Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to invalidate the 20-year concession agreement that has allowed the clout-heavy owners of a Millennium Park restaurant to avoid paying rent and fees for water, gas and garbage pickup.
The Sun-Times has the details on former Mayor Richard M. Daley's pension, which is, in a word, rich.
Though hizzonor paid just $393,679 in pension contributions over the years he held office as a legislator, prosecutor and mayor, he'll receive $183,770 a year in pension benefits.
If you're looking for an indication as to the sustainability of Illinois' pension plans, here's one: It'll Daley just 26 months to recoup the dollars he put into the plan. He's also entitled to three percent annual cost of living raises. Read more...
Contractors across the region will be relieved to know that the money is flowing again on Cook County construction projects.
County Board Toni Preckwinkle yesterday ditched a ban on construction spending, meaning that workers can get started on $680 million worth of projects.
Half of that total is allocated for the county health department, which is slated to get a new treatment unit at the jail, an expansion for Stroger Hospital's parking garage, and redevelopment of the old Cook County Hospital facility. Read more...
A union leader says the city has decided to privatize curbside recycling service by signing a 10-year deal with Waste Management.
Laborers Local 1001 business manager Lou Phillips tells the Sun-Times the city would be divvied up into six recycling areas, and Waste Management would service at least four.
A city official says bids for the service were opened Jan. 12 and are being evaluated. Read more...
Before last month's election, 25th Ward Alderman Danny Solis opposed the Clean Power Ordinance, which would have forced the two coal-fired power plants in his ward to limit emissions or shut down.
And the Service Employees International Union spent $28,000 on mailers showing the alderman's face on a smoke cloud emerging from a plant — a move that surely helped challenger Cuahutemoc “Temoc” Morfin. Indeed, Morfin assembled enough votes to force a runoff.
Now, as the Sun-Times tells it, Solis has seen the light, come out in favor of regulating the plants, and has support from the SEIU. All of which suggests that an alliance with the SEIU is more of a one-night stand than a meaningful relationship. It's over once the union receives so much as a come-hither glance from a sexier candidate. I'm not sure which makes me feel dirtier: coal emissions or Chicago politics. Read more...
