Reader Mike Gallagher tipped us to an article that notes that in their rush to ban foie gras, smoking, trans-fats, and pretty much anything else fun, the Chicago aldermen didn’t forget to give themselves a raise.
A number of aldermen Monday stressed that their jobs are not simple 9-to-5, five-day-a-week gigs.
“I had to work every day this weekend, and I’m working in the evening,” said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th), defending the pay raise to reporters after the vote. “A constituent called me at 11:48 last night. I can’t speak for all 50 aldermen, but as a general proposition, I know that I work very, very hard.”
“It is an all-encompassing job,” Lyle added. “I live in my job…. My neighbors can knock on my door any time of the day–and they do.”
…
“We work very hard,” said Ald. Isaac Carothers (29th). “I work very hard. I work six, seven days a week. Look at the 29th Ward. The 29th Ward looks better than it ever has since I’ve been alderman. We give very good service here.”
Looks like they’re taking their cues from another public servant who likes to stress that his job is “hard work”. Hell, if John Ashcroft’s speaker’s fee can get bumped for the amount of damage he did to the Constitution, the Chicago Aldermen probably should get a raise for the number of fun things they can ban. Number of bans must be the measure of their performance, since the Aldermen are already overpaid compared to other big cities.
On average, Chicagoans per capita are paying nearly three times what residents of New York and Los Angeles are for the salaries of their public servants, noted Lise Valentine, vice president and director of research for the Civic Federation, a local budget watchdog.
“It begs the question, are the Chicago ward constituents getting three times better representation, three times better services and more efficiencies?” Valentine said. “I don’t have the answer to that, but I think it’s important for residents to ask those questions, particularly in an election year.”
If I lived in Chicago, I’d be offering them a raise to do less hard work and more to protect my freedoms.
sucker, ʟʟᴄ