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* Cook County Commissioners Question Report on Patronage Hiring

* Stroger says county too ‘broke’ to hire HR workers

* Hiring monitor slams patronage

* Chicago Park District signs off on Children’s Museum project

* Pew on the Middle Class

* Study: Earners high, low think they belong to middle class

A new report by the Pew Research Center finds that this fiscal paradox is common in America. Most people, no matter where they fall on the economic spectrum, believe they’re in some way part of the middle class.

* Study: Reimbursement rate too low for foster parents

* Getting rid of ‘attractive nuisances’

* How is that extra sales tax being used?

State Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, and sponsor of the follow-up legislation, said she felt it was important to have transparency when spending tax dollars. As lawmakers worked to stave off a transportation “doomsday” scenario, Garrett said she fielded concerns from the disabled community who felt they were forgotten.

* House turns down limit on handguns

* Equal Marriage for All

* Seniors protest possible ComEd hikes

* Goodbye to ‘Ba-boom, ba-boom, ba-boom’?

If Canadian National gets its way, the days of its locomotives sitting in the South Loop would soon end. Last fall, company announced it wanted to purchase the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railroad.

* Callum and Bryne to leave Appellate Court

* Are Newspapers Doomed? Do We Care?

* Focus Group Guides Moore Public Pronouncements

* Small Illinois town with no cell phone service to get tower

* Chicago isn’t Detroit

* Berwyn alderman faces ethics inquiry over newsletter addressed to residents’ pets

“I’d say that many of the people are laughing and saying it’s idiotic,” Pavlik said of Erickson’s pet-addressed newsletter. “Why would he send something to a dog?”

* Charges won’t be filed against ex- Lombard trustee who flashed badge

* Levine was not close to Rezko, lawyer says

* Levine: Gov had Rezko keep score

* Rezko lawyer goes back to the tapes

* Defense hits Levine’s memory over meeting with Rezko

posted by Kevin Fanning
Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 9:51 am

Comments

If anyone wants to see all the gory details of that Pew Research Center middle class report, you can get it here: http://pewsocialtrends.org/pubs/706/middle-class-poll

Comment by Dan Vock Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 10:01 am
I would personally prefer that the state get out of the marriage business all together, instituting civil unions for any two willing single adults, leaving marriage as an entirely religious ceremony.

Comment by Squideshi Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 10:12 am
I’ve heard other sources state some of the same information in the Pew report. About 10 years ago, I heard a Los Angeles radio talk show host ask listeners to call, tell his or her income, and tell whether they were in the upper-, middle-, or lower-class. I heard about 20 people call. The richest earned $400,00 per year, and the poorest earned $16,000 per year. All of them said that they were middle-class.

Comment by PhilCollins Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 10:15 am
It’s an interesting phenomenon. No one wants to admit they’re poor. And people who are rich know someone who is richer than them. Middle class is truly the American Dream.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 10:19 am
So now apparently there are to be three shining exceptions to the “no building in Grant Park” rule. First there is the Art Institute, a world-class cultural institution that travelers come from worldwide to see.

Second there is Millenium Park, which in its own way has been a resounding cultural success, again drawing visitors to central Chicago from across the world.

And now, there is the Chicago Children’s Museum at Allstate Place. I expect the tourists from California and Germany to be flocking in any day now.

Comment by ZC Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 10:22 am
I detest the Stroger regime and am livid with the Cook County Dems for endorsing this joker for election…I hope the the Cook County electorate does not forget this egregious deed next time they step in the voting booth…throw all the bums out!!

Comment by Anonymous45 Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 12:29 pm
Stroger thought that the deficit would be about $240 million, and he wanted to almost triple the county sales tax rate to increase revenue by about $420 million so that he wouldn’t need to request a tax increase in 2009 or ‘10, when he’ll run for re-election. He probably thinks that, in 2010, we’ll forget about what he did in ‘08.

Comment by PhilCollins Thursday, Apr 10, 08 @ 1:04 pm