Unsustainable: One-third of Chicago city workers made over $100K in 2014

Chicago's Grant Park

In his farewell speech two years ago, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned of the "labor-electoral complex." Here's how the racket works--unions contribute money to Democratic political campaigns and they supply volunteers for their efforts. Politicians then reward these unions with generous wages, benefits, and pensions that are unsustainable. That is why Detroit went bankrupt and why Chicago just raised property taxes by the highest amount ever. Illinois law currently prevents municipal bankruptcies--but state legislators may have no choice but to change the law.

This morning the Chicago Sun-Times reported that one-third of city of Chicago workers earned, or I should say, collected over $100,000 in pay, including overtime, in 2014. Twenty six workers racked in more than the $216,000 paid to Mayor Rahm Emamuel.

Illinoisans pay the nation's second highest property taxes. But dopey Chicagoans and other people in Illinois keep electing liberal Democrats to misrule their city. I got smart and moved out in 1999.

UPDATE: An earlier version of this post stated incorrectly that Chicagoans pay the nation's second highest property taxes. Illinoisans do.