If Chicago is bad off, who isn't? (Springfield, Summit: real estate, foreclosure)

[A2DAC1985]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Chet is a contradiction.

I'm just trying to give a little here, see if I'm misunderstanding. If I'm not incorrect, then I will have more to say.

[ChicagoGolfer]

No way I'm reading all that, but the things Chicago has going against it are high taxes and bad weather.

[ChicagoHomeSeller]

I think a lot of people never thought these days would come to Chicago.

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The premise of the OP is seriously flawed. The fact is the corruption and ill-advised polices of throwing money at public employee unions to buy a long peaceful tenure IS PRECISELY why Chicago and the State of Illinois which has been DOMINATED by Chicago legislators since the 1970s are in a deep hole of massive deficits and will be forced to raise taxes at an increasingly precipitous rate for the foreseeable future.

There is political type ad running where a unseen man with a voice vaguely like that of Mike Madigan rings the door of young mom. He "asks" the resident for about $30K. The mom says she doesn't have that kind of money. The visitor says he was talking to the baby...

THAT IS A PRETTY ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT HAS BEEN HATCHED!

Madigan and the Cook Co political machine, with some key cooperation from corrupt insiders that are often refered to as "the combine" because they cross party lines and fleece money from whoever they can have given away around a TRILLION DOLLARS in pension promises that , by most people's reading of the Illinois Constitution, will suck up tens of thousands of dollars from every tax payer for decades to come.
There is a complete FALSE notion that government, be it city, county, state or federal, is needed to "create jobs". What we see in Illinois is the crushing burden of the "corruption tax" has driven honest business people away. The firms that choose to gaze at the filthy trough of inflated contracts raise the cost of all goods and services that government consumes and those costs result in decreased services to residents. The cycle of "connected" firms making out like bandits and "regular citizens" having to deal with crumbling roads, antiquated services, near open warfare and all the other well publicized ills has lead to the marginal areas seeing loss in population. That loss will accelerate the revenue shortfalls and increase pressure to raise taxes / fees ever higher.

Regions with low corruption are far more attractive to private business. When firms look to build auto plants or high quality appliance factories they avoid states with a history of entrenched unions. Wages are based on worker productivity NOT how much some diamond cufflink wearing union boss can extract for himself...

If Rahm behaves more like his first White House boss, Bill Clinton, and recognizes that private jobs are the way to get business booming MAYBE he can undo the damage that his more recent WH boss has inflicted on the nation by a slavish genuflection to failed labor policies from a by-gone era.

I could not have stated the main problem hurting our area better than you have! I see 2 choices: pension reform or bankruptcy. Pick the most palatable of 2 unpleasant choices. Yet the legislature keeps kicking th can down the road, keeps kicking the can down the road, keeps..............................

[Vlajos]

Pension reform is in the works at last.

[edsg25]

Originally Posted by chet everett

The premise of the OP is seriously flawed. The fact is the corruption and ill-advised polices of throwing money at public employee unions to buy a long peaceful tenure IS PRECISELY why Chicago and the State of Illinois which has been DOMINATED by Chicago legislators since the 1970s are in a deep hole of massive deficits and will be forced to raise taxes at an increasingly precipitous rate for the foreseeable future.

There is political type ad running where a unseen man with a voice vaguely like that of Mike Madigan rings the door of young mom. He "asks" the resident for about $30K. The mom says she doesn't have that kind of money. The visitor says he was talking to the baby...

THAT IS A PRETTY ACCURATE PICTURE OF WHAT HAS BEEN HATCHED!

Madigan and the Cook Co political machine, with some key cooperation from corrupt insiders that are often refered to as "the combine" because they cross party lines and fleece money from whoever they can have given away around a TRILLION DOLLARS in pension promises that , by most people's reading of the Illinois Constitution, will suck up tens of thousands of dollars from every tax payer for decades to come.

There is a complete FALSE notion that government, be it city, county, state or federal, is needed to "create jobs". What we see in Illinois is the crushing burden of the "corruption tax" has driven honest business people away. The firms that choose to gaze at the filthy trough of inflated contracts raise the cost of all goods and services that government consumes and those costs result in decreased services to residents. The cycle of "connected" firms making out like bandits and "regular citizens" having to deal with crumbling roads, antiquated services, near open warfare and all the other well publicized ills has lead to the marginal areas seeing loss in population. That loss will accelerate the revenue shortfalls and increase pressure to raise taxes / fees ever higher.

Regions with low corruption are far more attractive to private business. When firms look to build auto plants or high quality appliance factories they avoid states with a history of entrenched unions. Wages are based on worker productivity NOT how much some diamond cufflink wearing union boss can extract for himself...

If Rahm behaves more like his first White House boss, Bill Clinton, and recognizes that private jobs are the way to get business booming MAYBE he can undo the damage that his more recent WH boss has inflicted on the nation by a slavish genuflection to failed labor policies from a by-gone era.

chris, i'm not sure how i am "seriously flawed." within the spectrum of american cities, some approach issues better than others. and some are more corrupt than others. yes, we tend sadly to be towards the later, although strangely we have had periods in our history that we have done relatively well compared to other cities despite our corruption.

do i deny any of this? no. do I say that all cities approach problems the same way. no.

all is said is this:

cities do not call many of the shots today when it comes to their own future. and those shots often are called by our national government and the type of society it represents. and the US is not doing a good job today. Therefore all US cities suffer and are doing pretty poorly (even if internally you can "rank" them as for function.)

One other issue: do cities have any relevance when it comes to economic health and success? I'd suggest they have very little. Cities are merely lines drawn on a map; metropolitan areas are organic and real.

Metro success or failure is far more important, far greater than a city's.

We spend so much time looking at the failure of Detroit as a city (I would call Detroit a national tragedy; the city didn't destroy its automotive industry; that was a national issue). But do we realize that Detroit's suburbs are at a disadvantage because of the giant doughnut hole in the middle of their region caused by the city of Detroit?

No metropolitan area can thrive without a healthy central city; and no central city is going to do well without a robust metro area.

and both city and metro are suffering from coast to coast in a nation in decline and decay, a nation that has trouble with its priorities (although I do believe that today we are beginning to see....from our people....those issues raised once again.)

Regions with low corruption are far more attractive to private business.

Houston, with its low paying jobs and low taxes for business is attractive for business. but i'm not sure how much Houston benefits from this. Has corporate America done much to make any metropolitan area attractive?

And isn't it rather naive to think "regions with low corrution are far more attractive to private business" when, quite frankly, much of the corruption comes from the under the table relationship between business and government.

I can't imagine Goldman Sachs giving a rat's ass about locating in an area with "low corruption".

[cubssoxfan]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Pension reform is in the works at last.

I read about proposals yet do not read about anything being passed.
Our legislators are great at talking, poor at making it happen.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

I read about proposals yet do not read about anything being passed.
Our legislators are great at talking, poor at making it happen.

It's up in the veto session that is being extended.

[williepotatoes]

Originally Posted by edsg25

much of the corruption comes from the under the table relationship between business and government.

Yep, the newest source of "machine politics".

[emathias]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

It's up in the veto session that is being extended.

It can't be much of a reform unless a constitutional amendment is in the works.