha Julius
Well, if we’re waking up in 2018 already, have the Cubs won a World Series yet?
Market Update
Just spitballin’ here, but how much do you suppose Governor Rauner’s fantasy law that will never pass is costing Illinois? Probably a touch more than defending the actual laws.
Posted on March 21, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
“[I]f Obama opts for New York after all he’s put Chicago through, it will be more than a slap in the face to the town that made his career,” Joe Cahill writes for Crain’s.
Chicago would be left with no presidential library but a gaping hole in the principle that public parks belong to the public. Capitulation to the Obama library’s demands sets an ominous precedent for handing over parkland to private interests with the right kind of clout.
The process engineered by Mayor Rahm Emanuel and rubber-stamped by aldermen makes a mockery of public control of parkland and the supposed independence of the Chicago Park District. Parks commissioners hopped-to when Emanuel demanded they transfer the land to the city so the city could give it to the library foundation.
Posted on March 20, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
I wish I would have thought of this conceit sooner – and built an entire graphic around it.
By the way, I would normally root for Wisconsin, because I’ve always liked Wisconsin, and Madison is a great school and awesome town.
But Scott Walker makes it harder each and every year.
And the NCAA, well, I love the Tournament but . . . these kids should see some of that revenue.
Anyway, here’s a buncha stuff.
Posted on March 19, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
I don’t know that I have anything new to add to the resignation of Illinois congressman Aaron Schock, but I thought this tease from Politico’s Playbook summed up the affair nicely:
“[Schock] billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car from January 2010 through July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer . . . [D]ocuments . . . indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was driven . . . When Schock transferred the SUV to an Illinois dealership in 2014, it had 81,860 miles . . .
“However, from January 2010 to the end of July 2014, he billed the federal government for 123,131 miles on his personal vehicle. During the same period, the Republican billed his ‘Schock for Congress’ campaign account and GOP Generation Y Fund, his leadership political action committee, for an additional 49,388 miles. Altogether, Schock sought reimbursement for 172,520 miles on his car, despite the fact that he signed documents that certified the vehicle traveled less than half that distance.”
The full Politico article is here.
Posted on March 18, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
“Rahm Emanuel and Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia engaged in a contentious first debate Monday night, as the mayor accused his challenger of having no plans to deal with the city’s financial problems while Garcia contended Emanuel served only ‘the rich and powerful,'” the Tribune reports.
“Facing a $550 million increase in police and fire pension payments, Emanuel indicated during the debate that he would take a property tax increase off the table. Later, his campaign clarified that a property tax increase is ‘the very last resort.'”
Of course, viewers only saw the lie, not the walkback.
Posted on March 17, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
Let the runoff debates begin!
Aww, do we have to?
We know how this will go.
Rahm will filibuster instead of answering questions, and attack Chuy for not putting more meat on the bones of his platitudes. “Where’s the beef?” may actually make a comeback.
Chuy will spend 99 percent of his time attacking Rahm as Mayor 1%, and remind us that he is a neighborhood guy and Rahm is not.
Neither will be particularly honest, though Rahm will be far more disingenuous.
Each side will then claim victory – the tweets and press releases have already been written.
Posted on March 16, 2015
By Natasha Julius
Special St. Patrick’s Day Edition
Oh, look: supposedly broke-ass Chicago still has some green to throw around. Wherever did that come from?
Posted on March 14, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
I’m going to delay the new Homan Square column I had prepared for a less taxing look at a WBEZ report from Wednesday that I don’t recall getting much attention. It should. Here goes:
Critics of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel contend he focuses too much on what is good for downtown and not enough on neighborhoods.
In campaign speeches the mayor vigorously rebuts that. One of his regular sounding points is the $4 billion spent on seven neighborhoods through a program called Neighborhoods Now.
Well that certainly sounds like a lot of money to spend on seven neighborhoods. Let’s keep reading.
Posted on March 13, 2015
