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* Hospitals find it tough to borrow
Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana has delayed beginning construction of its $236 million expansion project for at least six months.
Hunt says for all practical purposes, there is no bond market for hospitals. He says until the market opens up again, expansion won’t start because the institution wants to borrow money at a favorable rate
* Feds OK $775 million a year to Ill. for Medicaid
The federal government has approved sending more than $775 million a year over the next five years to Illinois hospitals and other medical providers to help care for Medicaid patients.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Thursday that the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved the five-year deal with the state.
As a result, the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services will distribute more than $1.5 billion a year in Medicaid payments. Half of the money will come from the federal government and half from the state.
* State move spurs Aurora to cut 6 empty jobs
Six vacant city jobs will be eliminated as part of the effort to offset Gov. Blagojevich’s plan to pull back state-shared money.
Faced with possibly $2 million less in state income tax dollars, Aurora finance officials in the late stages of setting the 2009 budget scurried to absorb the reduction.
* Budget chief who installed shower in office washes out
Mayor Daley’s $163,656-a-year budget director abruptly resigned Thursday, leaving a giant void as Chicago struggles to survive its worst financial crisis in recent history.
“Look at the history of budget directors. It’s two budget seasons and out. That’s just the way it goes. It’s a tough and demanding job. I’ve done a lot to try and help the city, but it’s time to move on. It is truly and absolutely for my own personal reasons,” said Bennett Johnson III.
* It’s official: Chicago parking meters will be private, pricier
City Hall could spend more than half of its $1.2 billion check within a few years, but a private company that agreed to pay that huge sum to lease Chicago’s parking meters now will get to collect the cash for the next 75 years.
Although the 36,000 meters generate almost $20 million a year in net income—and rates are set to rise sharply next month—Mayor Richard Daley contends the city is better served in these tough economic times by taking the money upfront.
Under a deal approved Thursday by a 40-5 City Council vote, the cost to park at two-thirds of the meters in Chicago will quadruple next month. Neighborhood spots that cost a quarter an hour will cost $1 an hour and will increase to $2 an hour by 2013. The top meter rates in the Loop will go from $3 an hour to $6.50 within five years.
* Aldermen Support Parking Meter Deal Despite Reservations
* City shouldn’t plow its way into a fiscal fiasco
* New O’Hare runway seeing tons of traffic, and nearby residents not keeping quiet
* Mayor calls Pontiac Prison task force a sham
* Run for Rahm’s seat: Cary Capparelli files papers for 5th House bid.
* Illinois sees slight decline in school enrollment
The net decline of 3,689 students last year was less than 1 percent of Illinois’ nearly 2.1 million public school students, according to the state school report card released this fall. What’s more significant is that the decline was widespread. Enrollment dropped in 63 of the state’s 102 counties last year, according to a Tribune analysis. The state education agency is monitoring the shifting population, a spokesman said.
Cook County drove the decline, with a drop of more than 25,000 students from 2003 to 2008, Tribune research shows.
The Chicago Public Schools lost more than 45,000 students in the last five years, according to the state report card, and a city school spokeswoman said they’ve seen no “significant reversal of the downward trend.”
* SJ-R Opinion: Giannoulias pension plan deserves study
* A chance for Illinois pensions
Bureaucratic wagons are circling against Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias’ clear-headed approach to the state’s public employee pension mess.
Illinois has five separate pension funds managed by three separate boards. Together, they have 300 employees.
Giannoulias proposes merging administration of these funds to cut overhead and reduce the impact of political influence and corruption.
Already, some of the employee groups are reacting predictably with complaints that can be summarized thusly: Leave us alone. We can get along fine by ourselves.
But they aren’t by themselves. Several analyses rank Illinois’ unfunded pension obligations as the worst in the nation. Unfunded pension debt — the amount expected to be owed to future retirees versus the money expected to be paid in — exceeds $43 billion. So, taxpayers have to kick in to help cover the $1,900 to $3,100 per month in retirement payments guaranteed to about 270,000 retired teachers, judges, legislators and other public employees.
posted by Kevin Fanning
Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 8:00 am
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Unfortunately, those doing the reporting seem to fail to grasp that the fact that the systems are poorly funded is unrelated to their performance, so long as their performance is average or better
Comment by steve schnorf Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 9:44 am
$6.5/hr parking meter? That’s crazy. 65 dimes! 130 Nickles. Guess all the downtown workers will be wearing cargo pants to hold the 10 rolls of coin to get through a day!
Comment by How Ironic Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 10:14 am
Cary Caparelli = No Chance of Winning
Comment by Just Observing Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 10:38 am
Cary Capparelli? Puh-leeeze!
Comment by Joe in the Know Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 10:41 am
how long before people in Chicago have to pay to park in front of their house?
Comment by Amy Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 11:13 am
“People just don’t get where I come from…” Bennett Johnson
Why should we? Welcome to the public life, if you can’t handle it you can go back to your cush private sector job.
Comment by highwayman Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 12:55 pm
Maybe Capparelli doesn’t expect to win. He probably hopes to increase his name recognition, so that, when his state senator or state rep. decides to retire in 2012 or ‘14, he’ll have a better chance of replacing that legislator. The districts will be redrawn, in 2011, so we don’t know where his legislative districts will be.
Comment by Phil Collins Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 3:58 pm
I’ve been out of the loop (in another country) so i’m not up to date on the parking meters, but it seems like such a terrible idea.
Please, jack up the rates, especially downtown and in parking congested neighborhoods. Its almost impossible to find a space on the streets downtown as is, so there’s clearly more demand at the current price than there is supply.
A free market perspective clearly says that increasing the rates is the sensible thing to do. A few less people may not drive downtown, but there aren’t enough spaces for everyone as is. If the spaces were properly priced, then there wouldn’t be a lot of open parking spaces, but you would be able to find one most of the time without having to jump on a spot as someone leaves it.
The city should have just boosted the rate. Over the long run, all these privatizations are costing us money so that Daley can feed his Olympics jones.
The rates will keep going up over the 75 year lease period, and we’ll lose out on tons of revenue. And taxes will go up even more in order to plug the gap.
Comment by jerry Friday, Dec 5, 08 @ 4:59 pm
I have met Capparelli and he seems like an intelligent guy. I doubt he is doing it to lose.
Comment by Richard Saturday, Dec 6, 08 @ 5:54 pm