Is there any good reason why the City of Chicago should have an elected vice mayor?
The drawbacks of the idea are obvious: the creating of a $30,000- to $50,000-a-year post for someone who`ll do nothing for four years except sit around and wait for the mayor to die. Add to that salary, office space, secretaries and aides and you have a potential hundred thousand dollar-plus drain on the taxpayers` pocketbooks.
Proponents of the idea say that the mayoral succession should be made clear. It can be made clear without spending an extra penny, by making the president of the city council or the city treasurer the vice mayor with full powers to succeed on the mayor`s death to the remainder of the mayor`s terms.
The last thing Chicago needs is another high-salaried, do-nothing political post.
