Rahm Emanuel’s mayoral reign ends in May, but thanks to contracts he’s extended to many key agency heads, whoever replaces Emanuel will be stuck with them for years to come — or pay handsomely for the privilege of making new appointments.
A clean sweep of the heads of the Chicago Park District, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Housing Authority would cost taxpayers at least $820,000 in golden parachute salaries — and more for benefits — in addition to the salaries for the new appointees. That’s according to an analysis of those contracts by the Chicago Sun-Times. […]
• City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado would be entitled to a full year’s salary of at least $256,250, plus health insurance for himself and his family for the duration of the contract ending June 30, 2020 — until he finds a new job with similar benefits.
• Also guaranteed a full year’s pay — $291,500 — is Chicago Housing Authority CEO Eugene Jones Jr., who’d also get six months’ health insurance for himself and his family, if he’s fired without cause. Jones’ contract lasts until Dec. 31, 2020.
• Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson is entitled to six months’ pay on her $260,000-a-year salary if she’s terminated without cause, plus six months of health insurance for herself and her family.
Bill Daley and Susana Mendoza have both slammed the mayor for doing this.
* Meanwhile, Mendoza spent a lot of time early in the campaign going after Toni Preckwinkle. But she was always vying for second place, so that made little sense. Attacking Daley is the much better move, but it’s very late…
Susana Mendoza lit into rival mayoral hopeful Bill Daley on Monday for the city’s leasing of parking meters, accusing him of lying about his role in the unpopular privatization deal.
“It was good business for your family, but it was terrible business for Chicagoans,” Mendoza said, criticizing Daley for writing an op-ed defending the deal a year ago. “That’s about as big of a lie as you telling Chicagoans right now that you were not a key advisor to your brother during his key caretaker years as mayor. Of course you were.”
Daley fired back: “I obviously helped my brother get elected, I was his political advisor. … I had my own life, I went off and did a lot of things that had nothing to do with my brother and this administration.”
* Speaking of Daley, AFSCME Illinois Council 31 just dropped $60K on digital ads attacking him. As we’ve discussed, Daley is the lone “pension reform” candidate in the race.
* If you’ve been wondering whatever happened to Chris Kennedy…
Rich –
I am supporting Bill Daley for mayor, and I hope you will, too.
Bill Daley can keep our city safe and fair. Bill Daley will support the things that are working, and he can fix the things that aren’t, and he has the wisdom to know the difference.
He will give all of our children a reason to stay in Chicago and an opportunity to do so.
He knows underfunded schools and violent neighborhoods push people away; he knows that jobs and safety attract people to stay.
He will end the gentrification of our neighborhoods while expanding the growth of our economic engines.
He will end the property tax appeals racket that is overtaxing our neighborhoods and enriching our elected officials and party leaders.
He will go to Washington to make sure Chicago gets our fair share of the federal budget.
We protect what we love, and we love what we understand. Bill understands the neighborhoods, the traditions, and the cultures that make the city great, and he loves them, and he will protect them.
Bill knows that corruption is destroying our reputation, threatening our economy, and killing our most vulnerable. Bill Daley can clean up the corruption, and he knows you can’t bring reform if you’re beholden to the bosses.
He will stand up to the bosses, the bureaucrats, and the bullies.
We need servant leaders, not leaders of servants.
Bill is that servant leader.
– Chris Kennedy
…Adding… Willie Wilson has been using this Kennedy testimonial in his own ads…
* Related…
* Mendoza’s rise built on alliances with old-school Democrats: “At times you have to work with people even if you don’t like them. At times, you end up building strong relationships. At other times, those relationships fall apart,” Mendoza told the Tribune. “You can’t expect to get anything done in politics if you’re not willing to work with people across the aisle or within your own party.”
