tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post9061629071418262609..comments2024-03-23T09:42:36.833-05:00Comments on Uptown Update: Pigs Feeding At The Taxpayer-Financed TroughUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger88125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-9245513079339960372008-10-10T11:26:00.000-05:002008-10-10T11:26:00.000-05:00This is absolutely inferiorating!Thank you to whoe...This is absolutely inferiorating!<BR/><BR/>Thank you to whoever took the time and effort to really dig into this matter!!!<BR/><BR/>What disturbs the hell out of me is just how easily our voice is taken for granted in city hall. "Oh, Helen says this is gonna be great - okey doke, I'll let it pass."<BR/><BR/>It seems that the aldermen just can't conceptualize the fact that a lot of us folks in Uptown are middle class like them, working in the loop like them - making money to pay our taxes - flipping the bill for a ward with five times the amount of what is average for subsidized housing in a ward.<BR/><BR/>Makes you wonder if they think everyone who lives in the 46th ward is helpless, or in need of help?<BR/><BR/>Makes you wonder.<BR/><BR/>It sucks to love Chicago so much, but despise the crooked bastards who run it.sheridanparkparadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15576704055802083662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-31107324525368793272008-10-09T15:38:00.000-05:002008-10-09T15:38:00.000-05:00" ... they don't even have the capacity to underst..." ... they don't even have the capacity to understand how this is horribly offensive .. "<BR/><BR/>you mean like, if they understood the law better, they would be more compliant?<BR/><BR/>you're cute!<BR/><BR/>but if you really think that - write to the <A HREF="http://www.ag.state.il.us/government/pac_bio.html" REL="nofollow">IL AG Public Access Counselor</A><BR/><BR/>I'd love to see our AG schedule some mandatory attendance open government training for our aldermenHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-82182501167829388942008-10-09T15:30:00.000-05:002008-10-09T15:30:00.000-05:00LOL TrumanSquare. Unfortunately, I am already seei...LOL TrumanSquare. Unfortunately, I am already seeing some of my projects drying up. I will try to continue contributing to these lawsuit funds but it is just soooo wrong that we have to pay this additional "tax" just to make our government to follow the laws of the land. Fix Wilson Yard folks---is a separate action necessary?Sassyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023321034518238290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-59933888311243371422008-10-09T14:22:00.000-05:002008-10-09T14:22:00.000-05:00Well, if any community has learned how to sue publ...Well, if any community has learned how to sue public officials... it's us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-44233641259075150672008-10-09T14:17:00.000-05:002008-10-09T14:17:00.000-05:00no, they know, but they also know the sheriffs are...no, they know, but they also know the sheriffs are on their team and they figure we won't sueHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-79229562204758914972008-10-09T13:52:00.000-05:002008-10-09T13:52:00.000-05:00It seems to me that flouting these laws is so de r...It seems to me that flouting these laws is so <I>de rigeur</I> that they don't even have the capacity to understand how this is horribly offensive (and given the tenor of the times) downright frightening to so many of us.Sassyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023321034518238290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-27563360202414687632008-10-09T13:47:00.000-05:002008-10-09T13:47:00.000-05:00sometimes calling our aldermen crooks is over the ...sometimes calling our aldermen crooks is over the top, but state laws were broken this weekHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-43954097987805116692008-10-09T12:46:00.000-05:002008-10-09T12:46:00.000-05:00The vote was unanimous. By the time the City faces...The vote was unanimous. By the time the City faces the serious repercussions of mortgaging off its assets, Daley and the rest of City Council figure they will be long gone. How I long for term limits. What's happening with TIFS, especially the WY TIF, is criminal. It seems to me that something could be done on the state level to address the corruption in Chicago's TIFS. This might be good for Greg Harris or Heather Steans to address. <BR/><BR/>My request is that those of you who didn't vote, please don't bother to complain on this blog.holy moleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18006600794546900502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-74934720658236810152008-10-09T12:04:00.000-05:002008-10-09T12:04:00.000-05:00Did Burnett vote in favor of the measure?If the wa...Did Burnett vote in favor of the measure?<BR/><BR/>If the ways and means are corrupt, you have to stand up and vote against the ends even it favors you.<BR/><BR/>By supporting it, you only feed the beast that is the machine as it twists your arms, kicks you down, leaves money behind, and tells you to thank them on election day.The Soul of Murray Humphrieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10775534748510613771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-41483114267748980612008-10-09T11:49:00.000-05:002008-10-09T11:49:00.000-05:00Burke's Statement of Financial Interests, the sour...Burke's <A HREF="http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/files/ward14.burke.pdf" REL="nofollow">Statement of Financial Interests</A>, the source document of the Sun-Times articleHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-11566441352335402062008-10-09T11:19:00.000-05:002008-10-09T11:19:00.000-05:00"God knows we can use the money right now..." the ..."God knows we can use the money right now..." the alderman says.<BR/><BR/>Yet little to none of it is going to go to plug the current deficit because the specifics of the act that allowed this to happen require that the money be spent for infrastructure. The sad fact is that you simply cannot vote democrat in Chicago or Cook County anymore. Chip Douglas, please invite me to the next Uptown Libertarians (or Republicans) meeting. Cronyism in Chicago is doing very little for people across the political spectrum here.Sassyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023321034518238290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-35810355874282340382008-10-09T11:17:00.000-05:002008-10-09T11:17:00.000-05:00With all of this said... did anyone get a copy of ...With all of this said... did anyone get a copy of this 40-50 page document? If so can that person make it available online to all of us? I think a lot of people are interested in reading it!Uptown Pioneerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13287155742842246662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-64860969849184484852008-10-09T10:57:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:57:00.000-05:00poor alderman thinks he was disrespectedpoor alderman thinks he was disrespectedHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-40623364177153996522008-10-09T10:52:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:52:00.000-05:00our home town's govt is not supposed to be able ac...our home town's govt is not supposed to be able act this quickly<BR/><BR/>they are not allowed to play hide the bacon with legislation<BR/><BR/>and there's a good reason for that - WE are supposed to have a seat at the table<BR/><BR/>we have 48 hours to notice something of interest, call, ask questions, and express our views<BR/><BR/>I don't think it's too much to ask<BR/><BR/>of course I feel kinda silly getting all worked up over little ole WY when our Village Elders did a $2B Tuesday-Wednesday slam-bang-thank-you-ma'am job on Midway<BR/><BR/>it was amusing to hear ALDERMEN complain about the rush and lack of transparency, consideration, and deliberation in City Council, hey, try being a taxpayer sometime, at least the Alderman got behind-closed-door briefings<BR/><BR/>Alderman Burnett on the Midway deal:<BR/><BR/>Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to say a few things. One, I think that this is a good deal. I want to commend Volpe and Mr. Smith and everyone involved in putting such a deal together. God knows we can use the money right now, but I would be re miss if I did not acknowledge the fact that I really feel like I'm being pushed because for once, we found out about this deal in the newspaper, three days before we sit down and talk about it, and then we, you know, are on an obsticle course trying to figure it all out and look at it and ask all of the questions, you know I think it's very unfair to us and I just have to point that out. I think it's a good deal but I don't like the way that it was shoved down our throats, and I don't appreciate that and I think that's wrong that I had to, if I have a financial decision to make at home, I talk to my wife and we got to work on it together before we make a decision. You know, we don't even get the chance to read the whole document and do all of the research before we have to vote on such a big deal, and I know we're in a financial crisis, but it's wrong how you guys did it and it's very disrespectful to all of us as Aldermen, very disrespectful and I'll tell you if things like this continue to happen as we go through this budget, there's going to be a problem because, you know, you are just choking us and making us do things whether it's right or wrong, you need to give us the respect as elected officials in this council. I know you all have been working on it for years and two years and three years but you got to give us the respect because we're the ones who vote on this and make it happen. Thank you.Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-91549077568937167332008-10-09T10:37:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:37:00.000-05:00Thank you, Hugh. I felt so bad that you were treat...Thank you, Hugh. I felt so bad that you were treated so poorly when you appeared before the council most recently. People have a right to expect that their legislative representatives will follow the laws, ordinances and procedures that they have put in place themselves (as a body) and have individually sworn to uphold. It is pathetic that it must take so much effort from the voting public to make them do these things but I, for one, really appreciate that there are people out there like you who are willing to spend the time and put themselves on the line to protect our liberties.Sassyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023321034518238290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-3243451905875751262008-10-09T10:28:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:28:00.000-05:00technically the OMA says any citizen or our County...technically the OMA says any citizen or our County State's Attorney may bring suit<BR/><BR/>the IL Atty General reads this clause as "not my job!" they won't take legal action but they will occasionally write a nasty gram<BR/><BR/>when asked about local govt corruption one of our State's Atty candidates curries favor with the machine by openly spewing rhetoric to the effect that her office will not have the resources, local govt is someone else's problem<BR/><BR/>forgive me as I recommend that if you have enough commitment to complain about these kind of assaults on your rights as a citizen of Illinois that you write to the Mayor, Cook County States Atty, and IL Atty General, even as I confess my personal experience with these avenues has been paltry<BR/><BR/>in practice it's up to us & whatever lawyers we can hire, the good news is a lawyer can recover fees if successfulHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-26040678345712317552008-10-09T10:15:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:15:00.000-05:00"So then where do you report a violation of the op..."So then where do you report a violation of the open meetings act?"<BR/><BR/>great question, wish there was a simple answer<BR/><BR/>these are both a tad dated but still good resources<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.ag.state.il.us/government/openmeet.pdf" REL="nofollow">GUIDE TO THE ILLINOIS OPEN MEETINGS ACT</A><BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php?op=browse&state=IL" REL="nofollow">Open Government Guide: Illinois</A>Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-46364182167908204362008-10-09T10:04:00.000-05:002008-10-09T10:04:00.000-05:00"Fix Wilson Yard asked ... Ald. Edward Burke for a..."Fix Wilson Yard asked ... Ald. Edward Burke for a copy of the ordinance and amendment. Ald. Burke’s office advised us that their copy was filed with the City Clerk’s Office ... "<BR/><BR/>telling you they didn't have it is in violation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act<BR/><BR/>Burke's office admitted to you that they have a legally inadequate record of their proceedings of the previous day<BR/><BR/>you were denied your rights<BR/><BR/>make sure your lawyers know about this responseHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-4532091279055999372008-10-09T09:59:00.000-05:002008-10-09T09:59:00.000-05:00from the original post:"they put me in touch with ...from the original post:<BR/><BR/>"they put me in touch with Alderman Burke's office, who chairs the finance committee. I spoke to a lovely woman named Judy who said the actual document was about 40-50 pages long ... I asked if I could get a copy of the document and she asked if I worked downtown and could pick it up. She said that she doesn't receive electronic versions and therefore couldn't e-mail it to me."<BR/><BR/>the legal minimum response to this kind of query is "COME ON DOWN!"<BR/><BR/>under our Open meetings Act, a public body is required to keep the records of their proceedings available for public inspection. The day before when this proposal was voted on by the Finance committee it became part of their official record, and they are obligated to keep a copy in their office for anyone to stop by and look at and make a copy<BR/><BR/>they are technically NOT obligated to sent it out, although often committees will if you ask real nice (I think mainly because they prefer faxing something out to having to keep the office open for a civie who might or might not stop by!)<BR/><BR/>notice this is under the OMA. If you want to insist they SEND you copy, that's a FOIA process. But FOIA gives them 10 days to sit on your request, so FOIA is not generally useful to us in the 48 hour window between agenda posting and action when we poor civilians are scrambling to find out WTF our government is up to.<BR/><BR/>at no time in human history has it been easier, cheaper, or quicker to send 50 pages of information a few miles but it is beyond the ken of our home town<BR/><BR/>in practical terms to be in this game what this means for us in the 'hoods is that we need a call list of neighbors who work downtown in the vicinity of City Hall who can stop by on a break or lunch hour and pick up a document on short noticeHughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-59570645682018112232008-10-09T09:39:00.000-05:002008-10-09T09:39:00.000-05:00thanks for the link, IP!thanks for the link, IP!Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-64843603386059504752008-10-09T09:37:00.000-05:002008-10-09T09:37:00.000-05:00City Council Rules of Orderrule 14 makes no refere...<A HREF="http://www.chicityclerk.com/citycouncil/rulesoforder/12-13-06%20Rules%20of%20Order%20-%20Small.pdf" REL="nofollow">City Council Rules of Order</A><BR/><BR/>rule 14 makes no reference to conflict of interest or any other reason WHY an alderman might not want to vote<BR/><BR/>rule 14 attempts to put our alderman on record - it says that if an alderman is present, they HAVE to vote Yea or Nay - UNLESS they make a separate motion PRIOR to a vote and ask permission from the Council NOT to vote - this is usually granted on the basis of hearing no objection rather than as an additional procedural vote<BR/><BR/>Our state legislators have 3 buttons in front of them - yes, no, and present - but our alderman do not. The only way our aldermen can vote other than yea or nay is to leave the room or invoke the escape clause in rule 14.Hughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15522429207805068382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-31580421971928458452008-10-09T07:36:00.000-05:002008-10-09T07:36:00.000-05:00So then where do you report a violation of the ope...So then where do you report a violation of the open meetings act? I am generally with Shiller on not criminalizing poverty but for goodness sake, when aldermen violate the law SHE herself should be all in support of that. Why? Because Chicago alderman are either our "elite" or are the handmaidens for our elite. They routinely do things that engross the wealthy and make the poor and marginalized suffer more. <BR/><BR/>Ahhh...such a sticky situation this Helen Shiller finds herself in. In order to achieve your goals you have to abandon your ideals?? I didn't read that part in "Rules for Radicals." Maybe there is a special footnote somewhere that I overlooked.Sassyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07023321034518238290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-4909522284792109762008-10-08T23:05:00.000-05:002008-10-08T23:05:00.000-05:00KH, don't bother reporting any suspicions of uneth...KH, don't bother reporting any suspicions of unethical or illegal behavior on the part of aldermen and their staff to the City's Inspector General. They cannot be investigated. There was an attempt to change this in City Council back in the late 1980's, but it died in committee. <BR/><BR/>Ald. Shiller has stated that she opposes having the City Inspector General investigate aldermen and their staff for allegations of corruption and waste. I find it appalling that there is such a grave lack of accountability, but I don't see this changing until voters place more pressure on City Council.James Capplemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14344512821272018828noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-52275622381897337022008-10-08T20:36:00.000-05:002008-10-08T20:36:00.000-05:00I THINK that it is now appropriate to call Alderma...I THINK that it is now appropriate to call Alderman Burke;s office and start asking him why his enthusiastic support for this. <BR/><BR/>Burke Edward M Alderman<BR/>2650 W 51st St<BR/>Chicago, IL 60632<BR/>(773) 471-1414<BR/><BR/>I mean, if our Alderwitch cannot answer the question, perhaps his office can. <BR/><BR/>Seriously, please start calling his office tomorrow... it might make for some interesting information, particularly with his ties to Holsten, which I did not know about until the post above..Uptown SuperHero!https://www.blogger.com/profile/04823845270663735822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1957537260422450632.post-22026378847545224962008-10-08T19:51:00.000-05:002008-10-08T19:51:00.000-05:00Link to the Burke Holsten connection article.Just ...<A HREF="http://www.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs/588442,watchdog04.article" REL="nofollow">Link to the Burke Holsten connection article.</A><BR/><BR/>Just another service brought to you by IrishPirate soap. The soap that doesn't eliminate the stank, but highlights it.IrishPiratehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11339255909419333238noreply@blogger.com