Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican challenger Bruce Rauner sharply clashed Tuesday night over who could better improve the lives of African Americans during a South Side debate focused on education, crime, jobs and taxes,” the Tribune reports.
“Rauner is trying to make gains among black voters who historically cast Democratic ballots in large numbers in Illinois. The idea come Nov. 4 is to get one-fifth of the Chicago vote, an essential element for Republican success statewide.

“Gov. Quinn in my opinion is taking the African American vote for granted,” said Rauner, going so far to say that the Democratic governor “could have and should have” made Stephanie Neely, the black city treasurer of Chicago, his running mate but threw her “off his ticket” in favor of former Chicago Public Schools chief Paul Vallas.

Well, why didn’t you put Stephanie Neely on your ticket then?


Also, was Neely really ever on Quinn’s ticket? I know her name was batted around, but I don’t remember her being chosen.
And, Stephanie Neely? She’s the city treasurer. How does that qualify her to be a heartbeat away from the governorship? Sure, lieutenant governor is a waste of a job per se, but you never know when someone in that job will have to take over the state. Like Pat Quinn.
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That was just the way Rauner opened the debate; it got funnier as it went along. For the city’s best commentary, analysis and fact-checking on the rest of it, take a gander at our Twitter timeline.
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I’m appreciative to be included in this USA Today article, but I don’t think a national audience is going to know what that tweet means.
Forrest Fires
“Even before his first day on the job in spring 2011, CTA President Forrest Claypool said his top priority was to clean up the transit agency, in large part by sweeping out rule-breakers and employees who failed to regularly show up for work,” the Tribune reports.
“He hasn’t wavered on that goal. Claypool has handed out pink slips at a rate that has increased annually, dismissing roughly 900 employees between 2011 and mid-2014, or more than 8 percent of the agency’s total positions, according to a Tribune analysis of dismissal data obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
“Claypool, an attorney and longtime political figure in Chicago, took over the CTA in May 2011, and the CTA fired 142 employees that year. Terminations increased to 202 in 2012, then soared to 361 firings last year, records show. In the first half of this year, the CTA has fired 230 workers – 40 percent more than it had through June of 2013.”
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I’m super in favor of more people getting fired in life – provided we have a full-employment economy that doesn’t send folks into destitution. And also provided that white-collar employees lead the list. But this doesn’t sound right. To wit:
“In one case, [union leader Robert] Kelly said, a motorman with more than 25 years’ experience and a spotless work record was fired in May for stopping a train at the wrong spot, opening the doors, then quickly closing the doors when he realized his mistake.

“We absolutely don’t want to see anyone hurt,” Kelly said. “But how do you go home and tell your wife who you’ve been married to for 28 years, ‘I was fired today. I misberthed the train.'”

Agreed. I’d like to know if this really happened and, if so, hear Claypool’s answer to that question. Apparently he wasn’t asked. Only a spokesman talks in this article, and he just spouts nonsense.
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“[Union trustee Javier] Perez said records support the union’s contention not all the firings have been justified. He said 148 fired bus workers have been ordered reinstated through arbitration since 2011, ‘and we are waiting to get more people back to work.'”
Is that true – 148? That doesn’t strike me as a good batting average for Claypool.
Red X Rahm
“We asked Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office several times about City Hall’s opinion on the red ‘X’ program, and whether any money could be found in state or local budgets to fund the initiative in the future,” WBEZ reports. “The office did not return our requests for comment.”
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Fantasy Fix: A World Of Pain
Infirmary central.
I Fight Surveillance
Counter-Surveillance Success Stories.
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BeachBook
* One Year After CPJ Report, Little Has Changed Between Obama And The Press.
* Obama Takes Leak Prosecutions To 11.
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TweetWood


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The Beachwood Tip Line: No clown tips, bro.

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Posted on October 15, 2014