In response to the news that Mayor Daley's layoffs would largely affect workers in two departments -- Police and Streets and Sanitation -- Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon hit back hard over the weekend. Speaking to the Sun-Times, he offered a litany of ideas for how Daley could make up the $425 million shortfall without laying off any city workers, including raiding the mayor's beloved Tax Increment Financing (TIF) accounts:
Gannon suggested that Daley could wipe out the entire $420 million shortfall without any layoffs. His recipe would call for: raising taxes and fees, possibly including the Laborers Union's proposal for a $10 monthly garbage-collection fee; raiding the $500 million Chicago Skyway fund; sweeping money out of scores of tax-increment-financing districts; reducing consulting fees, and having city employees perform services that have been privatized by the city.
"Raise a fee somewhere, raise a tax," Gannon said. "Instead of that, we're gonna cut front-line workers who live in the city and pay taxes.
"What's wrong with the mayor taking $200 million out of the Skyway? It's a rainy-day fund. Well, it's raining, Mr. Mayor. These workers helped everybody survive the North Side flood and picked up the bulk. The same guy who picked up all those downed trees, we're gonna tell him after Christmas, 'Thanks for your hard work. We don't need you anymore.' "
Gannon told the Sun-Times that minorities would bear the brunt of the layoffs and even warned that the Laborers Union is mapping out where the affected workers live -- data that they plan to share with aldermen.
Speaking of TIFs, be sure to check out Adam Verwymeren's latest comic book on the matter: "Where Do TIFs Come From?"
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