Thursday, July 16, 2009

What Today's E-Mail Blast Might Have Said

(click to enlarge) Be sure to check the comments on the post about the July 23rd meeting. Right now Ald. Shiller's office is saying it's a closed meeting, only for those who were invited. The public doesn't have the right to attend.

21 comments:

  1. Wow - it is already off the Truman calendar. talk about quick!

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  2. In her defense, the entire $112M isn't earmarked for the fish farm.

    She's asking to adjust the original value of the TIF from 2001 $(~$50M), to 2009 $ ($112M).

    Basically, what she's doing is squeezing more value from the TIF to use for pet projects which, as far as I can tell, don't address ANY of the immediate needs of the ward.

    The fact that she's hiding behind invitations merely demonstrates something that we've all known for quite some time:

    She cannot be trusted.


    Regardless, just because the meeting to discuss the use of public money has been closed to the public, therefore no public input on how our money will be spent, doesn't mean that concerned citizens can't hang around Truman prior to and/or following the meeting.


    FYI - @janjeffcoat for twitter folks.

    She's the Fox anchor to which Helen pledged her high level of transparency.

    Tweet her early and often to see ifshe's willing to follow up on her story.

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  3. As for the notice being removed from the Truman College calendar:

    Sit, Ubu, sit.

    Good dog.

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  4. You had to see that coming!
    Once something is posted on this site, her cover is blown. It would have been great to show strength in numbers at the meeting. This site is good for sharing info... unfortunately, Helen's minions are onto the game....

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  5. To me, it seems like a violation of the Sunshine Law..

    Open Meetings Laws in Illinois
    Note: This page covers information specific to Illinois. For general information concerning access to government meetings see the Access to Government Meetings section of this guide.

    The Illinois Open Meetings Act provides the public with a right of access to the meetings of a large number of government bodies at the state and local level. The law also entitles you to notice of these meetings and gives you the ability to inspect meeting minutes. For more detailed information about Illinois open meetings law, please consult the Illinois Attorney General's Guide to the Illinois Open Meetings Act and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press's Open Government Guide: Illinois.

    What Meetings are Covered?
    What Government Bodies Are Covered?

    The Illinois Open Meetings Act covers all "public bodies." The term "public body" includes

    all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof.

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  6. WOW! It sure smells like dead fish to me................

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  7. I don't know if I believe that having invitations, which means the Block Club Presidents, is actually making a meeting public. I also don't know if Block Club Presidents represent their clubs well. I've met mine like 3x in 3 years.. and I haven't seen him in a year and a half.

    I believe these meetings that impact all of us, should include just all of that. I know that by inviting a select few, meetings go faster and are more efficient, but in this case, it's not like whether or not to have recycling bins in the neighborhood, this is something that could have a huge impact on the neighborhood and the schools.

    I'm going regardless and claiming student project.

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  8. Violation of the "Open Meetings Act" is part of the FWY suit, by the way.

    Let her have the meeting with her lil' puppies regarding this particular TIF.

    It only goes to enhance the claims made by FWY.

    Good thing Helen's got a staunch Daley ally in judge's robes helping her dig her way out of her own hole.

    As for the block clubs ... meh.

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  9. Yo! "In her defense.......????" So if the fish farm is a mere $2M, that's ok?

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  10. so who exactly is invited to this meeting?

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  11. The Illinois Open Meetings Act grants public officials a few methods to keep meetings secret.

    http://is.gd/1BgRV

    The law needs to be reformed. Just about all of this conduct should be open to the public. It may not be able to comment in the meeting, but they have every right to observe it.

    The bad news is this meeting is already being moved.

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  12. At previous TIF discussion meetings, the public was allowed to attend, but not speak.

    What do you bet Paul from Tattoo Factory, Cory from ONE, Marc Kaplan, and her minions from social services are invited?

    Just not the people who are paying for the TIF.

    In the 46th Ward, now that the meeting isn't even open for observation, the TIF process is LESS transparent than it was prior to the Sunshine Ordinance.

    Yup, she voted for transparency, postured herself as one of the leaders, and now the process is even murkier in her home ward.

    We're going backwards, in more ways than one. Or shall I say, ONE?

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  13. That was really funny! LOL!

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  14. It's obvious that Shiller sees the TIF as free money and her own personal piggy bank for her crackpot ideas. PLEASE come to the Fix Wilson Yard fundraiser tonight. It's our only hope of stopping the insanity that is our alderman.

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  15. Why don't we just all show up at the meeting?

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  16. Is there a reason we can't get the federal government involved to investigate her shady practices? If I recall, the state's attorney general can't do anything with Aldermen but can't the Feds step in and ship her out? Perhaps protests and picket lines outside her office for a month would generate some media to bring light to how she ignores the very people that are paying for all these ridiculous projects they actually oppose. Having unhappy constituents is a part of life when you are in politics. She should be working to put out the fires but instead chooses to ignore and seemingly go out of her way to infuriate those who are unhappy with her performance. I don't know about you, but I call that childish and passive. Neither of which belong in politics or a neighborhood with so much potential.

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  17. http://www.aldermanshiller.com/content/view/671/30/

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  18. Write and call the local news agencies early and often. That's the only way these crooks are forced to respond. That's assuming you can get someone to actually write an honest column about it.

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  19. Thanks, UG. Keep us in the loop about what's going on Chez Alderman, 'kay?

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  20. Keep us in the loop about what's going on Chez Alderman, 'kay?

    Indeed. "Consultants" to the alderman probably have a lot of good info to share.

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