The city's union leaderse were told Monday that Mayor Daley plans to lay off at least 1,000 city workers - 300 of whom work in the Streets and Sanitation Department.

Daley is expected to release his plans for the 2009 budget Oct. 15. Faced with an estimated $420 million shortfall, the city budget is being slashed at the employee level as Daley's plan is to eliminate 3,000 vacant positions and lay off 1,000 city employees.

That is likely to result in smaller crews and reduced services affecting everything from solid waste and recycling collection to tree trimming. Garbage collection now occurs weekly throughout Mount Greenwood, Beverly and Morgan Park, but the cuts likely would reduce that to biweekly pickups. Yet the Sun-Times reported that "weekly pickups would be maintained. That likely means greater use of crews with one laborer on a truck, instead of two."

The layoffs are expected to save $100 million, and of the 3,000 vacancies to be eliminated, 329 will be Chicago Police officers and a dozen firefighters.