Wednesday, September 10, 2008
News / Clout City Watch your words
Posted by Mick Dumke on 09.10.08 at 07:43 PM
Evidence that the agenda for Wednesday’s City Council meeting was relatively light could be found in the first question asked of Mayor Daley at a press conference afterward.
"Mr. Mayor, Alderman Fioretti has proposed a ban on metal baseball bats at Park District facilities and the schools because of the injuries that seem to be more prevalent with baseballs hit from those bats. What do you think of that?"
The mayor seemed to be prepared for this question and didn’t hesitate before looking right at the reporter and answering. "Well, I think especially they’re going to be looking at the number of lawsuits that get filed with things like that. Like with anything else you have to be careful with what type of things you’re using. You know, baseball. So you have to look at it very carefully."
Several of the journalists cast questioning looks at each other. One decided to ask for clarification: Does that mean the mayor would support an ordinance like this?
"Well, I don’t know. You have to find out. You don’t want any child to be injured, so you have to look at it very carefully."
The mayor called on someone else.
“Alderman Burke wants to ban texting while driving,” the reporter said. “What do you think of that?”
Granted, all but about a half hour of the two-hour council meeting had been taken up by speeches honoring local Olympic athletes and the heroic deeds of police officers and firefighters, with the last 30 minutes reserved for aye votes on bonds, zoning amendments, traffic regulations, and the like. But it’s not as if the city doesn’t have any problems that need addressing, and in the council lounge many of the aldermen who weren’t talking up Barack Obama’s chances were quietly discussing the city’s lousy budget prognosis and wondering how much they would have to cut or tax.
In August budget officials predicted Chicago’s deficit would grow to hundreds of millions of dollars by the end of next year and vowed to keep every option for confronting it on the table. Aldermen say they’ve only been told to expect layoffs as well as delays or cancellations of their menu items--the alley repaving, traffic light installations, and other small capital projects they select on their own. They obviously aren’t happy about either possibility, since they expect the layoffs to delay service delivery and the postponements to reduce opportunities for impressing voters. One is even murmuring about asking Mayor Daley to cut some of his own beloved programs, like flower planting.
So far, though, city officials haven’t said what they intend to do, and while the mayor shared lots of ideas about lots of issues at his press conference, he didn’t say squat about dealing with the budget shortfall.
"You can’t be using your phone while driving," he said in firm support, more or less, of the proposed text-messaging ban. “So whatever, you can’t, no, especially using one-hand driving is very dangerous.”
Another reporter asked Daley what he thought of the possibility of the state leasing the lottery for an infusion of cash. Amid a lengthy analysis of the U.S. economy, the mayor said it was probably a good idea. "This is a very difficult economy, and it’s not going away for a couple of years. That’s the prediction of all the economists. It’s going to be a long, long, tough economy, and next year’s going to be even worse. So I have always thought that if you have a public asset [pdf] that can be used for infrastructure purposes, about putting people back to work in businesses like that, I think it’s very, very important. . . . You can’t spend money if you don’t have money. The only people who do that is the federal government. They print it. That’s why we’re really in jeopardy in this economy—they print money and they just print money and they keep printing it and that’s why the value is less and less every year. . . ."
Daley said he wasn’t worried that the O’Hare expansion project had been delayed by a court battle; he was confident that it would clear its final legal hurdles soon. On the other hand—"Well, I’m worried about the Sox,” the mayor said. “I mean, you worry about the Sox, losing two games yesterday.”
And the Cubs? "The Cubs have a good team. You know, they play small ball. They’re in a drought now, but look at their record. They’ve done a tremendous job all year. We’ve been up and down, the Sox. This is not good."
Are the Cubs going to choke again? "No, I don’t think so."
Another reporter tried to break in: "Alderman Suarez wants to—"
But Daley wasn’t done. “Because they’ve been playing smart ball—good pitching, hitting, and defense. I mean, they’re not hitting the home runs. They’re hitting singles and doubles and they’re scoring.”
What about Chicago’s budget problems—any progress or new ideas coming to the forefront? "Oh yeah, you better believe it," he said. "Chicago, every city, every town."
Right. . . . Well, what is the city considering?
"You know your budget problems are your own. Cutbacks, layoffs, you know it’s going to get worse every year. So we’re in the same dilemma. It’s not going to go away. It’s going to get worse and worse. . . . We are in a recession. I know the politicians in Washington don’t want to tell you that, but we are in a recession. . . . "
Next question. "The real estate transfer tax is down, as you pointed out in your preliminary budget, but now Alderman Burke is proposing no longer trying to tax transactions that are within divorce proceedings where one spouse gives up property to another spouse. Do you think that should continue to be taxed?"
Daley’s face contorted in disgust before he emitted a high-pitched noise that sounded something like"Yeeeh, yunnett!"
"But he says it’s an unfair penalty when there’s a divorce, which is emotionally wrenching and financially draining enough."
The mayor regained his composure. "Lawyers are all taken care of. Remember that: the lawyers are all taken care of in a divorce."
"But if they’ve already paid once, why should the spouses, the divorced spouses, pay twice?"
"They can take it out of their lawyer’s fee."
Clearly pleased with his answer, Daley began walking away from the podium. But one last question was shouted after him: Had he been following the "lipstick on a pig" controversy?
The mayor slowed up for a second. “Be very careful about what you say in public,” he said.
Comments (16)
Showing 1-16 of 16
I should be able to express my opinion Rev Lucius Hall,is a Daley Hack and bottom feeder. He is nothling more than a yes Man. He recieves Govt Grants for youth. Why is a man with an Alternative life style so concerned with youth? The city Human resource hearings are nothling but a farce.
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The greatest trick of the devil is convince everyone he doesn't exist. The U of C is feeding off the public and displays total comtempt,for the masses. If you guys feel it is a great and noble thing to dump patients when in fact the U of C received 30 mil in Medicare payments. Valarie jarrett is nothling more than a Boule' member of the U of C board of trustees involved with Daley's ethnic cleansing program for the Southside of Chicago. Also she is Executive officer of the partially Daley owned Habitat Corpoation. Evil pure Evil
Divorce lawyers are pure evil and scumbags. The Child reps guardian ad litems fees are not even dischargeable in bankruptcy. They are like rapists. There is one big fat one name Ralla Klepak who used to be involved in LGBT issues and is a big bully who rapes families of their money. She is making hundreds of thousands maybe millions of over time with certain lawyers like Judge Alan Masters and Judge Leida Santiago and others. Ralla Klepak lies and overbills and does nothing for the child. Judge Murphy had to intervene and many ARDC complaints have been filed on her but nothing seems to happen. Chief Judge Moshe Jacobius seems to be protecting her although he does not use her. The system is broke and the child representative guardian ad litems appointed by the court should be abolished.
BIZZARRO WORLD!!!! Read the Tribune/Sun-Times .They don't write about that the City is in a financial mess. $432 million dollars in the HOLE! O'hare Expansion $322 million dollars in the HOLE! CTA $66 million dollars in the HOLE! Park Dist $100 million dollars in the hole!! What does Daley and the City Council talk about.....Aluminum Bats????
The Mayor has a brain made of aluminum. Even aluminum brains, like bats wear out. His is worn out. Free rides on the CTA, which he embraced wholeheartedly last year, even in a budget crisis? Blame it on the state. Real estate funds coming in are down, blame the feds. Bad news about Chicago's corruption, waste and fraud under mayor Daley leading to higher and higher taxes? Blame the media. When will actual voters start reading? His aluminum brain has melted.
Aluminum bats are the decoy. Watch out, the mayors going to swing for the fences.
"This is a very difficult economy, and it’s not going away for a couple of years. That’s the prediction of all the economists. It’s going to be a long, long, tough economy, and next year’s going to be even worse." this is by way of arguing FOR liquidating an income-producing asset to realize a 1-shot up-front cash infusion?
Ban aluminum bats? Are you kidding?! OH MY GOD!! The great savior of all our children, Alderman Fioretti, is here to protect us!! Alderman Fioretti, you are an idiot. Please do something useful with your life.
Most Irish people are very smart and Mayor Daley is no exception. Always listen to the wisdom of an Irishman. I like to borrow quotes from the great Mayor Daley to use in my everyday speech to show others how smart I am.
Obama said the mayor was “obviously going through a rough patch right now.†But he also said Chicago has “never looked better†and that “significant progress has been made on a variety of fronts.†The senator said then it was “way premature†to talk about endorsements because the mayor had not yet announced his candidacy. In January 2007, when Obama finally endorsed Daley for re-election, a reporter asked how his “concerns†from 2005 had figured into his endorsement. Again, Obama hedged: “There is no doubt that there remains progress to be made. . . . But ultimately you want to look at the whole record of this administration. . . . The city overall has moved in a positive direction.†Ryan Lizza, then of The New Republic, quoted an Obama ally who framed the situation in the most sympathetic light possible: That’s part of [Obama’s] political savvy. . . . He recognizes that Daley is a powerful man and to have him as an ally is important. While he was a state senator here and moving around in Chicago, he made sure to minimize the direct confrontational approach to people of influence and policymakers and civic leaders. These are the same people now who are very aggressively supporting his campaign. The idea is that deep down, Obama is a reformer — he’s just undercover for now. He can advance and then show his true colors later, after getting the critical support of Daley and Chicago’s crooked politicians.
We are surrounded by idiots. Mayor and Tifs, Fioretti and bats and Burke and cellphones.... while ROME burns.
September 12th - 1:50 p.m. Maybe it is time to body surf in Hawaii, without the shorts!I think Obama should address the issues of over 50% of black women with a venereal disease! Obama should provide funding so you can get your groove on with out AIDS! Scratch that itch!!!!!
“Be very careful about what you say in public†which in practice for Daley means "Never speak in complete sentences" preserve plausible deniability in case anyone tries to connect the dots between your nouns, verbs, and adjectives
The number one problem facing the CPD is the fact that we are short, upwards of 2,000 sworn personnel, and this is being concealed. The officers know it, they see it and they feel it. Morale is in the toilet. There is no leadership or support being displayed, at any managerial level. The CPD wrongfully stripped and fired some officers. This has had long-lasting repercussions within the rank and file. The disciplinary process is not fair and objectively based. The promotional process is primarily based upon clout, not on knowledge or competency. The existing merit system leads to great frustration. We work six straight days in a row with CPD's archaic work schedule. The work schedule further increases stress levels. The residency requirement is killing the job, by keeping qualified younger officers away. The media hammers the CPD unfairly, on a daily basis. The contract has been expired for 15+ months, with no resolution in sight. The squad cars, computers and radio batteries don't function properly. Other times, there are not enough squad cars, radios and batteries to equip all the officers working. Equipment shortages and malfunctions place officers in additional danger. Officers routinely find themselves semi-involuntarily working alone. Working alone resulted in Officer Richard Francis's murder in July. The contract stipulates that officers work as two man units, during the hours of darkness. If officers complain about being assigned to work alone, retaliation will come about. Compensatory time is routinely denied, due to manpower requirements. Chicago is an exceedingly expensive city to reside in, with a very high cost of living and the worst public schools in the nation. Chicago has the some of the highest taxes in the nation,IE. sales tax. The officers are also picking up an overall feeling of hopelessness and despair, this is downright dangerous. To be fair, Superintendent Jody Weis inherited a shipwreck of monstrous proportions from Phil Cline. This situation did not just arise under Weis's tenure, but has been festering for sometime. This situation was definitively made much worse under Cline's tenure. Many officers, initially applauded the appointment of an esteemed outsider taking the reigns. Officers believed that change was forthcoming. Some of Weis's initial moves immediately changed that assumption though. Weis sought and obtained Federal charges against Bill Cozzi, this was the icing on the cake. Chicago Police Officers work in some of the nation's worst Hell holes. These officers are routinely involved in life and death situations; that are to say, unnerving. Chicago is the third largest city in the nation, but now has the highest homicide rate and violent crime rate in America. NYC has a population of 8.6 million, while Chicago has 2.86 million. This year,Chicago is exceeding NYC's homicide rate. City politicians claim that there is a 430 million dollar deficit. Yet, there is over 800 million dollars sitting in the TIF Funds, 500 million dollars sitting in a bond fund from the lease of the Chicago Skyway, and who knows how much money accrued from the lease of Midway Airport. Last year's record property tax increase was to fund police hiring, and to settle labor contracts. Where has all this money gone? Ironically, the politicians claim broke. This all, coincidentally coincides, while the police contract is being negotiated; and allegedly justifies the critical manpower shortage. Officers believe the monies are being diverted for the 2016 Summer Olympics. This is occurring at the expense of Chicago's children, residents, visitors, tourists and officers' safety. Many chess experts, view the knight as one of the most important strategic game pieces. The knight is a necessity to win a chess game. Knights guard and defend the King, at all cost. What happens when the knights are all turned into pawns? Remember, we are the eyes and ears, and the pulse of the third largest city in the United States. Overall pressure is building in society; fueled by the impending economic woes, the daily stress, terrorism, the wars, the disgust with corruption, and the moral decay in society. We know and feel that something is seriously askew. You could call us the blue canaries, yet we still stick it out, and keep you safe. It's okay, joke about us,scorn us, denigrate us and look down upon us. Realize one thing, when we fail or fall in battle: Who will protect you and yours, in this AntI-GuN asylum state, called Chicago, Illinois???
