Ted joined Univision’s Maria Berrelleza to talk about Chicago’s 2025 budget.
He told her it’s the ordinary people of Chicago that get hit by the new city budget. More taxes, more fees, more fines. Meanwhile those that work for the government are protected with bigger salaries and more benefits. Just look at the massive salary increases and new headcount the Chicago Teachers Union is negotiating right now.
Not to mention, the new budget doesn’t solve the structural problems the city has – it spends too much. The mayor will be back with the same problems in one year.
Instead of raising taxes, the city of Chicago should be cutting headcount and bringing government worker pay in line with what city residents can afford. The city is spending a whopping 60% more in 2025 than it did in 2019: that’s $17.1 billion vs $10.6 billion. Covid is over, so there’s plenty to cut in those billions in increases.
Without relief, it makes it likely more city residents and businesses will leave the city – putting even more pressure on the budget.
Read more from Wirepoints:
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Interesting that a WP writer would go on to Invader Television Network to discuss American politics. Where I come from (the USA) that’s called fraternizing with the enemy. For shame.
Hispanic citizens are not invaders. They are fellow Americans and the shame is on you.
Well stated Mark. It’s sad that it has to be said and even sadder that you received a downvote.
Agree!!, well stated Mark!!
Beware of trolls on downvotes and comments. We have faced a determined effort by frauds faking their IDs and internet identities.
“Citizens.” Ha! That’s an interesting word for them, Mark!
Dave, we have maybe 20 million Latino illegals in the US and 60 million Latino citizens in the US. The citizens don’t want the illegals here just like most of us.
My neighbors are Hispanic. Both engineers from New Mexico State. Houses in my neighborhood start at 1.3 M. They live in one of them, and have five daughters, all successful. All college grads. They adopted a special needs boy who is a mechanic now. One couldn’t dream of having better neighbors. One of our neighbors is elderly and ill. We just had eight inches of snow and the entire family puts a priority on taking care of this elderly person. Her driveway gets shoveled first, her medicine gets delivered, and food gets delivered. And yes, they don’t want illegals here… Read more »
If two poor and destitute illegal immigrants come here and have a hispanic citizen anchor baby, is that OK? Are they not invaders? What if I showed up in Japan or China illegally with my spouse and had a baby, would that baby be a Chinese citizen?
First Mark G. sheds a tear for Jimmy “Malaise Forever” Carter, now he’s sticking up for illegals. Classic north shore liberal.
Hawks fan, please stop exposing me! Next thing you’ll be reminding everybody the that I want more government spending for people with developmental disabilities, and that my colleague, Ted, spent his early years in Ecuador from where his mom immigrated, that I’m a conservationist and love nature, birds and animals, and that we test of all of our policy suggestions on whether they are regressive or progressive. Oh, the horror. That would be the end of Wirepoints ; )
I don’t get all the down votes, etc? Ted’s Spanish language skills are a HUGE asset for WP to expand are audience. He does a great job Univision (as well as on various Black media outlets discussing the disaster in SW burbs, etc). Is a ST/ WBEZ giving WP or IPI any air time? As a city resident so much of the Latino community hates CTU/Brandon & crew and the mess at CPS. It’s very likely are next mayor could be Latino, my hope it’s not another progressive wack-job like Chuy or old school machine hacks like Mendoza. Didn’t Trump… Read more »
So…Ted’s just another anchor baby after all?
Mark, with all due respect to the great work you’re doing, this comment doesn’t make the point you think it does.
The root of the word conservative is ‘conserve’, and by extension, includes conservation efforts in nature. Republican Teddy Roosevelt was a big conservation fan and started the national park system.
Amen. TR was the best.
Debtsor, come on. America has something like 60 million Hispanic citizens, outside of the 10 to 20 million illegals who are here. The problem with anchor babies must be stopped by enforcing the border and other measures that we’ve strongly supported and regularly called for here. Anchor babies account for a tiny part of the 60 million Hispanic citizens, some of whom were here from the start (fighting from inside the Alamo, by the way). This thread was sparked by broad attack on all Hispanics as “invaders.” They are not. To the contrary, Hispanic citizens want the border properly enforced… Read more »
12 of the 14 southern Texas border counties went majority/massively Trump in the election, these are all at least 90+% Hispanic places that were dem strongholds until very recently. The NY Times had a lengthy and excellent “news analysis” piece on this about six weeks ago (a rare “thoughtful” piece in the Times!) The citizens interviewed are enraged by the illegal alien invasion, high prices, and stupid Xiden “green energy” policies that are destroying their good jobs in the fossil fuel energy sector. Most all of these hard – working Hispanic citizens have local roots going back generations, even centuries…… Read more »
You are correct: They are invaders. Mark wants to make excuses for them but thankfully Trump will be rewriting these anti-American laws.
John, we would like nothing more than to go on more left-wing news sources. MSNBC would be our dream. Actually, though, Univision is not what you seem to think. See: https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/16/media/univision-televisa-trump-town-hall-shift/index.html
They needed a billion really doesn’t matter if it’s called real-estate tax or not they are still getting it one way or another from residents.
Get used to it, it is never ending.
You’ve been “leaving soon” as long as I’ve been coming here.
what is the average chump Chicago taxpayer/homeowner getting in additional services in 2024 vrs 2019 for the astronomical extra COVID $6.5 billion in spending?
That’s the perfect framing.
Because they are brain dead chumps, they haven’t even asked the question. When your electorate has the intelligence of pond scum, what do you expect?
I don’t think it’s a lack of intelligence; more so, just being oblivious.
Your neighborhood is next if you keep bashing the people fighting against this.
And what is the permanent, exponential impact on pensions from these jobs funded by temporary federal money?