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* Stroger says no again to county tax rollback

But this time, commissioners confident they have override vote

* Todd Stroger vetoes roll back in Cook County sales tax

* It’s your call, Cook County

* Chicago aldermen balk at property-tax relief plan

Finance Committee questions how much it would help homeowners

* Alderman wants to ban relatives from stealth payroll

* Board of Eduction’s Expense Accounts Will Be Scrutinized

* Outside Lawyers Will Scrutinize Chicago Board of Education Members’ Spending

* Chicago Housing Sales Go Up

There’s encouraging news out of Chicago’s housing market. A new report from the Illinois Association of Realtors says home sales are going up in the Chicago area.

The report says in Chicago’s metro region, October home sales are up 33 percent over a year ago. The Association of Realtors attributes the increase to buyers finally coming off the sidelines during the housing market collapse.

* Archdiocese Steps Up Latino Housing Aid

The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago says it’s investing in affordable housing for some heavily Latino parts of the city. The announcement follows criticism that the church skimps on charity in those neighborhoods.

* Chicago-area toll roads seek $280 million Build America bonds

* Attorney general offers guide to recalled products

posted by Mike Murray
Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 9:52 am

Comments

1. “Good Government is Good Politics.” — Mayor Richard M. Daley

2. “Good government begins with listening.” — YDD

3. “Has anyone seen my hearing aid?” — Todd Stroger

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 10:02 am
Housing sales up. Finally, some good news. It means someone’s lending, someone’s investing. That’s what drives the economy.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 10:15 am
===Outside Lawyers Will Scrutinize Chicago Board of Education Members’ Spending===

By what margin do you suppose the legal fees will exceed the amount of public funds that were misappropriated?

Comment by Obamarama Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 10:23 am
I am by no means a stroger supporter, but I give him big points for identifying the need for the tax increase and sticking to his guns on such an unpopular measure that his county sorley needs. Across the state many counties are facing operational issues from budget shortfalls. AT least Strogerhelped cook county to off set some of the fiscal crisis with his actions. Unfrotunetly he has bungled a lot of other stuff as well and does a poor job with PR.

Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 10:49 am
Ald. Tom Allen says it’s embarrassing that Ald Ike Carrothers claims that every Alderman has relatives on the payroll. Sorry, Tom, but what’s embarrassing is that there’s STILL a multi-million dollar payroll that has been hidden all these years from the Shakman monitor, and fool Aldermen STILL don’t see this as problematic situation.

Sadly, none of those responsible will likely go to prison.

Comment by Thomas Westgard Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 10:56 am
Originally posted by Wordslinger:
“Housing sales up. Finally, some good news. It means someone’s lending, someone’s investing. That’s what drives the economy.”

Don’t go overboard, here.

Just this last week, I saw some prelim sales studies from several “outer collar” counties on residential property. Yes, sales are up for 2009 (over 2008) - but that’s the silver lining. The rest of the news isn’t so good.

First off, the fair market sales prices for many (not all, but the majority) of the properties indicate a direct over assessment of the properties, meaning that their overall market value is decreasing. And by more than a little bit.

Second, the sales studies I saw showed numbers indicating that many (again, not all, but most)folks who sold and who had acquired the property in the 2003 to current time frame were taking a net loss, sometimes substantial (in my book, that’s over a $100k). That’s really bad news for the RE market going forward.

Third, most of these above sales would unfortunately meet the criteria of being “fair market sales”, which means they are going to be the new “comparable sales” going forward for use by the real estate appraisers. So, what’s happening is that if the trend holds, we are going to see these newest sales driving down the appraisal values of all the properties, and even more properties are going to end up being underwater compared to their current mortgage indebtedness.

So everybody gets to feeling a little poorer.

Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 12:05 pm
Judgment Day Is On The Way,

Given your handle, you obviously have a very Old Testament view on things. Me, I’m more New Testament. You have to start somewhere and it’s a new day. Be joyful.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Nov 24, 09 @ 3:59 pm