Friday, June 5, 2009
News / Clout City Rick Telander For Mayor
Posted by Ben Joravsky on 06.05.09 at 11:23 AM
Rick Telander's column on the Olympics in today's Sun-Times should be required reading for everyone in this city. I guess it takes a sportswriter to really tell it like it is.
In particular, I appreciate how Telander draws attention to a recent memo sent by school board president Michael Scott warning principals to get in line with the Olympic debacle.
Principals should be doing just the opposite--they should be fighting like hell against the games. They should have put all their kids on school buses and sent them downtown to join the police, who marched around City Hall protesting when the International Olympic Committee was in town visiting.
If we should end up winning the right to host the games, they won't help the schools--they'll take money that the schools could use. Any principal who signs onto this reverse Robin Hood scheme is essentially sacrificing this generation of school kids so the mayor can throw a blowout party in 2016.
Perhaps the saddest part of it all is how so many principals, teachers, and school officials go along with it. It's bad enough that they allow Olympic planners to use the schools and school kids as backdrops in the marketing scheme. What's worse is that they're too afraid to speak up even when the Olympic planners snatch away what they already have.
I found this out when I called school officials to get their reaction to Mayor Daley's plan to demolish the gym and pool in Collins High School--which the school system just spent $30 million fixing up--to make way for an indoor bike track.
You'd think that they'd be looking for help to hold on to their pool and gym. Think again. Most didn't want to talk to me--I had to call several times just to get a comment. Apparently, everyone's afraid of the mayor. The City Council's so afraid they sell off the parking meters to give him another billion dollars to toss around. The civic community's afraid so they throw millions at his Olympic plans. Until now.
Thanks, Rick.
Comments (35)
Showing 1-35 of 35
Neither the Trib nor the Sun Times have anyhing on their web sites that I can find about the Michael Scott memo to principals. The HuffPo links off to a Trib search page.
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Worked for Jackson Lewis LLC a while ago. According to the newspapers he is well connected.
CPS president urges principals to push 2016 bid May 2, 2009 The president of the Chicago Public Schools board, who is also a member of the Chicago 2016 Olympic committee, has asked all of the city's school principals to get on board with the push to bring the Summer Games to Chicago. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/05/olympics-2016-chicago-schools-principals-cps.html
While I have no way of knowing if the other three finalist cities are equally (or at least nearly) as corrupt and/or incompetent as Daley and his cronies are, I remain confident that should we get the Olympics, we can let Da Mare watch the toch relay pass by his prison cell down in Terre Haute come 2016. Hey, that's the least we can do!
thanks ben i really appreciate your and mick's work. keep it up, the people are beginning to clamor.
meanwhile, we discover that Daley's last challenger has been collecting cash from her employees as a birthday present. are there any politicians who aren't on the take?
We need a candidate we all can get behind. not people daley puts in the race, a real candidate. That person with all the anti daley support , will win.
Most departments under King Daley's control have no voice and owe all their positions to their Majesty. They act like abused wives that are afraid to ask for assistance from some type of social service agency or the police. Rick Telander you're right, they're stupid!
Dorothy Brown is with Mayor Daley. Her contact person is Terry Peterson. Its time for Dorothy to be taken down!Don't be fooled in the Cook County Board race. She will do whatever John Daley tells her.
Wanna' run for mayor of Chicago in 2011? What are you waiting for? Rick's in. Go to ChicagoNLA2011 at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChicagoNLA2011 Don't be nickeled and quartered any more. Joe Lake Chicago (Bucktown)
We should stop this bid before it gets any worse. Let's donate, support and help No Games Chicago, which has been trying to give a reality check: http://nogameschicago.com
Please support: Nogameschicago.com Let stop Daley's 11 circus. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o570-57dVaU
For journalists who should understand the complex interconnectivity between the various issues relevant to our daily living conditions, here in the city of big shoulders, one wonders what specific agendas are being promoted by the narrowing and limiting of the content of posted public commentary that occurs from time to time on this blog. It's perfectly understandable, and appreciated, when the occasional deluge of mickey mouse bullshit bickering postings are removed, but the deleting of comments relevant to the living conditions we, the citizens are subjected to 'daley', apparently because said comments aren't directly addressing the specific subject matter of the article posted on, makes me wonder if the editors of this blog truly want their readers to comprehend just how complex and interconnected our current troubles are, both within this city and county, let alone this state and nation. Do the editors of this blog really consider their potential readers to be so bereft of the ability to understand the complexities of the issues that they've chosen to practice the rule of thumb of 'Keep It Simple for the Stupid', ie., the K.I.S.S. principle?
We're not trying to protect readers from the truth, we're trying to maintain a civil atmosphere. Our reporters would be happy to receive private emails (works@chicagoreader.com) containing any messages deemed inappropriate for the comments stream.
No complaint, whatsoever, about the removal of the incredibly boring, infantile, and impressively asinine postings of the mcdonough's, orion's, chicago dem's and some of the coconate responses to same. But why the removal of relevant and highly informative postings quoting comments from the SCC blog? And, no, it's not enough, for this regular reader of both the Reader's Web pages and the Reader's hard copy, for you to say that those who wish to can go to the SCC blog directly, because, if you hadn't noticed, all of the SCC blog's quoted comments ever posted here are incredibly relevant to current events and the abysmal failures that are our city, county and state governments. Plus, it's not all that unreasonable to believe that many of the Reader's readers have very little knowledge concerning the actual state of affairs afflicting the CPD, the CPD being the only city agency whose employees are charged with the authority, duty and responsibility of risking losing their lives every day they go to work, nor are they likely to seek out said actual knowledge, given the successes of all this town's media mongrels' continuing demonization of the CPD as a whole. So, if the Reader is truly interested in not protecting their readers from the many truths, which the rest of this city's media are so obviously concealing, the explanation of "...trying to maintain a civil atmosphere.", while accurate in the deletion of the above mentioned mickey mouse bullshit, posted by the above mentioned mickey mouse bullshitters, does not honestly describe the other postings deleted from this comment thread. Further, the blanket concept of removing ".... any messages deemed inappropriate for the comments stream." is a position more often seen coming from the 5th floor of city hall than one coming from the editors of what may well be the last bastion of an authentic and honest print media. (That would be you.) As for your invitation to "receive private emails", well, you haven't yet convinced me completely that you are, indeed, that last, honest bastion.
There was no blanket removal. Garbage in garbage out,if your rants fit that description so be it pal. The repetitive, over stated dribble that pass for comments,would be better served on your own tired blog. Try talking about something of interest instead of who shot john,all the time. I feel you should not be allowed to post here until,you open up your own board for free unmoderated post! pal
Brave souls rally against Daley's 11 day circus.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o570-57dVaU
You'd think that they'd be looking for help to hold on to their pool and gym. Think again. Most didn't want to talk to me- ----------------------------------- Isn't this why are great great grand parents came to this Country, for freedom to speak!
News flash, News flash! The city of Chicago has over a billion dollars in tax increment financing funds in the bank. Can I receive some of my tax money back please? As the Right Wing Republicans say "Let the people keep more of their money and they can make their own decision what to do with it".
Rightwing Republicans like Daley because he is a Fascist,that why they never criticize him.
WHAM!.....POOF!.....KAPOW!....OUCH!.... In a matter of days Wonder Woman (Fran Spielman ) has transformed Mayor Daley into the victim! Up next Wonder Womans loyal side kick, Catwoman(Mike Sneed), will do a article on War Hero Patrick Daley(even though he saw no action)! Todays Article on Vanecko: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/1613491,CST-NWS-mayor09.article
focus wrote: Nice try Fran, and Mayor Daley. This PR stunt won't fly.Could the average Citizen get an unsecured loan from the Pension boards. Uncle Daley gave Venecko the traditional wink and nod. This article is an attempt to insult the intelligence of the readers.The pension boards should be investigated. Yes! Uncle Daley will throw Peter under the bus to protect himself. I figured out a way to pay for the Olympics....raid the tiff accounts. go to. chicagoclout.com
johna wrote: It has been said often that Fran Spielman is a mouthpiece for the mayor and this article proves it. Anyone who believes what she has written about the pension fund deals is a fool.Can the average business man go to the pension board and get 68 million for a start up real estate company, buy a lot and then lease it back to the city? And, still get millions in management fees? I don't think so! The fact that the police rank and file have three elected members on that pension board who approved this deal should also be investigated. People are being influenced or payed off.
Mariam Santos went to jail becaus she tried to stop then Daleys from raiding the pension funds!
What is wrong with this reporter? Now lets have a pity party for the Mayor who controls everything with an iron fist, punishes anyone who dares voice an opinion against him, rams billion dollar contracts through the puppet city council so fast your head spins, but when he or his kids or any other member of the greedy Daley Clan gets caught he either has amnesia or he is upset or in turmoil...Yeah right... He is upset his nephew the arrogant thief is under federal and hopefully state and county scrutiny...I would say Vannecko is just following in the foot steps of all his relatives...why should he not get a big pay off ...his uncles the Mayor and all his Uncles all do...his Daddy got a huge payoff from the same pension boards (Yes his Daddy was appointed by the mayor to oversee disability cases and he got a huge paycheck and a city pension)... The story should be that Daley is upset his nephew got caught ripping off the pension boards and NOW everyone knows. Stealing and feeding off the public trough is the Daley Family business. Yeah...right the Mayor is in turmoil...TELL it to the pensioners whose money was lost. See how much sympathy the mayor gets.
If Daley put as much effort into fixing the public school system as he is in getting the Olympics, Chicago would be much better off. Daley just doesn't get it. If Chicago gets the Olympics, I wont be around ... permanently. This state/city is f'd up as it us, the Olympics will be the final straw.
If you have a beef with the Mayor why don't you write to him Richard Daley 1476-D .S. Prairie Chicago,IL 60605
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