Doomsday: Chicago

At some point, the chickens will come home to roost. Smile.

A reader sent me the link to this story. The reader said the article is "way off topic" but it is good reporting and fits in with my "series" on "doomsday for US cities."

So, without further ado, a nice exclusive investigative story from The Chicago Tribune on how the city of Chicago manages its expenses.

Between 2000 and 2012, Chicago spent $9.8 billion in general obligation bond proceeds with few restrictions and virtually no oversight. In a first-ever accounting, the Tribune found that nearly half of the money went to paper over Chicago’s growing budget problems. The city spent millions in bond funds on short-lived equipment such as Palm Pilot software, spare vehicle parts and items you might find on a weekend shopping list: trash bins, flowers, even bags for dog waste. That’s equivalent to taking out a 30-year mortgage to buy a car and making your children — or grandchildren — pay it off, with interest.