Over the next few days we'll be looking back on the political highlights and lowlights of 2007. Feel free to weigh in (we know you will). --Ben Joravsky & Mick Dumke
"Most aldermen, most politicians, are hos." Former 20th Ward alderman Arenda Troutman, who was defeated in February after being indicted on federal charges of taking $10,000 in payoffs from an FBI mole posing as a developer.
"Fifty aldermen sitting in the City Council are hos. I want to change that culture. I don't want to be one of them. I don't want to be sitting in the City Council and have someone call me ho." Unsuccessful 50th Ward aldermanic challenger Salman Aftab, speaking at a candidate's forum during last winter's campaign.
"Alderman Schulter has always been concerned about the small businesses in his ward." Alderman Gene Schulter (47th), answering a reporter's question about his proposal to use eminent domain to force about 20 merchants on Western Avenue to sell their property to the city.
"Dorothy is busy taking care of the business of the Third Ward!" Political aide Jacky Grimshaw, explaining why her boss, former Third Ward alderman Dorothy Tillman, failed to attend a campaign forum. Tillman lost the election to challenger Pat Dowell.
"In boxing, the challenger meets the champion in the ring and they fight it out. If there's another challenger, he meets the champion in the ring. If there's a third, he meets the champion in the ring. Do the three challengers meet the champion in the ring all at once and join up and beat the shit out of him?" Alderman Berny Stone (50th), explaining why he skipped an aldermanic debate. Stone won in a hotly contested runoff.
"I'm the hog with the big nuts." Cook County commissioner Bill Beavers explaining his role on the county board.
"Their job is to protect us, not to hurt us." Alderman Walter Burnett (27th) explaining the responsibilities of the Chicago Police Department.
"You mean you don't want children from the city in Grant Park? Why? Are they black? Are they white? Are they Hispanic? Are they poor? You don't want children?" Mayor Richard Daley, playing the race card in his effort to overcome local opposition to moving the Children's Museum to Grant Park.




Thanks for the swell picture of my cousin, the Leprechaun King.
He's never looked more like his inner child.
Also this goes to Dom Longo. If you work the 41st ward, you are going to give Senator James DeLeo a BIG problem. I won't listen to F.A jr this time!I will find out , you have allot of leaks in your organization!Go to the 45th ward or the 38th ward. if you laugh this warning off ,your guy Deleo will have to answer for your bull-shit!
http://morsehellhole.blogspot.com/
Bernard L. Stone (1927-)
Ald. Walter Burnett on allowing dogs in outdoor cafes.
"11th man
December 25th - 9:07 a.m.
Some of you posters are seeking a fairy tale, Uptopian political system, especially "HAVE NO DOUBT" The real true is,without a strong Authoritarian government there would truely be chaos. Look at former Yugoslavia,after the death of Tito. With all the racial , ethnic,and class divisions ,Chicago would fall apart too. The FEDS know if Mayor Daley is removed, it would render Chicago ungovernable.Mayor Daley and the Cook County Democratic party,are the glue that keeps the city together. Any medication taken will produce side effects,corruption and an occassional lapse of civil libereties are the necessary side effects,to maintain a vibrant city ."
And, just to show our appreciation, the thank you notes:
"Frank Coconate
December 25th - 11:09 a.m.
11th man,
Get off the crack. This City under Ding -Dong Daley is a one way street. One rule for the rich and connected, the other for the working class. That breaks down to 15% are better off with Daley, 85 % are worse off with him as Mayor. Change starts in 2008 for 2011 ! Lets start looking for anyone but Daley!"
"Astonishing
December 25th - 2:28 p.m.
My goodness gracious, 11th fool, you've really topped yourself this time.
Not only are you an admitted supporter of this fake Aristocracy, you are now an acknowledged proponent of Authoritarianism, aka Dictatorship.
Unbelievable.
And, yet, it is so.
I am in your debt, though, for you finally coming out of the closet.
I encourage all visitors to this blog to read what you have posted, as it's not likely that any other clout minion will ever be so bold as to be so honest again.
'11th man
December 25th - 9:07 a.m.
Some of you posters are seeking a fairy tale, Uptopian political system, especially "HAVE NO DOUBT"
The real true is,without a strong Authoritarian government there would truely be chaos.
Look at former Yugoslavia,after the death of Tito.
With all the racial , ethnic,and class divisions ,Chicago would fall apart too.
The FEDS know if Mayor Daley is removed, it would render Chicago ungovernable.
Mayor Daley and the Cook County Democratic party,are the glue that keeps the city together.
Any medication taken will produce side effects,corruption and an occassional lapse of civil libereties are the necessary side effects,to maintain a vibrant city.'
Awesome, 11th man, awesome, in it's awfulness."
"So
December 25th - 3:27 p.m.
This 11th man guy is too rich to pass up.
So, Democracy is a fairy tale?
So, the city and county governments are meant to be Authoritarian (Dictatorships)?
So, Chicago and Crook County are the same as the 'former' Yugoslavia? In every way?
So, the citizens of this city, and county, are savage miscreants, bent on maiming and murdering each other, but for the benevolent dictatorship of the Crook County Democratic Party's rule?
So, the 'FEDS' are an active part of supporting this benevolent dictatorship, disguising itself as the Democratic Party of Crook County, for the purpose of preventing the wholesale slaughtering, of the citizens residing within the boundaries of said county, by each other, said citizens being primitive tribes, forming themselves per racial, ethnic and class divisions, all such divisions not being encouraged and exploited by the very same Democratic Party of Crook County?
So, the Crook County Democratic Party is the 'glue' holding together, by the barest thread, civilization, as we know it, and, but for this glue, all hell would surely break loose here.
So, the price we savages must accept being paid, to ensure our peaceful co-existence, is, quite naturally, graft, corruption, and "an occassional lapse of civil libereties"?
So, what brand of diaper do you recommend that Daley wear, when he shits his pants while reading your comment?"
"blaster
December 25th - 9:39 p.m.
Thank you 11th creep,for enlighting us to the true nature of Daley and his minions.Daley and you, Mr 11th creep, are nothling but Neo-fascists. We have a quasi- Fascist government void of democracy. thank you 11th."
Merry Christmas, to one and all, brought to you by the folks in the 11th Ward.
11th man sounds more like the Grinch than Santa Claus.
Since even the Grinch's heart grew two sizes larger, once he saw that the Whos didn't need the trappings of Christmas to have the Spirit of Christmas in their hearts, is there still hope for the 11th man's of this world?
Since when does seeking accountability equal hate?
Since when does providing the public with information strongly suggestive of wide-spread corruption and misuse of public finds equal hate?
Since when does the seeking of the facts equal hate?
Since when does sharing public records with the public equal hate?
Are there any critics of corrupted elected officials that you don't hate?
-Bernard L. Stone (1927-)
May 21, 2007
Nine new aldermen join ranks of grizzled today
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/ai_n1...
Not that I would vote for jj jr., but, it sure seems like someone's really worried that enough others would.
Or is it just that jj jr. didn't leave a big enough tip on your pillow?
"Accountability to who..."?
The citizens who pay taxes and are, verifiably, being cheated, by you know who.
"The job of the media is the accountabily of our government(s)."
No, asshole, it's not.
It's the 'job' of every last citizen to COMPEL those seeking to be granted the publicly sanctioned authority to:
Make Laws
Interpret and Adjudicate Laws
Create and Administer Government Services
Levy Taxes to pay ONLY for said services
AUTHENTICALLY act for the benefits of ALL citizens, (NOT primarily for their own benefits)
USE their RIGHT TO VOTE to ensure that those they elect to public offices, be they Executive, Judicial or Legislative, are WORTHY of being elected, or reelected, to said public offices.
The HOPE is that those fellow citizens, who have chosen journalism as their career, have done so because they understand, and embrace, the 4th Estate function, which our founding fathers may have understood to be necessary, upon which so many citizens depend upon, for their ability to know the truth, understand the truth and cast their votes accordingly.
You boys and girls really hate Democracy, and you really, really don't like anyone interfering with your con jobs; the thought of any significant number of citizen/voters actually understanding what you've been up to, (and so successful at, namely, preventing said citizens from understanding same), must make your bowels spasm 'daley'.
Tough shit, Sherlock.
The only illegitimate agendas seeking to be satisfied are those being touted by the arrogant, dishonest, Aristocratic control freaks, and their lackeys. (That would be you, in case you haven't looked in a mirror lately.)
What YOU provide the public with are YOUR distortions, twists ,and false readings of public records, though, on occasion, you shits do a piss poor job of making sure the paperwork reads as the letter of the law requires, even though the reality of your actions blatantly violates the spirit of same.
That's why there ARE public records worth sharing with the public, so the public can have the opportunity to compare what the records say with what you shitheads actually are doing.
Don't whine to me, bunky, just because you haven't been able to bribe, extort, intimidate or leverage every last media source into spewing forth only your distorted propagandas.
Shit, little crybaby, even Hitler had a hard time getting EVERYBODY to toe the line, until, that is, he was successful in getting most people to hate everybody who wasn't them.
Is that what's next on your agenda?
HAVE NO DOUBT, VOTE INCUMBENTS OUT
-Bernard L. Stone (1927-)
Feb 23, 2007
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/ai_n1...
Try real hard to use your brain to think with.
1 - "...That Gay Mantra"
Does it really matter to you where, and who, an idea comes from?
2 - "Especially if you're entrapped with a figure who makes a 90 degree turn shortly after he/she's been elected."
What the fuck do you think we have elections for, every 2 & 4 years?
One of the many points of the HAVE NO DOUBT, VOTE INCUMBENTS OUT strategy is to render impotent the advantages incumbents enjoy and exploit to keep getting reelected.
Another is to break the stranglehold the two, dominant, ruling parties have on our political and electoral processes.
Still another is to encourage those non-party affiliated potential candidates to make the efforts to get on the ballot, said efforts which have been discouraged by the very same domination.
And to encourage and inspire those citizens who have been discouraged from voting to get their asses registered and to vote in every election.
Duh.
This is beeeeeeery interesting:
"Daley should love the reformers who got the legislature to drop the petition signature requirement from 25,000 to 12,500.
Without that change in the law Daley would not have been on the ballot at all.
He only presented 19,000+ signature in the post Sorich conviction era.
And the challenge brought his number down to 14,000.
If we had had the money and people to continue challenging his petitions, he probably would have NOT been on the ballot at all.
I was there for the challenge and I saw bad signatures approved by the Board of Elections employees who were doing their best to drag the process on and keep da mare in power.
Posted by: MACK | December 31, 2007 10:29 AM"
from ChicagoClout, courtesy of MACK and Patrick McDonough.
Are all the honest citizens beginning to see the light?
"It's about who's gonna run the county. It's about jobs, contracts, and power, That's what it's about. Are black folks gonna run it, or are white folks gonna run it?"
"If Todd was white, he wouldn't have half the problems he's got now, let's face it."
-CBS
"This is a remake of the Harold Washington days with the 29-21."
"It's basically dealing with who's going to control the county, white or black. That's all it is. If this was a white man in power right now, they wouldn't be fighting him like this."
-Trib
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/william.beavers.co...
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/ai_n2...
".... black folks ..... white folks ...."?
Hmmmmmmmm.....
This is a different way of playing the race card......
I wonder.
If one were to perform an 'audit' on the total taxes paid by 'black folks' and the total taxes paid by 'white folks', just in this city, let alone this county, what would we discover?
And, if one were to perform an audit of the total amount of public funds received by 'black folks' and the total amount of public funds received by 'white folks', just in this city, let alone in this county, what else might we discover?
Ah, the ALL CAPS poster has returned.
And what does he/she have to say?
Let's see, I quote the self-proclaimed 'hog wit da big nuts', aka Bill 'big nuts' Beavers and I'M being racist?
Honest is more like it.
I wonder why mister ALL CAPS is so fond of the phrase "EVERY WHICH WAY"?
I wonder why mister ALL CAPS isn't pleased with my suggested auditing of the actual collections and disbursements of our tax dollars?
I wonder why mister ALL CAPS hasn't anything better to say than to say, effectively, nothing?
I wonder.........
Why, thank you.
That makes it all the easier to do the auditing I suggested be done, per Billy 'big nuts' Beavers' own statements of, what to him, and, I suspect, to far too many who think like him, is the real purpose to which our hard earned tax dollars are meant to be put.
You've been very helpful.
Thanks, buddy.
“I did not know about his [son Patrick] involvement in this company [Municipal Sewer Services]. As an adult, he made that decision. It was a lapse of judgement for him to get involved with this company. I wish he hadn’t done it, I know the expectations for elected officials and their families are very high. Rightfully so. Especially for me, as I know on a daily basis. I hope those people understand that Patrick is a very good son. I love him. And Maggie and I are very proud of him. I hope you will respect that I will have nothing more to say on this,”
Asked a few minutes later if he knew whether his son or nephew were involved in any other city contracts, the mayor said,
“I don’t know.”
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/702165,daley...
I am writing this in the early morning of January 4, 2008. A great and wonderful thing has just happened, and a great adventure that started a half century ago has ended with us victorious.
Barack Obama, one of Chicago's own, just won the Iowa democratic primary....and it was irrelevant that he had black skin.
What mattered was that he brought a message of hope, and a promise that we would try for a brighter future...and three times as many Iowans braved bitter cold to vote in a primary than ever before in history.
So, we have finally won, because that was our goals when we started the rights movement so many decades ago. Race no longer matters, and hope, idealism and truth and integrity does.
And, in his own perverse way, Hugh won also. He got his voters. What happened in Iowa wasn't a fluke, it was the first wave of what is going to be a tsunami.
And both of us won against corruption in politics. If there was one OTHER take home lesson from the Iowa primaries, it was that voters want a move away from corruption, that they can't be bought, the best funded candidates on either side were NOT the winners.
And Hugh lost. The one attack ad in the whole campaign was pulled before it aired. Tearing down your opponent is no longer fashionable, voters reject candidates (and their supporters) who behave that way.
And thats one of my personal wins. I have always known that the best route to success does not include hurting anyone else, and finally, other people are starting to realize it applies to the real world also.
Hugh, I know you are disappointed in not helping bring down Bernie.
Thing is, I know who the real bad guys are here in the 9th congressional district of Illinois, (and we have some REALLY bad ones) and Bernie, despite all his quirks, simply isn't one of them.
And finally, no, I have no intention of ever posting here again. I was just looking for a way to wish Mick and Ben and company best luck for the future, and to let them know that I still think a loyal opposition is one of the best gifts they could give the city and the community that I love.
And I was just thinking earlier today that I haven't seen a comment from Randy Gordon in quite some time.
He still has to get in his innuendo shots, slipped in amongst all those wonderfully uplifting thoughts and observations.
Just so we don't forget, even at the risk of appearing to pick nits:
"And, in his own perverse way, Hugh won also. He got his voters. What happened in Iowa wasn't a fluke, it was the first wave of what is going to be a tsunami."
What would be the 'perverse' part of "He got his voters"?
"And Hugh lost. The one attack ad in the whole campaign was pulled before it aired. Tearing down your opponent is no longer fashionable, voters reject candidates (and their supporters) who behave that way."
What is there, in exposing the corrupt activities of 'traditional' politicians and their 'accepted' practices, that Randy deems to fit the description of "Tearing down your opponent.."?
"And thats one of my personal wins. I have always known that the best route to success does not include hurting anyone else,..."
Does Randy include the majority of taxpayers in his "...anyone else..." definition?
"Hugh, I know you are disappointed in not helping bring down Bernie."
What has 'Bernie' got to do with anything, other than consistently being an integral part of what's been so very wrong with this city and county's Aristocracy masquerading as a Democracy? Or are you thinking of the person who Bernie will be handing his alderman's seat over to soon?
"Thing is, I know who the real bad guys are here in the 9th congressional district of Illinois, (and we have some REALLY bad ones)....."
I'm sure Mick D., Ben J., John K., et al, would have appreciated it, if you'd have thought to share your detailed knowledge with them, the tsunami you refer to might have happened years ago.
But that would have meant honest governing years ago, not what we've had and not what has made so much money for so few.
Nice of you to 'get religion' after you'd enjoyed the benefits of the lack of same.
Sorta like the woman who prayed for chastity, just not today, or anytime soon.....
which of Schakowsky's primary opponents are you supporting?
thanks in advance for your reply
January 05, 2008
Victor Crown moves forward again
VICTOR CROWN GAINS LEGAL STANDING ON WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS
Chief US District Judge James Holderman has entered a federal court order which will permit Mr. Victor M. Crown to bring a motion after June 13, 2008 and unseal certifications that will exonerate MS. MIRIAM SANTOS and order payment of qui tam funds from the STATE OFILLINOIS.
The written material and certifications submitted under the federal False Claims Act and the Illinois Whistle blower Reward and Protection Act include time sheets from the Office of City Comptroller negating Counts 6 and 7 relating to a false claim applied to political work on city time and records obtained under court order from the City of Chicago Board of Ethics negating each of the other 10 counts in the original indictment..
The federal court order by the Chief Judge in the Northern District represents a major defeat for the Daley administration [and the City of Chicago] since it previously argued in 2005 and 2006 that Mr. Crown didn't have the legal standing to gain compensation relating to whistle-blowing activities and a false arrest from 1996 by the City of Park Ridge police department..
Victor Crown has now earned a major legal victory against the Office of Corporation Counsel.
I like Victor Crown and I hope he keeps moving forward against Chicago Corruption.
Patrick McDonough.
Citizens interested in exercising their Right to Vote can find important information here:
http://www.chicagoelections.com/voterinfo/default....