From turkeys and trash cans to gas cards and guaranteed income? Freebie frenzy dominates election season – Chicago Sun-Times*

Decades ago, Chicago politicians curried favor with voters by distributing Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas hams. Garbage cans with an office-holder’s name on it were also a frequent freebie. But, the avalanche of federal stimulus funds has allowed Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Mayor Lori Lightfoot to up the ante and then some during their re-election campaigns.
2 Comments
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Admin
3 years ago

Props to Fran Spielman who wrote this. She is a tireless reporter and does not reflect any political bias, IMO, unlike most, especially at the Sun-Times.

IllinoisHomeOfTheSwamp
3 years ago

When you lack the ability to really fix anything, you simply offer freebies!!!

SIGN UP HERE FOR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER

Home Page Signup
First
Last
Check what you would like to receive:

FOLLOW US

 

WIREPOINTS ORIGINAL STORIES

Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades

Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.

Read More »

WE’RE A NONPROFIT AND YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE DEDUCTIBLE.

SEARCH ALL HISTORY

CONTACT / TERMS OF USE