HELL FREEZES OVER!

Thanks to Gerry Smedinghoff for the missive "Hell Freezes Over! Noted Politician Cuts Government Services And Cries Out "Taxpayers Are Hurting ..."

Daley orders furloughs: 'taxpayers are hurting'

Chicago Sun-Times: Two thousand non-union employees at six government agencies under Mayor Daley’s control will be ordered to take furlough days and forfeit 2009 pay raises to save $18.8 million and keep their hands out of taxpayers’ pockets.

With layoffs mounting, nest eggs shrinking and voter anger off the charts about the steep schedule of rate hikes tied to the $1.15 billion parking meter deal, Daley is bending over backwards to demonstrate to struggling Chicagoans that he feels their pain.

“Taxpayers out there are hurting. People are getting laid off. They can’t get overtime. ... They can’t get other jobs. It’s much more serious than people think it is,” Daley said.

Referring to the furlough frenzy sweeping the public and private sectors, he said, “Everybody should do it. It’s incumbent on government because taxpayers pay for your salary, pension and health care. They pay a lot. ... They’re saying, ‘You don’t pay anything for your health care? I have to pay for your pension?’ People are really focussing on this — more so in government than anything else.”