Rahm’s Priorities

In the New York Times of all places Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has a rather surreal op-ed touting his record in making the trains run on time:

CHICAGO — On Thursday, in the wake of a subway derailment and an epidemic of train delays, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the busiest mass transit system in America. That same day, the nation’s third-busiest system — the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority — handed out coupons for free coffee to riders stuck in the second year of slowdowns caused by repairs to prevent chronic fires.

Meanwhile, in Chicago, a recent survey found that 85 percent of passengers are satisfied with service on our transit system, the nation’s second most used.

The L, Chicago’s system, turned 125 this year. The elevated railway began as four wooden cars powered by coal and steam. Last year, more than 238 million rides were taken on the system, which, unlike the ones in New York and Washington, has not been troubled by systemic failures, breakdowns and delays. Even during a 28-day stretch of arctic temperatures in 2014, the L was never interrupted.

How have we done it?

He lists two factors:

• Putting reliability ahead of expansion.
• The CTA’s management structure works.

There’s a name for his first factor: making a virtue out of necessity. The CTA serves fewer riders than it did when Rahm Emanuel became mayor and less money is available for operating it. Obviously, the need for expansion is reduced. There’s also a name for the second claim: political posturing.

As the late Mayor Daley was known to say, let’s look at the record.

1. Chicago’s population has continued to decline under Emanuel.

That is particularly true of the black population:

CHICAGO — Chicago lost an estimated 8,638 residents in 2016, the third consecutive year the city saw a dip.

The city led all American cities in population loss, an expected title after the U.S. Census Bureau released data earlier this year that Cook County as a whole lost an estimated 21,000 people last year.

Chicago has lost just 0.3 percent of its population since 2015, but 2016 marked the year of its largest population drop in a three-year slump. In 2015, the population dropped about 4,934 people, and the year before it dropped by 357 people.

and most of those who have left are black. The white population is actually increasing.

2. Chicago’s homicide rate has risen to historic levels.

According to HeyJackass! more Chicagoans are murdered every year under Emanuel than under his predecessor, the number of homicides is higher than it was at this time last year, and the homicide rate per 1,000 population is higher than any time in decades, possibly the highest ever.

3. The Chicago Police Department’s homicide clearance rate is abysmally low.

When he took office the one year clearance rate was almost 30%. Now it’s 20%.

4. Chicago’s credit rating has fallen to near junk status under Emanuel.

When he took office the city’s credit rating was AAA. Now it’s Baa, moving towards junk. Here’s a graph of the CPS’s falling credit rating:

5. Property values have continued to fall under Emanuel.

Consider this graph:

6. Property taxes are rising sharply.

Tax bills came out last week and many Chicagoans may have been surprised to find their taxes are 10% higher this year than last despite flat or declining property values.

But, hey, he made the trains run on time.