The Chicago Tribune attacks Chicago's City Council:
The Chicago City Council is considering a proposal that would force Chicago employers to offer their workers at least five days of paid sick leave annually.
The sponsor of the ordinance, Ald. Ameya Pawar, 47th, called the proposal a "baseline of decency."
There's more:
This ordinance, though, cannot be viewed as a stand-alone. It has to be considered within the context of other pressures city government places on businesses. The City Council last fall approved a huge property tax increase that will hit businesses hard. Businesses already pay a greater burden of property taxes in Chicago because of Cook County's property tax structure, which assesses commercial and industrial property at a higher rate than residential properties.
And that property tax increase, which is supposed to pay for police and fire pensions, is only the beginning. The pension fund for teachers is dangerously underfunded, and Chicago Public Schools is struggling to pay for day-to-day operations. Expect additional property tax pressure from CPS.
Businesses already have to contend with an increase in the minimum wage. The City Council approved a higher minimum wage for Chicago workers, from the current $10 to $13, phased in by 2019 and then pegged to inflation. Labor groups continue to push for at least $15 an hour.
Then there's the sales tax. The Cook County Board's most recent increase raised it to 10.25 percent in Chicago, the highest rate in the nation. Businesses that ring the city, especially those that sell big-ticket items, feel the pain of that tax increase. Why buy a car, a dishwasher or even cigarettes in Chicago when you can drive a couple of miles and pay half the taxes?
It's not like we didn't warn
you about Chicago's decline, years ago.
