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The [Friday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Mayor Rahm Emanuel flew around the country more than 50 times during his first 2 1/2 years in office, mixing city business with politics and attending events that helped burnish his national profile,” the Tribune reports.
“On at least nine of the trips, records show taxpayers covered all or part of the travel as Emanuel met with political donors or raised campaign money from wealthy business executives who helped stock a re-election fund that now tops $7 million.
“An additional six taxpayer-funded trips listed little or no official city business but offered Emanuel a stage, from rubbing elbows with Washington’s elite at exclusive dinners to giving a commencement speech to graduates of a master’s program named after former President Bill Clinton.”
Okay, I get it. But here’s the most interesting part:
“A majority of the time, the public didn’t know the mayor was out of town because his office did not disclose the trips, city records show.”
We can visualize Divvy data and track (sort of) snowplows, but the whereabouts of our mayor are often a secret.
Let’s face it, the data/transparency movement as it’s presently constituted is largely a distraction and diversion from real open government.
(See also: Rahm’s Fake Transparency.)

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Posted on April 18, 2014

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“When one job applicant at Metra in 1989 was told he wasn’t qualified, he simply sent a ‘back-door letter’ to Metra’s chairman. The tactic worked, and the applicant was hired,” the Tribune reports.
“[That instance was] recorded in the more than 700 handwritten index cards kept in Metra’s files from 1983 to 1991. The cards tell of jobs sought and sometimes won with the apparent help of a variety of politicians – from relatively unknown aldermen to powerful members of Congress.
“The records were obtained by the Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act. They indicate that one often-used track to a job at the commuter rail agency was to get a recommendation from then-Chairman Jeffrey Ladd and his fellow Metra board members.
“Reached by the Tribune on Wednesday, Ladd denied clout played a role in hiring at Metra during his tenure and said the agency’s policy was always to hire on merit.

“We weren’t running a patronage haven over there,” Ladd said. “People wouldn’t get a job unless they were qualified.”

“Ladd, who served as Metra’s first chairman, from 1984 through 2006, said he knew nothing about the card files and was unaware they had been kept or why.
“Metra was ‘the most professionally run mass transit agency in the country,’ he said.”
Jeffrey Ladd, God’s Special Creature.

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Posted on April 17, 2014

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“One by one, five police officers took the witness stand at the Skokie courthouse late last month for what would typically be a routine hearing on whether evidence in a drug case was properly obtained,” the Tribune reports.
“But in a Perry Mason moment rarely seen inside an actual courtroom, the inquiry took a surprising turn when the suspect’s lawyer played a police video that contradicted the sworn testimony of the five officers – three from Chicago and two from Glenview, a furious judge found.”
It’s called testilying.

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Posted on April 15, 2014

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

I need a new place to live! Seeking a 1BR in Humboldt Park, Ukrainian Village or thereabouts; will consider unusual situations as well, i.e., basements, storefronts, being somebody’s butler in exchange for housing. Inquire within.
–
The Truth About Chicago
Is the Chicago Police Department really juking murder stats? We have the surprising answer. Plus: Chicagoetry with J.J. Tindall, The Cub Factor with Marty Gangler, Remembering Big Glo, Jim “Coach” Coffman on sports and the week in politics and music. On The Beachwood Radio Hour #2. (Now with Show Notes!)
*
And, this week in Beachwood International with The Angry Aussie, the best summation yet of Chicagoland:
“It’s like, ‘South Side, bang bang, violence, bang bang, and look at what a fucking great job the mayor’s doing!’
“What this series promised was an investigative, journalistic look, in eight episodes, so they can get into the meat of the story, as to the trials and tribulations and problem-solving capabilities of a modern city, and it just turned out to be this total fucking wank.
“If you want to learn about what has happened to North American cities over the past 30 years or so, you can borrow the series, it’s called The Wire. It’s five seasons, and a) it’s way more entertaining than this shit, and b) you’ll learn a helluva lot more and there’s a helluva lot more truth in The Wire than there is in any of these episodes.”

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Posted on April 14, 2014

The [Friday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

I almost feel like I should apologize for continuing to pay attention . . . but Jesus Fucking Christ! Are you kidding me, CNN? Redford? Pulitzer Boy?
See what I mean here.

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Posted on April 11, 2014

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Chicago Public Schools officials on Wednesday touted an increase in money to schools for each child enrolled next year, but the bulk of that new cash likely will just help keep up with inflation and teacher raises,” the Sun-Times reports.
“The $70 million CPS earmarked as extra money for classrooms – in the same year as the mayoral election – will come from a combination of ever-shrinking central office spending, dividing up a $65 million chunk shared last year among certain hard-hit schools and an adjustment in accounting that drops 29 additional days into the 2015 fiscal year, according to CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett.”
Okay, what?

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Posted on April 10, 2014

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Paul Vallas, who returned to Illinois last month as Gov. Pat Quinn’s running mate, has been hired to a six-figure job as a municipal finance consultant by a longtime friend and political supporter of the Democratic governor,” the Tribune reports.
This is astonishingly bad judgement. It’s hard to even fathom.
“Vallas began his position with DSI Civic, an affiliate of Chicago-based Development Specialists Inc., on April 1, said DSI CEO and President Bill Brandt, who serves as the chair of the Illinois Finance Authority – an unpaid post he was appointed to by Quinn. Brandt donated $100,000 in December to Quinn’s re-election effort.”
Vallas is already bored, and he’s not even lieutenant governor yet.

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Posted on April 8, 2014

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