Walter: Padded Payrolls All Too Common
CHICAGO (CBS) -- I say thank you, Pam Zekman, for telling us what we need to know about how the taxes we pay are being spent by the politicians we elect -– like $57,000 a year on a personal maid, and $94,000 on a chauffeur.
It's how things are done in Chicago and Cook County, not only by Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas but by big shots all over government, treating themselves to a maid or a chauffeur on the payroll disguised as a technician or inspector, or a personal shopper on the payroll disguised as a city or county engineer.
Padding the payroll is easy because the big shot's the boss, so nobody talks, which means we don't know who's doing what for how much of our taxes. The bosses are keeping it secret, and it's not likely they'll ever explain the payroll. So, it's up to the Better Government Association and Pam Zekman to explain it.
They have caught the county treasurer padding-the-payroll and are now looking for others, so that maybe someday government will lower our taxes -- or at least stop raising them.
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