- Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police and the state's largest public service workers union came out Friday afternoon with stern statements admonishing Rahm Emanuel over a new television ad.
In the spot, dubbed "Service," Emanuel vows to be mindful of taxpayers' wallets.
"We're going to deliver a service to the taxpayers. We're going to get them the best price for what they pay for," Emanuel says in the ad. "And that means making sure that everyone that works for the city government knows that they're actually a public servant representing and helping the people that pay them."
It's four words in that phrase -- "actually a public servant" -- with which the groups take issue.
After five police line of duty deaths and three firefighter line of duty deaths, we don't think we need a lecture from Rahm Emanuel about "service" or anything else for that matter. And the crack about "get[ting] them (taxpayers) the best price for what they pay for" reeks of insincerity.
First up, we are taxpayers. In fact, we probably pay more in taxes than most of the people we serve. And for our troubles, we will shortly be paying around 12% of our salaries into an underfunded pension that if we're lucky, may provide us with 50% of our pay after 20 years - assuming it exists by then.
And we're lectured by an asshole who preaches "public servants" shouldn't be using their connections to enrich themselves while collecting hundreds of thousands from Freddie Mac while attending 6 meetings a year as the mortgage industry dragged the economy into the ground, not to mention the millions from his ComEd work, none of which had anything to do with "connections" we're sure.
What a stroke.
First up, we are taxpayers. In fact, we probably pay more in taxes than most of the people we serve. And for our troubles, we will shortly be paying around 12% of our salaries into an underfunded pension that if we're lucky, may provide us with 50% of our pay after 20 years - assuming it exists by then.
And we're lectured by an asshole who preaches "public servants" shouldn't be using their connections to enrich themselves while collecting hundreds of thousands from Freddie Mac while attending 6 meetings a year as the mortgage industry dragged the economy into the ground, not to mention the millions from his ComEd work, none of which had anything to do with "connections" we're sure.
What a stroke.