Monday, April 6, 2009
News / Clout City Peter Donoghue
Posted by Ben Joravsky on 04.06.09 at 03:12 PM
Back in the days when I wrote a weekly column about Chicago neighborhoods, Peter Donoghue used to call me all the time.
He was one of those characters who loved to get involved in his community: president of the Lake View Citizen's Council, head of the block club, and all-around neighborhood yenta. The man knew all the local gossip.
A typical phone call from Donoghue went like this: Phone rings. I pick it up, say hello, and he says: "Donoghue!" Then he launches into whatever is on his mind. No hellos, how are yous, how's the wife, the kids. Just "Donoghue!"
Generally, he had a beef. Usually, it was with the Park District. Donoghue loved the parks, open space, and public recreation. He was really big on ice skating--he used to take his kids skating all the time. I think he knew more about the McFetridge indoor ice skating rink than anyone alive. He was particularly peeved about some of how the place was managed under former Park District superintendent Forrest Claypool. Oh, lord--don't get Donoghue started on Claypool and McFetridge.
Sometimes his beef was with me.: He didn't like the tone I took in a story or thought I missed the point. We'd start off arguing and wind up talking about something else. The man didn't hold a grudge. Both of us liked to crack wise. He had great comedic timing and he was quick on his feet. One time he was talking to me from his cell phone when an old friend and his daughter walked by. He interrupted our phone conversation to call out: "Hey, Kevin, is that Bridget? My God, she got tall! What are you feeding her, fertilizer?"
I loved that crack. I think I've used it a hundred times since.
As far as I'm concerned, Donoghue's greatest triumph as a neighborhood activist came in 1994, after the city, in its infinite wisdom, turned the field behind Lane Tech's football stadium into a dumping ground for debris from the Kennedy Expressway rebuilding project, which forced high school kids on their way to and from school to dodge incoming dump trucks. I think that may have been the single dumbest idea ever devised by the Daley administration--and that's saying a lot. Still, it took a local insurrection--led by Donoghue--to get the city to back down. Which just goes to show you that when Mayor Daley gets something in his head, he clings to it like a dog with a bone.
In 1999, Donoghue ran for alderman of the 32nd Ward against Ted Matlak, Congressman Dan Rostenkowski's guy. I told Donoghue he was out of his mind--you can't beat Rosty's machine. He ran anyway. And lost.
In time, Donoghue made his peace with Matlak. In 2007, he was calling me to tout Matlak as a man of vision. "What, are you hoping he gives you a job?" I teased him. I didn't hold it against him, though--after years of banging heads against the machine, even the strongest among us get a little woozy at times.
Donoghue died last week of a heart attack. He was 57. To celebrate his life, I think they should rename the field behind Lane Tech's football stadium: Donoghue Field. They should put up a plaque that tells the story of Donoghue's fight against the dump. It would remind people of what their government's capable of doing and let them know that every once in awhile the good guys actually win.
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Peter Donoghue ... Let's Win One For Peter ... Having met Peter during the 1999 aldermanic election, I say let's get ourselves a new Mayor in 2011. Go to ChicagoNLA2011 at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChicagoNLA2011 It's the least we can do. You betcha' Joe Lake, Bucktown
Mayor Daley orders City Workers to Olympic Rally With Obama I hope when you pay your tax bill my fellow Chicagoans, you make sure to thank Mayor Daley and all the Chicago Politicians for providing City Workers to fill space at the Olympic rally. Mayor Daley wants the Olympics so bad he is willing to provide city workers so he can look like he is a big player. Of course many of the City Workers know Mayor Daley is breaking the rules that forbid politics on city time. I think the bosses that asked their underlings to participate in the Obama-Mayor Daley victory dance should be fired. The Inspector General was notified before as union workers were ordered to attend rallies with Rod Blagojevich and Mayor Daley. Many people were also not aware the courthouse at the rally encouraged many trials to shut down early because of safety concerns with Barack Obama. Daley does have power and clout, but asking trials in progress to shut down early? Please read Mark Browns take on the rally. Mayor Daley is very short, how tall is he? Obama is at least a foot taller that Daley, right? (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) . Patrick McDonough Olympic fervor: From Beijing to Daley Plaza Chicago and China might not be as far apart as we think June 8, 2008Recommend (3) BY MARK BROWN Sun-Times Columnist A local radio station was carrying a network news story Friday morning about organizers for the Beijing Olympics trying to instruct the Chinese people on how to cheer properly during the upcoming Summer Games, including what to chant and how to clap. The story was told from a predictable, but understandable, point of view along the lines of: Look at what those crazy, authoritarian commies are up to now; they even dictate how to show enthusiasm. » Click to enlarge image Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown Then, the station switched to its local news report, during which it later happened to mention Mayor Daley was back from Athens and would be attending a big pep rally at Daley Plaza to celebrate Chicago making the cut to remain in competition to host the 2016 Olympic Games. And I thought, hmmm. Let's go see. Does a city-orchestrated "pep rally" in the middle of the government office complex during the lunch hour have anything in common with the outpouring of support for, say, the Bulls in Grant Park after those championship runs of the Michael Jordan era, or is it more akin to what you'll see in Beijing this summer? I suppose the question gives away my presupposed notion of the answer. Obama packs them in While I don't doubt that a majority of Chicagoans (me included) want to see the Olympics come here, as long as it doesn't cost them more in taxes, it's not as if they can hardly contain their excitement over making the list of four finalists. I was already on my way out the door when an editor told me there was talk Barack Obama might be there, too. Now, that IS a way to fill a city block with people in a hurry. Sure enough, half those who came to Daley Plaza were there to see Obama, which I deduce from the fact that half left as soon as he finished talking. There's no way of quantifying how many of the rest were like the woman from the city's Department of Aging who told Sun-Times reporter Andrew Herrmann that workers in her office had been "invited" to attend by supervisors who "wanted a good crowd" there in support of the Olympics. But it was apparent City Hall had stacked the deck as much as possible, even before enlisting Obama's star power. Obama allowed as to how his own attendance was all very last-minute after he was "invited," too, his apparent willingness to jump at the mayor's request, benign as it was, doing little to dissuade those who argue the presidential hopeful is a Daley creation. When Obama later helped unveil the new city Olympic logo, which replaced the words "Applicant City" with "Candidate City" in keeping with the anal-retentive International Olympic Committee rules, there was no indication anybody in charge saw the irony in this new designation for the hometown of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Subtle message to IOC Certainly, it can't hurt Chicago's Olympic bid to convey the perception that this candidate for president is eager to help the mayor's effort in any way he can, part of our fully-integrated city. When I say fully integrated, though, I don't mean that in a racial context -- which I leave to your own powers of observation -- but in terms of management control. International Olympic officials can have full confidence that this city's mayor has complete and total power to get the job done. Everything is wired. This was demonstrated in a subtle, yet instructive way, by one of the main speakers for the event, Smita Shah, who chairs the city's Delhi Sister Cities Committee. The Sister Cities group was already celebrating its annual festival in Daley Plaza, which made it a perfect backdrop for the "impromptu" Olympics chest-thumping. Dressed in traditional Indian garb, Shah could have easily been mistaken as just part of the local color demonstrating the city's diversity. But she also happens to be the founder of an engineering firm that does loads of city business and contributes heavily to Democratic political candidates. Her father, Niranjan Shah, is an even bigger donor through his engineering company. No. 1 in political game Smita Shah is a supporter of Obama and was named to the Platform Committee for this year's Democratic National Convention. She also was a big donor to Gov. Blagojevich, who put her on the Illinois Arts Council. The mayor put her on the city's Plan Commission, where last month she delivered one of the votes to allow the Children's Museum to make its controversial move to Grant Park -- as Daley wishes. I don't know about those other Olympic contenders, but in this city we've got all our bases covered. Oh, I forgot to mention that when Obama was introduced, the folks in Daley Plaza started a cheer: "Yes, we can. Yes, we can." Unlike those Chinese control freaks, I'm sure it was totally spontaneous. Obama shows up for 2016 games rally (http://www.southtownstar.com/news/993081,060708oly.article) June 7, 2008 By Andrew Herrmann, Sun-Times News Group He called his book "The Audacity of Hope." On Friday, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was just audacious, telling a Loop rally that he was looking forward to ''wrapping up my second term as president'' by opening the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Chicago. At a Daley Center Plaza event to mark the city's being named a finalist to host the games, Obama noted that his home is only a few blocks from the site of the proposed Olympic Stadium in Washington Park. "In the interest of full disclosure, I have to let you know that in 2016, I'll be wrapping up my second term as president. So I can't think of a better way than to be marching into Washington Park alongside Mayor Daley ... as president of the United States and announcing to the world, 'Let the games begin,' '' Obama said. On a day that a CNN poll showed Obama leading the Republican presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. John McCain, 47 percent to 43 percent, he also compared himself to the first place White Sox and Cubs. "Your senator, he's winning, too," Obama said, sparking wild cheers from a crowd that filled much of the plaza. Obama said his stop at the rally was a last-minute decision. Back home to rest after a tough fight to win the Democratic nomination, he has no public appearances on his schedule this weekend. Joining Daley and other dignitaries, including Olympic gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Obama said an Olympics here would be "a capstone of the success we've had during the past couple of decades in transforming Chicago into not just becoming a great American city but a great world city.'' Daley called the other 2016 finalists, Tokyo; Madrid, Spain and Rio de Janeiro "tough competition,'' but said, "what we have here is a spirit.'' The crowd included many city and county workers. One city employee said her department was "invited" to the rally by supervisors who "wanted a good crowd.'' Dianne McCollough, a lawyer with the Cook County state's attorney's office, said she came on her own. An Olympics here would "show the world something positive about Chicago,'' she said. "So much (news coverage is of) violence and CTA trains derailing,'' McCollough said, adding that an Olympics "shows people at their best.'' In Athens on Friday, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said heads of state will be allowed to help candidate cities make their final pitch. Obama filmed a greeting for Chicago's Olympic team in the early stages of the bid but called on President Bush to consider boycotting the opening ceremonies in Beijing in protest about Tibet.
STOP being disrespectful, This is a blog in memory of Peter Donoghue, NOT an agenda to stop the 2016 Olympics.
STOP being disrespectful, This is a blog concerning the memory of Peter Donoghue, NOT a political agenda attempting to stop the 2016 Olympics in Chicago.
"Back in the days when I wrote a weekly column about Chicago neighborhoods," I miss those days when Ben's column moved around the City to report on different neighborhood issues. It is less about news reporting today, and more of a political editorial. Maybe the Reader could break in a new neighborhood columnist. Every other week? I realize Ben has moved on to cover big picture matters, that interest him more. But I can't believe that there is a lack of facscinating local grassroots stories, just a lack of coverage.
i think the field should be named after cocopussy as a dedication to the millions of cps graduates who can not read right or spell. hehe.
Pete was also a lifeguard at Leone Park Beach up at Touhy & the lake in Rogers Park. A very gregarious fellow, and also pretty sharp on how to shoot/make films.
peter was a great uncle to many.. so for the idiot who put the thing about the olympics, that person needs to get a life.. this blog is about my uncle and my feelings have been very hurt that people are trying to remember what a great guy he was and someone is being and idiot.... Honestly people do you really.. think anyone on this blog cares about olympics right now.. A GREAT MAN JUST DIED!!!!!! THATS WHAT WE NEED TO FOCUS ON...... MY UNCLE DIED FOR GOSH DANGIT SAKES......
Ben, Thank you for the kind and wonderful words about my brother Peter. We miss him. And your piece sparked more fond memories about why we cared for him so. Regards...
Thanks to Ben for the kind and fitting words of tribute to Peter. Working late tonight on some relatively unimportant corporate deadlines and my mind wandered, as it has a lot in the last month, to the memory of Peter, who many of us will miss deeply for a long time to come. Reversing bad decisions/actions by local government -- as Peter did through good grass roots advocacy in the case of the land next to Lane -- was only part of, but epitomizes, what made Peter so special. He had a keen eye for identifying and a true knack for effectively addressing problems that were negatively impacting his relatives, friends, neighbors or fellow mankind in general. Whether it was a personal problem afflicting you on which Peter could relate and give you sage, frank and often very humorous advice or a community issue where Peter saw and filled a void in positive leadership and direction, he always stepped in to help -- and help he did. We should all cherish the memory of Peter's exceptional positivity and live our lives as a little bit better parents, brothers, sisters, children, citizens, neighbors, friends ... to honor and fulfill Peter's legacy.
I just came across this page and if it is the same Peter Donoghue whom was married to Joan Merlo, it really saddens me to hear of his passing. He was a great friend whom gave me a place to stay while I went to college and his door was always open for holidays and friendship. Unfortunately we fell out of touch when I relocated but I never forgot him and hoped that he reached his goals in the film industry. He was a great person and friend. From a long lost friend-Wade
