[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0kOlj1Ws5U]Blizzard wizard? A new Tribune/WGN poll indicates that 73 percent of Chicago’s residents think the Daley administration did a decent job of snow removal in the wake of the Groundhog Day blizzard. (VIDEO: Courtesy “smith1488888″/YouTube)
Pension peril. The Trib reports on a Civic Federation study that reveals a six-fold increase in the unfunded liability of 10 Chicago and Cook county pension funds since 2000. The liability is now $23 billion, or nearly $12,000 for every man, woman and child in Chicago.
Pension peril redux. As for the state’s pension crisis, Illinois Senate president John Cullerton tells the Sun-Times that despite House Speaker Mike Madigan’s apparent willingness to consider lowering the pension benefits of current state employes, doing so would be unconstitutional.
Tumbler TIF? The Sun-Times also reports that Alderman Walter Burnett, a protegee of Secretary of State Jesse White, is seeking $5 million city TIF dollars to complete construction of a new training facility on former Cabrini-Green land for neighborhood gymnasts, including the Jesse White Tumblers.
Alvarez angst. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez is laying off 101 employees in grudging compliance with County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s demand for a 10 percent budget cut in Alvarez’s office.
County combos? A story in the Daily Herald covers Preckwinkle’s interest in either charging residents of unincorporated Cook County a fee for county services or encouraging the county’s municipalities to annex the unincorporated areas.
