Debt and Death Bind Chicago as Emanuel Seeks to Bolster Cops
- Paying for pension promises competes with calls for more cops
- A shooting every two hours offers grim diversion from finances
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In Chicago, the cost of living goes up to pay for pension promises made long ago, while the cost of dying provokes alarm in a city that this year has seen an almost 50 percent spike in homicides.
Every man, woman and child in Chicago is already on the hook for $12,600 to rescue wobbly public pensions. This week, residents will learn from Mayor Rahm Emanuel how he plans to add more police to stem a wave of more than 500 killings and 2,500 shootings, mostly in black and Hispanic neighborhoods. The body count outstrips that of New York and Los Angeles combined.