Saturday, January 26, 2008

You Gotta 'Pay To Play' In Uptown, And Chicago

The "Chicago Tribune" ran an interesting article today highlighting how Chicago aldermen have taken to a "pay to play" system, taking money from developers to beef up their election war chest, in exchange for rezoning. The 46th ward has over 50 zoning changes on file. Check out the article here. Check out the database of zoning changes by ward here.

9 comments:

  1. Oh boy! This is going to be fun reading!

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  2. This isn't news anyone that has done any business in Chicago understands how it works.

    Hopefully, JC will learn this and then maybe he has a chance next time.

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  3. Helen Shiller made her reputation as a self-proclaimed Liberal Saint who was for the people and against developers who "would turn Uptown into another Lincoln Park." As the anti-alderman alderman she's done a pretty amazing job stuffing her own pockets with developer and liquor license holder dollars. And, she's robbed the local schools blind to pay her local patronage army. It's the hyprocrisy that galls.

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  4. Why do people live in Chicago but continue to complain about the Alderman or Chicago Politics?

    Not that is right but how do you change it?

    I get tired of everyone complaining about things that the average working sob can't control.

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  5. The Trib is starting to catch on that readers are bored and they want real stories. Let's be honest here. Who didn't know there was pay to play politics in Chicago?

    We all knew but the papers ignored it. I'm wondering if they are starting to read the blogs and wanted to do a story that would capture more readers. I think it worked. It got me to buy the Trib.

    The papers are in desperate straits for more readers. Just writing about this has to have some influence.

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  6. Why live in Chicago? Well we need to work and that is where the jobs are. Not everyone can comute from Crystal Lake every day. If they did, there would be an RTA crisis instead of a CTA crisis.

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  7. But why live in a place you can't stand so much?

    There are 49 other states to live in.

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  8. Who says it's a place we can't stand? I love Uptown. I was here before Shiller was in office and God willing I'll be here after she's gone.

    What you're saying is like why live in the U.S. if you don't like the current President? Well, you could leave. Or you could wait it out.

    I choose to stick around and try to make it better.

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  9. Today's article (Part 2, Jan 28th) in the series is a better look at how the Alderman wield their power. Read it, and please send your thoughts about the 46th Ward to the authors. I just did, and one has already replied.

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