AS THE DALEY TURNS

Did you enjoy Monday's "reduced-service" day? It looks like some people didn't get the memo about Mayor Daley shutting down the city: :

You could not get a library book or see a doctor in a city health clinic Monday in Chicago, but you could pay a parking ticket or fight to un-boot your car, provided you'd wait in a line long enough for an amusement park ride. Cops, firemen and privatized parking meters were working, however, even if nothing else was.

From a security guard answering phones in the mayor's office at City Hall to a harried staff collecting payments of fines at one of the few city offices open Monday, confusion and frustration reigned in the City that Works, which by design wasn't officially working at all.

I love that the Department of Revenue is an "essential service" now that King Richard has run our city into the red. Gotta have the city workers out there making him some money, even as the rest of the city is completely shut down to save $8 million. I also noticed that my neighborhood is only getting one side of its streets scrubbed, since one of our street cleaning days happened to fall on Monday. I would have thought Daley would keep up with the street cleaning so he wouldn't miss out on all those parking tickets he gets from his lovely street cleaning scheme. Funny, even when those worthless street sweepers come through, my street is still covered in garbage and dirt.

And, in case you missed it, Neil Steinberg at the Sun-Times had some nice words for Mayor Daley - Maybe Games Can Skip Mondays:

Every time a pothole opens up in the street, or an L train runs late, or a piece of old chewing gum is left on the sidewalk, Chicagoans must fight off an overwhelming urge to rush up to the mayor, hold the sooty fingertip of an otherwise pristine white glove under his nose and screech, "How is Chicago supposed to put on the 2016 Olympics when you can't even take care of THIS???"

Which is wrong because we never apply that logic to our personal lives ("How are we supposed to throw Nathan a bar mitzvah party in 2014 if we can't even clean our garage now?") Also pointless because Daley is a foaming fanatic when it comes to the Olympics. This is life or death to him -- we simply must get the Olympics, in his view, we must, and if we don't, should the Olympics go to Rio, or wherever, don't be surprised if our mayor utterly snaps, and slips into some fugue state where he believes the Olympics are here anyway. Can't you just see him? A broken and pathetic figure, sitting by himself on a folding metal chair in an empty Washington Park, cheering imaginary runners as they fly by in his shattered mind.

Still, obvious though the point is, sometimes this job entails stating the obvious, and today, "reduced-service day" in Chicago, somebody has to say it: If we can't even keep the city open on a Monday in August, if we can't even allow Chicagoans to check out a book or drop by a shabby CHA senior center, then how exactly are we going to mount a world-awing spectacle that will top all those Chinese drummers? Remember, we not only want to host the Olympics, but we have to do a bang-up job of it. What's the point of going through all this and getting the Games, only to botch them? "Remember the Olympic Opening Ceremony in Chicago? That bit with the six trained dogs doing somersaults? That was swell."

The die is cast. We'll find out in October whether we will host the 2016 Olympics. Until then, The City That Works doesn't. At least not today.

...
Here's my bet: If any city could attempt to save money by giving its employees a few days off -- there are others to come -- only to end up spending MORE money than it would have spent without the sabbaticals, that city is Chicago. Mark my words: By the time they tote up the overtime, doing the work that should have been done Monday, and the lawsuits from citizens who needed some service and didn't get it, plus the amount stolen because whoever normally watches the chicken coop on Monday was home watching, "Jeopardy," it'll end up costing us more. Just wait

Also, NBC Chicago reporter Steve Rhodes takes on Chicago aldermen and their expense accounts in a wonderfully titled piece - Aldermen Buy the Darndest Things (It's not Easy Being a Dolt):

Pity the poor alderman.

These people are paid a paltry $110,556 salary to do everything the mayor tells them to do, and they're supplemented by a measly $73,280 expense account.

Sure, that expense account alone is more than the typical Chicagoan makes, but aldermen have a tough job.

And, in light of last week's announcement that CPS will be raising our taxes, be sure to check out this article - Whose Fault is the CPS Budget Crisis?. Seems like there is plenty of blame to go around, including Mayor Daley and his wonderful TIF scheme.

Lastly, for your viewing pleasure, check out this video featuring 1980's Chicago:

DICK DALEY HAS WORDS

And now, some words from everyone's favorite mayor, Richard "Dick" Daley.

Dick Hearts Rick - Daley defends 22nd Ward Alderman Ricardo "Rick" Munoz, who used clout to get his daughter into an elite Chicago public high school:

“As a parent, he is speaking for not only his family, but his own constitutents,” Daley said. “They don’t have to accept the child. They can refuse the child because [aldermen] have no power over the Board of Education. They don’t fund them. They don’t review their budgets or anything else.”

Sure, no one felt pressure to admit the alderman's daughter simply because the City Council doesn't control the CPS budget. Riiiiiight.

And that isn't even true anyway:

What Daley neglected to mention is that the City Council approves the Board of Education's property tax levy and ratifies the mayor's appointment of School Board members.

Daley should have just taken a cue from his father, King Daley the First, and told the reporters to kiss his ass:

The Mayor's father, Richard J. Daley, once famously sputtered that if reporters have a problem with a father helping his own kids -- think, for starters, son John and the insurance business -- they could kiss his ass. The late mayor's exact words: "If they don't like it, they can kiss my ass."

Dick Defends His Pick - Daley stands up for crony Michael Scott's deal to profit from the Olympics:

Dick Thinks He's Slick - Daley speaks about his call to shake up oversight of the city's scandalous minority business program:

"We want to make it much more transparent and much more effective for those that are applying," Daley said. "The Office of Compliance has become an expert in analyzing, tracking and monitoring processes and making them more effective."

Asked about the cases of fraud that have plagued the program, Daley said fraud also exists in the private sector, not just in government.

Well the private sector does it too! What is this, kindergarten? That still doesn't make it alright. Got it, Dick?

Meanwhile, some aldermen are still waiting for Daley & Co. to fulfill their promise to provide documents relating to the sale of Chicago's parking meters. How's that for transparency.

Sounds like a case for Reformer Man.

MANNY! SAY IT AIN'T SO!

Well, the anti-Daley/anti-Olympics movement just took a big hit. Ben Joravsky reports that First Ward Alderman Manny Flores is not following through with his plan to cap Chicago taxpayers' liability for the Olympics at $500 million. Who'll Be the Bad Guy Now?:

With Mayor Daley essentially asking for a blank check to pay for the Olympics, the taxpayers of Chicago could use a little boldness from their City Council. But Manny Flores, one of the few aldermen occasionally willing to stand up for good government, seems to be retreating from his vow to fight for a $500 million cap on public spending for the games.
...

It's clear that Flores originally underestimated the repercussions of what he put forward. Had the council adopted it, it would have torpedoed Chicago's chances...But even if it had no chance of passing, a public debate on the cap would have damaged Daley's Olympic efforts, shining a spotlight on the city's fiscal troubles—the soft underbelly of the Chicago bid—and providing a forum that could energize the opposition. Given all that, it's remarkable Flores found 11 aldermen to sign on in the first place.

...

In other words, Flores asked the bid committee to do the kinds of things that the city already claims to do but really doesn't. If the past is any predictor of future—and it usually is—the 2016 folks will say sure, no problem, we were going to do this stuff anyway. And then they won't do it, just like they haven't done it in the past, as the City Council stands haplessly by.

Be sure to check out the entire article here.

Then commence with the heavy sighing.

I will join you.

Of course this news is even worse when we see the status of all those private donations that are supposed to pay for Chicago's Olympic games:

The sum was raised from 3,600 supporters, or more than 1,000 more than attended last year's fundraiser. They paid at least $500 per ticket to attend the 2009 U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame induction ceremony at McCormick Place.

The first major fundraiser, in March 2007, raised $9.4 million, and the second, in July 2008, raised more than $12 million. This fundraiser comes at a time of deep recession and at a point when the bid has met its main targets.

Chicago's final fundraiser for its 2016 Olympic bid drew the biggest crowd yet, but raised only about $5 million Wednesday evening, the lowest tally of three major events aimed at luring private cash.

Remember, Chicago taxpayers aren't going to be on the hook for the cost of the Olympics. Mayor Daley said so. And we all know what that promise is worth.

WTD PRESENTS: HISTORY LESSON - ALDERMAN FRED ROTI

You may have read a previous History Lesson about Mayor Daley's connection to the mobbed-up Duff Family. Now, it's time to learn about former Chicago Alderman Fred Roti and his ties to The Outfit.















Alderman Fred Roti

Chicago Democrats and the Chicago Mob:

Yes, there have been many corrupt Aldermen in Chicago. But, one man stands above all other in terms of institutionalizing corruption in Chicago: Alderman Fred Roti. Unless we understand the prolific criminal legacy of Alderman Roti,we can't understand how today, in 2008, Alderman Roti along with his friends, relatives, and associates have turned Chicago's city government into a racketeering enterprise...The Chicago Mob ran a "made-member" for political office to take control of a city. This is why the Chicago Mob went on to become the most powerful organized crime family in all of U.S. history...In 1999, the Justice Department announced to America what many had long suspected: Alderman Roti was a "high ranking made member" of the Chicago Mob.

Upon Roti's death, Mayor Daley resorted to his usual praise for his crooked friends:

Mayor Daley remembered the Alderman as a true Chicagoan who served his constituents without regard to wealth or status, as a public official who refused to permit the intensity of the political debate to impinge upon the civility of personal relationships. Fred Roti loved politics and loved government because he loved people, Mayor Daley declared, and he leaves his family a legacy of public service.

SAY GOODBYE TO ALDERMAN THAT "BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THE MAYOR"

You may remember, Alderman Billy Ocasio wanted his wife to fill his seat. But Mayor Daley had other ideas. So he broke the Aldermanic Succession Tradition. Why? Well, I think Fran Spielman of the Sun-Times has nailed the answer - Daley appoints Maldonado as 26th Ward Alderman:

Thirty-two times in the last 20 years, Mayor Daley has appointed aldermen to fill City Council vacancies.

Unless the outgoing alderman was convicted and headed off to prison, the mayor followed the departing alderman’s recommendation on a successor.

Today, Daley broke the mold — by appointing 57-year-old Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado to replace Billy Ocasio as 26th Ward alderman.

...

Sources said Daley was not about to wear the jacket for continuing the Chicago tradition of hand-me-down politics — especially not for Billy Ocasio, who emerged as the mayor’s most outspoken City Council critic.

Billy Ocasio cast the lone vote against Daley’s 2009 budget while ranting against a mayor he claimed, “believes everything and everyone is expendable.” He also emptied a piggybank full of quarters onto his desk to protest a 75-year, $1.2 billion parking meter lease tied to steep increases in meter rates.

Veronica Ocasio “probably would have followed in her husband’s —and [former Ald.] Luis [Gutierrez] footsteps and beat the crap out of the mayor,” said a source who asked to remain anonymous.

Little Richie Daley doesn't like it when his aldermen disagree with him, so he took this opportunity to get rid of one independent minded voice on the City Council. Good for Daley. Awful for us. Thanks Dick!

And how the hell does Daley get to appoint aldermen anyway? What kind of democracy is this? Oh right. This is Chicago. We do things our own way - King Daley's way.

DALEY WARBUCKS

You may remember that earlier this month the aldermen were questioning the costs the city pays to transport dead bodies. Well, the city has now negotiated with their contractor to pay $200 less per dead body. Even with the discount, Chicago is getting the shaft on this deal:

Outgoing Chief Procurement Officer Montel Gayles announced the price cut — from $915-a-body to $690 — at a Finance Committee meeting today during which Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) demanded to know why Chicago was paying more for the grisly service than any other government agency in the nation.

Dallas pays $94-a-body. San Antonio pays $125-per-cadaver. The Cook County Sheriff’s Police pays $250-per-body.

Something is not right here.

Speaking of things that aren't right, did you hear about the suburban teacher who is snatching up affordable condos subsidized by your taxes? 1 Man, 2 Affordable Homes:

The City of Chicago spends millions of dollars to create "affordable'' homes for working families.

The program has worked out really well for Rob M. Twardy, who bought one taxpayer-subsidized condo in March 2003 — and a second one just six months later.

And Twardy — who's 34 and teaches chemistry at Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park — doesn't appear to live in either affordable home.

If the southwest suburban teacher could afford to buy two condos in one year, how did City Hall find that he qualified to buy any condo subsidized by Chicago taxpayers?

Your tax dollars at work ladies and gentlemen. Overpaying to transport the dead. Helping that poor teacher buy three condos. They're just giving it away! And here I thought we had a budget crisis. If that's not the case, I'm gonna have to ask: WHERE'S MINE?!

ALDERMAN OCASIO KEEPS IT IN THE FAMILY

Former Alderman, Current Inmate Arenda "All Aldermen are Hos" Troutman

Since Chicago citizens are not allowed to vote on a replacement when their city council members resign (to take a new job, go to jail, etc.), Ex-Alderman Billy Ocasio thinks he has found his perfect replacement. First it was a homophobic minister that doesn't even live in the ward, and now it's his wife: Ex-Alderman Touts Wife for His Old Seat.

Ocasio himself was appointed by Daley to replace [Luis] Gutierrez when Gutierrez was elected to Congress.

Ocasio stepped down earlier this month to take a $125,000-a-year job as a senior adviser to Gov. Quinn.

Traditionally, when it comes to a replacement, Daley has gone along with the wishes of outgoing aldermen. But after De Jesus drew the ire of the gay community, Daley said he was interviewing other candidates. He has until Aug. 1 to make a decision.

Of course, no one is shocked by this news. Alderman Ocasio is simply following the wonderful tradition of nepotism in Illinois.

OH MY GAWD!!!...THE CITY COUNCIL

OhMyGawd the Chicago City Council might be getting the hang of this legislative branch, checks and balances thing. Crain's reports that aldermen are moving forward with an actual independent audit of the projected Olympic costs and revenues:

L.E.K. Consulting, whose media and entertainment practice includes sports projects, was hired by the Civic Federation, a local tax policy watchdog group in Chicago. The firm "will help us conduct an independent review of expenditures and revenues" for the proposed Chicago games, according to federation President Laurence Msall.

Mr. Msall said he believes the firm has been involved in helping other cities prepare Olympics bids, but stressed that it has played no role in Chicago's effort to win the games.

I will be very interested to see the results of this audit and what the aldermen will do if they are not favorable for Chicago taxpayers.

In the meantime, clap hands for the City Council. Good City Council.

CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL DOIN' WORK

photo via Chicago Tribune: Chicago Aldermen tackle the pressing issue of bathing suit lengths in 1929

Looks like the City Council has been busy. I'm not saying they accomplished anything, but they certainly are keeping themselves busy.

With news that Chicago is grossly overpaying for the transport of dead bodies in the city, some aldermen are wising up:

"I think it’s time to start at zero and justify every single expenditure in the budget,” said 20th Ward alderman Willie Cochran.

Good idea.

The City Council's approval of mandatory furlough days for non-union employees also gave some aldermen the opportunity to voice their displeasure with the city's finances:

Lacking a complete picture of the city’s finances makes voting on budgetary matters difficult, several said.

Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) referenced the Department of Budget and Management’s “evasion” and “lack of preparation” and said departmental staffers failed to provide information about the furlough proposal aldermen had asked for.

Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) said budget staffers had shown an “unwillingness to provide information.”

“We need to start creating our own numbers,” she said. “I do not trust the budget department.”

Ald. Manny Flores (1st) even lashed out against corporation counsel Mara Georges during his statement.

“We can’t have a partnership where there is no trust,” he said, his voice rising.

And then, of course, the City Council finally got around to their due diligence on the parking meter lease. Not that it matters now. Chicago Parking Meters: Aldermen Scrutinize Deal After the Fact

Acknowledging fears of political repercussions, aldermen spent Thursday reviewing their quick decision to approve the now-controversial lease of Chicago's parking meters to a private company.

Council members devoted a four-hour hearing to the issue Thursday after spending a mere two days in December considering and approving Mayor Richard Daley's deal to get $1.15 billion upfront from a firm that will reap revenues for the next 75 years from steep rate hikes at all 36,000 parking spots across the city.

The parking meter system's new operators botched the transition, however, leading to a public outcry. And some aldermen said Thursday that business owners in the city's wards believe higher parking fees are driving away customers.

"It's important that we get this right because it will have a damaging effect on metered retail communities, which are the lifeblood of our neighborhoods," said Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th), who's also a restaurant owner.

Better yet, check out John Kass' take on the aldermen's better late than never approach: Long-Winded Aldermen are Short on Memory:

Chicago aldermen spent hours ripping out their chest hair, one painful yank at a time, to protest Mayor Richard Daley's whopping parking meter rate increase, which they had the foresight to overwhelmingly approve a few months ago by a vote of 40-5.

OK, they didn't actually rip out their chest hairs. But they sure screeched like it.

"Utilization has fallen through the floor! We have nobody using these meters. It's not working. If you're going down Belmont, no one's parking on the street," Ald. Thomas Tunney (44th) cried at a hearing on Thursday. He was one of those who foolishly supported Daley's 2016 Olympic Dreams Hidden Parking Tax Increase.

The aldermen were all yelping the same song: No one's using the meters! They really shouldn't have approved his plan!

Anyone thinking about getting out of this meter deal, think again. From the Reader's Clout City blog:

“So how do we get out of this?” Tunney asked the city lawyers and budget officials there to testify.

Their answer: we don’t.

As city attorney Jim McDonald explained, the agreement doesn’t specify any process for “unilateral termination.” “We’d have to negotiate it,” he said. Which means that the tab for tearing the deal up would would almost certainly exceed the $1.157 billion the city got to outsource the meters.

So Chicago Aldermen, what did we learn?

“This is the worst deal I’ve ever seen, but never again—it’s taught us something.”

Which brings me to my next point: Only 11 aldermen have signaled their support for Alderman Manny Flores' ordinance that will cap Chicago taxpayers' liability for the Olympic games at $500 million.

That's 12 aldermen total. We need that number to get up to 26. It better get up to 26. I don't know how the city can even guarantee $500 million when our budget looks the way it looks, with no relief in sight.

For now, you can congratulate these aldermen for having a functioning brain: Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward), Leslie Hairston (5th Ward), Freddrenna Lyle (6th Ward), Sandi Jackson (7th Ward), Willie Cochran (20th Ward), Ricardo Munoz (22nd Ward), Sharon Dixon (24th Ward), Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward), Richard Mell (33rd Ward), Eugene Schulter (47th Ward), Joe Moore (49th Ward).

If you don't see your alderman on this list, call him/her and ask why.

Never again, City Council? Haven't you learned by now?
Prove it.

DALEY FACING ASSAULT OF OLYMPIC PROPORTIONS

The attacks on Daley are coming from everywhere! Inspector General David Hoffman, Aldermen, Tony Peraica, No Games Chicago, and average citizens are stepping up and piling on with questions about the true costs of the Olympics in Chicago as Daley continues to fumble his way through this IOC contract situation. I love it.

And now, Alderman Howard Brookins is again pushing for a Wal-Mart in his ward, even after that big-box minimum wage veto Daley pulled awhile back. This Wal-Mart thing certainly doesn't help Daley's dealings with the city's unions, which are facing layoffs as the prospect of the Olympics creeps ever closer.

Big-Box Measure Returns to Chicago City Council:

With the city facing a $300 million budget shortfall and unemployment among African Americans topping 20 percent, Brookins said it makes no sense to block a $64 million project that would create 600 full- and part-time jobs.

Daley has said Brookins' request "is not gonna fly" because Wal-Mart backers "don't have enough votes." The mayor is reluctant to pick a fight with organized labor before the International Olympic Committee's Oct. 2 vote on a host city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

But Brookins said, "We can't wait for the Olympics. People are dying now. People are starving now. People are in stores now. There is no convenient time. There's never gonna be a perfect time. If we cannot stand up for the people in the worst economic downturn since the Depression, when can we stand up for people?"

Chicago Federation of Labor President Dennis Gannon told the Chicago Sun-Times last week that City Council approval of a second Chicago Wal-Mart would complicate negotiations aimed at crafting a package of union concessions needed to avert 1,504 city layoffs scheduled to take effect July 15.

"How in the world could they bring that up in the middle of what we're trying to do?" Gannon said of the union givebacks.

Besides a potential battle over Wal-Mart, Crain's is chiming in on the risks involved with Chicago's proposed Olympic Village: The Next Olympic Landmine

As aldermen prepare to debate whether to put Chicago on the hook for any operating losses from the 2016 Olympics, the construction of a $1-billion athletes village poses a far greater potential risk to city finances.

With as many as 3,000 units, the proposed South Side housing complex is the single costliest item in the $4.8-billion Olympics budget. Chicago expects private developers to pick up the construction tab, betting that they'll profit by converting the buildings to apartments and condominiums afterward.

But if Chicago is chosen to host the games, the city will have no choice but to cover any construction costs the private sector won't. That's what happened in London and Vancouver, which are slated to host the next two Olympics and had to write big checks when private funding for athletes villages collapsed.

And finally, there's an interesting post about this assault on Daley over at the Reader's blog Clout City: The Olympic Games Have Already Begun

The controversy over funding for the Olympics is hardly about funding for the Olympics anymore. It’s about whether Mayor Daley still gets to say and do whatever he wants.
...

In the past Mayor Daley has always survived his tough spots by letting his critics lose their nerve, get distracted, or simply self-destruct. The difference this time is that there are a whole lot more of them, and each day thousands are reminded of why they’re pissed off when they pull into a public parking space.

Now, if any of this will make a difference is yet to be seen. What Daley wants, Daley gets. But here's hoping that adage changes now. It started with the parking meter mess and is continuing with the Olympics. All I have to say is, I hope these constant attacks on Mayor Dick continue. Let's not lose our nerve, get distracted, or self-destruct. Daley's counting on it. Instead, let's help Mayor Daley lose his nerve, get distracted, and self-destruct. Then, maybe he will end up right where he belongs - behind bars.

CITY COUNCIL WANTS DETAILS. WHEN DO THEY WANT THEM? NOW!

Looks like some of our aldermen, still hurting from the parking meter mess, are getting all rebellious on King Daley. And their little secret meetings with the Chicago 2016 did nothing to help. They plan to hire - get this - independent experts to evaluate the Olympic insurance policies as well as the Olympic construction budget. What a novel idea, huh?

“If, through their own-foot dragging, they don’t present us with information in time for us to conduct an independent analysis, I would have no choice but to vote the entire package down. The old, ‘Trust me’ just won’t fly anymore,” [Alderman Joe] Moore said.

Ald. Willie Cochran (20th) said the City Council is bolder and wiser after the furor caused by broken, overstuffed and improperly calibrated parking meters and the steep schedule of rate hikes tied to the 75-year lease.

“We have been bitten by the lack of information from this past fiasco. I’ve learned early. Everybody has learned. We are taking those mistake-ridden decisions and moving forward,” Cochran said.

“I never want to be in a position ever again to be held accountable for making a vote on something without having adequate input.”

That's right aldermen, you are allowed to demand answers when taxpayer money is involved. You don't have to just blindly support whatever the mayor proposes. You can even use independent analysis. Like big boys and girls. Now go do your homework. Or no dessert for you.

MORE EVIDENCE THAT DALEY REALLY DICKED US WITH THIS PARKING METER LEASE

As if we didn't need another reason to hate Daley's parking meter lease. Now, a new study shows the City Gave up Control of Streets in Meter Privatization:

Although the city is free to remove meters or change rates and hours of operations, Chicago Parking Meters LLC must be compensated for the loss of revenue at a rate that assumes “a car were parked in the space for 24-hours-a-day in the Central Business District,” the study said.

“This means that every potential project on a street with meters — including bus rapid transit, bicycle lanes, sidewalk expansion, streetscaping, pedestrian bulb-outs, loading zones, rush-hour parking control, mid-block crossing and temporary open spaces — are dictated, controlled and limited by parking meters,” the study said.

“These restrictions severely limit innovative planning for bicyclists, pedestrian and transit users. The loss of the potential for bus rapid transit on most streets over the next 75 years is one of the most disappointing losses.”

Of course, this information shouldn't be surprising to anyone with a brain. But it does show why it is important for our city council to stop and think things through before signing away a city asset. Now we are stuck with little control over parking policy. For 75 years. Awesome.

It's not like Daley and the City Council weren't aware of parking and road use issues all over the city. There's been talk about all sorts of road improvements for years. And these improvements are necessary to make roads safer and quicker for pedestrians, buses, and bikes. Now, I wonder if these things will ever happen. And if so, how much more will these improvements cost us?

Kind of pokes a hole in Daley's justification for this lease - that the city shouldn't be in the parking meter business. Of course it should be...parking meters are an integral part of parking policy. Besides, I always thought the city did a great job managing parking, at least from a revenue perspective...you know, all those bright orange souvenirs they leave on our cars.

Thanks to the Active Transportation Alliance for this study. Now everyone go yell at Daley and the City Council. Rescind. The. Lease. Now.

DALEY'S WORD IS LAW. THE REST IS JUST DETAILS

More on this Olympic insurance plan we've been hearing so much about. We get to hear a lot about it, but no one gets to see any details until Daley is ready: Chicago's 2016 Olympic Bid: Aldermen may not get details on city's revised bid for another two months

After Mayor Richard Daley triggered furious reactions last week by saying the city would take full financial responsibility for hosting a 2016 Summer Games, he promised to bring the details to the City Council for further discussion.

But the head of Chicago's bid team said Monday that information about the city's revised financial guarantees may not be disclosed for two months while additional insurance coverage is arranged.

"We can't go to the City Council today," bid team leader Patrick Ryan said at a press briefing Monday. "We'd look like dummies because we don't have it all complete."

Nah, the only ones that look like dummies are the Chicago citizens that continue to tolerate this shit. I've given up being outraged. Now I just laugh.

More over at Clout City: Deja vu all over again

So let’s recap: Behind closed doors the administration crafted a complicated ordinance that has a big impact on city life and the municipal budget, then presented it to aldermen for hasty approval. After little debate the aldermen complied. Some time later the full implications came to light, and aldermen became furious that they were blindsided. When pressed, the administration still didn't say exactly what it’s up to. Aldermen, facing unhappy voters in their wards, threatened to get angry and do something about it.

Just another day in Chicago I guess. I'm laughing a lot these days.

WTD PRESENTS: HISTORY LESSON - MIKE ROYKO AND RICHARD J. DALEY

If you don't know who Mike Royko is, please leave this blog and never come back. I kid. Seriously though, please familiarize yourself:

But where Daley often drew on the worst side of ethnic Chicago--its tolerance of corruption, its parochialism and racial prejudice--Royko spoke to its better instincts. A neighborhood populist, he celebrated the corner tavern and the weekend softball game. But Royko also challenged white Chicago's prejudices, skewering bigots who tried to keep a white couple that had adopted a black baby out of their neighborhood or a funeral parlor that didn't want to bury a black soldier killed in Vietnam. In the column he wrote the day after Harold Washington became the first black person elected mayor of Chicago, Royko began with one of his inimitable openings, "So I told Uncle Chester: Don't worry, Harold Washington doesn't want to marry your sister."

You can think of Royko as the original John Kass, a constant thorn in the side of Mayor Richard J. Daley, the original Chicago Boss.




















Check out this classic column by Royko. The more things change, the more they stay the same...or as Alderman Mathias "Paddy" Bauler said in 1955, "Chicago ain't ready for a reform mayor."

What's Behind Daley's Words? (February 16, 1973)

Several theories have arise as to what Mayor Daley really meant a few days ago when he said: "If they don't like it, they can kiss my ass."

On the surface, it appeared that the mayor was merely admonishing those who would dare question the royal favors he has bestowed upon his sons, Prince Curly, Prince Larry, and Prince Moe.

But it can be a mistake to accept the superficial meaning of anything the mayor says.

The mayor can be a subtle man. And as Earl Bush, his press secretary, once put it after the mayor was quoted correctly: "Don't print what he said. Print what he meant."

So many observers believe the true meaning of the mayor's remarkable kissing invitation may be more than skin deep.

One theory is that he would like to become sort of the Blarney Stone of Chicago.

As the stone legend goes, if a person kisses Ireland's famous Blarney Stone, which actually exists, he will be endowed with the gift of oratory.

And City Hall insiders have long known that the kind of kiss Daley suggested can result in the gift of wealth.

People from all over the world visit Blarney Castle so they can kiss the chunk of old limestone and thus become glib, convincing talkers.

So, too, might people flock to Chicago in hopes that kissing "The Daley" might bring them unearned wealth. Daley, or at least his bottom, might become one of the great tourist attractions of the nation.

The Blarney Stone has become part of the living language in such everyday phrases as "You're giving me a lot of blarney."

That could happen here too. People who make easy money might someday be described as "really having the gift of the Daley bottom."

And here is Royko's tribute to King Richard I:

If ever a man reflected a city, it was Richard J. Daley and Chicago.

In some ways, he was this town at its best -- strong, hard-driving, working feverishly, pushing, building, driven by ambitions so big they seemed Texas-boastful.

In other ways, he was this city at its worst -- arrogant, crude, conniving, ruthless, suspicious, intolerant.

He wasn't graceful, suave, witty or smooth. But, then, this is not Paris or San Francisco.

He was raucous, sentimental, hot-tempered, practical, simple, devious, big and powerful. This is, after all, Chicago.

Sometimes, the very same Daley performance could be seen as both outrageous and heroic. It depended on whom you asked for an opinion.

Don't feel too bad for Mayor Richard J. Daley. Royko was hard on the aldermen too:

I've always enjoyed Chicago's aldermen, and I believe that if they went away the city would be a much poorer place for their absence. Just how much poorer, I didn't know, because it would depend on how much you can stuff in a suitcase.

ALDERMAN FLORES IS MAD AND HE'S NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE

via Progress Illinois



You might be onto something here Manny. Keep it up.

CHICAGO OLYMPICS? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO. NO!

Wow. The Chicago Tribune has three articles addressing Mayor Daley's lies about Chicago taxpayers' liability for the Olympics games. Of course, the Tribune still endorses the Olympics in Chicago, even as evidence mounts that Mayor Daley and his band of crooked cronies cannot finish anything on budget and without lining their own pockets at our expense. I'd respect the Trib a lot more if they didn't support the mayor's Olympic dreams at all. But I guess this is as good as we are gonna get.

First, the Tribune's editorial board urges the City Council to do its job: An Olympic Accounting

Yo! City Council! Step in. The city's entire Olympic bid needs a slow and careful vetting in your chambers.

This financial commitment is an extremely critical issue. The Chicago Olympic bid has a $4.8 billion budget for construction and operations, and it projects a profit. But recent experience in other cities shows that Olympic costs can skyrocket in stunning fashion. The 2012 Games in London are expected to cost nearly three times as much as first budgeted.

Then, there's this one: Mayor Richard Daley's Decision to OK IOC Contract Puts Taxpayers in Deep End of Olympic Pool

Daley did this because he can. He now plans to tolerate an actual discussion of the Olympic contract in a City Council meeting sometime soon. That debate will have all the suspense of a People's Assembly debate over whether to send birthday best wishes to dear leader Kim Jong Il.

Now, Daley's second-in-command on the Olympic bid, retired insurance czar Ryan, is asking everyone not to worry.

That's what London's organizers said before they spent four times their original budget. Beijing's organizers exceeded the original budget by a factor of 10. The Athens Games' runaway $17.6 billion in spending helped boost the entire nation's budget deficit to 6 percent of Greece's gross domestic product.

Chicago 2016 will be different, we are told. The Chicago Games would have to log a $1.75 billion operating loss before bill collectors tapped into the taxpayers' treasury.

That would happen, said Sir Patrick of Ryan, only "if everyone was so inept that we go over" those guarantees.

Gross ineptitude? In Chicago? Not here in the land of the ill-considered parking project. Not here where Millennium Park came in at more than three times its original budget, and O'Hare's expansion is headed in that direction.

And finally: Olympics Funding: City Council in No Mood for Games

"I don't know where he gets the authority to do that," said Ald. Brian Doherty (41st). "We're supposed to be the watchdogs of the budget, and they've been very arrogant in doing whatever they want and not consulting us."

Ald. Manny Flores (1st), who plans to introduce an ordinance prohibiting the city from spending more than $500 million to cover any operating losses, said that "there has to be greater transparency on this."
...

"The whole thing needs a public hearing, no doubt about it," said Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd). "In light of ongoing scandals and corruption issues, it erodes the confidence of citizens of this city in its government and the aspect of having the Olympics."

I'm not sure my confidence in the mayor's ability to accomplish anything without corruption and scandal could be eroded any more than it already is Alderman Fioretti. But you hold that public hearing City Council. I'm sure all you aldermen will approve whatever the mayor wants, just as you always do. Your "defiance" is just a show. And then the city can lay off a bunch of city workers, cut services, and still not plug our $300 budget deficit, while in the meantime the mayor sits on an enormous TIF treasure chest created solely by our property taxes, just waiting for the Olympic spending spree to begin. I dunno, maybe the mayor can raise our taxes (again) and write more parking tickets to make up the difference.

ALDERMEN QUESTION DALEY'S NEW OLYMPIC GUARANTEE

Following up on an earlier post about the mayor's new guarantee that we will foot the bill for any and all financial losses from the Olympic games...

With newfound boldness stemming from the parking meter mess, it seems some aldermen are continuing their interest in doing the job we elected them to do...they are actually questioning the mayor and his tyrannical quest for the Olympics. (Gasp!) Way to earn those $100K salaries guys! I am SO proud of you.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

They argued that Daley has “no authority” to sign the host-city contract without Council approval.

“This is a big deal. He’s planning to sign an agreement that puts the city on the hook for an unlimited amount of money,” said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).

“Let them come before the City Council and explain to us why this is a safe bet for taxpayers. They can tell us they have insurance. They can make all the arguments they want to make. But, as elected representatives closest to the votes, we need to have a say in this. This is something that recent events have made all too clear. We need to exercise our authority as a check and balance on the mayor’s office.”

After the fiasco caused by Daley’s $1.15 billion decision to lease Chicago’s 36,000 parking meters, aldermen can’t afford to sit back, according to Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd).

“They made guarantees, and none of those guarantees have come true on the parking meter deal. I don’t think the Council will buy his guarantee of, ‘Don’t worry. There’s multiple layers of guarantees here,’” Waguespack said.

“The Council needs to be part of this process. The mayor’s office and 2016 needs to show us what those guarantees are and what taxpayers are on the hook for ... .I have no information right now that proves to me these backstops are genuine.”

I'm waiting to see what - if anything - the full City Council does about this. I'm sure they will still sign on to foot the bill for the Olympics, even as we face a growing budget deficit - $300 million and counting. But it is nice to finally see some aldermen asserting their rightful position as a check on the mayor's monstrous power.

Now maybe it's our turn to let the Mayor know how we feel. Or as Ben Joravsky at the Chicago Reader put it:

I've long thought that the Olympic bid is a cruel joke Mayor Daley is playing on his constituents--to see how much nonsense we'll swallow before we throw up. It looks like our tolerance is endless. How else to explain why folks aren't taking to the streets to stop this lunacy?

NOT THIS VANECKO THING AGAIN!

Yes, more news on the Vanecko city pension scandal.

First, a little history regarding the Vanecko family and their ties to the city...with some Mike Royko thrown in for good measure: Mayor Daley...His Nephew Problem...and Mike Royko

[Royko] was writing about another generation of Vaneckos and Daleys and a disease he called "payrolliaitis."

"It isn't anything that would show up through scientific testing," wrote Royko in 1965, "but Mayor Richard J. Daley is a carrier of a fast-spreading germ . . . called payrolliaitis. The symptoms are easy to spot. A person gets close to the mayor. Crunch -- the payrolliaitis bug nips him. He wanders off in the direction of a city, state or county agency, sits down at a desk, and his name breaks out on a payroll."

Royko was talking about the hiring of Robert Vanecko's grandfather, Dr. Michael Vanecko, whose son married the late mayor's daughter. Shortly before the wedding, that Vanecko went to work for the Chicago Board of Health. And later, his son, Dr. Robert Vanecko, was hired as the physician for the city's municipal pension fund. And now today we have the third generation, as his son, another Robert Vanecko, lands a $68 million deal with -- what else -- city pension funds. He severed all business ties with the deal only after the feds began subpoenaing records.

Also, it seems our glorious Aldermen want answers about the city's lease of one of Vanecko's buildings. So do I, city council, so do I.

Unless the city can prove it needed flexibility to get out of the lease quickly, it appears that the month-to-month lease was designed to get around the City Council, said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).

"It would seem to me that someone was trying to hide something," Moore said.

He added, "One of the reasons we have these meetings is so the public and ... media can know who's getting these leases. It begs the question why, in this particular case, it was done in what appears to be a secretive fashion. We are owed an explanation."

Anthony Pascente a spokesman for the city's Department of General Services, did not return repeated phone calls on the lease.

Despite weeks of questions from the Chicago Sun-Times, City Hall yet to produce a lease document or invoices to justify the monthly payments, at a rate of $3.83-per-square foot for 70,565 square feet of space, 20 percent of the warehouse.

You're right Joe Moore, someone IS trying to hide something from us and we ARE owed an explanation. Maybe you and your 49 friends could do something about that. In the meantime, I'll be here waiting for that explanation...Though I'm sure if old Dick Daley ever gives one, I will not believe it. Such is life in the city of Chicago.

WTD PRESENTS: HISTORY LESSON - THE CHICAGO ALDERMANIC HALL OF FAME

With the recent indictment of Alderman Ike Carothers, I thought a little history of our beloved city council was in order.

Did you know that over the past 36 years 30 Chicago aldermen have been convicted of crimes?

Here's the list:

1. Fred Hubbard (2nd), 1973
2. Joseph Jambrone (28th), 1973
3. Casimir Staszcuk (13th), 1973
4. Joseph Potempa (23rd), 1973
5. Frank Kuta (23rd), 1974
6. Thomas E. Keane (31st), 1974
7. Paul T. Wigoda (49th), 1974
8. Donald Swinarski (12th), 1975
9. Edward T. Scholl (41st) 1975
10. Stanley Zydlo (26th), 1980
11. William Carothers (28th), 1983
12. Louis P. Farina (36th), 1983
13. Tyrone T. Kenner (3rd), 1983
14. Chester A. Kuta, (31st) 1987
15. Clifford P. Kelley (20th), 1987
16. Wallace Davis Jr. (27th), 1987
17. Perry Hutchinson (9th), 1988
18. Marian Humes (8th), 1989
19. Fred Roti (1st), 1993
20. Ambrosio Medrano (25th), 1996
21. Allan Streeter (17th), 1996
22. Joseph Martinez (31st), 1997
23. Jesse Evans (21st), 1997
24. John Madryzk (13th), 1998
25. Larry Bloom (5th), 1998
26. Virgil Jones (15th), 1999
27. Percy Giles (37th), 1999
28. James Laski (23rd), 2006.
29. Ed Vrdolyak (10th), 2008
30. Arenda Troutman (20th), 2008

via Chicago Sun-Times

photo via Chicago Tribune

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: ALDERMEN THINKING ABOUT MAYBE DOING THEIR JOBS

Parking-meter mess might pit City Council vs. Daley :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: City Hall

"Chicago's parking meter mess could be the tipping point that awakens the sleeping giant otherwise known as the City Council."

If this parking meter nonsense is what it takes to get the city council to grow a pair, maybe getting hosed on the deal was worth it. You know, that $1 billion (conservative estimate) we left on the table in exchange for a functional legislative body. Time will tell...

Shared via AddThis