More Than 300 Cook County Workers Laid Off

Cook County Illinois.

Chicago and surrounding suburbs.

Big debts.

So a while back they rescinded the soda-sugar tax and now they have "financial" problems (again).

High property taxes and a high State income tax aren't enough to pay for all the corruption Cook County enjoys.

Now the Commission has decided to lay off more than 300 workers !!

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More Than 300 Cook County Workers Laid Off

Cook County board meetings are usually dry and filled with policy and procedure details.

On Tuesday, that was not the case. There were tears and real emotion.

CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez introduces us to some of the people who got the most unwelcome news, days before Thanksgiving.

Some county employees begged for their jobs.

Cook County commissioners who supported a penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax say they warned of the cost of repealing it: a budget amendment filled with pain.

“It has actual layoffs of human beings who have jobs and who have families,” Commissioner Larry Suffredin (13th District) said.

How many levels of wrong...

Officials cut 321 jobs to fill a $200 million budget gap. These include:

-156 positions from the court system

-100 from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department

-34 from the hospital system

-15 from the board president’s office.

But commissioners say front-line services were spared.

Spared, for now. The public is affected most by both the lay offs and cuts to services.

Every time this kind of thing happens - a measure that raises revenue they don't want to cut gets dropped against their wishes - they cut positions calculated to create the most public pain they can. It's never meaningful cuts in places where they could actually do it without causing actual pain.

Of course not, because that would mean cutting someone's graft.

300 employees from the jobs program known as Cook County government.

Still what, 20,000 or something? Way to play hardball, Cook County!

Cook County is one of the most corrupt governments in the country, if not the world. The main way to get a job is through patronage. Entire extended families depend on Cousin Vinnie in Public Works to make up jobs they can fill. If you want to be a contractor to Cook County and provide services, the first step is to make a sizable contribution to a well-placed politician, otherwise there is no hope that you will get a contract. These bribes are not under the table, either; they are openly solicited. I'm guessing those laid off are simple working stiffs without a Cousin Vinnie to protect them. I have personally encountered this system more than once.

Maybe one of these days they will actually fix their pension problem in Cook County:

www.breitbart.com...

Often referred to as America’s Most Corrupt County, Cook County, Illinois — which includes Chicago — was just forced by its actuaries to restate its unfunded pension liability from $6 billion to $15.3 billion.

I bet these layoffs are just a can kicking motion to buy them a couple extra weeks. Their true problem is the unfunded pensions. Just like many other places throughout the country.

Pension problems will be one of the biggest sources of entertainment for the next 10 years. Possibly longer looking at how they are handling it so far. It is time for the rest of the public employees to join us sheep in 401K hell. Welcome aboard.

originally posted by: intrptr


How many levels of wrong...

Officials cut 321 jobs to fill a $200 million budget gap. These include:

-156 positions from the court system

-100 from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department

-34 from the hospital system

-15 from the board president’s office.

But commissioners say front-line services were spared.

Spared, for now. The public is affected most by both the lay offs and cuts to services.

Better talk to those evil Republicans on the Commission. Bad Republicans!

Cook County commissioners who supported a penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax say they warned of the cost of repealing it: a budget amendment filled with pain.

Sounds to me like this is an attempt to manipulate people to agree to more taxes. Pretty transparent in fact.

originally posted by: Blaine91555

Cook County commissioners who supported a penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax say they warned of the cost of repealing it: a budget amendment filled with pain.

Sounds to me like this is an attempt to manipulate people to agree to more taxes. Pretty transparent in fact.

I'm sure they hired those 300 people because of the Sugar tax.

originally posted by: pavil

originally posted by: Blaine91555

Cook County commissioners who supported a penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax say they warned of the cost of repealing it: a budget amendment filled with pain.

Sounds to me like this is an attempt to manipulate people to agree to more taxes. Pretty transparent in fact.

I'm sure they hired those 300 people because of the Sugar tax.

The firing and blaming it on no sugar tax seems pretty easy to follow to me. Make a public spectacle of the firing to convince people that more taxes is the answer, rather than the rational response of getting spending under control.

originally posted by: Blaine91555

originally posted by: pavil

originally posted by: Blaine91555

Cook County commissioners who supported a penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax say they warned of the cost of repealing it: a budget amendment filled with pain.

Sounds to me like this is an attempt to manipulate people to agree to more taxes. Pretty transparent in fact.

I'm sure they hired those 300 people because of the Sugar tax.

The firing and blaming it on no sugar tax seems pretty easy to follow to me. Make a public spectacle of the firing to convince people that more taxes is the answer, rather than the rational response of getting spending under control.

Control spending? That's a crazy idea.

I know.. why not get Doctors to write a bunch of prescriptions w/opiates leading the pack? Then after a period of time to allow 95% of the aforementioned to become dependent on the opiates, have these same doctors cut these patients off those meds. Maybe this will get them to try and purchase their 'junk' on the streets and/or look to alternatives like the more readily available and cheaper heroin (HairOn)

The ones that don't die we can arrest them and house them in 'private jails' due to overcrowding at Cook County. Then we can use the proceeds from the jail we own to buy the lakeside property where a lot of these folks live...

To make sure we have some profits to blow come Chris†mas™ Maybe get the doctors to write some scripts for OIC- Opiate Induced Constipation...

Now here is a serious question--- There is/was at least 15 people working in the Board President's Office? WHAT?

And thee most serious, You gotta know this is serious because I used 2 'e's in 'thee'...

Until We, The People start electing people whose first thought isn't spending "our $$$" than We will continue to get screwed and until "We" (The People) prove to "Them" (The politicians) that there are far more of 'Us' and 'They' work for Us but pretend they're spending their own $$$.. well, You get it..

originally posted by: pavil

originally posted by: Blaine91555

originally posted by: pavil

originally posted by: Blaine91555

Cook County commissioners who supported a penny-an-ounce sweetened beverage tax say they warned of the cost of repealing it: a budget amendment filled with pain.

Sounds to me like this is an attempt to manipulate people to agree to more taxes. Pretty transparent in fact.

I'm sure they hired those 300 people because of the Sugar tax.

The firing and blaming it on no sugar tax seems pretty easy to follow to me. Make a public spectacle of the firing to convince people that more taxes is the answer, rather than the rational response of getting spending under control.

Control spending? That's a crazy idea.

I've had a couple of head injuries in my life, so there is that.

a reply to: xuenchen

Illinois is my home and where all my kids were born. We left around ten years ago and I have never looked back. I have friends and family that didn't make it out in time and are stuck in that H3LL hole. The taxes in Lake county are some of the highest in the country. Take a look on zillow at Round lake or Grayslake. You'll see houses that are worth 250K with yearly taxes of 10-14K! Yes you read that right.

My husband and I recently visited Crook County. Paid a boatload for tolls, paid $70 for parking, paid for hotel tax, fees, Shopping bag fees, Soda Fees, etc. By the time it was done we could have gone on a trip to Florida!

Sorry Illinois it is time for you to go down and start from scratch!

a reply to: JAGStorm

I know exactly what you are talking about !!

So 321 workers for a $200 million budget gap? So the average salary of those workers is $623k ?(??)

Cook county is an embarrassment to the entire Midwest.

a reply to: intrptr

Good,

Stop relying on Government, at all.. For anything.

Let it collapse so we see how horrendous the machine has become and actually have to fix it or face oblivion.

Love this story!

good! we need to scale back government across the board. too many overpaid lazy government employees, time to trim the fat!!!

originally posted by: pavil

originally posted by: intrptr


How many levels of wrong...

Officials cut 321 jobs to fill a $200 million budget gap. These include:

-156 positions from the court system

-100 from the Cook County Sheriff’s Department

-34 from the hospital system

-15 from the board president’s office.

But commissioners say front-line services were spared.

Spared, for now. The public is affected most by both the lay offs and cuts to services.

Better talk to those evil Republicans on the Commission. Bad Republicans!

Blaming one side or the other excuses their actions. They are all one governing body, they all go one way together.

In this case they fired a bunch of public working in public service jobs.

wouldn't they go on unemployment?

So what are they saving?