The Better Government Association, which has been around
since the days of Al Capone, estimate that fully TEN PERCENT of all government
spending in Illinois is lost to fraud, corruption and waste. I think that is
VERY conservative. Let's break that down for someone living in Chicago:
o Chicago's 2011 budget = $6.3 billion = $630 million corruption tax.
o Cook County's 2010 budget = $3 billion = $300 million corruption tax.
o State of Illinois 2010 budget = $24.8 billion = $2.5 billion corruption tax.
ONE YEAR Grand total for Chicago taxpayers for the Illinois Corruption Tax = OVER $3.4 BILLION.
And, as I said I believe that is a conservative estimate. We haven't even addressed the sweetheart bond deals, the corrupt pension funds, the hopeless complex system of property evaluation and property tax collection in this county or the choke hold that the unions have over city, county and state representatives funneling millions to them in campaign contributions.
So that's the story on the ledger side of the equation.
What about the soft side the human side of the cost of corruption?
Corruption is the enemy of excellence.
Corruption is the enemy of innovation.
Corruption is the enemy of service.
And corruption is the enemy of justice.
When corruption rules, these qualities go out the window.
I did Master's Degree research on the de-institutionalization of the Massachusetts juvenile justice system in 1974. Massachusetts closed its kid jails to all but a handful of the most violent offenders and placed their charges in community and foster-care settings. It's MUCH cheaper, far more effective and offers young people who get in trouble or who have addictions a way to a normal life rather than a career in crime which what a jolt in the jailhouse brings. After decades of study and model programs ONLY NOW is Illinois stumbling to this test method of service and justice. Why? Because our government is corrupt and incompetent. The human cost alone from the missed opportunity here is staggering.
Research shows that the lifetime wage differential between some WITH a high school degree and someone WITHOUT one is $400,000! Think of the tens of thousands of kids who have slipped through a failed public education system and a corroded juvenile justice system because they are run by hacks, thugs and cronies. Now multiply that number by $400,000 and you get a small sense of what the REAL cost of corruption and cronyism is for Cook County and Illinois.
This results is a special corruption tax placed on small businesses as they have to train workers who should be coming to work ready to solve complex problems. The cost of an ill prepared workforce is devastating to Illinois business. We are all paying the price for these missed opportunities. The University of Chicago recently did a study that showed Chicago and Cook County are positively hostile to entrepreneurs and small business, in genera l. Another byproduct of corruption is the loss of brainpower and new businesses as they flee to less expensive, cleaner, saner and more user-friendly jurisdictions. As we know that most new jobs are created by small business, it's no wonder that this region does very poorly in this metric, What could the $3.8 million that was lavished on Willis Insurance done had it been broken up into small loans or grants for promising home-grown start-ups?
But the true cost of corruption in Cook County goes beyond even the hard and soft costs I've detailed so far.
Worse then ALL this is the pervasive sense of cynicism, resignation and apathy that falls on our citizens like some miasma and which has poisoned the body politic. Our democracy is dying right in front of our eyes. That is the ultimate price we pay by ignoring the annual corruption tax and all the misdeeds they represent.
Here's what Professors James Nowlan, Samuel Gove and Richard Winkel, Jr. had to say about corruption in Illinois in their book, "Illinois Politics: A Citizen's Guide".
o Chicago's 2011 budget = $6.3 billion = $630 million corruption tax.
o Cook County's 2010 budget = $3 billion = $300 million corruption tax.
o State of Illinois 2010 budget = $24.8 billion = $2.5 billion corruption tax.
ONE YEAR Grand total for Chicago taxpayers for the Illinois Corruption Tax = OVER $3.4 BILLION.
And, as I said I believe that is a conservative estimate. We haven't even addressed the sweetheart bond deals, the corrupt pension funds, the hopeless complex system of property evaluation and property tax collection in this county or the choke hold that the unions have over city, county and state representatives funneling millions to them in campaign contributions.
So that's the story on the ledger side of the equation.
Corruption is the enemy of excellence.
Corruption is the enemy of innovation.
Corruption is the enemy of service.
And corruption is the enemy of justice.
When corruption rules, these qualities go out the window.
I did Master's Degree research on the de-institutionalization of the Massachusetts juvenile justice system in 1974. Massachusetts closed its kid jails to all but a handful of the most violent offenders and placed their charges in community and foster-care settings. It's MUCH cheaper, far more effective and offers young people who get in trouble or who have addictions a way to a normal life rather than a career in crime which what a jolt in the jailhouse brings. After decades of study and model programs ONLY NOW is Illinois stumbling to this test method of service and justice. Why? Because our government is corrupt and incompetent. The human cost alone from the missed opportunity here is staggering.
Research shows that the lifetime wage differential between some WITH a high school degree and someone WITHOUT one is $400,000! Think of the tens of thousands of kids who have slipped through a failed public education system and a corroded juvenile justice system because they are run by hacks, thugs and cronies. Now multiply that number by $400,000 and you get a small sense of what the REAL cost of corruption and cronyism is for Cook County and Illinois.
This results is a special corruption tax placed on small businesses as they have to train workers who should be coming to work ready to solve complex problems. The cost of an ill prepared workforce is devastating to Illinois business. We are all paying the price for these missed opportunities. The University of Chicago recently did a study that showed Chicago and Cook County are positively hostile to entrepreneurs and small business, in genera l. Another byproduct of corruption is the loss of brainpower and new businesses as they flee to less expensive, cleaner, saner and more user-friendly jurisdictions. As we know that most new jobs are created by small business, it's no wonder that this region does very poorly in this metric, What could the $3.8 million that was lavished on Willis Insurance done had it been broken up into small loans or grants for promising home-grown start-ups?
But the true cost of corruption in Cook County goes beyond even the hard and soft costs I've detailed so far.
Worse then ALL this is the pervasive sense of cynicism, resignation and apathy that falls on our citizens like some miasma and which has poisoned the body politic. Our democracy is dying right in front of our eyes. That is the ultimate price we pay by ignoring the annual corruption tax and all the misdeeds they represent.
Here's what Professors James Nowlan, Samuel Gove and Richard Winkel, Jr. had to say about corruption in Illinois in their book, "Illinois Politics: A Citizen's Guide".
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