Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Can someone loan Chicago a city planner? How about you, Kansas City?

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Can someone loan Chicago a city planner? How about you, Kansas City?:


Can someone loan Chicago a city planner? How about you, Kansas City?

Byrd-Bennett
Memo to city mayors from Barbara Byrd-Bennett
Someone, please help me. I need to borrow a city planner ASAP. 
Our guy, Babbit or Babbitz, whatever his name is useless. We have no plan. Rahm is making me close 54 schools in the next few months and I don't have the slightest idea what do do with all those boarded-up buildings. Until we can sell them, we will have to spend $1 million a year just to heat and maintain them.
I've been telling angry community folks that this is a cost-saving operation and promised them that the vacant buildings wouldn't be turned over to charter schools. No believes me of course and my credibility rating has sunk lower than Rahm's -- if that's possible. 
We've already sunk the city deeper in debt over the next 20 years by borrowing $360 million from Rahm's banker friends at high interest rates, to make the receiving schools look more attractive.