* Mariah Woelfel at WBEZ has a very well-written story about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s trip to Springfield. The whole thing is worth a read, but let’s zoom in on this bit…
[Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s] push for a head tax last fall is what ignited Council opposition led by a group of business-backed, mostly conservative and moderate Council members who united to oppose Johnson’s budget. That coalition tweaked the mayor’s spending plan to exclude the head tax.
Johnson said he still sees the payroll tax as a viable option.
“There’s no secret that Michael Sacks has actively worked against challenging the ultra rich,” Johnson said, referring to the CEO of a private equity firm and Democratic billionaire who helped fund commercials criticizing tenets of Johnson’s spending plan. “Our effort to make sure that we’re working to protect working people, that will be the effort, regardless of those interests that try to stand in the way of it.”
In response, Sacks teed off on Johnson, accusing the mayor in a written statement of making false claims about him and saying he “never opposed the mayor’s head tax” and supports “smart progressive revenue.”
“He needs to look at himself and his senior staff to explain why 57% of Chicagoans say they are definitely voting to replace him. Lying about me isn’t going to help him,” said Sacks, who declined to say through a spokesperson whether he supports a payroll tax.
Way too many Chicago progressives are blaming Sacks for their own failures, much like the far-right has pinned blame on George Soros for their numerous national and international grievances. Anyone see anything in common between those two besides their money? I do. And all of this needs to stop.
- ElTacoBandito - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:16 am:
Yep the horseshoe effect in all its glory. There always has to be a conspiracy, neither of the far left or right can ever admit people just don’t agree with their self-righteousness.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:22 am:
THANK YOU RICH! Sincerely.
This has got to stop.
- Mark D - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:24 am:
It’s unclear to me why the headline here isn’t “Blaming wealthy people”. Is there evidence I’m missing of MBJ singling out Sacks on account of his religion?
- Shytown - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:39 am:
As usual, Rich nails it. And this line of attacks is getting so so old.
- Stephanie Kollmann - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:45 am:
“There’s no secret that [Ken Griffin] has actively worked against challenging the ultra rich/Our effort to make sure that we’re working to protect working people, that will be the effort, regardless of those interests that try to stand in the way of it.” <– this would have been a pretty mild statement about the defeat of the Fair Tax.
- queenies - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:48 am:
In general progressives blame the wealthy for most of the woes of the world, and they definitely put more emphasis on blaming those who also happen to be Jewish. The irony is that guys like JB Pritzker and Michael Sacks have been funding their party and some of their main initiatives for years.
- Flapdoodle - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 9:52 am:
Rich — I agree with you and admire your forthrightness.
- Juice - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 10:01 am:
Not only has Sacks put millions of dollars behind Democrats, many of them solid progressives.
The evidence based funding changes, which has led to hundreds of millions of dollars of additional state funding for CPS, would not have happened without Sacks being at the negotiating table.
I get that there are certain policies he supports that the CTU doesn’t love, but its not like he has ever advocated (to my knowledge) of totaling blowing up public education in the way that Rauner/Griffin did. Making him the bogeyman is a real odd choice other than what Rich has emphasized here.
(Plus, not sure how making it more expensive for employers to hire each individual worker is a progressive idea. But if Johnson and the CTU want to hold up Rich Daley as a champion of progressive revenue ideas, so be it.)
- low level - Friday, May 8, 26 @ 10:04 am:
I guess the mayor forgot that his own handpicked Finance Committee chairperson lead the fight against the head tax. Does anyone know how to play this game on the 5th floor?