New Chicago mayor outlines austerity agenda

Last week, Emanuel—former chief of staff of the Obama White House and investment banker—published a transitional report on his website, announcing the $700 million budget gap he intends to pare in his first term. That deficit represents more than one fifth of the daily operating budget of the city of Chicago, and does not include all pensions. Underfunded pension liabilities are currently at $14.6 billion...

Emanuel’s report opens with a catchphrase of the new era of austerity: the city of Chicago is apparently “living beyond its means.” It identifies several goals to be achieved in the first 100 days of his tenure, including the complete restructuring of revenue, finance, fleet management, and general services systems. The top priority is to cut $75 million from the $6.15 billion city budget. Emanuel has also announced plans to cut 10 percent of city management payroll and merge departments, which will result in layoffs...

America’s third largest city has long served as a model of the national urban policy of the Democratic Party—the dismantling of public education and other past social reforms, gentrification and the encouragement of private investment through tax breaks, deregulation and other measures to improve the “business climate.” As opposed to the Republicans, these reactionary policies have generally been implemented with the collaboration of the trade unions.

The close relationship between the Illinois Democratic Party and the executive branch has become more transparent in recent years. Former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley’s brother Bill, previously a JP MorganChase executive, was selected to replace Emanuel as White House chief of staff under Obama, after Emanuel left to pursue the position of mayor. Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan, a Daley appointee, was selected by Obama to be the US Secretary of Education based on his restructuring of public education under the former mayor.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/may2011/eman-m18.shtml