More Layoffs? Bigger Deficit?

But weren't the previous concessions supposed to cover all this?

• With a growing budget deficit, Mayor Daley said Saturday that the city is talking with unions in an attempt to avoid layoffs through other concessions.

  "We're trying to work this out," he said. "They've been at the table. They've been talking to us about all these issues."

  The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that union leaders had been told the city might have to lay off 1,600 workers -- but no sworn police officers or firefighters -- unless organized labor agrees to another round of givebacks to eliminate a potential $300 million shortfall.

Daley, Stroger and Blago all chose the worst time to push through the hikes that saddled us with the highest tax rates in the nation. A business and economy killer in the midst of a recession. Why didn't the government tighten its belt in the face of declining revenues and promote a pro-business atmosphere that would make Illinois a job magnet instead of the equivalent of job-kryptonite?

Blago is out of a job, facing jail. The Toddler is in major trouble with his poll numbers. Can Shortshanks be as vulnerable as the rest? He seems increasingly out of touch and headed around the bend.

Hey, we can dream, can't we?