Chicago's City Workers On Election Day

The Chicago Tribune reports:

As federal investigations into City Hall cause fundamental shifts in politics and hiring in Chicago, thousands of city workers decided to show up for work on Election Day in February rather than get out the vote.

Four years ago, more than one of every three workers in those city departments targeted by prosecutors were absent from their jobs on Election Day, according to newly released city records analyzed by the Tribune.

But on Feb. 27, the absentee rate plummeted by almost half, to 18 percent from 34 percent.

City Hall long has contended that workers took off voluntarily on Election Day for their own political reasons. But the new figures show that pressure to do political work has faded under federal scrutiny, suggesting that many workers formerly campaigned to boost their job prospects.

"I am not doing it [any]more," said Ramon Caraballo, a laborer in the Water Management Department who said he took off on Election Day four years ago to work for Ald. William J. P. Banks (36th), a Daley supporter. "Before, they could do favors for you," but now "there is nothing you can get out of it."

Great quote from a true consumer of tax dollars.