* New Cook County health board faces showdown with Todd Stroger

Board president — who gave up direct control of county hospital, hiring and budget — lectured health chief at recent meeting and lets him know Stroger still influences his budget

* Cook health officials on hot seat over hospital plan

* Tuesday Illinois political docket: Daley budget details, Stroger forest preserve budget

* Will Daley have the guts to stop voodoo budgeting?

Be sure to watch the magic show, beginning at 10 a.m. in the City Council chambers as the city’s chief prestidigitator employs his best-ever sleight of hand to evaporate a $519.7 million (or whatever the latest number is) budget deficit without a tax increase.[…]

Daley lays the city’s budget problems on the recession, which has cut substantially into revenues generated from taxes, licenses and other sources. That’s certainly true; corporate revenues have declined, according to the preliminary budget that he released months ago, from $3.2 billion in the 2009 budget to $2.8 billion projected for the fiscal year beginning Jan. 1.

But you might also expect expenditures would also decline. Families are cutting their budgets, eating out less, buying cheaper clothes, skipping vacations and so forth. Silly me. This is government; this is Chicago government. Instead of reducing expenditures, Daley expects them to rise in fiscal year 2010 by 5.2 percent, to $3.3 billion.

Because personnel accounts for some 80 percent of city expenditures, you would be right to find the reason for the increase in labor costs. The preliminary budget identifies those costs as stemming from wage and health care increases, much of them required by labor contracts. Also to blame is the city having to subsidize the debt service for funds that go into employee pension funds. Special funds also have seen cost increases, such as the 5.9 percent increase at O’Hare International Airport.

* Daley looks at ways to cut Chicago’s budget

Daley announced plans Monday to save $114 million by eliminating vacant jobs, continuing furloughs and cutting expenses like travel and supplies by $20 million.[…]

His cost-saving plans include eliminating 220 vacant jobs.

The city will also save $70 million through union agreements and continued unpaid holidays and furloughs for nonunion workers.

Nonunion workers, including Daley, will take 24 unpaid days off next year.

* Daley: City Managers To Take Nearly Five Weeks Off

Thousands Of City Workers To Take 24 Unpaid Days In 2010

* Layoff notices for bus drivers, other CTA workers

Layoff notices have been sent to nearly 2,000 CTA bus drivers and other unionized employees, warning that their jobs could be eliminated in the next two months because of budget problems that also could lead to higher fares and service cuts to close a massive $300 million budget gap.

“They want to mimic what City Hall did with the unions — the furlough days, the unpaid vacations and holidays, things of that nature,” said Darrell Jefferson, president of the bus driver and mechanic’s union, which is expected to bear the brunt of the layoffs. “We’re not open to that.

* End the free rides

The Regional Transportation Authority recently surveyed senior citizens who ride the trains and buses for free and found, not surprisingly, that 70 percent of them think it’s a fine program that ought to be continued. If you’re wondering why Illinois lawmakers can’t bring themselves to eliminate that perk, even as the transit providers slash routes and raise fares for everyone else, there’s your answer.

Almost half of the riders who responded — 46 percent — never went to the trouble of applying for a senior fare card back when the discount was only 50 percent.

A year after the free rides went into effect, the region’s three transit systems are providing an average of 3.1 million free rides per month, the RTA estimates. Roughly 1.7 million of those rides are taken by riders who previously paid half price. The other 1.4 million are taken by people who used to pay full fare or didn’t take mass transit at all.

That’s almost 6 percent of total ridership. The freebies are costing at least $49 million a year, a number that will soar if not checked. By 2030, the region’s senior population is expected to be more than double what it was in 2000.

* Still paying for Blagojevich’s mistakes

We support state Rep. Suzie Bassi’s efforts to repeal the free rides except for low-income seniors. The Palatine Republican’s proposal would revert to the old system in which seniors who don’t qualify for free rides receive half-price fares.

Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of Lemont also is taking up the cause. Her spokeswoman told Pyke in a Sunday follow-up story that Radogno “feels strongly a senior partner in a law firm doesn’t deserve a free ride downtown. Every dollar counts.”

Even though the idea clearly was politically motivated by Blagojevich, Bassi concedes that now it will be difficult for legislators to reverse course, saying seniors are an important constituent group.

* Daley: Police hiring to stay slow

After hiring only 46 Chicago Police officers all year, Mayor Daley acknowledged Monday that the slowdown would continue in 2010, dramatically impacting the city’s ability to fill 591 police vacancies.[…]

To save $10 million, Daley’s 2009 budget slowed police hiring to a crawl — with only 200 officers expected to be hired all year.

But, as city revenues plummeted, City Hall opted not to maintain even that snail’s pace. Only one class of 46 officers entered the police academy this year.

As of Oct. 9, the Chicago Police Department was 591 officers short of its authorized strength of 13,500 — and that’s not counting hundreds of other officers on duty- and non-duty disability.

* Uptown neighbors stand up against gangs — literally

* Chicago’s most dangerous hour? Statistically it’s 9 to 10 p.m.

* Northwestern University: Prosecutor defends subpoena of students’ notes, grades

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez says all information is relevant

* Al Sanchez case: FBI agent tells judge he didn’t connect the dots over key witness at trial for ex-Streets and Sanitation boss

Government witness was under drug investigation, officials say