CHICAGO MAYOR TELLS THE BAD NEWS

Michael sez: One person asks "What will we do?" Wassa matter? You haven't ever heard of prepping? You don't know to be ready for this blow out? Where have you been? Another thing that caught my attention is the fine level going up in the city. Wanna raise more money? There is two ways. Raise taxes and increase penalties for crime. If necessary you make more things a crime so you can fine people more times. This is called the criminal justice system.



Mayor Daley: Prepare For Mass Layoffs

CEOs Tell Mayor They Plan Huge Layoffs In November, December

ReportingJoanie Lum CHICAGO (CBS) ―

The warning is out – Mayor Richard M. Daley says a parade of corporate chief executives have told him huge layoffs are planned around the city and will carry into next year.

As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, when Daley made the announcement, workers around the city felt a chill, and they are wondering who will be laid off next. The news is especially alarming because the discussion concerns not just city jobs, but the private sector. Thus, it seems the City That Works is about to become the city that gets laid off. Mayor Daley says corporate leaders told him huge layoffs will impact the city this month and next, and into the new year. He also says city, county and state governments should be prepared for their revenue to fall dramatically because of the souring economy.

"This is going to be all year, so it's going to be a very frightening economy," Mayor Daley said. "Each one tells me what they're laying off, and they're going to double that next year. We're talking huge numbers of permanent layoffs for people in the economy. It's going to have a huge effect on all businesses."

The mayor said the gravity of the situation cannot be underestimated. "We never experienced anything like this except people who came from the Depression," Mayor Daley said.

"When you have that many layoffs early – and they're telling me this is only the beginning of their layoffs – that is very frightening." Mayor Daley also warned that local governments will be in jeopardy and may not have enough money to meet payroll, although he is not worried about paying City of Chicago employees. In addition, the federal bailout plan is changing, and the big three automakers are all warning they could go bankrupt, and lawmakers say if the auto industry goes down, the huge number of jobs lost would cause more house foreclosures.

Upon hearing the mayor's grim news, workers were jittery, to say the least. "I'm an analyst for one of the largest credit bureaus in the city, and I'm really concerned with the economy right now; the structure that we're in," said Tonya Farr. "I don't want to be laid off, hopefully not."

"Even if you have a job it's scary. You don't know if it's going to last. You don't know if you're going to keep it or not?" said Michelle Thompson.

"So, what are we to do?" Every sector of the job market is suffering. "I've been applying at millions of places, and it's just so hard to get a job. They're cutting hours like crazy – at McDonald's," said Ramona Patino.

Job placement analysts say end-of-the-year layoffs are at a five-year high. "The last quarter is often the heaviest time of the year for downsizing. Often, that means much more hiring at the beginning of the year as companies start to grow again and think about the future," said John Challenger of the placement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

"This year, it's going to be much more difficult because the economy is in recession. No one expects to come out of it by January or February." Meanwhile, those who have jobs are just trying to hold on.

"I'm budgeting my money. I paid my bills at the beginning of the month, and that's it. I ride the rest of the month on maybe $10 in my pocket a week," said commuter Kurt Korzi. "It's tough. It's really tough." "People can't afford to do certain things that they're used to doing, so if there's no revenue coming in, how can a business stay alive?" said Sonya Robinson. "They say that they're going to help us and technically, it's not helping us, because we're paying more taxes and working like a slave, and not getting anything out of it in return."

Challenger said the holiday season is looking bleak. "As more people become insecure about their jobs, they lose their jobs, they don't spend as much. That's bad for retailers," he said. "This holiday season is going to be very tough."

The City Council will take a vote on the 2009 city budget Nov. 19. The budget contains layoffs, a slowdown in police hiring, and new taxes and fines – some bad news for Chicagoans who remain employed.
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