Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Clout City The Substitute for the Substitute
Posted by Ben Joravsky on Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 4:58 PM
I'm under no illusion that the 2016 Olympics—should we be so unlucky as to host them—will be anything but a waste of money, as the well-connected gorge themselves at the public's expense.
So the best the City Council could do for the masses would be to effectively kill the games by passing First Ward alderman Manny Flores's original proposal to cap public spending at $500 million.
But since Mayor Daley has made it clear that he won't let that legislation come up for a vote, much less win approval, the council's next best bet is to pass Flores's new proposal calling for strict oversights. (You can check out a PDF of it here.)
Now it's clear the mayor won't let them do that either.
Flores introduced his substitute proposal today and the mayor quickly countered with his own variation [PDF], which offers next to nothing in legitimate oversight. Click here for a chart that the alderman put together comparing the two proposals.
“This ordinance will ensure greater public transparency about the Olympic finances as well as provide further protection to our taxpayers,” Mayor Daley said in a prepared statement. Right.
So here's how tough things are for open government in Chicago: Mayor Daley's pushing a substitute for the substitute for the real legislation our aldermen ought to pass.
Hang tough, Manny. I guarantee you'll get votes from aldermen Scott Waguespack and Joe Moore and maybe even Roberto Maldonado—that is, if he can get his mind off his real estate holdings.
Just kidding, Alderman M.
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When it comes to this battle, it's better to go down swinging, Alderman Flores. I hope more than a few of your colleagues sign on.
someone tell me: is the part about Da Mare not letting Flores's ordinance even come up for a vote grounded in any sort of actual legal footing or is it just another case of Aldermen being the bunch of worthless, gutless lemmings that the usually are ?
Alderman Flores, if you accomplish little else during your time as an alderman - you must ensure this legislation is called to a vote, and approved.
Don't allow the spineless Daley sycophants allow anything less.
I would think Ben would be more concerned about the clout admissions scandal at the selective enrollment high schools in Chicago.
I'm not saying, I'm just saying.........
The only way Alderman Flore's ordinance sees the light of city council chamber's florescent bulbs, is if everyone calls their alderman and demands that they support it. The political will is in the hands of the people, when they actually demand it.
The only way Alderman Flore's ordinance sees the light of city council chamber's florescent bulbs, is if everyone calls their alderman and demands that they support it. The political will is in the hands of the people, when they actually demand it.
It's September 2nd. What happened to the LEK report due end of August? Is it public? If not, why not? If it is, what are the key findings?
There's interesting background research and perspective on the Chicago olympics bid in an article on truthout.org. http://www.truthout.org/090309R
The comparison between the proposals makes it seem like Daley's "plan" tries to avoid any real disclosure, much less oversight by an outside body. C'mon folks - If we let him, Daley's going screw us over again like he did with the parking meters!
- Dangermaus
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