The City Council’s most powerful alderman suggested Friday that Chicago privatize the collection of city ambulance fees to raise a dismal 37.5 percent collection rate that has created a $50 million-a-year debt.
Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) described the ambulance fee debt as “low-hanging fruit” that would go a long way toward maintaining Chicago Fire Department operations at a time when Mayor Rahm Emanuel has demanded a 20 percent cut.
“If private ambulance operators in Illinois can collect their fees, the Fire Department needs to investigate whether or not privatizing that function would be helpful. I’m not talking about a collection agency. That’s after-the-fact a year down the line. I’m talking about current collections,” Burke said.
As for Emanuel’s vow to wring $15 million in unpaid water bills from four impoverished suburbs — Harvey, Robbins, Dolton and Maywood — Burke essentially said, good luck.
“How do you enforce collection? We can’t very well turn off their water so that the poor citizens out there can’t exist,” he said.
ComEd cuts off electric if you don't pay for it.
Peoples Gas (or whatever they call themselves nowadays) shuts off your gas if you don't pay them for it. In fact, they'll send out a crew to dig up the city street and shut off the gas at the curb if you circumvent their meters.
We noticed the other day that Shell, Mobil, BP and Citgo have stopped giving away free gasoline - you have to pay them for it or you don't get it.
We even read a story last year about a Fire Protection District that refused (that's right, REFUSED) to put out a fire in a private dwelling that wasn't part of their coverage area. They only showed up to make sure the fire didn't spread to neighbors who actually paid for the Fire Protection.
Shut off the water and make a judge enforce payment. The leeches are cheating Chicago taxpayers out of infrastructure we paid to create and maintain. What are Harvey, Robbins, Dolton and Maywood going to do? Invade?