Mayor Daley is a true visionary

And by visionary, I mean buffoon.

He'd like to raise property taxes by a fairly significant amount to build LIBRARIES? That sounds like a joke. In the age of darn-near universal internet access, public libraries are dying for a good reason:

Daley noted that Chicago has built 59 new libraries in the 18 years since he took office at a time when other cities have been forced to close existing libraries and stop building new ones.

Um, yeah, because they are a waste of money. You know who really wants libraries? People who love to read but are too cheap and weird to just buy books like a normal person. There's no need to jack up everyone's property taxes to give these nutjobs their goofy version of welfare.

Are public libraries needed for research by students? No, since they either have school libraries or internet access at home.

Are public libraries needed to read books while avoiding the high prices of books at retail outlets? No, since buying books over the internet has generally led to a huge decrease in prices compared to what one would pay in a brick-and-mortar store, even now.

So who's left that can't be placated? I guess old people with nothing better to do than walk to the library every week to read Reader's Digest and Prevention. Well I say TS to them; they suck up enough tax money with their Social Security, Medicare, and other tax breaks they get because they vote in huge numbers.