While Mayor Daley enjoys parties and rubs elbows with billionaires in China, his poor residents do not have money to pay the water bills. The City of Chicago Department of Water Management has even put their plumbers into full duty turning the water off. Special crews were formed, including Investigators, to assist in shutting off water. Patrick McDonough, an employee of the Department of Water Management has felt the brunt of shutting off the water as young children will not have water to flush the toilet. "I am grateful to Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times and ABC Channel 7 News for making people aware of the suffering in the Westside and Southside of Chicago", said McDonough. Families suffering water shutoffs can e-mail us at Chicago Clout to get assistance, we will help five families. Mayor Daley needs to come to the Westside of Chicago to witness the large amount of "For Sale" signs and vacant houses in Chicago. Patrick McDonough.'Water bills need to be paid'
10-DAY WARNINGS | 70% increase in unpaid bills has crews flooding the city to shut off
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter/fspielman@suntimes.com
The Daley administration has tripled the number of crews assigned to shut off water to delinquent Chicago customers in response to a 70 percent increase in water scofflaws over the last year.
Normally, the city has one shut-off crew in each of the city's three water districts. Together, they cut off the spigot to as many as 50 delinquent customers each day.
Since late June, there have been as many as nine crews averaging 150 shutoffs each day. They slap a bright orange "Notice of Water Service Termination" sticker on the delinquent property, warning the scofflaw of the amount that must be paid — either in full or after setting up a payment plan.
If the account is not settled within 10 days of the posting, water service is shut off.
Water Department spokesman Tom LaPorte said the crackdown was ordered in response to a 70 percent increase in delinquent water bills. He offered no estimate on the amount of money owed.
"We know these are hard times with rising prices for food and gasoline, but water bills need to be paid," LaPorte said.
"We are very sympathetic to our customers' situations and will work with them to resolve past-due bills."
The crackdown on water scofflaws follows Daley's controversial proposal to get tough on parking ticket deadbeats by lowering the boot threshold from three unpaid tickets to two.
Chicago aldermen reacted angrily to the boot crackdown at a time when their constituents are struggling with home foreclosures, layoffs, food and fuel prices. But, they understood the need for water shutoffs.
"It is draconian. But, you can't say it's not fair because it's owed. People need to come in and work out payment arrangements before they get these shut-off notices," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th).
"I've got a problem with it, but I also belong to the legislative body. We can't possibly raise any more property taxes. And we're facing layoffs."
Ald. Latasha Thomas (17th) added, "We need folks to pay for water that they use. . . . But, it's a bad economy. We need to be sensitive to how we collect. If we have a good payment plan — and it doesn't have to be the current one — then we meet them half-way."
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City to crack down on those who don’t pay water billsWednesday, August 13, 2008 | 5:59 PM CHICAGO (WLS) — The city of Chicago is cracking down on homeowners who don’t pay their water bills.
The city says there’s been a 70 percent increase in delinquent water payments.
So Chicago has tripled the number of crews assigned to shutting off service for unpaid bills. Since June, they have averaged 150 shutoffs a day.
Once an orange warning sticker is placed on a property, the owner has 10 days to pay the bill. The city will work out payment plans if the entire balance cannot be paid at once.
How about auditing City Hall Departments, the aldermen, and community groups who some how have clout and use the IRS reward money to pay off those water bills for starters?
The Chicago Inspector General’s Office and the US Attorney’s Office should cash in on the Chicago False Claims Act – Chicago False Claims Act
Chapter 1-21 False Statements. 1-21-010 False Statements. … fact to the city
in violation of any statute, ordinance or regulation, or who …
http://www.taf.org/chicagofca.htm – 51k – Cached
and use some of those funds to cover the screwed over types – debts.
There are laws forbidding People’s Gas & Com Ed from terminating service in the winter months, because of the danger of citizens dying.
Does the mayor think that people don’t need water to live? And water to flush their toilets? And bath in?
What does the mayor think people should do, shit and piss in their yards and carry water in buckets from the nearest river, the lake or lick it up off of the streets and gutters?
Maybe Daley figures we should all have rain barrels, to collect rain water to drink.
Daley thinks certain citizens of this city are no different than the tribes of 3rd world countries and treats them accordingly.
Maybe we need a UN humanitarian mission to bring in drinking water.
NO SH#T SHERLOCK! My food prices have gone up over 30% in the last two years and today the government told me that inflation is starting to take off! read on:
High energy costs hike consumer prices in July; inflation up
The inflation rate, at 5.6%, is the highest in 17 years, a Labor Department report says.
By Maura Reynolds, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
8:24 AM PDT, August 14, 2008
WASHINGTON — Consumer prices took another sharp jump last month with high energy prices fueling a 0.8% monthly increase — nearly double analysts’ predictions — and chalked up a 12-month inflation rate of 5.6%, the highest since 1991, the Labor Department reported today.
Optimists pointed out that the July numbers were based on data collected in the first three weeks of the month, reducing the effect of declining oil and gas prices toward the end of last month.
Consumer prices rise in July”Energy prices do seem to be coming down a bit. So I’m hopeful that going forward we won’t see as much of an increase,” said UCLA economist Lee Ohanian. “That decline will translate into lower gasoline prices and lower prices across the board.”
But pessimists noted that the core inflation rate — which excludes prices for fuel and food — still rose 0.3% for the month and that those increases were seen in many different sectors of the economy.
Ken Beauchemin, U.S. economist at Global Insight, an economic forecasting firm in Lexington, Mass., said that a broad-based increase in inflation would increase pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates despite the ongoing economic slowdown.
“Now that the tidal surge in energy and other commodity costs is showing unmistakable signs of turning up in consumer prices at large, the Fed finds itself pushed further into the corner,” Beauchemin said. “The recent report on retail sales coupled with today’s report indicates that a dip in real consumer spending is now underway.”
Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said that other economic indicators released today were equally worrisome. The Labor Department also reported that workers’ average weekly earnings declined by 0.8% in July and 3.1% over the last year, even after adjusted for inflation. And the government reported that unemployment claims remained high, with 450,000 workers filing new claims last week, just 10,000 fewer than a week before.
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of GDP, Naroff said.
“Consumers are trying to scrimp and save, and they have to because their incomes are not going up,” Naroff said. “In fact, they are not even running in place. They are moving backward.”
Stock prices on Wall Street fell somewhat in early trading on inflation worries before rebounding mid-morning.
Daley budget glimpse could include 1,800 layoffs
The Daley administration will release its 2009 preliminary budget Thursdsay afternoon, giving the public its first official glimpse of the extent of City Hall’s financial shortfall.
The mayor had put off releasing a preliminary estimate, which he had always done by the end of July, to give his staff more time to assess the situation.
After a closed-door meeting between a group of aldermen and Daley aides Thursday morning, Ald. George Cardenas (12th) said he expects about 1,800 layoffs of city employees. Cardenas said he believes that move would save the city about $170 million, but the city could need to cut more than $400 million to balance its books.
The mayor’s chief financial officer, Paul Volpe, will speak to reporters at 12:30 p.m. to present the preliminary budget. He’ll undoubtedly be asked whether the 1,800 number is accurate.
Workers Are Politically-Appointed Ward Superindentents
CHICAGO Labor leaders say they are outraged that the City of Chicago is giving raises to 50 politically appointed workers despite a budget deficit officials have estimated could reach $150 million this year.
The raises will go to Department of Streets and Sanitation ward superintendents. However, unionized workers have been asked by the Daley administration they have to make sacrifices — and possibly face layoffs — to balance City Hall’s books.
Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon said labor leaders met Wednesday with aides to Mayor Richard M. Daley. He said union leaders shot down the suggestion of changes to their contracts with the city, which set forth overtime and other work rules.
Union officials said Daley’s aides told them the city will try to increase revenues by raising fees and aggressively chasing debtors, such as parking ticket scofflaws.
Did you read the Suntimes column about the city’s budget woes. $450 million in red ink and the mayor still won’t cut his spending. His legacy is more important than people’s lives. Layoof policemen when the crime in the city has been skyrocketing? he is putting lives on the line in favor of his legacy. It gets me sick. it’s so sad to think about all of this. When are our property taxes going to be lowered by 25%. Thats the amount our home values have been going down. A lawsuit needs to be filed to bring down our taxes. This mayor needs to understand that his spending party is over, but he won’t. Karma will do what it always does. This mayors hurting the working class and he just don’t care. And Jessie SR. and JR. don’t give a care either. They have socks stuffed in their mouths. Did you read the article about Jessie Jackson in retirement? Well do not beleive it. He is quiet so his son can run for mayor with out people thinking that the old man will get in the way and he is quiet because if he opened his mouth and campaigned for Osama Bin Obama, then the few white people Osama has left won’t vote for him either.
What might happen if:
1. An assessment is made of all debt owed by American citizens into two categories:
debt held by ‘friendly’ foreign entities and debt held by ‘unfriendly’ foreign entities.
2. Debt held by friendly foreign entities will be honored, though subject to negotiated restructuring.
3. Debt held by unfriendly foreign entities will be declared null and void, ie., not going to be paid, ever, with the option offered to said unfriendly foreign entities to settle for pennies on the dollar.
4. Depending upon the nature of what real assets secure said debt, might this be the solution to the possibility of the catastrophic economic effects looming on our horizon?
5. The power inherent in being indebted is the leverage possessed by the debtor to refuse to pay.
Debt secured by assets less valuable than the amount owed puts the debt holder in a position of weakness, not strength.
6. Should the debtor refuse to relinquish the assets that secure the debt owed, (whatever their present value, or lack thereof), and, should there be no force capable, or willing, to compel said relinquishment, what can the holder of said debt do, other than settle for less or get nothing?
7. And if the ‘unfriendly’ foreign debt holders depend upon the American debtors continuing to pay the interest on said debt, what might happen if said debtors suspended said payments, indefinitely?
8. What are the means, methods and causes of the value of our unit of economic means of exchange, ie., the dollar, being defined by ‘unfriendly’ foreign entities?
9. What strategies have ‘unfriendly’ foreign entities been using to undermine the strength and value of our economic unit of exchange?
10. Why would the vast majority of American citizens accept the financial burdens that said undermining foreign strategies have imposed upon them?
11. Why have Americans accepted being economic pawns in the world markets?
Have Americans become so ignorant of the realities of life, that they cannot recognize when, and by whom, they are being led to slaughter?
Should city shut off water if you can’t pay?
It’s almost immoral to turn off the tap, says heat wave expert
August 17, 2008
BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist
When people don’t pay their water bills, it stands to reason that the city should be able to shut off their water service, otherwise some customers would never bother paying.
Right?
I certainly never questioned that line of reasoning — before I met Eric Klinenberg.
Klinenberg is an earnest young sociologist whose well-received book, Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, dissected the shocking July 1995 weather calamity that left hundreds here dead.
While doing his research, Klinenberg came to believe there is something almost immoral about government shutting off somebody’s water, in essence denying them one of the staffs of life.
That’s me paraphrasing a conversation from many years ago, but I realized that talk was still tickling my conscience when I saw City Hall reporter Fran Spielman’s story last week on how the city is becoming more aggressive about water shut-offs in response to a 70 percent increase in delinquent customers.
To help enforce collections, the Water Department says it has tripled the number of crews assigned to shut-offs, in the process tripling the number of shut-offs to 150 per day.
That’s potentially a whole bunch of people living in homes or apartments with no water during the heat of summer, which prompted me to track down Klinenberg.
He’s at New York University these days and has moved on to other research topics.
But he still has a passion about what happened here in 1995 and about the need for government to look out for its residents, especially those least able to do it themselves.
Citizens vs. consumers?
One of the themes of Klinenberg’s book was that city government failed during the crisis, in part because it had stopped looking upon residents as citizens with certain rights and protections, instead treating them as consumers, or as in the case of water shut-offs, “delinquent consumers who need to be punished.”
Klinenberg sees a fundamental question of governmental responsibility.
“There are some societies that don’t guarantee water,” he said. “The question is whether we want Chicago to be among them.”
Klinenberg makes no claim that water shut-offs contributed to any of the 1995 deaths. He didn’t investigate the possibility at the time.
But in conducting interviews afterward with city officials in charge of providing social services to the poor and elderly, Klinenberg says he learned of their ongoing concerns about the effect of water shut-offs on the same at-risk groups that suffered the most casualties during the heat wave.
In particular, Klinenberg said he was made aware of what he calls the “absurd situation” of workers in the then-Department on Aging having to negotiate with the Water Department to avoid shut-offs for clients in need, even calling in lawyers from the city corporation counsel’s office to argue on their behalf. He thinks it would have been cheaper to just continue providing the service.
Officials in those agencies say they work together to try to avoid water shut-offs and to assist residents adversely affected when they can’t.
City says it’s a ‘last resort’
“When people have difficulty paying, we are eager to work with them, and we honor any good faith effort to work with us,” said Water Department spokesman Tom LaPorte, who calls shut-offs a “last resort” and notes they are always preceded by a posted notice at least 10 days in advance.
“If a shut-off comes, it is not a surprise,” he said.
Klinenberg doesn’t think the city should be surprised some are falling behind on their water bills.
“People are facing very difficult decisions about how to spend their money,” he said. “This is a moment when Americans are really hurting.”
I realize, of course, that many of those who are paying their water bills on time are hurting, too, which is where we get the rub. Somebody has to pay for the price of drawing that water out of the lake, cleaning it up and pumping it to everyone’s home. It’s not that Chicago water is expensive either. In fact, it’s ridiculously cheap — about $340 a year for the typical non-metered household.
It’s funny, though. I’ve often heard over the years from what I would consider mainstream Chicago property owners –the ones who probably pay their bills on time — objecting to the long-promised switch to metered water.
They say it’s not right to charge them more for water. What’s next, they ask, charging for air?
Klinenberg is basically asking the same question. He’s just drawing the line in a different place.