France lost 10,000 millionaires last year. Meanwhile, Chicago is losing more millionaires than any other U.S. city. And the University of Missouri just closed two more dorms — for a total of four shut down this spring — because of plummeting enrollment.

What do these things have in common? The consequences of giving in to leftist demands, instead of focusing on the basics.

Most people want some pretty basic things from the powers-that-be: Safety, freedom of movement and the opportunity to get ahead. Where these things prevail, people tend to be pretty happy. Where they don’t, people tend to be less so — and to vote with their feet when they have the opportunity.

The Chicago Police and Fire Departments will make the switch from a paper-based time-keeping system to an electronic system that uses biometrics, as part of a citywide crackdown on absenteeism with a $10 million price tag.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that the Police Department spent a record $116.1 million on overtime in 2015 — up 17.2 percent from the previous year — to mask a manpower shortage that has mushroomed under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with police retirements outpacing hiring by 975 officers.

Former executive for the company that runs Chicago’s parking meters pleaded guilty Thursday to taking kickbacks to steer a $22 million contract to install the privately owned meters.

Philip “Felipe” Oropesa, 57, of Marietta, Ga., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in federal court in Atlanta, where his case was transferred after he was indicted in Chicago last year, court records show. Oropesa also agreed to forfeit $90,000 in bribe money he was paid over the course of the scheme.

Oropesa’s Atlanta-based lawyer, Paul Kish, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Getting rid of the lieutenant governor’s office could save $1.6 million a year, says state Rep. David McSweeney, who started the idea moving this week in the General Assembly.

But the required notification to voters about a proposed change in the state constitution, if it got that far, could cost more than the first-year savings — a possible dilemma for a cash-poor state that’s been operating without a budget for almost 10 months.

It’s become increasingly clear that Congress will need to provide some sort of assistance to the bereft government of Puerto Rico. The island has been in recession for a decade and holds $72 billion in debt it cannot fully repay; its pension plan is nearly bankrupt.

While there’s widespread agreement that something must be done, there’s not as yet any unanimity as to what this something should be. How Congress resolves this issue should be watched closely by the taxpayers of Illinois, because it could end up worsening the state’s finances.

Puerto Rico arrived in its current fiscal throes by borrowing money to postpone difficult tax and spending decisions whenever possible—a strategy that everyone in Illinois would recognize. Until quite recently it could borrow at rock-bottom rates, thanks to the generous tax breaks its lenders receive on their interest at the local, state and federal level. Eventually, lenders began to fear that they might not get repaid, and capital markets began demanding sharply higher interest rates before they just stopped lending to them altogether.

The widow of shamed Fox Lake police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz has applied for her late husband’s pension as she awaits a trial on charges she participated in his past alleged crimes.

Seven months after authorities said her husband staged his suicide to look like a homicide, Melodie Gliniewicz has filed the paperwork seeking survivor benefits from Fox Lake, an official with the local police pension board confirmed.

Authorities concluded that Joe Gliniewicz shot himself last fall amid fears that illegal activities he was involved in were about to be exposed, including his theft of thousands of dollars from the local Explorers youth policing program he ran for many years.

Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of local government. That’s the highest count of any state in the nation, and the runner-up is not even close.

One of those units of government is the Naperville Township Road District, where seven employees maintain less than 20 miles of road at a cost of $116,000 per mile. City officials have said they could maintain the same distance at half the cost, and have moved to take over the road district’s duties on behalf of local taxpayers.

But the final decision on whether to outsource maintenance of those roads to the city rests with Naperville Township Road Commissioner Stan Wojtasiak, who has put local taxpayers on the hook for thousands of dollars in meals and treats, including alcohol, over the course of his tenure, according to the Naperville Sun. Wojtasiak said he spent the money to boost staff morale, and has yet to announce his decision regarding consolidation.

The Village of Lake Barrington approved Wednesday an ordinance prohibiting the rental of residential properties in the village for terms less than three consecutive months, in wake of a shooting incident that occurred Sunday.