Mayor Richard M. Daley was loudly applauded by business leaders today when he suggested that government payrolls, including the city’s, should shrink.
“You cannot allow local, county, state and federal government to have more employees than the private sector,” the mayor told members of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “If that takes place in America, you’ll be paying twice as many taxes as you ever had before.”
The five biggest area employers as of the end of last year were the federal government, the Chicago Public Schools, the city, the state of Illinois and Cook County, according to Crain’s Chicago Business. Daley leads a workforce of more than 36,000 city employees.
The biggest private employer, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., came in at No. 6 on the list.
Although Daley repeatedly has said he supports approving more Wal-Mart stores in Chicago, he made no mention of the issue during his remarks this morning. The chamber has lobbied the City Council unsuccessfully for approval of Wal-Mart’s expansion plans in the city. The company’s proposal for what would be a second outlet, on the South Side, is languishing in a council committee.
Without naming names, Daley told the chamber that his administration has a better relationship with business leaders than “other government agencies.”
Labor leaders long have alleged that Daley favors corporate Chicago, and the city’s business leaders gave the mayor a standing ovation as he began his speech at the chamber’s 106th annual meeting at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
“We have a working relationship with the business community,” the mayor said. “That is the key. Other government agencies have turned their back on, basically, the business community. When they turn their backs on the business community, they’re turning their backs on the future.”
Daley’s speech also highlighted how his administration has spent $1.5 billion in tax-increment financing, or TIF, subsidies to help business.
He said Chicago’s economy has been “fortunate” that the city attracts so many immigrants and young people.