Thousands of city of Chicago workers will now have to take three weeks of unpaid time off.
The cuts apply to non-union city employees making more than $35,000 a year. Pat Dowell was one of six aldermen to oppose the measure, because she says it would hardly make a dent in the budget deficit.
DOWELL: It's time we stopped nickel-and-diming the employees of this city, and that we actually begin to look at ways we can save money within government.
Other aldermen ripped Mayor Richard Daley's budget staff for not providing all the information they say they asked for, leading some to suggest the creation of a city council budget office.
Mayor Richard Daley says the council can do anything it wants. But he says the $14-million saved by the unpaid days off will prevent layoffs of additional non-union workers.
The fate of union workers remains up in the air. The mayor says more than 1,500 will be laid off in the middle of the month, unless labor unions agree to contract concessions.
