Can't quite bring ourselves to blame Rahm for this one - not completely:
- Chicago will borrow the $78.4 million needed to compensate nearly 6,000 African-American would-be firefighters bypassed by the city’s discriminatory handling of a 1995 entrance exam, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday, compounding the cost of a settlement that’s already twice as high as anticipated.
Emanuel said the city anticipated the higher-than-expected tab and tucked it away into a general obligation bond issue normally reserved for infrastructure repairs and equipment purchases. General obligation bonds are backed by property taxes.
Since Chicago is self-insured against most claims, settlements are normally paid for with funds set aside in the city’s judgment fund.
We will however, blame Rahm for failing to prioritize. Spending $55 million on a park tribute while the city verges on bankruptcy? Bad idea. Along with a few dozen other instances of pretending money grows on trees.