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The [Wednesday] Papers"The Port Authority kept secret four meetings between Gov. Chris Christie's former top staffer at the bi-state agency and representatives of United Airlines when it initially made his calendars public, WNYC has learned. "The hidden meetings were between then-Port Authority Deputy Director Bill Baroni and Jeff Smisek, who at the time was CEO of United Airlines, and Jamie Fox, a former United lobbyist and the current Christie transportation commissioner. They were redacted from documents requested by The New York Times in December 2013 and posted on the Port Authority website." (Background on the ongoing federal investigation of United here.) This is a hugely dramatic example of why the calendars of public officials - transparently showing how they are spending the public's time - are hugely important. Illinois Times today sued Gov. Bruce Rauner after Attorney General Lisa Madigan ruled that the governor must turn over his appointment calendar in response to the paper's request made under the state Freedom of Information Act. (Rauner now claims he left the ceremony to meet with the four leaders of the General Assembly.) Other media outlets, including the Associated Press and the Chicago Reader, have been unsuccessful in convincing Rauner to release his appointment calendar showing with whom he has met. Rauner has also refused to tell the Chicago Reader the names of lawyers in private practice who have done work for the state and been paid with public money. Quite. (Speaking of the Reader, here's another example of how informing a public official's calendar can be - in this case, Rahm.) * Back to United: "Several key meetings were also missing from [then-Port Authority chairman David] Samson's public calendars, including the Italian dinner with Jeff Smisek and the two United Airlines executives who resigned as a result of the investigations. A meeting between Samson, Smisek and Christie in August 2013 is also missing from Samson's calendar. "Other documents released under Freedom of Information requests suggest Samson did much of his business as Port Authority chair using an e-mail system from his private law firm, then known as Wolff & Samson." The Chicago Tribune filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that Mayor Rahm Emanuel violated state open records laws by refusing to release communications about city business conducted through private e-mails and text messages. Speaking of Hillary . . .
It's only time to move on because we all know by now that she used private e-mail for the same reason as Rahm and the Port Authority dude. She's guilty and refuses to acknowledge so; add that to your calculations when deciding for yourself who should be our next president. * Back to United: WNYC reported separately on Monday that "United Lobbyist, Now Christie Cabinet Member, Tried to Stop Bridgegate Probe." The Chicago Way meets The Soprano State. - Fantasy Fix: Get Used To It, Chicago - BeachBook
- TweetWood
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See also: The Illinois Policy Institute. *
- The Beachwood Tip Line: Calendrical. Posted on September 30, 2015 |
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