Take a look at Lorraine Swanson's article in Lake Effect News about yesterday's Wilson Yard TIF meeting and ponder this question: If this additional money is supposed to be all about employment, fish farms, green technology, and parking lots -- why are all of Ald. Shiller's supporters talking about the additional TIF money in terms of "affordable housing"?
Some quotes from the people who voted at the meeting to give Helen more (and more and more) of our money:
- “I’ve been here longer than any other commissioner and I never rescinded a TIF because it’s just not good business,” Commissioner Clyde Martin said, who appeared not to understand residents’ request to retire the Wilson Yard TIF, thinking they wanted to port the $54 million budget increase to other city TIFs.
- “I have not heard why this particular TIF should not exist in this area,” CDC Commissioner Anne Kostiner said. “I haven’t heard nothing negative about ‘how my neighborhood would suffer because of A, B, C or D.'”
- “We’re talking about an alderman here and people in the planning department,” Kostiner said. “I have not heard in this room what she or the city staff has done that’s been so corrupt. I’ve only heard positive things about jobs and housing for people. To be honest, I think a lot of people don’t like Ald. Shiller, that came out loud and clear. If you don’t like this alderman do something about it.”
I know some of you have enjoyed the "deep sausage" comments I have made about certain Daleyites planning/hoping to replace Shiller.
ReplyDeleteIt's that 54 million smackeroos and some other things that makes me believe Shiller will likely run for reelection and that the only realistic way to get rid of her will be at the ballot box.
I don't think she would have appeared in that stunningly incisive interview with Jim Williams if she wasn't at least hoping to run again.
She will have lotsa pressure from all her "fans" in the various groups that testified at the hearing to try to stay in office.
Now I don't know what will happen.
I do know that the idea of her losing the election gives me a whole lot more joy than the idea of her being replaced by some Daleyite hack.
Little in life that is worthwhile is easy.
Better we work at kicking out Shiller than she just go quietly to be replaced by a "hack du jour".
So once again I issue that clarion call that drove the Shilleristas so crazy in 2007.
Vive La Resistance!
What person gives a presentation in business or government and says "We think we have a number of ways to skin this Cat"?
ReplyDeleteI have been away for few days in another city and it makes it more clear how freaking corrupt Chicago is.
Chicago has to be the most corrupt politicians of any place I have ever lived.
The City with be in decline if something doesn't change because the go go days of the late 80's 90's and 00's won't be back.
I might add I see the streets and sewers falling apart all over that is all going to catch up with the city at some point.
ReplyDeleteTo CDC Commissioner Anne Kostiner:
ReplyDeleteIt's not a matter of like, or dislike.
It's a matter of trust.
When you work in the public sector - you should not only know the difference, but be willing to recognize it.
If we felt that we could trust Helen, the dislike you witnessed (and, I'm rather sure the dislike for which you were prepared to witness) wouldn't cross into the realm of vitriolic anger.
Into the realm of disgust.
If we could trust the woman to use the money as she states, that's one thing.
We don't.
We don't like her ideas, and we certainly can't trust her to go against her history of turning acceptable ideas into unacceptable ones, at her whim.
I'm sure she's upheld almost every promise she's made to the underprivileged, and I'm glad people who need help are getting it - however, she knows that she can't get what she wants by being straight with everyone - so, she's picked a side as targets for curious statements with questionable truthfulness.
She's giving no reason for those who question her to trust her.
And it's not like people haven't begged her to give them a reason to trust her.
What do people think that rally outside of the Olympic meeting was all about?
I have better things to do than to stand outside in the rain just to make Helen look bad or Cappleman look good.
Some may have wanted to make her look bad, but .. well. Tough rocks.
Welcome to the world of politics.
People would pee their pants if she ever gave a straight answer.
She doesn't.
People would even accept her a little more if she recognized her "opposition" as more than some paranoid fantasy she has.
If there were some economic vibrancy in this ward - the kind that didn't lead to gunfire, I wouldn't give two shakes what else she does.
This amendment was a request for a trust she hasn't earned.
Denise's lil' victory dance in the lobby is simply more proof of Helen's disregard for the comprehensive constituency - and simply helps to demonstrate my point.
There is never any acceptable reason to dance after a "win" in this sort of arena.
She simply wanted to fuel the flames.
"Bring me what you got" - should be an offense worthy of dismissal.
Not around here, though.
It's all so obvious, and if the CDC members can't or don't recognize the difference (I'm referring to those who can stay awake, and/or in their chairs for the entire meeting, of course) and act accordingly (a unanimous vote is a lazy, ignorant, unworthy result), then they need to be cashing in subsidy checks.
Not handing them out.
Note:"corruption" includes "dishonesty".
ReplyDeleteNo one assumes Helen does what she does for the money (beyond the pension)
Vote those planning commissioners out of office! Please!
ReplyDeleteThis is the definition of Communism found at www.dictionary.com
ReplyDeletecom⋅mu⋅nism /ˈkɒmyəˌnɪzəm/–noun
1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. (often initial capital letter) a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political entity.
I honestly believe SHILLER IS A COMMUNIST. Period. Put that on a sign and march with it...
“I’ve been here longer than any other commissioner and I never rescinded a TIF because it’s just not good business,”
ReplyDeleteSeriously, is THAT supposed to be a satisfactory response from an 'experienced commissioner'!? Sounds like smoke and mirrors to me. Since when is one response ALWAYS the best response? How could one carbon copy answer invariably satisfy every situation, especially in such volatile subjects as politics and urban planning? If someone has ALWAYS taken Option A over Option B, how the *%#k would they know the potential outcomes of Option B? They couldn't KNOW that it's 'bad business' if they have never tried it.
This thinking, which completely lacks subjectivity and effort, is exactly what plagues Chicago politics (aside from the blatant self-serving attitudes). An old school mentality that the system is the system and one shall not rock the boat or think as an open-minded, educated and INTELLIGENT human being.
“I have not heard why this particular TIF should not exist in this area,” CDC Commissioner Anne Kostiner said. “I haven’t heard nothing negative about ‘how my neighborhood would suffer because of A, B, C or D.”
Now I wasn't able to attend the meeting (regrettably); so can someone tell me, within in this panel of dwarfs, is the Commissioner Sleepy or Dopey?
According to the Lake Effect News article, there was eloquent prose from the TIF opposition. I bet Molly had a great set of reasons why this TIF shouldn't exist. So I'll ask again, was this Commissioner one of the sleeping few or just a dim light?
I am disgusted and dejected.
What CAN we do to get HELLen out of office (preferably before 2011)? Obviously City Hall is a bastion of deaf ears so what else is there? I seriously wish torches and pitchforks in the early hours were still legal. Hellen Shiller is one Ogre that deserves a literal boot out of town.
Clyde Martin slept during half the meeting
ReplyDeleteThere is a culture in City Hall that will be difficult to overturn. How many voters actually know which commissioners they are voting/not voting for? Could the number of voters in Uptown who take the time to educate themselves actually make a difference city wide? Will any new Alderman who is elected be able to keep his/her integrity and not give in to the system? Tom Tunney seems to have fallen in line with everyone else. Seeing how so much this week has been approved without discussion/debate, it is hard to keep hope alive!
ReplyDelete"...why are all of Ald. Shiller's supporters talking about the additional TIF money in terms of "affordable housing"?
ReplyDeleteSimple. That money will be used for more housing. The Salvation Army building will be deemed too expensive to retrofit for hydrophonics/fish farm/whatever, and it will be turned into more "affordable" housing or torn down and a larger low income building will be built. They can build a larger building because of the extra lot next to it.
The parking lots on Sheridan - that might happen to shut the Chamber up. If not, you guessed it - more low income housing - maybe parking below it?
And who else wasn't just a little disgusted that Uptown Business Partners (the Chamber) and Uptown United didn't object to anything regarding the additional $54 million. Not a recommendation for more retail, not a recommendation to steer clear of more housing, not even an objection to just how silly Shiller's fish farm farce is.
These two groups are utterly useless in my book.
Could the number of voters in Uptown who take the time to educate themselves actually make a difference city wide?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing in the last election. I carefully researched the judges using the information put out by the various bar associations. Then, I watched the poll numbers. The few "do not retain" judges kept their seats. The percentages that they were re-elected with were almost the same as judges who got endorsements. I think about those results often when I think about how much can actually be done at the voting booth regarding city-wide/county-wide spots. I do believe, on the other hand, that aldermanic races are another ball of wax.
Good luck voting Shiller out of office the next time around. Far too many of Uptown and Lakeview's clueless residents simply adore her due to their extremely limited knowledge of her modus operandi.
ReplyDeleteShe supports the gay community and helps the poor, and that's all they're aware of or care to learn about her. You have no idea how many people I come across who don't know the first thing about what's really going on in the 46th Ward.
This apathetic and ignorant demographic will happily line up on election day and vote her in once again.
"Tom Tunney seems to have fallen in line with everyone else."
ReplyDeleteTunney? Don't talk to me about Tunney.
seems to have fallen in line? where you been bro?
between the last municipal election & run-off Tunney found $10K for Bernard L. Stone
nothing makes a clearer stmt about your values than what you do with 10 large
Citizens for Tunney
$10,000.00
3/26/2007
Transfer to Bernard L Stone Campaign Committee
"And who else wasn't just a little disgusted that Uptown Business Partners (the Chamber) and Uptown United didn't object to anything regarding the additional $54 million."
ReplyDeleteTechnically, the Wilson Yards tax grab was a proposal of the City of Chicago's Department of Community Development (DCD)
Uptown Business Partners and Uptown United are almost entirely funded from contracts awarded thru DCD
Uptown Business Partners and Uptown United testifying in favor of a proposal of the City of Chicago's Department of Community Development (DCD) is DCD creatures testifying in support of their underwriter
DCD does this at every CDC meeting, call on their subcontractors to write letters and appear and testify
at the federal level we have a Hatch Act which prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activities
we need a sort of Hatch Act for city contractors
minimally, city contractors offering testimony or evidence at public hearings must divulge their contractual relationship
I might just walk away from my condo. I'll never be able to sell it anyway. Atleast then Shiller won't have my money to spend.
ReplyDeleteI feel sick to my stomach. This is unreal. I feel like even if Shiller gets voted out, which isn't likely to happen, Daley will just appoint someone like her to the position because he likes having Uptown be his personal garbage bin to dispose of the city's undesirables. Can't have those tourists and Olympics panel see that Chicago has homeless, and mentally ill, gangbangers and prostitutes!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course the commissioners and other aldermen support it. They don't want the problems we have in their neighborhood!
Denise Davis makes me want to puke too. Victory dance? Are you serious? What next, are her and Helen going to star in Bring It On part 5 - The Revenge of the Incompetents? SO professional ladies! Chicago politics at its finest...push, bribe, threaten, lie and rubber stamp!
And people wonder why Obama scares me... he's forged of the wool of Chicago politics! I have nothing against the man, but I'm waiting for him to pull the rug out from under me, smile pretty and hand me a bucket of shit like Daley.
Could it be that this $54 million will be used as leverage in acquiring the Merryville site? If there is nothing definite toward which she is required to use this cash, couldn't she simply talk a good game with developers and use this money to boost investment incentive from the devolopers who want to build the low income housing on that spot? If she is not held accountable by the city and anyone in authority (we all know the voters hold no authority in Chicago) I suppose she could really do whatever the hell she wants. Fish farm, out, slums along the lake, in. We have until 2015 to put all the poor in one locale that won't be seen by the Olympic cameras. They choose Uptown.
ReplyDeleteThese two groups are utterly useless in my book.
ReplyDeleteUptown Business Partners is the worst Chamber of Commerce I have ever seen in my life. This organization doesn't even work for its membership.
Support WAMA. The only way to put a dent in the UBP is to spend no money at all at UBP members. It's a slow process, but it will eventually get their attention. An "I pledge" website where you can anonymously disclose all the money you are not spending at UBP member merchants that you are spending elsewhere will also help.
Second, Bridgeview Bank is not on your side. Bridgeview Bank will not ruffle any feathers. They will support whatever the Alderman supports.
Listen to Hugh. What Hugh writes may even get Paul Collurafici to show up.
Each dollar of your discretionary income is a vote. You cast it every single day. You could be doing a lot more to put a dent in this fixed system.
I feel like even if Shiller gets voted out, which isn't likely to happen, Daley will just appoint someone like her to the position because he likes having Uptown be his personal garbage bin to dispose of the city's undesirables.
ReplyDeleteShiller can lose. Believe it. Yes we can.
Thanks to DCD we taxpayers paid for Christie Hahn's and Joyce Dugan's salaries for them to wordsmith & appear & testify, and for the letterhead they wrote on and the computers they wrote on and the heat and light and electricity in offices they composed in. Did they mention this when they introduced themselves to the good commissioners? Did anyone opposed get any City funding? just wondering
ReplyDeleteDid they mention this when they introduced themselves to the good commissioners?
ReplyDeleteHugh: This should be the lead statement from the opposition at every meeting.
Resident
ReplyDeleteI just want to let you know that gay people are not blind or ignorant and alot of us DO NOT support the witch.
Ken,
ReplyDeleteI'm another one that doesn't support her.
Consider this:
ReplyDelete1. There is a parking lot at Agatite and Clarendon that community members can park in overnight free of charge. That lot is part of the Maryville property.
2. In order to put up more housing on that site, the parking lot has to go. Helen has already said she wants more senior housing where that parking lot is.
3. The piece of land at Agatite and the west side of Sheridan that is being talked about for purchase is basically useless for development, as it is land locked.
4. Now Helen can have it both ways. She can preserve some parking, although the lot at Sheridan is much, much smaller than the lot at Clarendon, and she gets to clear out that big lot for her senior housing, or whatever housing she has bargained for with the owners of Maryville.
5. With the real estate market the way it is, I'd guess the owners of the Maryville property don't have a ton of capital to put up the kind of buildings that were proposed a few months back. Private financing is nearly impossible for projects these days, so public money is the only game in town.
It's all just speculation and an educated guess at this point.
Transparency at it finest, no?
:]
ReplyDeleteBut it would also make for AWESOME parking for the Tattoo Factory, too.
ReplyDelete:]
Semi true story.
ReplyDeleteI just got in from walking my two labradoodle brother dogs Beezle and Bub.
As we were walking on Wilson near Dover two hookers came out of the alley. I'm guessing they had ducked in the alley to avoid the po po.
Anyway the hookers, let's call one blondie because of her wig and the other non blondie because of her lack of a wig, were unknown to me.
They sensed my excitement at unexpectedly running into some working girls early in the morning.
Blondie asked me if I wanted a "date". I of course already had taken care of my perverse and twisted needs earlier in the evening near Leland and Sheridan. At my age I'm known as "one pop pirate" so between that and the dogs a second pop was out of the question.
Now Beezle, being a perv like his owner, took an immediate liking to non blondie. Non blondie jokingly asked if the dog was interested in a "date" and how much "puppychow" did Beezle have on him.
I said "54 million dollars".
Non blondie said "it's a done deal".
What the moral of the story boys and girls?
Fifty four million dollars in taxpayer money will buy a whole lotta puppychow.
Hahn and Dugan are paid to misrepresent you. What you saw was a carefully orchestrated performance and they were paid actors.
ReplyDeleteAnd you paid them.
Paul - just wondering if your :] is something similar to Denise Davis' victory dance after the CDC meeting? You know, a symbolic "F U" to the taxpayers of Uptown?
ReplyDeleteJust curious.
If you're an sad sack property taxpayer opposed to a DCD proposal, you have to take time off from work to say so.
ReplyDeleteIf you're in favor, DCD will pay you to testify.
“I’ve been here longer than any other commissioner and I never rescinded a TIF because it’s just not good business,”
ReplyDeleteThere's no reason to give any simblance for checks & balances. I wonder why the city bothers pretending? Let's just save some tax money and leave out the middleman. No TIF will ever be turned down and the press will never touch why.
Last year in the heat of the Children's Museum debacle Mick Dumke posted some notes on the the Plan Commissioners. Let's write to the Reader and ask for brief profiles on the Community Development Commissioners.
ReplyDeleteGee, how will they vote?
by Mick Dumke on Wed, May 7, 2008
letters@chicagoreader.com
Hugh is dead on. Uptown United received $53k in 2008 from the Wilson Yard TIF. One can only imagine how much more they will get with this expansion.
ReplyDeleteRead the report here:
http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_TIF/T_110_WilsonYardAR.pdf
Alderman Mary Ann Smith: Smith often touts her independence but is usually a reliable council vote for the mayor’s initiatives. She’s enthusiastically supported the Daley administration’s ever-expanding use of TIFs, including several in and around her 48th Ward, and she’s got a record of using hardball tactics and backroom deals to eliminate political opposition.
ReplyDelete*cough*