Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Huffington Post Features FixWilsonYard Lawsuit


Seems like FixWilsonYard's can-do spirit is getting some nationwide publicity.

The Huffington Post has picked up on the story of the TIF's waste, secrecy and cronyism:

"Change Comes to Washington, Will it Come to Chicago?

On the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama to be the 44th President of the United States, a group of citizens met in a theater in Uptown, Chicago to demand accountability from their government. The city that gave the United States a leader who called for change is seething with citizen anger over a laundry list of corruption, cronyism and crooked deals. They are wondering if the change that is hopefully coming to Washington can ever take place at their doorstep."

It's a in-depth look at the whole TIF mess and ends with this: "Who is watching the store when so much tax dollars are being offered to private businesses? Yes, change is coming to Washington. And if the citizens of Uptown who are organizing and supporting Fix Wilson Yard have their way, change will be coming to Chicago. And soon."

Read the entire article here.

15 comments:

  1. Funny, our hometown news gave this suit only a couple of paragraphs. I'm sure it was because they felt this was close to no-news; an unimportant gathering of folks with no tread. It's a story that continues untouched by a "free" press that should be protecting the citizenry and exposing true corruption in government. Well, this news has bypassed the little guy and gone national. Kudos to Molly, Thomas, and Champ. And to all of you who have donated money, time, and energy to FWY.

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  2. All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
    -Thomas Jefferson

    Chicago and its surrounding area are anticipated to lose 80,000 jobs in 2009. These TIF's should outrage all. At it's best it is mismanagement of funds, at it's worst it is taxation without representation.

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  3. And they awarded the CME millions when they merged with the CBOT.

    CME didn't need the money they weren't going anywhere.

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  4. Wrong Chuck.... it's because the papers in this town help maintain the status quo, Daley and his blind-robbing cronies. No one in the media dare go against The Mare.

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  5. At least until I sell the Cubs.

    Sincerely,
    Sam Zell

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  6. That was a great article. It really explained things in a detailed way that was easy to understand. Seems to me that the Alderman can just pull as much money out of the TIF chest as they want, whenever they want. I hope FWY turns out to be a landmark decision.

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  7. You're right, Chuck. The Chicago Tribune gives this ONE sentence that does not even contain the word TIF. Yet, the Huffington Post seems to find this newsworthy. I would seriously like to know what a reasonable Chicago citizen should make of that?

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  8. This very moment, Obama is issuing an executive order on ethics in order to make "the White House the people's house." There are a variety of new orders to stop double dipping, revolving doors and conflicts-of-interest.

    He says the way to "make government responsible is to make it transparent." He is also offering directives for interpreting FOIA to stop this business of allowing any reason to slow down the FOIA process.

    Chicago, stand up and take notice. Demand more from your local government. Be the change you want to see!

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  9. What's the name of that article so we can read it online?

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  10. Two things -

    1) This proves, at least in my mind, that the Huffington Post is undeniably the premier liberal news blog in the world.

    2) The issues facing Uptown are epic. Fix Wilson Yard is literally a first of it's kind battle between a group of concerned citizens (including myself) and what is widely known as one of the most corrupt local governments in the country.

    This is a nice juicy story - so hot that the local papers are too afraid to flip over the rock and have a look at the nasty little politics slithering beneath.

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  11. There's a new section of the Chicago Tribune starting today called "City Chicagoland Extra", which will now be included in the paper on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Here's a link to an introduction:
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-welcome_city_zonejan21,0,6785162.story

    Maybe we could all write to Claudia Banks, the Chicago section editor and ask that she do a story on FWY ... she's asking for ideas and wants to 'get the conversation going'.

    So, let's get going!

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  12. This proves, at least in my mind, that the Huffington Post is undeniably the premier liberal news blog in the world.

    Isn't 'Liberal' a dirty word now? I thought the HuffPo was 'progressive'.

    Something about trying to avoid the "neo-liberal" labels that silly Marxists - Leninists, Stalinists, Maoists alike - prefer to employ as they pummel historically liberal concepts.

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  13. ImWatchingToo: Email. Claudia Banks. Done.

    Thanks.

    FYI: Here is a hyperlinked version of ImWatchingToo's link.
    clickability

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