"Despite budget deficit, 50 Streets and Sanitation superintendants to get raises" read the August 13 Chicago Tribune headline. Apparently the water bottle-taxing, (formerly) foie gras-banning Windy City has a nasty budget deficit and rank-and-file labor union guys have been asked by liberal Mayor Richard Daley (D) to make sacrifices in pay and benefits for the city's good.
So you can imagine the ire of union leaders when politically connected bureaucrats are getting bonuses despite a whopping $425 million shortfall. Surely the Tribune would dutifully note the Democratic party affiliation of the city's chief executive.
Of course not.
Now, I've heard it all before: "Ken, this is Chicago, it goes without saying the city is owned lock, stock, and barrel by the Democratic Party."
But be that as it may, doesn't it behoove the city's newspapers to report the party affiliation of elected officials, particularly in stories that involve the compensation of politically-connected bureaucrats? Do major metropolitan city newspapers owe it to their readers to report, rather than assume readers know, the political affiliations of elected officials reported on in a negative light?
