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Earning Daley's Star
By The Beachwood Chicago Flag Committee
Next year Richard M. Daley will celebrate the milestone of serving as our mayor for longer than his father, and in so doing become the longest serving mayor in Chicago history. The crash and burn of the Olympics bid should not deprive him of his right to a legacy. There's still time to secure a place in history other than mere longevity. Ald. Ed Burke thought the Olympics would merit a fifth star on our flag. Here are some suggestions from our crack staff on how Richard II can earn that star all on his own.
1. One year without a student dying from a handgun blast.
2. One year in which 90 percent of Chicago high school students graduate.
3. One year in which 75 percent of Chicago high school students go on to college.
4. Full funding our city pensions.
5. A gimmick-free balanced budget.
6 A net on every basketball hoop in every Chicago park.
7. A year without a CTA funding crisis AND without a Chicago Park District funding crisis AND without a Chicago Public Schools funding crisis.
8. Signed contracts with our policemen and firemen.
9. An entire summer without beach closures.
10. The highest recycling rates of any major metropolitan city.
11. Reveal who hired Angelo Torres.
12. A year with no indictments of City Hall employees.
13. Put the TIF budget on the books.
14. Order every city department to comply with the state Freedom of Information Act law. If just for one year just to see how it goes.
15. Stop accusing political opponents of playing the race card while playing it yourself. If just for one year just to see how it goes.
16. Tell federal prosecutors everything you know. They might grant you immunity.
17. Create an economic development policy based on jobs and opportunities for the poor instead of one based on contracts and opportunities for the wealthy and connected. Consider it a new approach to crime and education woes.
18. Tell Michael Madigan to knock it off.
19. Grant local reporters actual one-on-one interviews without pre-conditions. And we don't mean TV reporters.
20. Tell Walmart they are welcome to open a hundred stores in the city as long as they - and every other potential employer - guarantee to behave with a minimal standard of decency.
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Posted on October 23, 2009
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