The Blog

First off, I am in no way criticizing what Mick and Ben have been working so hard, for so long, to do, namely, inform the residents, of this city and county, of the many ways and means by which those they've 'chosen' to empower with the authority to impose taxations and the spending of same, create and enforce laws, rules and regulations, and control the private activities of said 'free' citizens, have so often dishonestly manipulated and misused that authority and power. That being said, I completely understand Mick's frustration with an apparently "smart, polite guy" being, in reality, not so smart, if still polite, and not at all honest, if, as Mick stated, this "guy" buys into the "Chicago isn't Detroit; therefore, Richard M. Daley is a great mayor" bullshit. For all the reasons stated, and for many, many, many more not included in this short article, Mayor Daley reign has been, at best, a disappointment and, at worst, an ongoing, criminal conspiracy to defraud this city and county's citizens of BILLIONS, not millions, of their hard-earned dollars paid in taxes. Just the unethical, if not blatantly unlawful, manipulations of the TIF program accounts for BILLIONS, as in more than 1 billion, of tax dollars being diverted from their intended purpose, to line the pockets of those few who so loyally support the 'machine', in all it's various incarnations. If the 'mayor' wants to show off his 'accomplishments', let him take the media on a tour of the South and West sides, let him explain why the TIF program has failed to turn the wastelands of empty lots and abandoned buildings, courtesy of his father's reign of white-men terror and neglect, into the thriving communities that the program was created to do in the first place. The only areas of this city that were once 'blighted', and are now 'developed', are the ones where private individuals have been responsible for both investing in them and displacing the former residents. This little essay bears repeating: Da Chicago Way Let's step back a bit, and look at things from an historical perspective. Immense wealth can be gained from the manipulation of real estate values. Here's how it's been done in Chicago: 1) determine which areas have the potential of being attractive to those blessed with high incomes and ample financial resources. (Transportation facilities, classic architecture, established parks and recreation facilities, proximity to the Loop, etc. are all pluses.) 2) Neglect the chosen target areas for as long as possible, for the purpose of depreciating property values by, among other means, decreasing safety related activities, (or encourage the perception of same), neglecting the infrastructure, pandering to prejudices, harassing individual, clout-less homeowners through punitive building code citations, etc.. 3) Buy up, through dummy corporations and such, properties of those fleeing the neglected area, then neglect and milk said properties or demolish same. 4) Continue accumulating properties, with or without buildings on them, and continue to neglect the area's remaining residents' basic needs, as property prices drop even further. 5) Entice the ever optimistic and gutsy 'urban pioneers', with dirt cheap rentals and a few reasonably priced building sales, (tho still making you double-to-triple on what you paid for them) 6) Watch and Wait, while the 'urban pioneers' do all your work for you. 7) As the time to cash in approaches, stimulate the progress of the process by beginning the work of repairing and improving those past neglected infrastructures and increasing the activities effective in increasing the safety of residents, (or the perception of same). 8) Raise rents on all your previously neglected and milked properties, thus forcing out any remaining 'undesirables'. (and remember NOT to thank them for their past contributions relative to depressing property values) 9) Cash in, BIG TIME, when those previously mentioned individuals with high incomes and ample resources now flock to the new 'hot' neighborhood. 10) Oh, don't forget to juice the builders and contractors who'll also be gathering at your doorstep, begging for the chance to build on those vacant lots you've been sitting on or buy them for 20 to 50 times what you got them for. and DATS DA CHICAGO WAY And this "smart, polite guy" LIKES Daley? He must be a player.

You make some excellent points. One where you are WAY off is your contention that kids in some neighborhoods are as afraid of the police as they are gangs. They may not like the police. They may feel hassled by the police. What they are not is randomly killed by the police. The number of murders in this city are around 400 per year. Even if you assume every single police shooting is unjustified the police kill fewer than 20 people a year in this city. The Police Department is imperfect and badly needs an outsider to run it, but it is not feared as much as the gangs. With that........ Vive la Resistance!

It's not so much being killed by cops that they fear, it's being controlled, contained, restrained, maimed, beaten, harassed, framed, abused, arrested, detained, incarcerated, and generally fucked with continually. Not something that kids in 'some other' neighborhoods have to endure.

> ... how and where we're wrong to ask why a mayor who's spent 18 years in office belittling the ideas of opponents shouldn't produce even more. Thanks for a heartfelt essay, Mick. "I support Mayor Daley. The City looks great," this from perhaps the brightest person I know, and a fellow Chicago homeowner to boot. "Let's wait a bit, put our Fall property tax bills on the table between us, and talk again," I come back with, but she shrugs. She's good for it. I might have referred her to Ben's recent side-by-side of 2 school systems, but her 2 go to Whitney Young & Walter Payton. Or to the CTA, like the schools, perpetually teetering on the brink of disaster, but she drives downtown. > The other day the mayor had an op-ed piece in the Sun-Times The issues Daley demands help from the State on in his op-ed, the schools, the CTA, and public safety, are also the issues he is most vulnerable on. But he's Teflon for many. The op-ed is not so much an appeal for help as deflection. Daley doesn't need the Sun-Times op-ed page to communicate with the Democratic-controlled Illinois House, Senate, and governor's office. And on top of an abysmal record on some issues, the belittling the ideas of others, I'm crazy enough to believe a mark of leadership is NURTURING opposition. Daley's insistence on closed process and his failure to promote wider participation in government are high on my list short list of his shortfalls. Thanks again for surfacing this.

Thank you for proving Mick's points. Apparently, it's all good for those who are "...good for it." I'd welcome your perspectives on the above '2 cents worth' post.

While Daley's administration is something likened to finding maggots in the salad bar (but it looks so pretty). What has repeatedly failed the South and West sides of the city are the residents of the South and West Sides of the city, and I say that as a resident of the South Side. How does the administration fail with bus bunching on Cottage Grove when the people driving the no. 4 bus are all black, as are the supervisors and the administrators in the garages? When are the black police commanders in the black districts going to make some in roads on gangs and crimes in the black communities where they work? The education system that is failing black people is operated by black people. The aldermen are black and they refuse to stand up against the mayor or his black cronies (okay, he has a lot of latino cronies, I mean a lot) or any of the black politicians in whatever legislative body available where they sell us out by the friggin' boat load? What about the Chicago State University? She goes on cruises with a 16% graduation rate? Where the hell is Meeks and all them other holy fucking rollers who flap their gums like forty going north but ain't doing shit but making wind? They may never call us niggas, but they are lined up treating us like niggas. Yes Daley gets away with a lot of shit with that TIF bullshit, underfunding everything except his campaign, but what they do (actually not do) is the biggest of black on black crime. Sorry that was just a rant too.

Don't ever be sorry for speaking the truth. Not even if the shits in this world will use only a portion of that truth to cover their lies. It's an absolutely undeniable truth that the fucks controlling our city, county and state governments come in all sizes, shapes and colors, but they have one thing in common, inside, they're all packed full of shit. Just the outrageous exploitation, misuse and abuse of the TIF program is grounds to kick these shits so far out of public office that they'd need a fucking telescope to see dry land. To steal tax revenues from our children's schools, not for the possibly valid reason of improving economic conditions in truly needful areas, but to line the pockets of the favored few, to promote 'development' in areas that clearly aren't lacking in private sector investments, all the while pushing these area's former residents into the very areas that need the benefits of TIF's, is beyond wrong, beyond dishonest, beyond contemptible. And for B K Ray to have the honesty and integrity to point out the betrayals of 'black' aldermen and women is not surprising; his comments here have always been thoughtful and genuine. Let's not leave out the many black citizens who've been active participants, not only in the political exploitation of their fellow African-Americans, but in the economic exploitation, via the many financial schemes, real estate scams and slum landlord activities scattered throughout both the west and south sides of this city, as well as this county. These fucks are the true 'oreos', mimicking the crooked behaviors of their white mentors. Just think of what could happen, should the black communities of this city and county choose to insist on honest government, honest people in government and honest business practices within their own communities, from their own people. The potential is incredible. The reality is what's depressing. No apology for 'ranting', it's only ranting if it's substantially false, not substantially factual.

Well, I, for one, don't think you are ranting (By the way, I apologize for using that word earlier, I meant venting, not ranting, but, well, I was rather ill at the time. Comes with age, I guess.) I think you are trying to do a great job, and, if occasionally, I point out that you might have misinterpreted some facts, well, everyone does that from time to time, it is called being human. Don't ever stop, what you do is important. I don't think the city is as bad as you portray it, but I also think that is partly because of your efforts. It is important that you challenged all statements, thats part of being a journalist. Just don't expect everyone not to challenge you back, you are a journalist, not the pope. (well, actually, I am just assuming that. You aren't the Pope, are you?) Chicago could always improve, but it isn't a disaster either. Try Camden, New Jersey, if you want to see how bad it can get. It is always easy to point out flaws, since there will always be flaws; nothing ever approaches the Utopian ideal of perfection. But it is not all that tremendously useful, either. I don't think anyone, including all public officials, disagrees that bad cops should be rooted out, if nothing else, they probably regret that money they pay in fines and legal fees is not going into their pockets instead. Jokes aside, it is really a tough problem. It is very expensive and takes a long time to train a policeperson, you can't just grab someone on the street, hand them a badge, weapons and absolute tort immunity, and use them as a replacement if you fire someone. Consequently, if a policeperson has a problem, they try and salvage them if it is at all possible. That's not just economics, if they have been employed for a while, chances are the job itself damaged them, its a rough business to be in. It is only moral that the city help rehab them, rather than firing and abandoning them. More importantly, good policepersons can find a new job anywhere, certainly one that is less stressful than Chicago. Start firing enough policepersons without very good reasons and pretty soon, the good policepersons will go to jobs in other cities, thus raising rather than lowering the percentage of bad police. TIF's aren't always bad, either. Here in Westridge, a TIF saved Lincoln avenue in the 40th ward, when the area was in danger of being overrun by gangs and drugs. I wish answers were as simple as our resident Utopian would have them, problem is, the real world is messy, complex, and often, there is no fair solution, at least a solution everyone can agree is fair. So we muddle on, and people like you are there to make sure that we don't take the easy way out, and stop trying. That's a good thing. If sometimes you get it wrong, well, thats not important, you aren't in charge of the city, your mistakes don't harm anything.If you fail to challenge something however, and it later goes bad, then yes, thats a mistake you ought to feel guilty about. On the other hand, an ocassional change of pace wouldn't hurt (hopefully) Here is an idea, the latest post in SimonWorld, a chinese blog, details Hong Kong politics. Why don't you try comparing it to Chicago? http://simonworld.mu.nu/archives/232134.php

That's swell, randall, let's all look down, on the many who are less civilized, less intelligent, less compassionate, less efficient, less ethical, less moral, less honest, less blessed, less wealthy, less honorable, less educated, less knowledgable, less technologically advanced, less industrially developed, less sophisticated, less ignorant and less 'free', and more exploited, more suppressed, more dictated to, more used and abused, more mistreated, more irrational, more ignorant, more fanatical, more hungry and more powerless, and let's thank our individual gods for our good fortune at not being them. God forbid we look up, to the ideals and ideas that those in our past did, that those in our past sought to aspire to, that those in our past strove to live up to, said efforts being responsible for the good fortunes we enjoy today. I suppose you would say that the benefits we enjoy are the result of following the paths you promote, namely, going along to get along, accepting less for fear of getting even less than less, supporting a little 'grease' action, to lube those wheels of progress, being grateful that we're not being exploited, lied to, manipulated and used more than we are, after all, LOOK at HOW BAD other people have it. Yep, we're all so very lucky to be only exploited some of the time, though, with your help and approval and encouragements, the powers-that-be are inching ever closer to most of the time, with many of us having already reached that 'lofty' goal of receiving barely half of the fruits of our labors each year. You must really be raking it in, to be so staunch a supporter of maintaining the staus quo. Nice job, randall, keep up the 'good' work.

My biggest bitch is you can't go to City Hall and get an answer to an question with out filing a Freedom of Information request and then you have to wait days and sometimes they never call you back. They don't want you to be able to access public information here in Chicago. We have too many Alderman and the the Alderman have way too much power over their wards in terms of Zoning etc. Has anyone thought maybe we need a different form of City Government?

Everyone with a brain that works has been trying to figure out how to get the mass of idiots commonly called 'the voters' to pull their heads out of their asses and put an end to government-by-clout monkey for decades. These fuckers are way too entrenched and the 'voters' are way too stupid to do the simplest things that would make a ton of difference in their daily lives. And this is not even bringing up the vast number of city and county idiots who could vote, but don't even bother to register. Face it, we're living in a city and county full of sheeple, bent over and taking it up the ass and, apparently, either loving every minute of it or not feeling a thing.

Voter apathy is a big problem, and it's biggest cause is the one party system. Why vote when there are no alternate choices. Reformers should work to build up the other party. A viable oppositon party is the only thing that could ever provide a check and balance on the machine.

"If mayor Daley threw babies off a building, hours before his election, he would still be elected into office." He just knows how to handle Chicagoans.

To Randy Gordon, you are very right, it is expensive to train police officers (bus driver and aldermen too for that matter). It is a matter of being disciplined (not like a bad dog, but like a crack unit) after you are trained and there is a great lack of dicipline in this city, that comes from the administration not caring enough to make sure people are doing the jobs they are paid for (okay, I can not believe I said that. In this city? Now that is funny :-D) And that is where the admin fails. I know it does what bureaucracies do, because that is what they are allowed to get away with,if the minimum is all that can be depended on (and it often is, though there are many who go far beyond), then the minimum needs to be raised as well as a sense of signed accountablity (hehe) as well. As far as voter apathy goes, well it exists to the degree that there needs to be a way made around it. You can not coerce people into voting or being politically conscious and WE (the politcally engaged and voting) have to drop them as an excuse for the failure of the system. After all there are enough people voting to get all of these people elected, though there is not enough proof to call them politically conscious, but it seems to serve their puposes. Maybe it is time that we treat them the way that we want them to treat us and try listening to and understanding why people don't vote instead of calling them names (as much fun as that is) or assuming we know why when we have not asked them.

There is a lot of voter fraud here too. We need term limits. 8 years is enough. I can't stand these people like Shiller and Burke that make a career out of it.

Maybe little Mick should go to Detroit and write for the Detroit Reader ?

Orion, you moron, he wasn't praising Detroit's governance. He was taking to task Daley butt-kissers like yourself.

There is no Detroit Reader fyi. The comparable paper there is the Metro Times.

Fuck you.

Did I say all that? Geez, I need a life. Voter apathy is not really a reason so much as it is a cover. It needs to be defined and understood. We may never be able to get 100% voter turnout, but I think (and it is because I am such a hopeful fool) by engaging the apathetic and by understanding where they are coming from, we might be able to get them to the voters booth at least once. I know there are some people who's mind you will never change, but that does not mean that minds can not be changed. I could wax philsophical about it, but here we are preaching to the choir. You said:It's purpose is to serve the essential needs of the citizens, as efficiently and as honestly and as fairly as possible. (okay I copied that because it was funny) To take the position that the risk of who will replace the present crop of bums is not worth taking, is to enable that crop of bums to continue to shit and piss all over the neighborhood. -- Perhaps it is a risk worth taking, but I am not convinced. Because it is so easily manipulated. Peep this, let say that 60% of the voting citizens took your advice and decided to vote 'who is next' that leaves 40% entrenched. That 40 percent will probably carry 25-30 Wards (okay the numbers are really wiggly, but the people open to removing candidates are likely to be less concentrated than those who want to keep their candidate and you would still have some people backing the other candidates so it would not be quite the runaway success of your dreams. Then there is axiom from the 'hood known as "Game rekanize Game" you may know it as 'birds of a feather..." Any person/faction that was not given the boot, will start picking on the new recruits and then they get a majority and you will have to wait another 4 years. How many election cycles do you believe that this will take before the legislators kowtow to the people? Or they corrupt the process so much more that they annoint each other alderman for life? Anyway, as much as you beleive in the vote the bums out as a viable option, I am not convinced it quite that viable. On the other hand (I gots to be going in a min, but I will be back later) As far as learning to manipulate it ourselves, you may have something there. Maybe it is not that vote them out will not work or that a third party is it, or finding ways to get to the candidates as they are, maybe it takes all of them and some more to get the government back to the people. hmmmm....

ALL THESE DALEY CHEERLEADERS TOUT HOW GREAT CHICAGO IS BEING RUN. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE SELLING OF TOLL ROADS AND GARAGES TO BALANCE THE BUDGET. LET BE HONEST THE REAL REASON DALEY IS SO POPULAR,HE IS REMOVING THE BLACK POPULATION AND MAKING THE CITY A LOT MORE WHITER AND UPPER MIDDLE CLASS,WITH THE ASSISTENCE FROM BLACK LEADERS

Well, you're thinking about it, and that's the most anyone, including myself, can ask or hope for. And, you've understood the key elements, namely, it's taken a long, long time for us to become sheeple and it's going to take awhile for us to get back up on our two legs and begin to stand and walk and act like free, responsible, thinking men and women again. It's always easier to lie to one's self when one wants to believe the lie one is telling one's self, as in the immortal line 'You can't cheat an honest man'. As for "Did I say all that? Geez, I need a life.", well, what life does a man have, if it's being lived without thoughtfulness? It's one of the key strategies of the control freaks, to discourage 'the people' from communicating with each other, from sharing their thoughts and opinions, to seek as mutual an understanding of each other's perspectives and desires and dreams, values and ideas and ideals, so as to prevent the very kind of common unity that they fear so much. Why else the exhaustive efforts to denigrate unions, civil rights groups, minority rights organizations, politically independent community groups, alternative political and social philosophies, etc., if not because of the fear of their losing control of the many? I may be preaching to the choir, but, then, one never knows what the future will hold, when one plants a seed, shares an idea, or begins a conversation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. learned from Gandhi, but where did Gandhi get the idea to do the things he did, things which brought about the freeing of India from it's open 'colonization' by, surprise, surprise, white Europeans? What might things be like, if the natives of this continent had had unity among the tribes, back when the very same 'white Europeans' cut a swath of genocide from east to west? We're so very fortunate that we live in a time and place where we at least have the possibility of controlling our own governance, albeit, the garnering of that control requiring our united efforts, both of mind, body and spirit. The things to remember about my suggestions are that they are designed to be both a beginning of change and a stimulant and an inspiration of citizen participation, both for voters and honest candidates. The only viable and lasting solutions are the active, thoughtful participation of citizens as voters and the inspired and encouraged participation of honest, intelligent and naturally helpful individuals actively seeking public service. Both elements are essential to beneficial-to-all government. The God of your choice provides enough to satisfy all living creatures needs, but not any living creatures greeds.

Thanks for one of the few responses that indicates you're actually thinking about what I'm suggesting people consider, most others seem to merely dismiss outright those concepts that are new and different to their accustomed way of thinking.

How could I dismiss it without thought, It is a definitely tantalizing concept. One I have to wrangle with because it is something doable, but considering the nature of humans, and then the nature of politicians, I don't know how well it would work. I do not dismiss it, because it may be a piece that does solve this puzzle. For some wards it is a very viable solution, because anything is better than what is there. On the other hand there are some wards where the politic is so entrenched it is not a viable option. So it is not a blanket cure, but it could well be the shake that is needed to encourage enough of the apathetic in to action. Voters need to know that they can accomplish something, something beyond a change in name, but a change in names may be a good place to start. Already such a thing has begun, some wards have changed names and that may be (okay is) the place to start. Unfortunately, too many of those wards changed to someone else's political agenda and that is something that should be put into check. Maybe now is the time to come up with 5 or 6 third party candidates, a few in the wards of the newly elected and a few in the wards of the barely retained. This is where all that analysis, discipline, luck and opportunity could pay off for the citizens of Chicago. But, I am just a knucklehead and admittedly, I know very little. Shit, in the last election, I voted or Vaclav Havel for mayor (anyone who knows, knows that he should at least be govenor).

--Why else the exhaustive efforts to denigrate unions, civil rights groups, minority rights organizations, politically independent community groups, alternative political and social philosophies, etc., if not because of the fear of their losing control of the many?-- That was a wonderful thing to read. And they are damned good at it, I do actually marvel at that accomplishment.

Yes, they are DAMNED 'GOOD' at it. That's because they have no soul, no honor, no sense of right and wrong, no compassion, no mercy, no kindness, no 'moral compass', no integrity, and no desire to know anything about anything, other than, 'what do I want and how do I get it'. Since they know no rules of commonly decent human behavior, they are effectively limited only by what they can get away with. I posted this little essay awhile ago, it seemed to be amusing to some: "insider April 1st - 9:40 p.m. Let's take a peek into the Political Hack's Playbook. 1) If telling the truth HELPS you, tell the truth. (however rarely this is true for an incumbent) 2) If telling the truth HURTS you, tell a lie, particularly a lie that is impossible to prove is a lie. 3) When lying, coat your lies with as much truth as possible, so the lie APPEARS to be true. 4) When confronted with your lies, vigorously assert that you're NOT lying and accuse those who say you are, OF LYING. 5) avoid lying about things that can be PROVEN to be lies, tho, you can ALWAYS challenge the honesty of those who present the proof of your lies. 6) Do your very best to keep some sort of track of your lies, so you don't waste energy lying when you are confronted with conflicting lies. 7) Whenever possible, always have OTHERS lie for you, so you can denounce them, if and when they are caught lying. 8) When caught in a lie, change the subject and focus on telling those lies that have, so far, not been proven to be lies. 9) Tell the truth sparingly, as, if the truth were helpful to you, you wouldn't have to tell so many lies in the first place. There's a lot more stuff in the Political Hack's Playbook, but I think this is enough for now, don't you?" This is what the many hard-working, basically honest and humble citizens are up against. This is what we must all neutralize and render impotent, if we are to have a chance at controlling our own governance. This is what makes it so difficult to have honest people, doing an honest, fair and competent job of 'serving the public', representing, and not controlling, dictating, manipulating, deceiving and exploiting, us all. This is the challenge of our generation, to attempt to achieve what has yet to be achieved, namely, the ideals of democracy. I believe it's worth making an effort, even if we only can do so with a hope and a prayer.

Wow, apparently I struck a nerve with our erstwhile Utopian. Umm, I normally ignore the jeremiads and horatories, but this display was so extreme I have to ask. Utopian (and I use that term because, with so many identities, I t is the only label I have to address the mind behind them all), you DO know that most people can tell when you post under multiple names, and discuss things with yourself, right? Anyhow, Mick, I am about to say the nastiest thing I have ever said...Mayor Daley probably really appreciates your efforts. Consider this from the point of view of any executive, not just Mayor Daley. An executive's job is managing their subordinates. Problem is, most subordinates hide their mistakes or blame them on others. Thats just human nature. And while an executive may suspect something, you can't just go out an accuse them of lying, you need their help to succeed, and an adversarial relationship isn't going to achieve that. And the ultimate action, firing, has to be used sparingly, because the subordinates you don't want fired are not going to want to work for you if they view you as a bad boss, and your superiors are going to start to doubt your judgement. On the other hand, if an outside entity, say, you, were to point out problems, well, the executive can hardly be blamed for that. And then the executive can get involved. It really doesn't matter if the outside force is right or not, just simply that they provide an excuse. The executive can simply ignore it if it is not an issue they are interested in using as an excuse. Like I said, you are very useful to Mayor Daley, and he probably appreciates it. I would like to make one more point on this whole bad policeperson issue. Police are trained to ignore taunts and insults, they encounter them a lot. However, that is not so easy when their judgment is impaired, say, over grief for the loss of a loved one, or having a few drinks after work. Thats why there are "cop" bars, bars that specialize in serving policepersons. Several of the recent incidents are in that class. Was the officer wrong? Clearly. Was it inexcusable? Not exactly. Unless you are a stone cold hate filled monster, you understand that under tremendous pressure, anyone will break. That's why the human race invented mercy and forgiveness, and why we have human beings as judges, not computers. So no, it is not excusable, but it IS mitigating circumstances. In a rush to judgment, we forget that police are people, people we have asked to do an incredibly difficult job, under very trying limitations. If sometimes they fail at that, it is hardly unexpected, only a Utopian would think it was possible to always be perfect. But is is still inexcusable. Thats not an issue. But the punishment is. We have to ask ourselves this question, what are we trying to achieve? Is it revenge? For someone being fallible? In many cases, I don't think thats justified, the case of a policeperson grieving for his parent, for example. What I think we, as a society, ought to try and achieve is a better police force. That may involve firing or incarceration, but determining if thats the appropriate punishment involves a closer examination of the circumstances than the bare recital of immediate facts encompasses. Several thousand years ago, a man suggested that the world would be a much better place if we were all nicer and more forgiving to each other. For suggesting that, he was nailed to a couple of wooden boards and left to die of exposure. Judging by history, we haven't had much success by ignoring that advice. We might consider that it was probably was a mistake to do that and that perhaps he was right. So I make this suggestion. There are those in our society we ask a lot of. We might consider giving something other than hatred back, in return.

Randy, either you genuinely read more into anything critical of those in control of our governance OR you are, indeed, a disingenuous schemer. I suspect it is the latter, given your penchant for hyperbole and exaggeration. A few choice examples, first, from this particular post: "So I make this suggestion. There are those in our society we ask a lot of. We might consider giving something other than hatred back, in return." "Hatred"? Outrage, maybe. Disgust, maybe. Disappointment, certainly. Disapproval, definitely. and "....or having a few drinks after work." and "So no, it is not excusable, but it IS mitigating circumstances." You're not referring to the two incidents where, in one, several off-duty cops beat down a few, weaker, male individuals, severely enough for trips to the emergency room, then obstructed justice by waving off the on-duty officers who responded to the 911 call, or the other, where a 300 pound+, drunken cop punched and kicked the shit out of a 120 pound young woman bartender, all because she wouldn't continue to serve the already blasted fellow, with everything caught on the bar's video, then conspired to obstruct justice by having the victim threatened with grievous bodily harm, if she didn't withdraw her complaint, are you? and: "Several thousand years ago, a man suggested that the world would be a much better place if we were all nicer and more forgiving to each other." He did much more than that, binky, even if one doesn't embrace the belief in His divinity. You really should stick to what you understand and are knowledgable of, unless, of course, you knowingly are omitting those elements that don't support your agendas. and "Anyhow, Mick, I am about to say the nastiest thing I have ever said...Mayor Daley probably really appreciates your efforts." The 'nasty' part here is that the mayor doesn't 'appreciate' Mick's efforts, he exploits them, uses them, and, as you have pointed out, in your typically obtuse manner, benefits from them. and "Is it revenge? For someone being fallible? In many cases, I don't think thats justified, the case of a policeperson grieving for his parent, for example." So, you're thinking that a person grieving for the loss of a parent, or other loved one, would, quite naturally, be inclined to strike out violently in rage at anyone who 'rubs them the wrong way'? Have you lost a parent? Did you go out and get drunk, on the drug(s) of your choice? Were you inclined to beat the shit out of the first person who pissed you off? Is that your concept of grieving? and "Police are trained to ignore taunts and insults, they encounter them a lot." Do they, now? Ignore them? Encounter them a lot? Or, is it more commonly experienced, by the public, that some cops are the ones who regularly dish out taunts and insults, which the public must ignore and tolerate? and "Wow, apparently I struck a nerve with our erstwhile Utopian. "Umm, I normally ignore the jeremiads and horatories, but this display was so extreme I have to ask. Utopian (and I use that term because, with so many identities, It is the only label I have to address the mind behind them all), you DO know that most people can tell when you post under multiple names, and discuss things with yourself, right?" Extreme? Jeremiads & Horatories? Utopian? "...discuss things with yourself..." My, what nerves have I apparently struck in you? And, from a few other randy posts: "It is always easy to point out flaws, since there will always be flaws; nothing ever approaches the Utopian ideal of perfection. But it is not all that tremendously useful, either." And yet, you've just stated that the pointing out of flaws IS useful, to the mayor, at least. and "TIF's aren't always bad...." And, who's saying that they are ALWAYS BAD? When they are designated where and for what purpose they were designed for, when they are used to achieve their intended benefits, to the communities that truly need them, when their application and administration is honest and intelligent and helpful in attracting and encouraging private sector capitol investments in those areas sorely needing same, they're not bad and they aren't the specific TIF's that are being criticized. And you know it. and "I agree that contractors are more likely where you would find corruption, if there is any to be found. What you need to find out is what contracting agencies have a higher percentage of hires in a particular department or area. That could indicate favoritism or corruption. Or it might not. The city is pretty much self policing in that respect, though. If one group starts getting too much of the pie, competing groups yell their head off about it." So, according to randy, when "...one group starts getting too much of the pie, competing groups yell their head off about it.", means that what is likely to happen? That, suddenly, everybody involved magically turns honest? Or that the 'group' getting a bigger 'piece of the pie' politely turns over a portion to the group that is doing the yelling? Or, more likely, that the powers-that-be decide that they need the pie to be BIGGER, so there'll be more 'pie' to go around? Randy, I'm consistently amazed at how some of your posts can be intelligent, well thought out and interesting to ponder and others are so loaded with agenda-driven crap that it's hard to believe they were written by the same person. With that said, I hope you continue to post, as the odds are in favor of your producing the former a bit more often than the latter.

We, the taxpayers, are not subordinates of Mayor Daley - HE WORKS FOR US! Period. This is still a Democracy. He is not a Sun King, and we are not his peasants. He is a public official who serves with consent of the public. He is our subordinate. The press and folks like you might want to continue to treat him as though he is royalty, but as Mr. Conyors article on the Burge case demonstrates, he was entrusted with a public trust that he will be held accountable for. I am glad that the courts are beginning to take on the arrogance of this mayor, as well as alternative press outlets like the reader. I think it is high time that the main stream press take off the kid gloves and start insisting on some real responses for the failures of our police department, public schools, public transit, abuse of TIF's and the lack of transparency at virtually every level of city government. Look beyond the flower beds and cast iron fencing, and this city is in serious financial trouble. Pension obligations and infrastructure maintenance might not be glamorous topics, but they need attention before their is a mass flight out to the outer suburbs simply because most of us can not afford the cost of nearly two decades of neglect toward real investment in our infrastructure and the far too generous union agreements on top of a bloated bureaucracy of political hires. Exactly how many PR people do our governments need? Thanks once again for your Socratic BS input Tool.

I hope you appreciate the contributions our 'resident apologist' randy continues to post. I know I do, as it gives me an opportunity to examine the nature and techniques used by our own midget, leprechaun king, (and his loyal minions), to bullshit the voters into allowing him to fuck up this city and county for generations. Randy does a wonderful job of presenting us with proof positive of the ways in which our 'public servants' consistently treat us as the fools we have proven ourselves to be. Now, if only we can develop a concerted effort to rid ourselves of these many leeches and parasites in the next few elections. HAVE NO DOUBT, VOTE INCUMBENTS OUT.

The CTA is a mess financially. DC has a much better mass transit system. As does Mexico city. Now they can't even do it right over the summer with people getting stuck for an hour. They are cutting service for the poor and minority while raising rates--decreasing the very reason to have mass transit for low income people to get to work. Property taxes are high. EVICTIONS ARE AT ALL TIME HIGHS AND HIGHER IN CHICAGO THAN ELSEWHERE. As are foreclosures and bankruptcy. So all this nice, new stuff and lots of building is done on a loan and credit card and it is coming due. There is a lot more money because of HEDGE FUNDS in New York (in New York most of the big financial people live in New York proper and donate big time to the arts etc--our financial industry residences are primarily suburban although certainly critical to the Chicago economy) Chicago is not the only big city that made a come back in the 90s. There was a booming economy with a strong stock market, monetary policies that dated back to Reagan, the internet dot com boom (even if some it was a bubble) The West Coast (LA/San Jose) and Boston did much better in the Tech Market than Chicago (remember the big Flipkowski disaster and some of the other investments that failed) with more university support/interaction and more creativity and company headquarters in Portland, Oregon-Seattle, Washington--San Jose, California and a lot of the research stuff in Boston, MA--let alone Tel Aviv, Israel or Bangaglore, India. Taxes are high Schools are still mediocre and Chicago is still the murder capital percentage wise and pure numbers YES, downtown is expensive and beautiful (parking, food, if you own property taxes, or rent--not for most people) and Lincoln Park is nice and many other nice areas--do you think that is because of Daley. Daley wasn't nearly as innovative as GULIANI in NYC or RIORDAN in LA even Cleveland, Ohio rebuilt their pier St. Petersburg, FL rebuilt the Pier San Antonio has a RiverWalk Chicago has more people and infrastructure What did Daley do so different than a Mayor: Vrdolyak? Washington? Dorothy Brown? Frank Avila? Gene Sawyer? Tim Evans? Don Haider? Jane Byrne? Don Rumsfield? Larry Horist? Ed Burke? Juan Soliz? Larry Melman? Luis Guttierrez? Ed Kelly? Would Chicago be a Detroit with any of the names above? Better? Worse? Daley doesn't deserve half the credit people give him. Education is still mediocre and terrible in many places. Chicago is a TALE OF TWO CITIES. The nice exterior of some parts doesn't mean a lot of people are getting pushed out and suffering. Daley is corrupt and probably should go to jail.

Almost every major project in Chicago has been over budget, taken too long, and cost a lot and lot of money with all sorts of corruption MILLENIUM PARK the girl got pregnant by a guy not her husband while she worked for the city regulated the baby's daddy who was the contractor? DAN RYAN? Traffic? Parking need I say more The HIRED TRUCK PROGRAM Daley used to say this was a success A gang banger who ran a contracting program and took bribes so mafia trucking companies could get contracts to do nothing the POLICE LAW SUITS over and over and over again torture misconduct rogue cops drug dealing cops hundreds of millions in legal fees and settlements EDUCATION--still some of the highest drop out rates, dozens of murders just this year alone IN THE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS Big budget and lots of sweetheart contracts Oh, but North Side Prep is a great school for rich white people so some white people won't move out to Wilmette when they have families the CTA--it is a financial mess bad service The Inspector Generals office--corrupt The Federal Monitor-- a joke So where is the City that Works? Try to get a permit if you are politically unconnected or a zoning change or start a business in the city limits or fight a water bill and don't forget to pay your property taxes

And yet, the midget, leprechaun king gets 70%+ of the votes of those who showed up on election day. Kinda proving that the minions will get out of bed at least one day out of, what, 4 x 365 = 1,460? Too bad the rest of us can't seem to figure out that that's all it would take for us to do, get out of bed on election day and vote the bastards out. Well, maybe next time........

So, randy, you got an opinion on what 'Benjamin' posted? Maybe some goofy analogy to the history of ancient Egypt? Or the Middle Ages? Or the 'mythical' city of Atlantis? How about it? Cat got your tongue?

Randall is busy trying to think of how to justify the abuse of his fellow citizens of Chicago. It takes more of a leap of faith than most of his neighbors to say, (in quotations below are the piece of shit Randy Gordon’s rationalization of police abuse.) "I would like to make one more point on this whole bad policeperson issue. However, that is not so easy when their judgment is impaired, say, over grief for the loss of a loved one, or having a few drinks after work. Thats why there are "cop" bars, bars that specialize in serving policepersons. Several of the recent incidents are in that class. Was it inexcusable? Not exactly. Unless you are a stone cold hate filled monster, you understand that under tremendous pressure, anyone will break. That's why the human race invented mercy and forgiveness, and why we have human beings as judges, not computers." Lets hope the judges don't find beating the shit out of a 100 lb. bartender, or abusing your position to prevent your fellow officers from investigating the unprovoked attack of four guys playing a game of pool that landed one in the hospital, inexcusable. Randy - you’re not a tool, your a piece of SHIT, plain and simple.

Yes, it does seem likely that our 'resident Daley apologist' has his head planted so deeply up the leprechaun's buttocks, that the smell of feces has altered his perception of the real world. And he may well have breathed in so much shit vapor, for so very long, that his cellular structures have mutated into the substances found withing that dark, dank and fetid environment. And yet, randy does have a purpose in this life, perhaps one not of his intention or comprehension. Let us all continue to rejoice and appreciate his willingness to share his thoughts and opinions, from his vantage point, as, properly handled, randy may prove to be a guy who has 'gone where no honest man has gone before', and his observations, however convoluted they may seem to be, are of value.

just because Daley wins doesn't mean he is doing a good job I don't trust those new computerized voting machines anyway

Thus the need for an overwhelmingly huge turnout of registered, non-voters and previously unregistered, non-voters, all focussed on voting out the entrenched, machine incumbents, both Dunbocrats and Retardicans, in every election, and in numbers so great as to be insurmountable by even the most egregious election fraud. At the very least, make these rascals commit vote fraud so blatantly, that it can't be hidden, not even from the 'three monkey' major media, ie., they 'see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing'.

If those of you on this blog who hate Daley and his cronies so much would put your money where your mouth is then maybe you would be worth listening to. Stop crying and put the money up to run for office, or convince your neighors you are not just blabering nuts and that they should go to protests or rallies to get Daley to follow the law. Entrenched, machine encumbents etc? wah wah wah. Get off this blogs and go do something that gets people to vote.

"...run for office..." and "...convince your neighbors..." and "...do something that gets people to vote." Thanks, we will. and "Get off this blogs..." No thanks, we won't.

I'm pissed at Daley because Chicago isn't as nice as Seattle.

So, next time you get a chance, piss ON the mayor......

> TIF's aren't always bad, either. Here in Westridge, a TIF saved Lincoln avenue in the 40th ward, when the area was in danger of being overrun by gangs and drugs. May I ask, exactly how did the Lincoln Ave TIF save West Ridge from gangs & drugs? I have studied the Lincoln Ave TIF and the only things to its credit are: 1. rehabing Lincoln Village Mall including the Alderman's offices and his favorite restaurant, and providing windfall profits to the investors; 2. a new construction condo project near Lincoln & Peterson. Some of the motels on N Lincoln have come down, but they are not TIF projects. The Lincoln Ave TIF is a very odd TIF to cite as a counter-example to the assertion that all TIFs are bad.

Randy is a very odd example of a loyal Stone shill.

NCBG TIF Profile: Lincoln Avenue Corridor http://ncbg.org/tifs/tifprofile.aspx?id=149

RIP, NCBG. since you linked them, let's highlight this most telling stat: Initial EAV: $63,741,191.00 Current EAV (2004): $87,202,898.00 And people wonder what the scam is... the TIF is 6 years old and already the initial budget forecasts are worthless. How can anyone not read this as an admission that $24,000,000 (to date) are going to be stolen from the schools/parks/general operating fund is beyond me.

Well, those doing the stealing know very well what they're doing, namely, stealing. Those unsure of what's going on with TIF's have no excuse, Ben's been relentless at reporting on this issue. And the comment that the decade-old+ development boom should have generated a huge amount of tax revenues, due to the increased assessment values of these properties, were it not for these gains being siphoned off into the black hole of the TIF galaxy, is right on target. And yet, Daley gets reelected with 70%+ of the votes of those who voted, most incumbent alderpersons get reelected, the beat goes on and things remain substantially the same. Go figure.

"re stop May 30th - 5:21 p.m. My intended audience, if you're correct, has been focusing on individual, incumbent politicians for decades, buying into the false premise that an incumbent office holder has, somehow, earned the 'right' to be re-elected, unless that person has done something or things to warrant being 'fired'. This premise is what is responsible for all of the lousy 'representatives' we have been burdened with for generations. Before you point out that these 'public servants' were duly elected by the 'people', let's examine that assumption. First, ask the question, 'How many citizens are, at any given moment in time, qualified to vote, ie., 18 years of age or older, citizens, whether born or naturalized and residents of the area holding an election. Think of that number as 100% of all eligible voters. Next, I believe we can safely propose that, as a rule, no more than 50% of the whole are registered to vote at any given time, for any given election. So, we start with only half of all eligible voters are registered. Then, we can also safely propose that, of those 50% who are registered, usually only half of those voters actually show up at their respective voting places and casting their votes. Thus, we see that approximately 25% of all eligible voters actually vote in any given election. Since, at most, a candidate needs only 51% of voters to choose him/her to win, we can safely conclude that a mere 13% of the total number of eligible voters are deciding who are elected public servants are. Granted, many will say that the 50% of eligible voters who don't register are, theoretically, expressing and enjoying their right to vote by not voting, and that the 25% of the whole, who are registered, but don't vote, are doing the same. What I wonder is, why would 75% of those eligible to vote choose not to, choose to either register, but not vote, or not even register at all. I don't believe it is because 75 out of 100 citizens are making this choice voluntarily, at least not as the word is defined in Webster's. I believe, and propose, that most of the 75 out of 100 don't vote, or register to vote, because they have concluded that their vote doesn't matter, won't change anything, isn't important and isn't worth the time and effort it takes to participate. In this, they are substantially correct, as the present public perceptions of the accepted political practices is designed to discourage the majority of citizens from participating in the political process. Your focus on individual candidates is the crux of the problem, however counter-intuitive that sounds. We can only afford to focus on the individual candidates when we have honest, intelligent, ethical and naturally helpful candidates to consider. We waste our time and energies considering and analyzing the 'professional' politicians, as they all, with few exceptions, are cut from the same cloth and want us to believe that there are no other kinds of cloth to cut from. The typical 'professional' politicians are rank opportunists, willing to act in a hurtful/harmful manner as easily as act in a helpful/harmless manner. The typical 'professional' politician is only honest and forthcoming when he/she is forced to be, defaulting to dishonesty, deception, misdirection, stone-walling and blatant double-dealing as the rule, rather than the rare exception. This is what the voters, both the 25% who routinely vote, and the 75% who do not, should be focusing on. This is the fresh, honesty and plain truth presumption that all voters should take with them into the voting booth, every election, with the challenge to the INCUMBENTS to ALWAYS have to convince enough voters that THEY DESERVE to be re-elected. This is why the entrenched incumbents strive to keep the public believing that the challengers should be the ones who have to convince voters to elect them, why the entrenched incumbents promote the wide-spread belief that they have to have screwed up really bad to warrant the voters firing them. Until such time as enough voters open their eyes and realize that, contrary to the 'professional' politicians assertions, THEY are OUR EMPLOYEES, not our 'leaders', 'masters', 'betters', or 'bosses', we will continue to be led, like sheeple, down that primrose path to poverty. In the 'private sector', one's employer requires that the employees efficiently produce value for their pay. In the 'public sector', we, the employers, seem to accept much less value from our employees, our 'public servants', than we would ever think to accept from our employees, should we own a business. We seem to accept much less value for our tax dollars from our 'public servants' than we would ever accept from our local store, contractor, service provider, etc.. The reason we accept paying so much, for so little, is, I believe, to be found in our generational conditioning to see and accept our 'government servants' not as our employees, but as our 'leaders/masters/bosses/superiors. They are anything but...... Focus on firing all incumbents. Use the outlined, mathematical formula. Register to vote and Vote on Election Day. See what will happen when the entrenched incumbents are shown the door. Should the newly elected challengers FAIL to PROVE they DESERVE to keep their jobs, vote THEM out, using the same strategy. REPEAT AS NEEDED, for as long as it takes to inspire honest people to enter what will be true public service. The experience of seeing your vote result in change will inspire more and more citizens to participate, will force any who are elected to be much more responsive to the desires of the people, and will allow us to truly know what a democracy actually is."

Being a Chicago Transit Card holder I just received an e-mail that begins, "Due to insufficient state funding...customers who pay with cash or Transit Cards and use the CTA weekdays will pay higher fares at rail stations and on buses." HA!!! Is it even legal to push out this kind of propoganda? This message should read, "Due to years of mismanagement by Daley's inner circle..."

Not to seem to be critical of your comment, but, describing the CTA's problems as being the result of 'mismanagement' is being too generous. Every city agency is being managed exactly as those in control of them want them to be. Thus, what is being played off as incompetence, is really planned waste and excess, likely meeting the legal definition of fraud, were there anyone in a position of authority willing to prosecute said fraud. To think that these guys and gals are incompetent idiots grossly underestimates their abilities to steal, by various means, the huge amounts of taxpayers' dollars that are wasted by said thievery. But, like the EverReady Bunny, we just keep paying, and paying, and paying, and paying.........