By Steve Rhodes
“Even as Chicago prepares to test speed cameras next week, problems in Baltimore’s 3-year-old camera program are raising questions about one of the bidders for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s controversial proposal that could target speeders in school and park zones over half the city,” the Tribune reports.
“Xerox State & Local Solutions Inc., one of two firms selected by the Emanuel administration to test cameras in Chicago, has come under scrutiny in recent months for faulty equipment and thousands of erroneous tickets issued in Baltimore over the past three years.
“Judges sided with motorists in more than half of the contested tickets examined in a Nov. 18 investigative report by The Baltimore Sun, which like the Chicago Tribune is owned by Tribune Co. The report followed months of complaints and controversy about Baltimore’s program, which is under review by a mayoral task force. The Xerox firm, which is owned by the photocopier giant, is being replaced by another contractor in January.”
(The link is theirs; yay, they’re learning!)
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“Emanuel administration officials refused to answer questions about their bidding process this week, including whether they considered the firm’s performance in Baltimore.”
They’re too busy bragging about being transparent to be transparent.
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The second vendor Chicago has contracted with isn’t a picnic either.
“American Traffic Solutions is not without its own controversy. In 2011, officials in Canada returned about $13 million in speeding fines issued by a single faulty camera. The cameras were installed by ATS, but the company blamed the problem on the local government that maintained the cameras.”
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And, of course:
“Last month, a third top contender for the lucrative speed camera contract was disqualified by Emanuel after the Tribune disclosed allegations of corruption in the city’s 10-year-old red-light program.”
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Rahm: You can always take the CTA!
Drive Time
The Millionaire Mayor’s CTA.
Mel Reynolds Is In
Could win if the non-comedic candidates split the vote.
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Alternate: Todd Stroger is out, so apparently they decided on Reynolds as the consensus comedic candidate.
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The updated Political Odds say Reynolds wins only if Rahm wants him to.
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Title of news release Reynolds sent out this morning: “So He Can Finish the Work.”
Too easy.
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Before he made it official, Reynolds told Bill Cameron of WLS-AM that “No one’s ever claimed that I didn’t do a good job in the Congress.”
And then blamed the media for constantly bringing up all that other trivial stuff.
See also: Cops Tell Mel Reynolds He Lives Too Close To A School.
Tipping Point
“Federal authorities believe Jesse Jackson Jr. was tipped off to the federal investigation that ultimately contributed to the demise of his once-promising career,” the Sun-Times reports.
Federal authorities also believe that the Sun-Times was tipped off about the activities of federal authorities. Perhaps even by federal authorities.
Fidler On The Fence
I’m not sure which is worse: Bob Fidler changing his vote so he could get a lucrative position in the Quinn administration or Bob Fidler changing his vote because he was a lame duck and no longer felt like he had to lie about his true feelings on income tax hikes.
Barbara Byrd-Brizard
Didn’t take long for new schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett to earn the distrust of parents and teachers she so richly deserves.
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Write a law, reverse a law. Make a promise, fire guy who made it. Say there’s no plan then announce a plan a week later. Why would we trust?
— Seth Lavin (@SethLavin) November 28, 2012
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“We asked Chicago Public Schools for a representative, but they were unable to send us one.”
Maybe that’s why this Chicago Tonight segment was relatively productive.
But let’s be clear: It wasn’t that CPS officials were unable to provide a talking head to explain their position, it’s that they refused to do so.
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The Chicago closings shenanigans- reversing a law passed 18 months explicitly ago to try to earn parent trust on closing– is unbelievable.
— Seth Lavin (@SethLavin) November 28, 2012
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Obama’s Bait-And-Switch Drone Wars
“Most of the people who are killed don’t have as their objective to strike the U.S. homeland.”
Foster The People’s Running Back
But the Bears’ MIchael Bush is the guy you still may able to get.
QT Could Have Had A V8
“Two alligators, a pole dancer and pot at Olympia area shooting scene.”
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Authoritative.
Posted on November 28, 2012