Here are some samples from the book.
Ralph Martire of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability starts us off with a look at the Chicago budget!
PENSIONS AND DEBT SERVICE COMBINE TO BE THE LARGEST EXPENDITURES IN THE CITY’S SIX BUDGET FUNDS, FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE The largest expenditures in the City budget are related to finance costs, i.e., debt service and pensions. This also means that of the City budget is a hard cost that cannot be cut.
In 2016, total city expenditures across all six budget funds are scheduled to be:
PENSIONS AND DEBT SERVICE COMBINE TO BE THE LARGEST EXPENDITURES IN THE CITY’S SIX BUDGET FUNDS, FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE The largest expenditures in the City budget are related to finance costs, i.e., debt service and pensions. This also means that of the City budget is a hard cost that cannot be cut.
In 2016, total city expenditures across all six budget funds are scheduled to be:
Authors Dick Simpson and Thomas J Gradel have written "The Cost of Corruption in Chicago."
"Political corruption in Chicago is extensive and persistent. Its costs mount up -- year after year. As a result, Chicagoans pay a heavy price in three ways, in stolen and wasted tax dollars,in lives ruined or lost, and in the loss of faith in government. Since the 1970s, more than 2,000 individuals in Illinois, most of them in Chicago, have been convicted of various forms of public corruption. Based on testimony before the Illinois Ethics Commission and Mayor Emanuel's Ethics Reform Task Force, and our own research, we estimate the cost of corruption, or "corruption tax" to be at least ..."
Well, you'll have to wait for the book to come out to get their estimate. Hint: It's a BIG number!
"Political corruption in Chicago is extensive and persistent. Its costs mount up -- year after year. As a result, Chicagoans pay a heavy price in three ways, in stolen and wasted tax dollars,in lives ruined or lost, and in the loss of faith in government. Since the 1970s, more than 2,000 individuals in Illinois, most of them in Chicago, have been convicted of various forms of public corruption. Based on testimony before the Illinois Ethics Commission and Mayor Emanuel's Ethics Reform Task Force, and our own research, we estimate the cost of corruption, or "corruption tax" to be at least ..."
Well, you'll have to wait for the book to come out to get their estimate. Hint: It's a BIG number!
Jackson Potter is the Staff Coordinator for the Chicago Teachers Union. He writes about "The Cost of Toxic Bank Deals for Chicago."
“'Toxic Swaps are Whack. We want our Money Back!'This was the chant, initiated by community leader Jitu Brown, belted out on November 20th, 2014, when 50 activists from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and the Grassroots Collaborative took arrests at City Hall to demand that Chicago’s Mayor Emanuel prosecute Bank of America for the debacle known as toxic interest rate swaps. The protestors made a complicated topic clear: The Mayor had given his banker friends a pass for ripping off the city and school district by more than [A LOT OF MONEY] through a complex instrument of high finance designed to offset the liability of variable rate debt."
How MUCH money? A ton of money. Read the book to find out how much.
“'Toxic Swaps are Whack. We want our Money Back!'This was the chant, initiated by community leader Jitu Brown, belted out on November 20th, 2014, when 50 activists from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and the Grassroots Collaborative took arrests at City Hall to demand that Chicago’s Mayor Emanuel prosecute Bank of America for the debacle known as toxic interest rate swaps. The protestors made a complicated topic clear: The Mayor had given his banker friends a pass for ripping off the city and school district by more than [A LOT OF MONEY] through a complex instrument of high finance designed to offset the liability of variable rate debt."
How MUCH money? A ton of money. Read the book to find out how much.
Jamie Kalven of the Invisible Institute covers "The Cost of Police Abuse". Jamie was honored with the Polk Award for his reporting on the murder of Laquan McDonald.
" In the midst of the political firestorm provoked by the police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Mayor Emanuel appointed a task force to review how the Chicago Police Department handles accountability, oversight and training. In the spring of 2016, the task force issued its report. A sweeping indictment of entrenched racism within the CPD and a detailed blueprint for reform, the report states that police in Chicago have "no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color."
" In the midst of the political firestorm provoked by the police shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, Mayor Emanuel appointed a task force to review how the Chicago Police Department handles accountability, oversight and training. In the spring of 2016, the task force issued its report. A sweeping indictment of entrenched racism within the CPD and a detailed blueprint for reform, the report states that police in Chicago have "no regard for the sanctity of life when it comes to people of color."
Broke Book Project Organizer Tom Tresser talks TIFs in his piece. Can you say "slush fund"?
"TIF dollars are gifts, not loans. These grants of public money typically for construction costs – so you can’t use TIF funds to hire school teachers, after school artists, Park District coaches, librarians or doctors. TIF districts last for 23 years and outlast the politicians who create them. TIFs are also used for public building projects such as a new library, school construction and street infrastructure work. The main thing to remember about TIFs is that they take property tax dollars away from local units of government that rely on property taxes for operation such as the operation of the public schools, parks, libraries and the city, itself. TIFs move property tax dollars into secretive funds that are controlled by mayor and his allies.
"TIF dollars are gifts, not loans. These grants of public money typically for construction costs – so you can’t use TIF funds to hire school teachers, after school artists, Park District coaches, librarians or doctors. TIF districts last for 23 years and outlast the politicians who create them. TIFs are also used for public building projects such as a new library, school construction and street infrastructure work. The main thing to remember about TIFs is that they take property tax dollars away from local units of government that rely on property taxes for operation such as the operation of the public schools, parks, libraries and the city, itself. TIFs move property tax dollars into secretive funds that are controlled by mayor and his allies.
Hilary Denk of of the League of Women Voters of Illinois explains why a progressive income tax for Illinois is good for Chicago.
"The best way to get a real, permanent fair state income tax is via an amendment to the state constitution. There was one under discussion in the 2015-2016 legislative session -- The Fair Tax Amendment -- and coupled with a rate bill introduced with the amendment, that would have lowered the income tax for 99% of state taxpayers. It was not called for a vote because Governor Rauner and Republican legislators and a few Democrats as well, did not support the Amendment or putting a referendum on the ballot in November to allow the voters to decide. This decision was not based on sound fiscal policy or the will of the people."
"The best way to get a real, permanent fair state income tax is via an amendment to the state constitution. There was one under discussion in the 2015-2016 legislative session -- The Fair Tax Amendment -- and coupled with a rate bill introduced with the amendment, that would have lowered the income tax for 99% of state taxpayers. It was not called for a vote because Governor Rauner and Republican legislators and a few Democrats as well, did not support the Amendment or putting a referendum on the ballot in November to allow the voters to decide. This decision was not based on sound fiscal policy or the will of the people."
Ron Baiman and Bill Barclay of the Chicago Political Economy Group blow our civic minds with their analysis of how a LaSalle Street Tax would bring in new revenues for Chicago.
"As governments around the USA seek to raise revenue via taxes, they turn to the riverboat and land casinos in their jurisdictions, repressively taxing the mostly working class patrons of “poor person” casinos. This includes all forms of legalized gambling, including local casinos and video slot machines. Chicago has one of the biggest "rich person" casinos in the world. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) owned by the CME, and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) together constitute one of the largest financial trading markets in the world. But these casinos are hardly taxed at all. Wealthy financial gamblers currently pay almost no tax whereas working class gamblers pay a roughly 35% sales tax."
"As governments around the USA seek to raise revenue via taxes, they turn to the riverboat and land casinos in their jurisdictions, repressively taxing the mostly working class patrons of “poor person” casinos. This includes all forms of legalized gambling, including local casinos and video slot machines. Chicago has one of the biggest "rich person" casinos in the world. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) owned by the CME, and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) together constitute one of the largest financial trading markets in the world. But these casinos are hardly taxed at all. Wealthy financial gamblers currently pay almost no tax whereas working class gamblers pay a roughly 35% sales tax."
Amara Enyia, JD, PhD ran for mayor of Chicago in 2015. She is in expert on urban development. She has authored an article on "A Public Bank for Chicago."
"The notion of banking as a public utility counter-cultural – in an era where nationally the country is just now pulling itself out of a years-long recession catalyzed by the reckless financial speculation and other hazardous practices of major financial institutions, the big question facing municipalities staring down generations of crippling debt is the question of whether cities benefit by investing money locally instead of in Wall Street banks. A public bank in Chicago will put our money to work for ALL of our residents and still return a sizeable profit to the city. The benefit of a public bank is its ability to support economic development efforts in the city and overall economic growth. This could slow the trend toward income inequality that has plagued the United States and is particularly evident in large municipalities like Chicago. Public banks, unlike Wall Street banks actually return profits to the municipal general fund. In an era where Chicago has paid literally billions of dollars in interest, termination fees and other costs to Wall Street banks, the concept of actually recirculating those dollars into the city’s economy and treasury is especially appealing."
HOW appealing? You won't believe the money Chicago could've saved and how much we CAN make from a public bank!
"The notion of banking as a public utility counter-cultural – in an era where nationally the country is just now pulling itself out of a years-long recession catalyzed by the reckless financial speculation and other hazardous practices of major financial institutions, the big question facing municipalities staring down generations of crippling debt is the question of whether cities benefit by investing money locally instead of in Wall Street banks. A public bank in Chicago will put our money to work for ALL of our residents and still return a sizeable profit to the city. The benefit of a public bank is its ability to support economic development efforts in the city and overall economic growth. This could slow the trend toward income inequality that has plagued the United States and is particularly evident in large municipalities like Chicago. Public banks, unlike Wall Street banks actually return profits to the municipal general fund. In an era where Chicago has paid literally billions of dollars in interest, termination fees and other costs to Wall Street banks, the concept of actually recirculating those dollars into the city’s economy and treasury is especially appealing."
HOW appealing? You won't believe the money Chicago could've saved and how much we CAN make from a public bank!
Educator and organizer Jonathan Peck reflects on all the articles and asks "What's Next?"
"By now, after finishing the previous chapters, you must be amazed at how many resources and funds our city generates and how much of it is being fleeced, stolen, and misused through extensive, deep and often violent corrupt practices.
We have enormous assets that are NOT being used wisely.
I hope you can see that Chicago’s greatest assets and treasures are you. By “you” I mean the people, the hundreds and thousands of children and young people, our elders across all of our communities and the millions of hard working people who are generating a metro wide economy larger than that of Argentina, Poland or Sweden.
Chicago’s total public public budget is over $20 billion. Everything that we need to dream and build the city and world we want is right here in Chicago.
We all can share in the bounties of our earth and of our labor. We can not only dream of a world where we can attend to all of our needs, we have the actual resources and assets right here to make it an everyday reality. We all can stand for fairness, justice, equity and freedom. All of our children can grow up safe and healthy and become fully productive adult members of our society.
Yes, all of our solutions lie within our city and in ourselves. It is really up to us -- you and me, our neighbors, our fellow Chicagoans to demand more!"
"By now, after finishing the previous chapters, you must be amazed at how many resources and funds our city generates and how much of it is being fleeced, stolen, and misused through extensive, deep and often violent corrupt practices.
We have enormous assets that are NOT being used wisely.
I hope you can see that Chicago’s greatest assets and treasures are you. By “you” I mean the people, the hundreds and thousands of children and young people, our elders across all of our communities and the millions of hard working people who are generating a metro wide economy larger than that of Argentina, Poland or Sweden.
Chicago’s total public public budget is over $20 billion. Everything that we need to dream and build the city and world we want is right here in Chicago.
We all can share in the bounties of our earth and of our labor. We can not only dream of a world where we can attend to all of our needs, we have the actual resources and assets right here to make it an everyday reality. We all can stand for fairness, justice, equity and freedom. All of our children can grow up safe and healthy and become fully productive adult members of our society.
Yes, all of our solutions lie within our city and in ourselves. It is really up to us -- you and me, our neighbors, our fellow Chicagoans to demand more!"