Chicago is 16% more expensive than the U.S. average, while consumer prices in the U.K. are about 10% higher than the U.S. So it's really a wash. Comparing country to country would be pointless, because most U.S. teachers are not unionized. The point is to demonstrate the impact of a particularly dysfunctional teachers' union. San Francisco or New York would be other examples, but the cost of living there is vastly above the U.S. average.
As for London--average police pay is 45,500 pounds ($67,000): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084505/Generous-pay.... So a Chicago police officer with just 2.5 years of service earns about as much as the average London cop does in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
As for London--average police pay is 45,500 pounds ($67,000): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084505/Generous-pay.... So a Chicago police officer with just 2.5 years of service earns about as much as the average London cop does in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
The average Chicago police pension is $57,000: http://www.weareonechicago.org/documents/waoc_fact_sheet.pdf. The average U.K. police pension is $23,000: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/305105/Police-pensions-bill....