Look! Free Money

Robbing Peter to pay off the CTU:

• Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal includes a gift for Chicago Public Schools: He is recommending that the city take an unprecedented amount out of special taxing districts so CPS can cover its costs and send some cash back to the city to help it end the year in the black.

  School board members say they believe CPS will receive more than $500 million — meaning Johnson will declare a record $1 billion TIF surplus. This would give CPS enough money to make it through the school year without massive cuts. And it would give the city some of what it needs to cover a $175 million municipal pension payment that the district balked at paying without help.

  Johnson is making this proposal after the partly elected, partly appointed school board dealt him a political blow in August when members refused to include the possibility of borrowing so they could cover the pension payment.

So the city isn't broke, they're just mismanaged. The CTU wanted to float a bunch of unnecessary bonds so as to allow connected bankers to make a shit-ton of money in fees and such.

A few points:

• if there is a $1 billion surplus, shouldn't some of the outrageous tax hikes be rescinded or ::gasp:: money be refunded to taxpayers? 
• if Conehead can raid this fund to pay for teacher pensions, why can't he raid it to pay Police/Fire/Laborer shortfalls that are endangering the viability of those funds?

Remember, teachers pay something like 2% of their salary to their pensions with taxpayers picking up the remainder of the cost. Cops (and firefighters?) pay something like 11% because of course they do. They can't strike and hold children hostage as a negotiating ploy.