Year: 2008

Claypool v. Stroger – It’s On

Posted on by TL

If there was any doubt that Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool was planning on challenging Cook County Board President Todd Stroger in the 2010 Democratic Primary, let there be no doubt: It’s on.

Claypool was “all over” WLS-890 (AM)) radio Tuesday morning, according to the Sun-Times, criticizing Stroger’s 2009 budget proposal — a document Stroger has yet to release to the public.  At 10 a.m., Stroger called in to Mancow’s show to confront Claypool.  What followed was a fiery exchange:

Stroger said his ears were burning more than when my friends are messing with me,” Muller said. “He seemed like a man who couldn’t take it anymore. I’m not a huge fan of his politics, but I have to commend the guy for walking into the lion’s den.”

What followed was the first unofficial broadcast debate between Stroger and Claypool 14 months before their highly anticipated — but not yet confirmed — showdown for board presidency in the 2010 Democratic primary.

According to the Sun-Times, the two shouted over each other “as if voters were headed to the polls any day now.”

Claypool attacked Stroger’s plan to borrow millions to pay for “normal operating expenses” — payments to self-insurance and pension funds — after raising taxes to record levels just six months ago. He called it a move to “cover up” Stroger’s management mistakes until the next election.

Stroger struck back with venom: “Either you didn’t read the budget or you don’t understand government.” Stroger went on to suggest Claypool is nothing more than a do-nothing politician seeking higher office.

Ah, wonderful irony of Todd Stroger calling another elected official a “do-nothing politician.”  Of course, none of this public shouting and  juvenile name-calling speaks well for either board official.  As we make our way further into the murky waters of the Bush Recession, we need elected officials who inspire confidence.

Well, we’re 14 months out from this primary election, and I’m ready.  I hope you are as well.  Cook County residents deserve smart government.  Submitting a secret draft budget riddled with bad math only intensifies our doubts about county government.

Turns Out the Vikings Just Had the Runs

Posted on by TL

The NFL has spoken, and two Minnesota Vikings are heading for the bench:

Six players, including the heart of the Minnesota Vikings’ stout defensive line, were suspended by the NFL on Tuesday for violating the league’s anti-doping policy.

All six were punished for using a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids.

The suspended players were running back Deuce McAllister and defensive linemen Charles Grant and Will Smith of New Orleans; defensive linemen Kevin and Pat Williams of Minnesota; and long snapper Bryan Pittman of Houston.

A seventh player, Atlanta’s Grady Jackson, was not suspended. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said league chief counsel Jeff Pash had asked for additional information from Jackson.

Minnesota takes a hard hit.  They currently leading the NFC North and rely “heavily on the two Williamses in its run defense, which ranks second in the league.”

Six players total took the dive.

I wonder what professional sports would be like without the drugs?

Todd Stroger Wants Your Money

Posted on by TL

We’ve long realized that spending in Cook County is out of control.  Perhaps I would personally have more confidence in President Stroger if he had made a better entrance on a public elevator instead of insisting on a personal elevator.

We know we’re in recession that’s likely to get worse before it gets better, but Stroger is fooling himself that his a budget that borrows $740 million in bond issues is free of additional taxes.  Bonds need to be paid somehow.  Where’s the new sustained revenue stream in the budget to pay the debt service on these bonds?

Some wise voices on the board agree:

“There’s an economic crisis just short of the Depression, so for us to suggest that nothing’s changed and it’s OK to borrow our way through this problem is foolhardy,” Commissioner Mike Quigley said.

“This is a re-election budget for Todd Stroger,” Commissioner Forrest Claypool said. “It is designed to give him hundreds of millions of dollars of borrowed money to get through the elections and then after the election, [there will be] tax increase No. 2 from Stroger because that money has to be paid back.”

Stroger has other ideas, claiming his budget demonstrates a continued “pathway of reform, efficiency and modernization.”

But Stroger refused to release the proposed budget in its entirety.  That’s a huge mistake from a public relations standpoint, but characteristic of Stroger’s much-less-than-transparent style of governing.

I’d love to see what Commissioner Forrest Claypool saw when he read the first draft of Stroger’s Not-Ready-For-Prime-Time budget. Mark Konkol has the story:

“I’ve never seen a government that put out a budget so chock full of errors, inaccuracy and misinformation. I don’t even think they know their own financial picture,” Commissioner Forrest Claypool said. “It shows remarkable ineptness and is symbolic of general mismanagement of county government that taxpayers pay a heavy price for.”

On Wednesday, Stroger’s staff “demanded” some commissioners return the error-riddled copies while corrected versions are being made.

According to Konkol, the errors in the budget amount to very, very bad math:

The biggest problem with the budget document was in calculating the difference between 2009 budget line items and the 2008 spending plan. The 2009 proposed funding levels were subtracted from what individual departments requested rather than last year’s appropriation.

Cook County residents deserve much, much better.  I hope voters who were so hungry for change will remember the call to the polls when primary season rolls around again.

Cook County desperately needs change.

My money is on Forrest Claypool.  I hope he considers another run.

And Stroger needs to release his draft budget now so we can all have a look.  Maybe we can help him with his math.

Teen on Life Support Following Scavenger Hunt

Posted on by TL

Erik Nava, a 17-year-old student at St. Charles North High School, remains in critical condition today following an underground scavenger hunt gone terribly bad Friday.  According to the Sun-Times, Nava “leapt from an SUV in order to garner ‘points’ for his team.”

Police believe he jumped from a Dodge Durango moving at 25 mph as part of the game in which as many as 200 students participated.

One former St. Charles North student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the scavenger hunt has been a tradition for at least three years.

Students make a list of dares they film for points, then destroy the video after the participants prove they completed the tasks.

Some St. Charles students who participated in this year’s event said each participant contributed $5. The group that earns the most points wins the cash.

The students estimated that Nava’s group won first or second place off the four-page list of scavenger hunt activities.

Nava was supposed to fall from the vehicle onto grass, but landed on gravel instead.  Police say when they arrived, they found Nava “unconscious with a puddle of blood under his head.”

Nava’s friends initially fled the scene:

As the first officer began basic first aid, four girls — some of whom were in the Dodge Durango that Nava jumped from — drove away, police said. They returned to the scene after called by police.

The people in the car thought 25 mph was too fast, and planned to take a photo of the speedometer at 25 mph, then slow down to 10 or 15 mph, according to the police report. But Nava jumped without giving notice, one of the girls told police.

According to the report, Kane County State’s Attorney John Barsanti is not sure if any crime has been committed.  Still, Barsanti is calling a special grand jury to investigate.

No one interviewed the school for this story.  I’d like to know whether anyone in District 303 had a clue that this had been going on for so long.

The school’s Web site appears to be overloaded right now.  Let’s hope this young man recovers.

The Buccaneer Stops Here – The Daily Show Does Pirates

Posted on by TL

I guess I’m just in need of more humor these days. I haven’t done a ton of writing lately, but I have done a lot of laughing.

And this stuff is just awesomely hilarious.

The Old Man and the Marine

Posted on by TL

Via email from our friend Helen:

One sunny day in 2009 an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He spoke to the U.S. Marine standing guard and said, ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’

The Marine looked at the man and said, ‘Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.’

The old man said, ‘Okay’ and walked away.

The following day, the same man approached the White House and said to the same Marine, ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’

The Marine again told the man, ‘Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr. Bush is no longer president and no longer resides here.’

The man thanked him and, again, just walked away.

The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same Marine, saying ‘I would like to go in and meet with President Bush.’

The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, ‘Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Bush. I’ve told you already that Mr. Bush is no longer the president and no longer resides here. Don’t you understand?’

The old man looked at the Marine and said, ‘Oh, I understand. I just love hearing it.’

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, ‘See you tomorrow.’

January 20, 2009 still seems like a dream.  I’ll be weeping as the new president takes the oath of office.

I’m putting a counter on Turning Left.

No Walgreens for Tinley Park

Posted on by TL

The news is not good in general for the economy, and even worse for the south Chicagoland area when Walgreens drops plans from building in an economic powerhouse like Tinley Park.

The proposed construction site at 171st Street and 84th Avenue is certainly busy enough to sustain a pharmacy and convenience store.  According to the Sun-Times, however, the proposed 14,000-sqare-foot Walgreens and an adjacent 6,000-square-foot retail center will not be built.

The developer just pulled the plug, leaving LeMonnier and his neighbors stuck with a mess.

Orland Park-based Gemini Cos. announced last week during a village court hearing on several ordinance violations that it had sold the site of the planned Walgreens store, Trustee Tom Staunton said Tuesday night.

Not even the village knows who the new landowner is. Gemini didn’t tell the judge, Staunton said.

Mayor Ed Zabrocki and other village officials are understandably upset at the decision of the developer to abandon the site:

Several trustees and Mayor Ed Zabrocki first heard the news at a Tuesday night village board committee meeting.

“(Gemini has) put the government and residents through this for three years,” an angry Trustee Greg Hannon said.

If Walgreens isn’t built, Tinley Park will level the site and go after Gemini for any money it owes the village, officials said.

“If necessary, we could lien the property for any work the village does,” Zabrocki said.

It sounds like the village board overshot on this one, and Tinley Park residents must be furious with village officials on this one.  According to the Sun-Times, the village demolished seven homes for this failed project, twice rejecting recommendations from its own plan commission:

Two years ago, the village plan commission rejected the development because it thought it would set a dangerous precedent to tear down homes for a business project. Seven homes in Plum Court were demolished to make way for the drugstore chain.

But village trustees overrode the commission, approving the Walgreens and the retail center with several stipulations, including that the strip mall could not house a tavern or frozen-food locker, among other types of stores.

But Gemini did not proceed on the project within the required time period and had to go back before the plan commission, which again rejected the development. Again, the village board rejected the commission’s recommendation and approved the project in June.

Frankly, I hope Walgreens and other developers realize there is more economic potential further south.  I don’t feel sorry for Tinley Park, which is already overbuilt.  Zaborcki and his board got greedy, over-controlling and, frankly, a bit sloppy.  They rejected twice the wisdom of their own plan commission to force a project that was doomed to fail.

Developers and retailers would be wise to look to Park Forest and surrounding areas for future projects.  The area there is ripe with untapped potential, the residents hungry for local businesses.

The sleeping economic giant of the Chicagoland area lies south of I-80.  The business community ignores that at its own peril.