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Porker of the Month: Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot
Watch CAGW's November Porker of the Month Video
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) has named Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Porker of the Month for caving to the Chicago Teachers Union’s (CTU) outrageous billion-dollar demands. Mayor Lightfoot settled on a $1.5 billion, five-year deal with the CTU after teachers abandoned their students and classrooms for an 11-day strike. The deal gives teachers a 16 percent pay raise, even though the median salary of $78,000 for Chicago teachers is the highest in the U.S., and allows teachers to trade up to 244 unused sick days, six times more than the previous limit of 40, for pension credit, further exacerbating the city’s looming pension crisis. To pay for the union handout, the mayor has proposed onerous, job-killing taxes like doubling the taxes on restaurants and tripling the taxes on ride-sharing services. For reneging on her campaign pledge to fix Chicago’s worsening financial problems and bowing to union pressure at the expense of Chicago taxpayers, Mayor Lightfoot is the November Porker of the Month. Read more about the Porker of the Month.
CCAGW Continues Drive to End Presidential Perks
The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) this month continued its grassroots campaign to end the taxpayer-funded perks and privileges provided to former U.S. Presidents. After they leave office, Presidents currently enjoy unlimited monetary allowances, despite the fact that they have never had an easier time earning a comfortable living. S. 580, the Presidential Allowance and Modernization Act, would put limits on the taxpayer-funded benefits that former Presidents receive, like generous pensions and the coverage of expenses for travel, office space, and staff salaries, while maintaining current funding levels for security and protection. The bill passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on October 16 and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. CCAGW members and supporters have to date sent more than 12,000 letters to Senate offices supporting S. 580. Tell your U.S. Senators to support the Presidential Allowance and Modernization Act!
CAGW Hosts Policy Event with FCC Chairman Pai
At a CAGW event on November 20, co-hosted with New America's Open Technology Institute and WifiForward, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai made headlines by announcing a notice of proposed rulemaking to take a second look at how part of the spectrum band designated in 1999 for vehicle to vehicle communications should now be used. The announcement followed a September 11 panel discussion that CAGW hosted, which highlighted the need for reexamining this area of the wireless spectrum that has remained largely underutilized for 20 years. Entitled “Full Spectrum Future: Smart Policies for America’s Airwaves,” the recent event also featured a roundtable discussion with CAGW President Tom Schatz, CAGW Director of Technology and Telecommunications Policy Deborah Collier, and other experts in wireless technology and public policy. CAGW has documented how FCC auctions of wireless spectrum, a valuable public asset, have generated $121.7 billion for taxpayers since 1994. Watch the livestream of the event.
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