The Chicago Tribune is not too happy that the General Assembly and Mayor Richard Daley did not take its advice on school funding and reform.

Here’s one sentence from the editorial:

If implemented, it will guarantee that the system’s 33,000 teachers get 4 percent raises each of the next five years. With step increases for seniority, many teachers will get even more than that.

If other school districts “need to be competitive” for teachers salaries, how can taxpayers afford to pay for 7%-8% annual pay increases for teachers? (4% raises, plus typically 3% or 4% step increases leads to 7% – 8% total pay increase each year.)

And, of course, this serves to only increase future pension liability problems.