Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My property tax bill is defective--I want a refund!

We all deserve a refund, especially in the 41st Ward.

My property tax bill is defective—I want a refund!

A few ways the city, county, and schools could save millions of our dollars


TaxBills_magnum.jpg
Chema Skandal 


In honor of the demonstrations that have been sweeping this and other cities, I'm going to take a moment to protest my property tax bill.

I've got property taxes on my mind because I just paid $4,601. That's the first of two annual installments, for all you renters out there who have never experienced the thrill of directly paying a property tax bill.

I say directly because you renters indirectly pay property taxes every year after your landlord includes the cost in the form of higher rents. There's no dodging the tax man, my friends.
Back to my bill . . .
As I said, it's the first of two installments. So when all is said and done I'll be paying more than $9,200 for the joy of owning a house in Chicago. Oh, lucky me.
This installment's up $285 from the one I paid last year.
What's that? You're wondering how my bill can go up when Mayor Rahm Emanuel promised to hold the line on property taxes?

For that matter, how could last year's first installment have gone up $712 over the one before, when Mayor Richard M. Daley—remember him?—made the same promise?
Well, let me be the one to break the bad news: when it comes to property taxes, mayors never keep their promises. As a general practice, I wouldn't believe any promise that any mayor makes about anything—and especially property taxes.
No disrespect to Mayor Emanuel. Or Mayor Daley.

But it is true that I'm from the left side of the Democratic Party. As opposed to Mayor Emanuel, who appears to be from the left side of the Republican Party. He'd probably be running a close third behind Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum if he just came right out and officially joined the GOP.
But my property tax bill brings out the inner Tea Partier in me as I realize how much of the money I pay gets wasted on stupid stuff that no ordinary Chicagoan really needs.
Like the G8 and NATO summits, to cite just one example.

So this year, I'm going to highlight just a little of the waste and demand a refund.
I'll start with the TIF program, as in tax increment financing. That's the shadow program that raises the amount we pay in property taxes by about $500 million a year, even as the mayor tells you it doesn't. And the $500 million gets deposited into bank accounts largely controlled by the mayor.
I warned you not to believe anything the mayor says about property taxes.

When the Tribune editorial board is forced to write about TIFs—and they usually only do so at gunpoint—they usually say something like: "Critics call this a slush fund." As if they haven't made up their minds on the matter. Hey, take your time, people—the program's only about 30 years old.
A few years ago, Congressman Mike Quigley, then a crusading Cook County Commissioner, estimated that TIFs add about four percent a year to the average property tax bill.

Four percent may not sound like much, but you know how it goes—four percent here, four percent there, and soon you're talking real money.
Next I'll move over to the Chicago Public Schools, which consumes roughly 52 percent of everyone's property taxes.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't complain. I'm a big fan of public education. I think we should spend more on on it. But I've decided that in good conscience I can no longer justify spending another dime on the Chicago Board of Education.
That's the seven-person body appointed by Mayor Emanuel to do whatever Mayor Emanuel wants.
As I've explained before, the mayor carefully vets potential appointees to make sure he never picks anyone with even a scintilla of an independent thought.
Actually, that vetting system applies to most mayoral appointees. And it's obviously working, as evidenced by the February 22 board meeting, when hundreds of people showed up to beg and plead with the board not to close their neighborhood schools. The board then unanimously voted to close them anyway.

I'm not saying that some of those schools shouldn't have been closed. But it's fairly remarkable that all seven board members could sit through that tumultuous hearing and reach the same conclusion.
In fact, aside from the board members, just about the only people in Chicago who've publicly spoken in favor of the closings were a few busloads of protesters who were paid to show up at hearings. And several of them confessed they were actually in favor of keeping the schools open, once they realized what they were being paid to protest.

Look, if the board's just going to rubber stamp any half-baked idea the mayor comes up with, it would be more efficient to get rid of them and let the mayor rubber stamp his own half-baked ideas.
That would save us at least $2.5 million, which, according to the CPS budget, includes $120,000 for "seminars, fees, subscriptions and professional memberships."
Subscriptions? I thought I was the only one in America still paying for home delivery.
Admittedly, $2.5 million is only a drop in a CPS budget of more than $5.5 billion. So don't send the money back to me—use it to hire more art, music, and drama teachers, because most public schools in Chicago have exactly none.

That's right: somehow my property taxes keep going up, yet we never have enough money to hire art teachers.
Hold it—time out for an explanation. An art teacher is a teacher who teaches art. Like the ones Mayor Emanuel had when he was growing up in Wilmette. As I always say, if it's good enough for kids in Wilmette, it's good enough for kids in Chicago.
Let's move to the City Council. According to the budget, they get to spend about $20 million on their salaries, committees, and staff.
I don't know why we need the council any more than we need the board of education, since the aldermen just do what the mayor wants too.

So let's just get rid of the aldermen, except for Leslie Hairston, Sandi Jackson, Will Burns, Nick Sposato, and Robert Fioretti—the only ones who voted against giving Mayor Emanuel a blank check to spend as much as he wants on the G8/NATO summits.
I can only cringe at what that's going to do to next year's property tax bill.
Oh, I'll let Aldermen Scott Waguespack and Rey Colon stay on, even though they voted for G8/NATO. It's part of my special dispensation to them for having voted against Mayor Daley's sell-the-parking meter scam.

Speaking of really half-baked ideas from our mayor.
Any other cuts? Well, none for moment.
Hold it. My friend and colleague Mick Dumke's on the phone.

What's that, Mick? The $78 million the county wastes in marijuana prosecutions every year? You're right! How could I forget that?
Well, if the county has so much money that it can afford to spend at least $78 million to jail and prosecute black people for doing what white people do every day, they don't need any money from me.
So give me back the $400 or so I paid the county.

All total, my refund's $860, and I'm not even getting into the waste that is the Water Reclamation District and the Park District.
Don't even bother wasting the cost of a stamp, Mr. Mayor. Just leave the check on the first floor visitor's counter in City Hall—I'll take the CTA down to pick it up.
Ben Joravsky discusses his reporting weekly with journalist Dave Glowacz at mrradio.org/benj. Subscribe to their podcast at the iTunes Store.

The Mayor's Economic Growth Plan

The image is as fuzzy as the plan...  General, lacking specifics, and once again the goal of becoming a "global" city is concentric to the plan.    Send comments.

Plan for Economic Growth & Jobs


On Wednesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel released the first draft of an economic growth plan, created to drive Chicago’s leadership in the global economy and articulate clear, actionable strategies for economic growth and job creation. The plan was developed by World Business Chicago, at the request of Mayor Emanuel last fall. It contains 10 strategies that will help Chicago advance its economy and become a better destination for families and businesses.
“A global city like Chicago needs a clear set of goals, a clear framework for analysis and clear strategies for economic growth and the creation of jobs,” said Mayor Emanuel. “By establishing these, the business community can work in conjunction with labor, the public sector and the non-profit community to execute together and achieve these objectives. This is an important step in that direction and I am looking forward to incorporating the public’s input and comment as we develop this vision for our economic future, enabling the creation of more of the jobs that our city needs.”
The plan presents 10 over-arching strategies that are recommended to drive economic growth and job creation in Chicago through 2020 and beyond.
These strategies include:
  • Become a leading hub of advanced manufacturing;
  • Increase the region’s attractiveness as a center for business services and headquarters;
  • Enhance our competitive position as a leading transportation and logistics hub;
  • Make Chicago a premier destination for tourism and entertainment;
  • Make Chicago a nationally leading exporter;
  • Develop our workforce in a demand-driven and targeted manner;
  • Support entrepreneurship and foster innovation in mature and emerging sectors;
  • Invest to create next-generation infrastructure;
  • Develop and deploy neighborhood assets to align with regional economic growth; and
  • Create an environment in which businesses can flourish.
The draft Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs is the result of a five-month effort by a steering committee of business, labor, civic and community leaders and led by World Business Chicago. The Mayor presented the plan today for public comment and review.
The Plan itself builds on existing growth initiatives to provide a framework for private and public initiatives in the years ahead. It takes a hard look at Chicago’s and the region’s strengths and challenges, sets measurable goals and recommends strategies to achieve them.
“This important report underscores the importance of creating good jobs, investing in our workforce, and putting a high priority on cooperation and collaboration to spur economic development,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “I am excited about the opportunities that these recommendations can foster throughout the region if we continue to work together.”
The public is invited to ask questions or comment on the draft by clicking here.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Call the Alderman's Office and Demand More Police Officers - Enough is Enough

It was obvious something serious was going on around here last night.  Helicopters overhead, police walking down the street with rifles, unmarked squads and patrol cars saturating the area for a few hours.  Recent uptick in burglaries in the area and unusual characters in the neighborhood in cars and on foot.  Call and report all suspicious activity.  Watch out for your neighbors.  Get your neighbors phone numbers and email addresses.  The best info we received last night was via facebook neighbor friends.  All around, people turned on the flood lights, backyard lights and porch lights to illuminate the area for officers searching for suspects. 

When will the 16th be redistricted?  It's way to big and needs to be smaller in order to be manageable, especially now that crime numbers are increasing and we have lost an estimated 300 police officers over the last few years in the 16th district.

And, WHEN WILL THE 16th DISTRICT get more officers?  Can't hide the fact there are not enough of them anymore.

We all need to call and email the alderman and let her know we need more officers and the police district remapped to be smaller.  This can't go on.  Does anyone feel safe here anymore? 

2 sought after shots fired during altercation with police on NW Side


Area of search
5300 block of North Natoma Ave (Photo illustration, Chicago Tribune)





Chicago police arrested one man and are searching for another tonight on the Northwest Side after they were involved in an altercation with officers in which shots were fired, police said.
The incident began about 7:40 p.m. in the alley behind the 5300 block of North Natoma Avenue, police said. The men were being questioned by police, and according to preliminary reports, shots were fired by police in the incident but no one was hit, said Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti of Chicago Police Department News Affairs.
A police officer was taken to Resurrection Medical Center with a hand injury, said Chicago Fire Department Chief Joseph Roccasalva. The officer was in good condition. It's not clear how he was injured.
Police conducted a widespread search of the area for the men who fled after the altercation.
Police took one man into custody before midnight but are still looking for the other. Nobody has been charged in connection with the altercation, police said.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Famous Edison Park Inventor... Steve Kordek

Steve Kordek, a Pinball Innovator, Dies at 100


Alex Garcia/Chicago Tribune
Steve Kordek in the basement of his home in Chicago in 2009.
His daughter Catherine Petrash confirmed his death.
Mr. Kordek actually revised a revision of what until the 1930s had been called the pin game. In that version a player would pull a plunger to release the ball, then shake the table in an often frustrating attempt to redirect the ball toward a scoring target — a cup or a hole.
In 1947, two designers at the D. Gottlieb & Company pinball factory in Chicago, Harry Mabs and Wayne Neyens, transformed that rudimentary game into one called Humpty Dumpty, adding six electromechanical flippers, three on each side from the top to the bottom of the field.
It was an instant hit — until, at a trade show in Chicago 1948, Mr. Kordek introduced Triple Action, a game that featured just two flippers, both controlled by buttons at the bottom of the table. Mr. Kordek was a designer for Genco, one of more than two dozen pinball manufacturers in Chicago at the time.
Not only was Mr. Kordek’s two-flipper game less expensive to produce; it also gave players greater control. For someone concentrating on keeping a chrome-plated ball from dropping into the “drain,” two flippers, one for each hand, were better than six.
“It really was revolutionary, and pretty much everyone else followed suit,” David Silverman, executive director of the National Pinball Museum in Baltimore, said in an interview. “And it’s stayed the standard for 60 years.”
Roger Sharpe, author of “Pinball!” (1977), a history of the industry, agreed.
“But not only did Steve choose to put two flippers down at the bottom of the playfield,” Mr. Sharpe said, “even more importantly he provided direct-current power to those flippers, meaning that a ball skillfully flipped from the bottom of the playfield could actually get to the top, and anywhere in between, with some semblance of accuracy.” Previous games had mostly used less powerful alternating current.
Mr. Kordek’s career spanned more than six decades and the industry’s evolution from battery power to computers. While the two-flipper standard is perhaps his most significant contribution, he would go on to lead design teams that created more than 100 games — at Genco and later for Bally Manufacturing and Williams Manufacturing — many of which were hits. Among them are Space Mission, which was inspired by the Apollo and Soyuz satellite missions; Grand Prix, with a car-racing theme; Contact, in which humans and space aliens meet; and Pokerino, based on poker.
The last game to which Mr. Kordek contributed was Vacation America, a computerized game released in 2003 that was inspired by the National Lampoon “Vacation” movies.
“Steve’s impact would be comparable to D. W. Griffith moving from silent films through talkies and color and CinemaScope and 3-D with computer-generated graphics,” Mr. Sharpe said. “He moved through each era seamlessly.”
Steven Francis Kordek was born in Chicago on Dec. 26, 1911, the oldest of 10 children of Anna and Frank Kordek. His father worked in the steel mills. Steven Kordek worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps and for the United States Forest Service during the Depression.
On a visit to his hometown in 1937, he was walking down a street without an umbrella when a torrential rain forced him to step into the lobby of a building he was passing. It was the Genco company. A receptionist asked if he was looking for a job.
“I had never seen a pin game before in my life,” Mr. Kordek told The Chicago Tribune in 2009. For 45 cents an hour, he was soon doing soldering on the company’s production line. He studied at the Coyne Electric School at night and began working his way up through the Genco engineering department.
Mr. Kordek married Harriet Pieniazek in 1941; she died in 2003. Besides his daughter Catherine, he is survived by another daughter, Donna Kordek-Logazino; two sons, Frank and Richard; a sister, Florence Wozny; two brothers, Joseph and Frank; six grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.
Several pinball machines line the walls of Mr. Kordek’s house, his daughter Catherine said. “It’s always been the activity center for all our children and their friends.”
Mr. Kordek never got tired of the clang, clack and buzz of pinball. “I had more fun in this business than anyone could believe,” he told The Tribune.

Friday, February 24, 2012

New Recycling Center

5430 W. Gale City Clerk's Office
Thanks, Alderman Arena

For some 41st Ward Residents, the new recycling center may be more convenient
Announcing The New Recycling Drop-Off Center

I'm happy to announce the new recycling drop-off center at the City Clerk's Office at 5430 W. Gale Street.
Next Saturday, March 3, we're starting a new ongoing initiative for shredding old documents with Midway Moving & Storage. Join us for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Gale Street recycling center at 10 am. Midway Moving will be available on site to shred and recycle your documents until 2 pm.







Ald. John Arena

Thursday, February 23, 2012

NATO/G8, Another Mess, Thanks to Rahm

Readers:  Any thoughts as to how the G8/NATO summits are going to effect your life?  No one is clear on who's paying for the summits, but I'm sure the taxpayers will be on the line for some if not all.  Still waiting for the list of "donors" to be released by the mayor's office...

Many questions coming in.  How will I get to work?  How long is this going to last?  How many out of town protesters will show up?  Will the neighborhoods be effected?  The major universities and companies downtown have been notifying employees, students and clients that their loop offices and businesses will be closed for the duration of the conferences, at least.  But, again, no one knows when protesters will arrive and when they will leave.

National and International Occupy groups are calling for a "May Day", May 1, 2012 protest at Grant park.  The projected number of protesters just for that one day is 50,000.  AND many of these protesters are planning on staying the entire month of May.  Thanks, Mr. Mayor, for another mess...  You are developing quite a record for knee jerk projects without any thought to costs, both financial and human safety/misery.

Your NATO/G8 primer 

Everything you wanted to know about hosting international summits but were afraid to ask

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On January 26, the activist organization Adbusters, which helped spark the Occupy Wall Street movement, called for at least 50,000 "redeemers, rebels and radicals" to visit Chicago in the month of May for "the biggest multinational occupation of a summit meeting the world has ever seen."

"And if they don't listen," the statement vowed, "we'll flashmob the streets, shut down stock exchanges, campuses, corporate headquarters and cities across the globe."
It's not known how many demonstrators will respond to the call. But there's little question that thousands of out-of-town visitors will descend on the city to attend, observe, and protest two scheduled summits of the most powerful leaders in the world.
What is in question is how it will impact—and what it will cost—the people of Chicago.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel used his clout with President Barack Obama to bring the NATO and G8 summits here, and the way the preparations are proceeding says a lot about how he runs this town.
Just three months before the events, neither residents nor the City Council have been told how much it could cost us. And some police officers are so concerned about what could happen that they're ordering their own riot-intervention equipment.
What follows is a primer on how we got into this mess, what we know about the summits, and—more significantly—what we don't.

So start at the beginning— what is this all about?
For three days in May, Chicago will play host to two international summits of diplomats, world leaders, and other dignitaries. Leaders of the Group of Eight—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—will meet from Saturday, May 19, to Sunday, May 20. And on May 20 and 21 the leaders of NATO will gather. Both summits will be held at McCormick Place.
Roughly 7,500 delegates representing 80 delegations will attend, plus about 2,500 journalists—and all those protesters.

And why are they coming to Chicago again?
Officially, President Obama decided that Chicago was a "logical choice" because it's "a global city, connected to the global economy, with an increasing international profile," according to Caitlin Hayden, assistant press secretary for foreign affairs. "It's the President's home town and has a proven record of managing big events. We know that Chicago will highlight the best of America."

So this decision was made completely free of politics, right?
Well . . .
Unofficially, Mayor Rahm Emanuel really, really, really wanted the summits to come here. As he's told his aides: it's like the Olympics—only easier to get.
So he was badgering the president, Vice President Joe Biden, and other administration officials about bringing the summit here almost from the moment he won the mayoral election last February. And maybe before.

OK, but did anyone other than Mayor Emanuel really, really, really want to hold the summits in Chicago?
No. Unlike the prospect of hosting the Olympics, which always had some support, the summits weren't on the radar—until President Obama offhandedly announced in a speech last June that they were coming to Chicago.

But surely there was some sort of bring-the-summits-to-Chicago blue ribbon committee—you know, filled with the mayor's friends and donors?
Not until the deal was already made. More on those friends and donors in a bit.
So did I miss the dog-and-pony community hearings they held to explain why this is worth the cost and inconvenience—you know, like they did with the Olympics?
You didn't, because there weren't any. As Leslie Hairston sums it up: "This wasn't a citywide decision."
Who's Leslie Hairston?

She's the alderman of the Fifth Ward who, like the rest of her colleagues, generally goes along with the mayor. But last month she really pissed him off by leading a handful of powerless aldermen in opposing the summits.
So what has the mayor said about her criticism?
If you don't like it, Hairston, then fuck you!
No, I mean, what has he said that he hasn't said to critics before?
On the record, he said, "This will be an opportunity to showcase what is great about the greatest city in the greatest country." We're pretty sure he was referring to Chicago—and not his hometown of Wilmette.
What has Mayor Emanuel done to explain to Chicagoans how the summits will make their great city even greater?

He's worked diligently to spin the press. For example, on January 12, his press office welcomed about 25 reporters to a City Hall briefing to clear up confusion about the summits. When they were finished, reporters were even more confused.
Several of the top officials responsible for the city's preparations were there, including Lori Healey, executive director of the NATO/G8 host committee. Also in attendance were at least five mayoral press aides, who laid out rules for the reporters: we were allowed to quote anything we wanted, but we couldn't name the person who said it.
"We want everyone to be able to speak freely," one of the press flacks explained.
She went on to emphasize that many of the summit preparations were not yet in place and that many others would never be made public. "There are questions we can't answer about security and other issues."

So what did they make public?
For the next hour and a half, the officials took turns stressing that the summits presented a huge opportunity to "showcase Chicago as a world-class city"—they used the phrase repeatedly. They added that they couldn't provide many details about what it would mean for people who actually live here.
So they were speaking freely about something they didn't know or couldn't talk about?
Yes—and you can quote us on that, as long as you don't use our names.
I guess it's good that Chicago's going to be "showcased." But did city officials share the analysis they conducted showing how much this will cost and benefit us?
Funny you should ask about that, because we did too. Unfortunately, the city hasn't been able to produce anything in response to our request for the cost-benefit analysis they've conducted. Aldermen say they haven't been shown any analysis either.
There's a good reason for this: the city hasn't conducted a formal cost-benefit analysis.
None?

City officials tell us they're "in possession of some very preliminary cost estimates in draft form"—but they can't share them with us. Still, they insist that the events will be a net gain for Chicago's economy.
So the supposed benefit to Chicago comes down to an unsubstantiated assurance from officials who've asked us not to name them?
That's right.
And everyone on the City Council bought this?
Most, but not all.

How many doubters are we talking about?
A grand total of five of our 50 esteemed aldermen voted against the mayor's summit ordinances: Robert Fioretti (Second), Will Burns (Fourth), Hairston (Fifth), Sandi Jackson (Seventh), and Nicholas Sposato (36th). "Where is the economic boom going to be to the city?" Hairston says. "These people are not going to be shopping at Garrett's Popcorn or going to the Museum of Science and Industry."
OK, so we don't know how this is going to benefit Chicago. Do we at least know what it's going to cost us?
Nope, don't know that either. City officials say there's no way of knowing all the summit expenses until federal officials finalize the logistics in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the city is using past summits in other cities to come up with guesstimates of $40 million to $65 million. But it's unclear what the $40 million to $65 million would cover—security, entertainment for visiting dignitaries and journalists, marketing, or everything in between. "It's too early to say," one spokeswoman tells us.
Who's in charge of handing out contracts and other party favors?
That would be Mayor Emanuel. He's been given unilateral authority to dole out any contract for any amount to any vendor he wants.
You mean there won't be competitive bidding?
Yeah, we're shocked too. To be fair, the mayor says that three bids will be required for any contract. Of course, the mayor will choose the three bidders.
So you can't bid for a contract unless the mayor says you can bid for a contract?
Correct.

How did he get that authority?
The authority was granted in the usual manner—a rubber stamp. That's the 41-5 City Council vote we were talking about a minute ago.
But I read in the papers and heard on the TV that the mayor made a lot of concessions before that vote.

Well, sort of.
On December 14, Mayor Emanuel introduced several proposals related to the summits. The ones that got the most coverage would have raised fines for resisting arrest and imposed new requirements for parades and demonstrations. And the other—as we talked about already—granted him the authority to hand out contracts without a normal bidding process or City Council oversight.
At a hearing in January, a broad range of activists and other citizens, from death penalty foes to right-to-lifers, testified against the parade and protest regulations. When Emanuel agreed to cut the fine increases, most aldermen were convinced that he'd given enough ground to make the ordinances palatable.
The first question of the council hearings was literally read off the page by 11th Ward alderman James Balcer. "Do you share the public's concern about the increased fine for resisting police officers and First Amendment issues?"
Somehow, police superintendent Garry McCarthy was ready for that one. "I didn't really have that concern," McCarthy said. "But after hearing the voices, and in collaboration with the administration, the police department, and the public, we decided to pull that off the table."
Balcer was satisfied.

In other words, the mayor got a lot of kudos for making a few compromises on the protest rules while quietly getting all the contracting authority he wanted?
Yes. It's one of the oldest political tricks in the books: distract folks with a spectacle and then dish out the dough when no one's paying attention.
So who's going to be on the hook for all that dough?
The mayor promises that the feds will pick up the full tab: "The U.S. government is hosting the world leaders in Chicago. The good news is the taxpayers won't pay for this."
Apparently, he forgot that most Chicagoans pay federal taxes.
Hey, isn't that a cheap shot?

My bad. I'm sure the mayor knows that everyone pays federal taxes—except for donors with really good accountants.
Enough with the mayor jokes. Are we sure that the feds have committed to cover the summit costs?
What, you don't believe everything your mayor tells you?
What if I just want to make sure?
Here's what we know: we don't know much.
The federal Department of Homeland Security awarded the city a $55 million grant to cover preparation costs.
But we don't know specifically what the grant was for. The city says it's going to provide us with a copy of the grant application and conditions but hasn't yet. The DHS says they'll get back to us—as soon as they've responded to the 421 requests in front of ours.
Hasn't anyone made an issue of this?
Believe it or not, it briefly came up in the City Council when 31st Ward alderman Ray Suarez, hardly a frequent dissenter, asked police chief McCarthy who's going to cover the summit expenses.
"That has not been determined," McCarthy replied.
That deviation from the script seemed to confuse Suarez. "In our briefings we were led to believe that the federal government will cover the cost of this thing," he said. "Now you're telling me something different."
Several officials and aldermen jumped in to tell Suarez not to worry. "I've been assured it will not cost the city," said Alderman Carrie Austin, the council's budget committee chair.
She concluded there was no need to delay approval, since the details could always be tweaked later.
Translation: We won't know how much it'll cost us until we've already spent the money.

Didn't the mayor also say that civic-minded rich people would pick up some of the tab?
Yes. He's created a committee headed by John Bryan, former CEO of Sara Lee, and Anne Olaimey, his political fund-raiser, to raise money from the business community.
And how much have they raised?
We don't know—the information hasn't been released. But the good news is that Lori Healey, who's heading Emanuel's host committee, says it will start to post donor information at the end of February.
And the bad news?
We don't know the total cost and we don't know how much the feds will pay and we don't know how much the civic community will raise.
What are some of the things that will have to be paid for?
For starters, untold numbers of police officers from other cities will be deputized—and paid—to help patrol the streets during the summits.
Why do we need these outside police?
Because we don't know how many demonstrators will show up. Plus, Chicago's police force is smaller than it's been in years. Chicago currently has about 11,000 police officers, 900 fewer than five years ago.
Any other bad news?

The city could be on the hook to pay Chicago Parking Meters LLC an unspecified amount of money.
You mean the guys who own our street parking system?
Yes—our old friends.
What do they have to do with the G8 and NATO summits?
Under their 75-year lease deal, the city has to pay Parking Meters LLC every time a metered spot is taken out of operation. So if parts of downtown are blocked off for summit security, we the people will make up the difference in lost meter revenue—potentially millions of dollars.
So we have to pay a private company for the right to use our public streets?
We can debate whether the streets are still fully public, but yes, that's correct.
And who exactly is overseeing this extravaganza?
World Business Chicago—an organization funded by the city whose board is made up of business executives handpicked by the mayor, including leaders of Grosvenor Capital Management, Deloitte & Touche, and United-Continental.
Wait—haven't I heard those names before?
Probably. Grosvenor employees and family members donated more than $500,000 to the mayor's election campaign. Deloitte has received millions of dollars in city consulting work. And United was the beneficiary of millions in tax increment financing subsidies.
But at least the mayor won't allow any members of World Business Chicago to get summit contracts, right?
Actually, Motorola Solutions, whose chairman, Greg Brown, sits on the board, already got a $16 million-a-year contract for police radio equipment.
Wow—that was fast!
And that was even before the new contracting rules went into effect. Hey, that's why this is still the city that works.
Joey Jachowski contributed research to this story

Monday, February 6, 2012

REPORT – RAHM TELLS G8 LEADERS CHICAGO's CHINATOWN SHOULD BE CONVERTED TO GIANT “FOXCONN-WEST” FACTORY COMPLEX

This just in from the "guest blogger"......

REPORT –
REPORT – RAHM TELLS G8 LEADERS CHICAGO's CHINATOWN SHOULD BE CONVERTED TO GIANT  “FOXCONN-WEST” FACTORY COMPLEX

 In a secret meeting with the world’s top industrial leaders, G8 host Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed converting Chicago’s Chinatown into a huge tech-manufacturing center, modeled after China's notorious Foxconn Plant in the city of Chengdu.   One leading industrialist present at the meeting, who went by the name Mr. X, described Mayor Emanuel’s sales presentation.
 “Most of us in the room were stunned, given what the world knows about Foxconn,” said Mr. X.  “Rahm started out by saying he admired the ‘ruthless efficiency’ of the Foxconn operation.  He said he loved the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, whose Apple products are produced at Foxconn. Rahm declared that the best way to build on Steve’s legacy was to put as many people to work for the lowest wage possible".
“Rahm said he has learned so much watching China’s government oppress their own people, that he could use many of their tactics to oppress Chinese-Americans right here in Chicago,” said Mr. X.  “Rahm said redrawing Chicago’s aldermanic map so that 5 different Alderman now represent Chinatown was no accident.  “I did that to confuse the hell out of everyone”, Mr. X quoted Rahm.  ‘Now that the remap is complete, we can use eminent domain to bulldoze some buildings and throw up some factories.’ 
Mr. X told of Rahm's reaction when one attendee pointed out Foxconn's history of workers jumping from it's buildings.  “I’m well aware”, said Rahm.  “You apparently are unaware that Foxconn solved that problem with strategically placed netting.  And I can assure you we have netting in Chicago.”
Mr. X described Rahm giving some of the world leaders a Chicago history lesson.  “The fact is we were Foxconn before Foxconn -  Except we called it Pullman.  Mr. Pullman mass-produced railroad cars.  In the late 1800s, a large portion of our South side was known as Pullman.  Workers were provided housing, medical care, and schools for their children.  In return, the workers put in 12 hour days, 6 to seven day workweeks, and lived under lockdown conditions in case the boss needed more from them.  So you could say Chengdu stole our idea.  All I’m proposing is that we embrace our heritage, not run away from it.  We should be proud of it.”
Mr. X told of attendees who thought Rahm's scheme as too ambitious.  “You can’t pull that off,” said one naysayer.  Rahm countered, ”Wrong.  I learned long ago that when people say they want leadership, what they are actually saying is that they want to be bullied.  That’s what I do.  Go ask any of Chicago’s Alderman, Librarians, Teachers, Sanitation workers, and Traffic aides.  Hell, I even bullied a high ranking Nun since becoming Mayor.  The attendees eventually relented, and pledged to support Emanuel’s  Foxconn West.  “At the meetings conclusion, Rahm began to cry”, Mr. X said.  “He sobbed, ‘I wish Steve had lived to see this day".

        

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Suspect Picture from CPD

Police warn of series of burglaries on Northwest Side 


At least six daytime burglaries in the Jefferson Park area since Dec. 1 have been tied to the same suspect, police said today in a community alert.

The suspect usually enters a large condominium complex and once inside breaks into individual units with a large pry tool, police said. He then takes cash, jewelry and small electronics.

Police said the same man is suspected in the following burglaries:
--6300 block of West Higgins Road on Dec. 1.
--5800 block of West Lawrence Avenue on Dec.5.
--4800 block of North Central Avenue on Dec. 6.
--6400 block of North Northwest Highway on Dec. 15.
--6500 block of North Northwest Highway on Dec. 27.
--6500 block of West Irving Park Road on Jan. 31.

At least one image of the suspect has been captured by a surveillance camera, police said.

The community alert describes the suspect as a black man, 50-60, with eye glasses, wearing either a sport coat or jacket and  carrying a gym bag or a bag over his shoulder.

Anyone with information is asked to call Grand Central Area detectives at 312-746-8362.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
chi-police-warn-of-series-of-burglaries-on-northwest-side-20120201