MAKE A DALEY

Make your own Mayor Daley! New and improved Olympics Version.

OlympicDaley

HISTORY LESSON: MAYOR DALEY - OLYMPIC ASPIRATIONS, POLICE TORTURE IGNORE-ATIONS

There are many reasons I hate Mayor Daley. One of these reasons is that when Daley was Cook County States Attorney, he ignored Chicago Police torture under Officer Jon Burge. He could have done something to stop the torture, but he didn't.

Jon Burge, the Olympics, and Torture in Chicago:

Cmdr. Burge and his midnight crew at the city's Area 2 police station tortured more than 137 African American men over a two-decade span. In many cases, Burge and his medieval sect of detectives tortured the old-fashioned way, using nightsticks, flashlights, black jacks and telephone books. At other times they went above and beyond the call of cruelty by hand cranking a telephone box that generated an electrical current, then putting it to the genitals and rectums of the black suspects they were interrogating. Other cruel and unusual practices by Burge's "A Team" included cattle prods to the bodies and plastic bags placed over the heads.
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Accusations that Lt. Burge and officers under him were torturing prisoners into confessions have been an open secret for nearly three decades throughout much of the city and county's criminal justice system. The rumors ran rampant in the early 1980s when Mayor Daley was the Cook County state's attorney.

Police Torture and Mayor Daley:

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald finally has done what Richard M. Daley should have done 26 years ago: He has indicted retired Chicago Police Detective Jon Burge for leading a band of brutal white cops who tortured hundreds of African-American suspects in criminal cases.

It was 1982, when Daley was the state's attorney of Cook County, that he was first reliably informed -- by Chicago Police Superintendent Richard Brzeczek -- what Burge and company were doing.

What went on -- plastic bags over heads, shackling to hot radiators, gun barrels in mouths, electrical shocks to ears, nostrils and genitals, cigarette burns to arms, legs and chests -- is now well known, having been cited repeatedly in court opinions. (Even Daley, belatedly, branded the torture "a shameful episode in our history.")

A "shameful episode" but sorry, as usual, Mayor Daley doesn't know anything about it.

However, if Daley were to know something, the Chicago Reader's John Conroy posed Twenty Questions about Jon Burge and Chicago police torture that the mayor should (but won't) answer. Maybe one day, Daley will finally be forced to testify under oath about this shameful period in Chicago history. After all, he said he didn't have a problem with it:

“If they require me to be deposed, I have no problems with that,” Daley said at a news conference. But that was before the February 27 election, when one of his challengers was urging voters to “say no to the Daley/Burge team.” After the election the city’s lawyers appealed Brown’s ruling to federal judge Marvin Aspen. They argued that questioning Daley under oath was “premature and may be unnecessary”—on the grounds that busy public officials like the mayor shouldn’t be compelled to testify until all other avenues of getting the desired information have been exhausted.

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The mayor would have the public believe that he’s already been grilled on the subject. “I answered all those questions,” Daley said in February, referring to his interview with special prosecutors Edward Egan and Robert Boyle, who were appointed in 2002 by the chief judge of the criminal court to investigate the torture

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The 49-page transcript has the special prosecutors asking Daley 81 questions and the mayor answering with variations on “I don’t recall” 20 times. Magistrate Brown described the transcript as containing “little useful information.” For some perspective, consider that when state’s attorney Richard Devine, who served as Daley’s first assistant, was questioned by lawyers for Burge victims last year, the transcript ran 574 pages without exhibits.

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DALEY'S TIF TRAINWRECK

Progress Illinois has two great posts about Mayor Daley's TIF scheme and Chicago's estimated $520 million budget hole for next year. Check 'em out.

A Few Questions for Gene Saffold:

Since rolling out the bad-news budget for next year, there have been a lot of questions pointed at Chicago Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold. These include whether he's exaggerated the size of the hole in the budget (pegged at $520 million) and how money from the leases of several valuable city assets -- including the $1.15 billion parking meter deal, which was supposed to help balance the budget through 2012 -- could have possibly dried up so quickly.
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If other municipalities in Illinois can release surplus TIF funds back to local taxing bodies, why can't Chicago?

Getting Creative with Daley's TIF Network

...The property tax revenue being siphoned away from local taxing bodies through TIF has more than doubled over the past six years — from $216 million in 2002 to $570 million in 2008.

It seems ridiculous to be redirecting so much money away from the general tax base at the same time that revenues are sharply declining. Indeed, with a little creative thinking and flexibility on the part of city officials, there are several adjustments to the TIF system that could provide some relief for cash-starved taxing bodies in Chicago. In this post, we’ll examine three potential modifications: redistributing surplus funds, terminating "elderly" TIF districts, and adjusting the TIF tax base for inflation.

photo via Joe Fournier at Zanimation - check the site out for some Chicago and Mayor Daley themed cartoons

WTD PRESENTS: MAYOR DALEY RANT - DONE WITH DALEY

I've never been a fan of Mayor Daley...I run into so many native people...and they are: "That's the way government is, all government is corrupt, you just gotta get over it..he gets stuff done."...I just don't believe that is how all government is. And I don't beelive that you just have to settle for it...And how much better would our city be if it all wasn't corrupt and a bunch of money wasn't wasted.
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Hopefully he's hit a wall. Hopefully he's screwed enough people over in the last year that people will remember and maybe not re-elect the guy.
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That's one thing that's always bothered me about the guy. He's a little dictator. He does what he wants in Chicago. And the aldermen rubberstamp his stuff or he literally just does stuff and never has to be held to account for it.
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Get rid of the King. This is not good democracy in any way, shape, or form. Because this is not democracy. That's really the truth.

There you have it, another Mayor Daley Rant from a Stranger.

Do you have a Mayor Daley Rant? Are you a Stranger? If you have something to say about Mayor Daley or Chicago politics in general, email me your thoughts. I will be happy to publish your rant here at Welcome to Daleyland.

VIOLENCE IN DALEYTOPIA

There's trouble in Daleytopia!

In the month of July, more than 200 people were shot in Chicago. 42 of these people died. And, as Second City Cop points out:

31 shootings happened within a mile of Washington Park - Daley's choice for the Opening and Closing ceremonies.

Lost suburbanites can't make it home without being injured or killed when gangbangers ram their car.

Men can't walk home alone in Lincoln Park/Lakeview without being jumped, beaten, and mugged.

People's little dogs are being killed by burglars.

And we pay Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis $300,000 per year to run the Chicago Police Department into the ground.

When Weis was hired last November to clean up the Police Department, Daley justified his top salary by saying the former FBI agent would be wearing two hats: those of top cop and chief emergency officer.

"This man could go anyplace within the FBI," Daley said at the time. "He could go outside. I'm very responsible paying him that much money -- both for being [police superintendent] and for homeland security [chief]. . . . Yes, it's worth it."

But in July, Weis' authority to supervise response to disasters was diluted when Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco was named to head the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. Daley said Orozco, not Weis, will be calling the shots at disaster scenes.

So I was wondering, Mayor Daley, are the Olympics going to fix all this violence too (Jody Weis obviously hasn't)? Because if they're not, I really wish we could focus Chicago's efforts on the important issues - like making our city safe. And I'm talking about the entire city - North, South, and West.

Until something is done, I know where I'll be - at Mayor Daley's house. With its round-the-clock police protection, it's the safest place in Chicago. So, citizens of Chicago, if you don't feel safe in your neighborhood, head on down to Daley's house! If you're lucky, maybe the King will let you camp on the lawn of his castle.

DALEY DOESN'T KNOW. DALEY NEVER KNOWS.

So the Feds are snooping around in Mayor Daley's business again. This time, it's Chicago Public Schools. From the Chicago Tribune:

Federal authorities have launched an investigation into the admissions practices at Chicago's selective enrollment schools, the Chicago Tribune has learned.

Federal officials recently served a grand jury subpoena on Chicago Public Schools seeking information about the admissions process, sources said. Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott confirmed Saturday that the district recently received a federal subpoena, but declined to elaborate because of the investigation.

And here's Mayor Daley with his usual response:

Daley chafed today when asked if he thought clout had not played a role in admissions, saying the question was akin to asking, "Do you think anyone has sinned today?"

"I mean, I'm the mayor -- I wouldn't know whether or not," he said.

The mayor frequently likes to recall his decision to take control of the public school system in 1995 as an example of his decisive leadership.

Mayor Daley's playing his favorite game. Anything good coming out of City Hall is all because of his efforts. But when scandal after scandal pops up, it's the same line, time and time again: "I'm just the mayor, I wouldn't know about that."

Yes Dick, of course. What would you know about the management of the city? You're only the mayor.

Here's something else I bet Mayor Daley knows nothing about - more city contracts for Daley friends and campaign contributors. Laid-Off City Drivers Protest Chicago's Shift to Private Firms:

About 60 recently laid-off Chicago truck drivers picketed Friday at a city facility on the South Side, protesting that politically connected private companies are now doing work public employees performed for Mayor Richard Daley's administration.

The protesters were among 141 drivers fired last month in a cost-cutting move after their union refused to accept unpaid furlough days and a reduction in overtime pay.

Under a deal that went into effect July 1, the city hired private contractors to haul construction debris from city work sites for the Water Management Department. Among the companies chosen was Reliable Asphalt Corp., which received a $158 million, three-year contract.

Reliable owner Michael Vondra has donated tens of thousands of dollars to local politicians, including Daley, the Democratic organization in the mayor's 11th Ward power base and the pro-Daley Hispanic Democratic Organization. City records show Reliable's lobbyists on the deal are Victor Reyes, a former Hispanic Democratic Organization chairman and top mayoral aide, and David Bonoma, son of Daley's longtime secretary.

"This is the second phase of Hired Truck," said laid-off driver Alex Kantrowitz, referring to the City Hall program that was disbanded amid federal bribery charges.

PREPARE THE TAR AND FEATHERS

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OH BOY! Did you hear how the city of Chicago's budget sounds for next year? $520 Million in the hole. And you thought this year's $300 million budget gap was bad. Yikes. From the Sun-Times:

Even after wringing concessions from organized labor and drying up a "rainy day" fund created by privatizing parking meters, Chicago has a $519.7 million budget shortfall in 2010 that can only be filled with tax increases and spending cuts.

"There are no obvious sources of revenue that have not already been tapped," said Civic Federation President Laurence Msall.

"You have to make very severe and structural cuts in the city's operating budget. City government is going to be forced to re-invent itself in the way it delivers services and eliminates services not critical."

Msall was also quoted as saying:

"You have to look at personnel and personnel reductions because they represent 80 to 85 percent of the operating costs," said Laurence Msall, executive director of the Civic Federation.

Significant new taxes are unlikely, Msall added. "There is little that comes to mind that the city isn't already taxing or would be a new revenue source," he said.

Will Daley hold the line on taxes and fees? Are more layoffs coming? I'm not holding my breath. Daley cutting the fat from the city payroll is something I have to see to believe. I really won't be surprised to see Daley raising our taxes and fees. AGAIN. Seems pretty inevitable, right?

Chief Financial Officer Gene Saffold said nothing is ruled out. But, the mayor has instructed his staff to avoid a property tax increase at all costs.

"We understand people are hurting out there. ... The last thing we want to do ... is to further burden the citizens of Chicago. That's why that is a last resort -- the last thing that we'll turn to," he said.

Last resort? Do you believe him? I don't. Is he really going to cut $520 million from city employees alone? There is just no way that happens. He can call a tax increase a last resort if he wants. I'll just call it another day in Daleyland. After all, we've heard this before: Only One Choice - Raise Taxes.























photo by Johnye West

Some people think there's nothing left for Daley to tax. But not me. King Daley always finds a way to get more money out of his lowly subjects. So prepare your bank accounts for further assault in 2010.

I'm definitely on the look out for the city to step up its creative revenue game. Like parking tickets, towing, and red light cameras. Check out this great rant:

So beyond this, we got to talking about other ridiculous revenue streams in her area. She said she was always curious about why they did so much street sweeping in her area. One would think it would be expensive to always have the street sweeper out there, right? Nope. They tried to cut back on street sweeping, but it didn't work; THEY NEEDED THE REVENUE they get from giving out parking tickets.

Look, I never took an economics class in my life, but even I know that if your budget relies on FUCKING YOUR TAX-PAYING CITIZENS WITH BULLSHIT TICKETS to survive, something is FUCKING WRONG WITH YOUR BUDGET. No matter what social programs and bullshit spending you WANT the government to do, the money for it HAS TO COME FROM SOMEWHERE. If that somewhere is "cops give out more tickets for people who commit non-dangerous and piddly offenses", like parking in a street sweeping area or jaywalking or all this other bullshit that people insist is for "safety" but is really just a revenue stream, something has to change. I can't believe people don't see this. Especially the people in positions of power, people who get paid a significant amount to come up with a budget that makes sense and is feasible. When that budget includes something like "have a street sweeper out there (which, for what it's worth, is probably burning more fuel per mile than a Hummer does in a month, considering how slow they go) twice a week so we can ticket people who park on the street", no one looks at it and says "hey, maybe that's not the best way to get revenue?" NO ONE?!

Fuck is the system broken.

MAYOR DALEY, BEARS FAN

I came across this video via the blog Drunk Bears Fans.

If I didn't know any better, I would say this is video depicts a drunk and shirtless Mayor Daley yelling some nonsense at a Bears game.

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.

CHICAGO IS BROKE BUT MAYOR DALEY'S GOT $1.4 BILLION

What's so funny Mayor Daley?

Oh, right. You're having your way with the citizens of Chicago. And the gettin's good. You raised our taxes and fees. You laid off city workers and forced countless others to take unpaid days off. Your police department is insanely understaffed. You claim the city of Chicago has no money. But you're still tenaciously pursuing the Olympics. And somewhere, someplace sits a whole lot of money - OUR money, NOT yours - from the leases of the Skyway, the parking garages under Grant/Millennium Park, and the parking meters. You claim you're saving this money for a rainy day. I'm not sure how much more stormy it can get. Didn't you hear?...This is the worst economy since the Great Depression.

And now, comes word of the 2008 TIF report. No Games Chicago reports you are sitting on $1.4 billion dollars:

TIFs have sucked $3.1 billion out of the city’s budget from 1986 through 2007. They have been used, abused and mis-construed. The Mayor demands them from Aldermen in order to get any improvements in the communities. They are like money-draining zombies that can’t be killed and continue draining property taxes out of a neighborhood for decades, no mater why they were started and regardless if they help or hurt local improvements.

So. Mayor Daley and your assorted minions, can you please stop threatening us with your lack of alternate plans for economic development. Stop telling us “It’s the Olympics or nothing.” Release the $1.4 billion from your TIF slush fund and fix our schools, expand CTA service, re-open the shuttered public health clinics and create real, sustainable and equitable community economic development!

So forgive me, Mayor Daley, while I continue not to believe you when you speak about the financial state of this city and say that the Olympics are our only hope.

Thanks to your parking meter debacle and your Olympic nonsense, people are finally catching on. They don't trust you and your henchmen. They are fed up with your corruption and greed. And they can't wait to see your house of cards tumble to the ground.

But don't take my word for it.

The Provocateur: Mayor Daley + Olympics = Gasoline + Fire

The 2016 Olympics will guarantee billions, if not, tens of billions in contracts that the city will have to dole out for construction, security, street cleaning, etc. There is already a standard operating procedure for how these sorts of contracts get doled out now. They go to Daley's friends, admirers, and allies. Only now the budget is infinitesimal compared to what it will be if the Olympics comes here.

Bringing the Olympics to Chicago will allow a corrupt mayor to run the city in the same corrupt manner only with an exponential new sets of resources, responsibilities, and powers. Is that really what the city wants? That seems to me to be pouring gasoline on top of a fire.

Mayor Daley AKA Little Lord Fauntleroy, brought to you by my favorite YouTuber.

I hope Richie Daley is realizing that he could get hauled away in handcuffs too. You know, this guy's got a thick skull. And I don't know if anything can penetrate this guy's thick skull. But I hope for his sake he's realizing it. Judging by his actions, I don't think he is.

photo by Johnye West

Little Daley Fauntleroy. What an accurate description. Just in case you don't know, Wikipedia says:

Little Lord Fauntleroy is most often used as a term of derision. It describes a pompous spoiled brat, usually a young male, who takes his wealth and privilege for granted.

ILLINOIS LAST IN GOOD GOVERNMENT GAME

According to a report by the government watchdog group Good Jobs First, Illinois ranks last (with a score of ZERO) among all states when it comes to transparency in implementing the Federal Government's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act ("ARRA").

The Good Jobs First study examines the quality and quantity of disclosure by official state websites on the many ways ARRA funding is flowing through state governments to communities, organizations and individuals. Looking at both spending programs and individual projects, it evaluates the general ARRA websites that all states have created as well as their website reporting specifically on ARRA highway projects. Based on ten different criteria, each state (and the District of Columbia) is graded twice on a scale of 0 to 100.

Another fine moment for the fine state of Illinois.

THE DECEITFUL DICK DALEY

Are Mayor Daley and Pat Ryan lying to you about the Olympics?

Fox News Chicago asked [deceit specialist] Perry Myers of MSI Detective Services to review footage of 2016 Committee chair Pat Ryan and Mayor Daley claiming that taxpayers would not have to pay for the 2016 Olympics. After analyzing tells of deception, evasion and untruthfullness, Perry concludes "I would be highly skeptical and would look into this much further."

Daley's gestures are equally revealing. Watch him in this press conference in 2007.

DALEY: "The Olympics must not be a burden to taxpayers of Chicago, Illinois."

Did you notice any unusual movement? "He touched the side of his face one time. It's an unusual gesture. When you bring your hand up to your face, normal would be two, three, four times scratching...He may have been holding something inside or not telling the truth or not telling all the truth.

Perry is also intrigued by Daley's actions when our crew caught him at the airport after promising in Switzerland he would sign the IOC contract.

DALEY: "All the cities that were represented and the Japanese, Spain, and Brazil, they spent all their taxpayers' money. We don't spend any taxpayer money."

"He's blinking a lot. Again there are a few words that were jumbled up. We're not getting 100% disclosure...I would be highly skeptical and look into this further and want to examine things."

DALEY IS FOR REALS ABOUT FURLOUGHS

Mayor Daley is apparently aware that we all know how cushy those government jobs are. From the Sun-Times:

Referring to the furlough frenzy sweeping the public and private sectors, he said, “Everybody should do it. It’s incumbent on government because taxpayers pay for your salary, pension and health care. They pay a lot. ... They’re saying, ‘You don’t pay anything for your health care? I have to pay for your pension?’ People are really focussing on this — more so in government than anything else.”

And so, Daley is ordering all sorts of city employees to take unpaid days off. Just look at that bloated city payroll:

*1,440 CPS employees in the administrative and central office group will be required to take six unpaid holidays.

*312 CTA employees who are managers or above, and other employees who earn more than $90,000, will be required to take three unpaid holidays. Twenty-six vice presidents also will take three additional furlough days.

*14 top officials at City Colleges of Chicago will take three unpaid holidays and three furlough days and 369 City Colleges employees will forego raises.

*46 Chicago Park District managers making $90,000 or more will be required to take five unpaid holidays and three days when city government shuts down.

*84 CHA directors and above earning more than $90,000 will take six unpaid holidays.

*10 Public Building Commission senior staff members will take five unpaid holidays.

DALEY DOES THE INTERNETS

Another good post at Progress Illinois starring 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores on WTTW's Chicago Tonight - Ald. Flores: Olympics Transparency "Has a Long Ways to Go":

FLORES: I'm not going to wait, I'll tell you that Carol. I'm not going to wait until the end of a fiscal year or a calendar year before I get information so I can distribute it to the citizens of the city of Chicago. And so I will say this -- I don't know why we have to make this harder than it really is. Given the way technology is, you see the federal government they have a mandate right now with the way that they use the money from the Recovery Act. Why not adopt the same principles? Why not adopt the same principles of the Asset Disclosure Act? Now we require that assets be posted online with the revenue that we generate through asset lease and to provide a line-by-line itemization of how that money's being used. Why not require that we put other information, perhaps statements of ethics, online?

Yo Daley and Chicago 2016...you ever heard of the Internets? Rumor has it, you can post all kinds of information on the Internets. And then millions and millions of people can access that information. And oh my god, wouldn't you know it, you can even do it for free.

Wait, you wouldn't want to keep people from knowing all about your Olympic shenanigans, would you? Oh right, that would be "inappropriate to talk about."

Come on Mayor Daley, it's 2009! The Internets. Learn it. Use it. Love it.

OLYMPIC VILLAGE DEMOLITION: CONTRACTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

So, last week, it began. The city officially awarded contracts to winning bidders for the demolition of the Michael Reese Hospital campus to make way for the Olympic Village. This being Chicago, it is important to take a look at who these winning bidders are, and also, whose campaign war chests these bidders have contributed to. And Reform Cook County has done just that: Follow the Money of Olympic Demolition Crew. Check it out.

And, if you are ever interested in learning a little bit more about who is donating money to Mayor Daley or who is getting city contracts, check out these websites:

CityPayments.org

A database of all vendors, contracts, and payments that have been posted by the municipal government of the City of Chicago to the Vendor, Contract, and Payment Search lookup tool maintained by the Department of Procurement Services.

Crain's Mayor Daley's Contributions Database (browse by Employer, Occupation, Contribution, Type, Date, State, Zip Code)

Using data filed by Mr. Daley's campaign committee with the Illinois State Board of Elections, Crain's created a searchable database of the Mayor's contributions going back to 1999.

MAYOR DALEY'S DALEYTOPIA

A great post over at the blog In the Loop. For anyone that thinks Mayor Daley has made Chicago all flowery beautiful, please put down the kool-aid, leave your pretty little neighborhood, and go see the rest of the city for yourself. Or, check out the video Mayor Daley's Chicago for a glimpse.

Mayor Daley's Chicago

OLYMPICS DEBATE HITS NATIONAL STAGE

Did you see the New York Times piece on Mayor Daley and his Olympic dreams? It seems the national media has caught wind of the local opposition that has taken hold with Daley's promise to sign Chicago taxpayers up for an unlimited monetary guarantee for the Olympics. Recession Shadowing Chicago Bid for Games:

To hear Ms. Healey and other bid leaders tell it, there is no downside...Organizers say private financial support is mounting, with $60 million raised so far for the bid, and no city dollars are expected to be needed for either the bid or the Games.

On that last point, however, residents of Chicago seem skeptical. They have heard promises before.

This spring, a $1.15 billion deal to privatize the city’s parking meter system turned into a fiasco after City Hall’s inspector general called it a dubious financial deal and after motorists said they poured money into fancy new meters that, in turn, spat out error messages. A few years ago, Millennium Park, a downtown centerpiece, opened behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget.

“You all are projecting we’re going to make a lot of money,” a resident, Robin Kaufman, told Olympics planners at a neighborhood meeting, one in a series intended to shore up support. “But the bankers were projecting they were going to make a lot of money. Bernie Madoff was predicting he was going to make a lot of money.”

Ms. Kaufman lifted a sign that read, “No Blank Checks.”

At a high school auditorium on the West Side, where the bid leaders showed glossy Olympics schematics and stood beside toned former Olympians, Stephanie Patton asked, “Why should we trust you?”

A big thank you to the New York Times for their attention to this matter. (And thanks also for mentioning the parking meter mess and Millennium Park.) Hopefully the IOC is paying attention as well.

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.

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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?!

THE CHICAGO WAY IS THE CORRUPT WAY

Confirming what many of us already know, Chicago takes the cake when it comes to political corruption. But the Sun-Times had to go ahead and ask: Is Illinois the Most Corrupt State?

With 42 agents, the Windy City outpaces New York and Los Angeles and is second in the nation only to Washington, D.C., in the number of FBI agents investigating public corruption...

Why are there so many corruption agents in Chicago?

"We have a lot of work," Chicago's FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We've made it a priority to try and have an impact on what has been a historical problem in this state and this city. We're trying to have a significant impact on the way things are done."

Grant is the special agent who, in announcing the corruption charges against since-ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich last December, told the world that if Illinois "isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it is one hell of a competitor."

So far, the impact of his office's work has been slow in coming, he said.

"I keep seeing the same kind of crime," Grant said. "There's a casual acceptance of corruption in Chicago. It's significant here, it has always been significant here. I don't just mean politicians. I mean business people. There's a culture in this state that believes the only way to do business is to delve into the corrupt areas."

And, with that ringing endorsement, all Chicago citizens can hold their heads high. We finally found a way to beat New York and Los Angeles at something. When it comes to corruption, we are are no Second City. We are #1, grade A, gold medal, first place C-O-R-R-U-P-T.

Corrupt

a: morally degenerate and perverted : depraved
b: characterized by improper conduct (as bribery or the selling of favors)

And really, that is nothing to be proud of.