Comments on Uptown Update: News-Star: "Holsten's Attorney Subpoenas Google"

That was pretty funny, Hugh! Will you be my date f...

2009-02-05T04:25:01.087-06:00

That was pretty funny, Hugh! Will you be my date for opening night? :)

from a dramaturgical point of view, this economy o...

2009-02-03T10:04:00.299-06:00

from a dramaturgical point of view, this economy of cast (Alderman's son, defense atty) and location (downtown office) will someday greatly simplify the staging of "Wilson Yard: The Musical"

Any news on the motion that needs to be filed befo...

2009-02-02T20:17:25.658-06:00

Any news on the motion that needs to be filed before February 4th?

I am Uptown Update.

Love,

S.

If Quinn can get the recall amendment through, and...

2009-01-31T17:30:05.571-06:00

If Quinn can get the recall amendment through, and have that effect ALL politicians, that would be a wonderful day in Illinois, and I would certainly vote for the man even if that were all that he did.

I would be rather happy if Helen (among SOOO many other of our crooked pols) had to concern herself with the fact that all of the people she pisses off had another avenue to boot her bucket out of office.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

Recall ... get out.

hey,Tony Fusco! hows come CCDC has no projects in ...

2009-01-31T12:57:25.078-06:00

hey,Tony Fusco! hows come CCDC has no projects in River Forest?

hey, Danny Burke! hows come CCDC has no projects in Oak Park?

hey, Peter Holsten! hows come Holsten Dev has no projects in Hinsdale?

It's free speech! It's political expression!Shille...

2009-01-31T08:43:21.165-06:00

It's free speech! It's political expression!

Shiller, Burke, Daley, Stroger, Blagojevich - they are CCDC's kinda public servants - what they all have in common is IDEOLOGY: a deep commitment to affordable housing and an abiding commitment to "looking out for the little guy"

It has NOTHING to do with them being in positions of power able to dole out great buckets of taxpayer cash! NOTHING! OK?

we wouldn't want to imply anything different - after all we closed the door on the era of pay-to-play in Illinois this week - Gov. Quinn told us so

my, my, my but that Suite 1310 is one busy, busy, ...

2009-01-31T08:37:12.193-06:00

my, my, my but that Suite 1310 is one busy, busy, busy little office!

what with the public cash from at least 2 TIF deals we know of and Holsten's legal defense flowing through those doors, and Brendan stopping by to pick up his mail

" ... it's your first amendment right!" that's exa...

2009-01-31T08:33:52.318-06:00

" ... it's your first amendment right!"

that's exactly right!

this is America, and campaign contributions are free speech, too

they have a constitution right to purchase taxpayer subsidies and we have a constitutional right to blog about them purchasing taxpayer subsidies

Hey Holsten and Shiller,Let me make this even easi...

2009-01-31T07:58:08.925-06:00

Hey Holsten and Shiller,

Let me make this even easier for you. If you simply take a look on Facebook, you can see the names and smiling faces of more than 625 people who are Friends of Uptown Update.

For instance...you'd see my smiling face ...and you'd see local residents of all races, gender and ages...you'd see local business owners ...and oh yeah, you'd see State Representative Greg Harris, too.

We are Uptown Update!

Seems like this whole "I Am Uptown Update" thang i...

2009-01-30T20:39:39.426-06:00

Seems like this whole "I Am Uptown Update" thang is catching on.

Interesting story hot off the presses. Fix Wilson...

2009-01-30T20:14:01.923-06:00

Interesting story hot off the presses. Fix Wilson Yard attorney wins case against City of Chicago in appellate court.

So it is possible to take on the forces of "Da Mare" and win.

UU, your commitment to this community, along with ...

2009-01-30T20:11:51.966-06:00

UU, your commitment to this community, along with your advocacy for a better Uptown for all, is very much appreciated.

I, too, am Uptown Update.

(This reminds me of a scene in the movie "In & Out" with everyone standing up for the character played by Kevin Kline. I loved the movie, and I love UU.)

I am Barack Obama...

2009-01-30T20:06:14.094-06:00

I am Barack Obama...

We're Magnolia/Malden neighbors (at least some of ...

2009-01-30T19:10:50.470-06:00

We're Magnolia/Malden neighbors (at least some of them) and WE are Uptown Update!

Keep blogging, it's your first amendment right! Th...

2009-01-30T18:51:19.943-06:00

Keep blogging, it's your first amendment right! The wealthy have always and will always try and take this away from you. It makes it easier for them to do as they please.

Thanks for covering for us, but my dog and I are U...

2009-01-30T18:47:51.702-06:00

Thanks for covering for us, but my dog and I are Uptown Update!

No seriously, I am Uptown Update. It is finished....

2009-01-30T18:29:58.693-06:00

No seriously, I am Uptown Update. It is finished.

shew! thanks for posting, guys!I was afraid the po...

2009-01-30T17:25:16.728-06:00

shew! thanks for posting, guys!

I was afraid the post about taxpayer subsidies might land too close to the post about campaign contributions, and someone would get their undies all in a bundle

The Finance Committee couldn't bail em out?we taxp...

2009-01-30T16:46:47.740-06:00

The Finance Committee couldn't bail em out?

we taxpayers didn't bail out CEF, but we bailed out the CEF bldgs in Uptown, xfering them to CCDC-controlled entities in the process

of course being an Illinos FOR-PROFIT corporation ...

2009-01-30T16:43:20.632-06:00

of course being an Illinos FOR-PROFIT corporation CCDC is PERFECTLY WITHIN THIER RIGHTS to contribute to political campaigns, and, regular readers will not be surprised, THEY DO!

Anthony J. Fusco, Jr., Director, President, & Treasurer
Daniel J. Burke, Director, Vice President & Secretary

CCDC are serial TIF developers. An earlier TIF deal of theirs was $3M for the Archer Courts senior housing in Chinatown.

Given their business model you can probably appreciate how important it is that they support progressive candidates and CCDC and its owners are major campaign contributors. CCDC has made 70 contributions totaling $63,280.00 since 1998. NOT THAT THERE'S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT! Pols who Fusco & Burke feel strongly about include Mayor Daley, John Stroger, Rod Blagojevich, and several aldermen, including Alderman Ed Burke.

AND as you might also guess, CCDC is a stunningly consistent Shiller funder:

$300.00 6/26/2008 (6 mos. after WY TIF deal - just a wild-ass coincidence, tho!)
$1,000.00 6/5/2007 (6 mos. b4 WY TIF deal - another freak coincidence!)
$1,000.00 8/10/2006
$500.00 12/12/2005
$500.00 12/20/2004
$500.00 8/8/2002
$500.00 6/28/2001
$250.00 1/7/2001
$250.00 1/7/2001

not sure what happened in 2003!

Although Mr. Fusco lives in River Forest, and Mr. Burke lives in Oak Park, they are both fascinated by Chicago politics, to the extent that they feel they and their company should actively fund political campaigns.

And it is their RIGHT!

What he is saying is right on about affordable hou...

2009-01-30T16:41:38.756-06:00

What he is saying is right on about affordable housing.

Think how nice WY will be?

Higginson? As in Chicago Equity Fund gone kaput b...

2009-01-30T16:33:47.665-06:00

Higginson? As in Chicago Equity Fund gone kaput because of - as Daniel Mahru, Rezko's partner in Rezmar, put it,

"We lost huge amounts of money operating those buildings," Mahru said. "There's no money in affordable housing. The tenants don't pay their rent. You can't evict them. And when you finally evict them, they owe more than a year's rent, and the apartment is a mess. There's no money to clean it up or fix it up. That happened over and over again.''

CEF was the limited partner in many of the Rezmar properties. Rezmar dumped them on CEF. CEF couldn't handle them. So it folds.

The Finance Committee couldn't bail em out? Or maybe it didn't want to bail em out.

holy moley:yes, I agree that there is a possibilit...

2009-01-30T16:28:25.683-06:00

holy moley:

yes, I agree that there is a possibility that if UU loses anonymity, that person or persons could face some sort of retribution. That wasn't my point.

I support UU, I contribute to UU, and I agree with Chip...it is a community effort. However, the problem is that one person signed up for this blog (or one entity). While they can't be held responsible if I say something defamatory, they could possibly be held responsible for failing to act.

Let me make it clear: I don't like the subpoena , I think its a diversionary tactic, and I think its desperate.

I do hope that one day UU can reveal his or herself though. I would respect them if they did (not that I don't already)

Anyhow. I want to hear how this plays out. The fact is that if something were to happen to this blog, we could carry on. Something else would replace it, but I hope (and don't think) that will happen.

Here's to making a difference. If we are going to do any protesting, let me know. I'm glad to join in.

12/13/06 in YOUR City CouncilDESIGNATION OF COMMUN...

2009-01-30T16:26:43.550-06:00

12/13/06 in YOUR City Council

DESIGNATION OF COMMUNITY HOUSING PARTNERS XI, L.P. AND VOICE OF THE PEOPLE IN UPTOWN, INC. AS PROJECT
DEVELOPERS, AUTHORIZATION FOR EXECUTION OF LOAN, REDEVELOPMENT AND LAND-USE RESTRICTION AGREEMENTS AND ISSUANCE OF CITY OF CHICAGO VARIABLE RATE DEMAND MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVENUE BONDS (UPTOWN PRESERVATION APARTMENTS) SERIES 2007 FOR ACQUISITION AND REHABILITATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

see PDF page 21 Journal page 94065

900 W Windsor
4431 N Clifton
927 W Wilson

AKA the "Voice of the People in Uptown, Inc." deal

AKA the "Uptown Preservation" deal

77 units of affordable rental apts

if you are a property taxpayer YOU contributed $10M in the proceeds from bonds sales to be paid back from the property taxes of the future collected in the WY TIF

you also extended a $1,137,197 low interest loan, source that dough is not clear from the agreement

that works out to about $144K/unit for those keeping score at home

Chicago Community Development Corporationregular r...

2009-01-30T15:51:42.270-06:00

Chicago Community Development Corporation

regular readers will recall them

they are the SECOND biggest hogs at the WY trough

they used WY TIF dough to scoop up the rental apartment buildings in Uptown when William Higgenson defaulted on his loans

maybe some else can post more details