So it would seem that Chicago is intent on implementing as many policies as possible that win votes, but do little to grow and improve a region’s economy and business climate. First off, last month we noted an initiative by Chicago Alderman Ameya Pawar to begin a Universal Basic Income (UBI) pilot program won support from 36 of the 50 members of the Chicago City Council. Pawar, who represents Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s ward on the Council, proposes that taxpayers give 1,000 Chicago families $500 per month to spend as they see fit! How those families would be chosen or how they would spend the money remains to be seen, but what could possibly go wrong?? Secondly, the city is still considering the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance (CFWO), a proposal that would require employers to give employees at least 2 weeks advanced notice of their work schedules. The ordinance would also punish businesses for changes in work schedules within a certain timeframe with anywhere from 1 to 4 hours of “predictability pay” as a penalty along with fines of between $500 and $1000. The proposal is so egregious from a business and economic standpoint that last week, the Chicago Tribune even wrote a scathing editorial in opposition to the ordinance. But, with 29 (of the 50 total) Alderman co-sponsoring the CFWO, it too stands a good chance of passage. And lastly, Cook County has yet to give up the ghost as relates the minimum wage increase and paid sick leave mandates it passed in 2016, sending advisory questions on both to the voters on the November ballot. Subsequent to the county enacting the two mandates, 109 of the 125 affected communities opted out. We can wonder how such utopian ideas will work but at some point, we will run out of other people’s money!