(Chicago News Cooperative) — More than six weeks after Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced he could dismiss as many as 625 city workers to balance this year’s budget, just a small fraction of that number have received layoff notices. Only 165 workers were let go so far, according to city documents obtained by the Chicago News Cooperative through the Freedom of Information Act. On July 15, the mayor held a news conference at City Hall to say he had no choice but to dismiss hundreds of workers after union leaders did not accept contract concessions that he requested. “This is a process, and these things take time,” Kathleen Strand, a spokeswoman for the city’s budget office, said last week when asked about the layoff list. Labor leaders representing potentially affected city workers said they have become frustrated by what they described as stonewalling by the mayor and his aides.
