The Ghosts Of The Daley Administration Haunt Mayor Rahm S Budget Hearings

For me, the highlights of the recent budget hearings—including the raucous one at the South Shore Cultural Center—were watching Mayor Rahm and his aides struggle to blame Mayor Daley for everything that’s wrong without mentioning his name.

    There’s Mayor Emanuel, who broke into Chicago politics as a Daley fund-raiser back in the 80s. 

                Also on the South Shore stage was Avis LaVelle, the hearing’s moderator.

    No budget hearing is complete without one or two speakers bashing the parking meter deal. When that happened at South Shore, LaVelle refrained from defending her client as Brown and Holt stepped forward to say—Don’t blame us, the previous mayor made that deal.

    Anyway, you’re not going to hear many of these people talk about their days with the boss as they blame him for the upcoming $500 million property tax hike.

                Mayor Daley was far more tolerant. He gave people two minutes to talk, and he didn’t bother with a clock on the wall.