Chicago will partially shut-down government with the exception of essential public safety services for six days over the next two years in a move that will trim nearly $20 million off of what’s grown to a $469 million deficit in the 2009 budget, Mayor Richard Daley said yesterday.
The move to extend during certain holiday weeks the number of days city hall will be shuttered will be unveiled in the proposed 2009 budget Daley will present to the City Council this morning. The shut-down is among a series of management initiatives and cuts announced by Daley that will save about $62 million.
“This year we must reduce spending for the everyday operations of government if we’re to balance our budget. Today, I am announcing that we will implement a number of initiatives to further help us cut spending so that we can balance our city’s budget during these tough economic times,” Daley said in a statement.
The partial shutdown days include the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. All city employees would be off work and unpaid on those days, except for police and fire personnel, 911 employees and a small number of others who normally work on a holiday.
