SUBURBAN RIPPLE EFFECT
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposed water rate hike will affect 130 suburbs that rely on the city for water. Naperville City Manager Doug Krieger said residents there “should not be penalized” for the city’s infrastructure problems. http://bit.ly/n0IZfI
- Emanuel defended his plan to rebuild the city’s water and sewer infrastructure, saying suburbanites would bear 47 percent of the pain. http://bit.ly/q7NeEG
- Evanston officials hope Chicago’s move will drive some communities to come to them for water. http://trib.in/pkhLib
- The increase could be felt most deeply in Naperville and other DuPage County communities. http://bit.ly/nWwied
- City officials said a water main break in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Saturday highlighted the need for the massive project. http://bit.ly/rbcmui
‘CUT AND INVEST’
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman was in town last week, and after a chat with Emanuel, Friedman said he was impressed by Emanuel’s “cut and invest” strategy, calling it “a progressive agenda on a Tea Party allowance.” Friedman said the approach is not only good for Chicago but also should be a model for what “the whole country” should do. “Emanuel summed up what it means to be a progressive in this age of austerity.” http://nyti.ms/oK0IcD
EMANUEL=BOEHNER?
Union officials say the city’s 911 center, Health Department and library system will suffer most from the more than 500 layoffs proposed by Emanuel in his 2012 budget plan. “If you presented this budget to [Republican House Speaker] John Boehner in Congress, he’d pass it in a minute. I hope the City Council won’t,” AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer told the Sun-Times. http://bit.ly/nwJqNj
UNMITIGATED BLIGHT
A Chicago News Cooperative analysis found that 48 percent of the city’s TIF spending — almost $900 million — was in district in or near downtown during the last eight years of Mayor Richard M. Daley’s tenure. But in the Austin neighborhood, halfway through the 23-year life span of a TIF district, the city has spent only $4.8 million on commercial revitalization projects, and Madison Street remains a place of struggling retail strips and vacant, decaying blocks. http://bit.ly/pBiM0Y
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
Police arrested about 175 Occupy Chicago protesters who pitched tents in Grant Park, in defiance of orders to leave. http://bit.ly/mPeS2K
- Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno (1st Ward) said he “absolutely” supports the Occupy Chicago protesters. http://bit.ly/nib1XF
Roundup …
Pension Fallout: The Emanuel administration asked city pension fund officials to report any potential abuses. http://trib.in/qz1QGK
Fare Enough?: Metra officials presented a scaled back fare-increase proposal. http://bit.ly/q04sBB
Preckwinkle’s Furlough Plan: Cook County board presidents wants unions to agree to eight unpaid days off. http://trib.in/rorOYu
Budget Battle Lines: Preckwinkle and County Sheriff Tom Dart argue over Dart’s 2012 budget. http://bit.ly/pzEYDp
Next Stop: Emanuel’s “congestion tax” would help pay for a new El station near McCormick Place. http://bit.ly/nsFHor
Big Brother: Emanuel touted the $15 million effort to install 1,500 new security cameras at CTA stations. http://bit.ly/qjFHwl
Welcome Wagon: Emanuel and Maggie Daley greeted the president of South Korea at O’Hare International Airport. http://bit.ly/pzE4WQ
Cross-Examination: William Cellini’s lawyer questioned Stuart Levine. http://bit.ly/nfYVnX
Paying Up: More than 1,200 city workers have paid their city debts or signed up for payment plans. http://bit.ly/raEytn
No Horsing Around: Race track owners urged Gov. Pat Quinn to sign the gambling expansion bill. http://bit.ly/p1A8Xi
Safe Landing: The Illinois Department of Transportation approved a rooftop heliport at Children’s Hospital. http://bit.ly/ppBURV
Back in Business?: A state lawmaker introduced legislation that would allow Catholic Charities to continue its foster care and adoption services without adhering to the state’s civil unions law. http://bit.ly/oxJIvx