The Capitol Fax Blog » 2008

Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Thursday, Mar 27, 2008

* This article caught my eye today:

At a Chicago Crime Commission luncheon held in his honor Wednesday, Weis said he would like to update the department’s “horrible” fleet of squad cars in answer to a question about how he might help patrol officers on the street.

With Chicago’s rugged winters, a sport-utility vehicle might make more sense than the traditional Ford Crown Victoria, he said.

If Chicago police switched from the Crown Vic to an SUV, some might question the cost, maneuverability and environmental consequences of such a fleet, especially in light of the Mayor’s push to make the city green.

But some smaller cities, such as Plano, Texas, have moved toward SUV fleets, citing higher resale value and more room for police gear.

* The first thought that jumped into my mind was what about the fuel efficiency of the cars, and the added tax burden? Then I read this:

And an extensive annual test of police vehicles conducted by Michigan State Police and reported in Law and Order magazine in November showed that the police-package Chevrolet Tahoe actually “accelerates, brakes and corners like most police sedans” and has a fuel efficiency estimated to be the same as that of the Crown Victoria.

However, it turns out that the fuel efficiency is an abysmal 11 miles per gallon. Wow. Okay, how about we replace the Crown Vics, but with a more fuel efficient car?

Chevy Tahoe

- posted by Kevin Fanning 42 Comments

Question of the Day

Thursday, Mar 27, 2008

* Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica announced today that he will advance a resolution at the April 9, 2008 County Board meeting that provides for a November 2008 ballot referendum calling on the Illinois General Assembly to rescind home rule for Cook County:

“Cook County is the only Illinois county with home rule authority – and that authority has been abused by political insiders who continue to enact oppressive taxes on the county taxpayers,” said Peraica. “Home rule allows a governing board like the Cook County Board of Commissioners to vote to raise taxes without seeking voter approval. I believe that Cook County has abused the home rule powers granted by the 1970 Illinois Constitution, and that Cook County’s home rule powers should be repealed.”

Rescinding Cook County’s home rule authority would require voter approval for future tax increases.

Question:Is this a good idea?

- posted by Kevin Fanning 27 Comments

U of I approves tuition increase

Thursday, Mar 27, 2008

* On Monday I wrote a post on how U of I was considering raising its tuition at two campuses by 8%.

Well I was wrong. Yesterday they ended up approving a 9.5 % increase for the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

For the first time, new undergrads this fall will have to shell out more than $20,000 to attend the state’s flagship university. With the minimum cost to attend the school jumping past $20,000, families are going to react with sticker shock, some experts said:

“What you are going to see is more and more people are going to start getting more and more panicked about these things,” said John Immerwahr, a senior research fellow at Public Agenda who has studied public opinion about higher education.

* Joseph White, University of Illinois president, said “Quality education costs. There is no way around that.The $20,000 total cost of attendance at a top university like the University of Illinois is a very good value when you think the equivalent number at top privates is more than twice that.”

However, this decision comes at a time when elite private universities are guaranteeing that students from lower- and middle-income families will graduate with little or no debt. That sounds like a better bargain to me.

Many other Illinois residents are pondering the same question:

High school counselor Amy Thompson, whose daughter is a high school freshman, said she thinks that as prices continue to rise, students will turn to less-expensive community colleges for two years before transferring to a four-year institution.

“It just starts to get so ridiculously expensive that you start to think, ‘How are we going to do this?’ ” Thompson said. “I think more people will question whether it is worthwhile to do it right away.”

Thompson said her husband was shocked when he heard that U. of I.’s total cost will break the $20,000 mark. “He said, ‘We could just send them to Harvard. What’s the difference?’ ”

* At the University of Illinois at Chicago, fixed-rate tuition will also increase by 9.5 percent. Fees will be an additional $2,384 a year. At the Springfield campus, tuition will be $7,215 for 30 credit hours while fees will be $1,398 a year. The tuition increases at the three campuses will add about $46.5 million to the university’s budget, officials said

I spoke with a former university official, and they said that residents should keep in mind that the trustees have to keep enacting these increases because of the locked rate on tuition for students. They claim that inflation is around 3% each year, and the university has to keep pace.

Well I’ve heard it before on this blog, and I’ll echo it again. Maybe some should wake up the bureaucratic fiefdom that exists at U of I, and take aim at that. It’s time to start making some cuts, rather than to pass the burden on to Illinoisans.

U of I now ranks only second to Penn State as the leader in tuition rates within the Big Ten. Conversely, Ohio State costs $16,848, Indiana $15,311, and Wisconsin $13,835. How do they manage?

* Discuss