Category: Chicago

Daley Blames Houlihan for Tax Hikes; Look in Mirror, Richie

Posted on by TL

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley wasted no time pointing hizzoner’s finger at Cook County Tax Assessor Jim Houlihan over this year’s sharp spike in property taxes. But his wag of the finger ignores a $65 million City Hall property tax increase passed two years ago.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Mayor Richard Daley on Tuesday tried to offer up a scapegoat for the puzzle of why property tax bills are soaring as home values are plummeting: Cook County Assessor James Houlihan.

As he promoted a modest city tax relief program, Daley also lashed out at the assessor, accusing him of not doing his part to keep a lid on tax bills expected to arrive in mailboxes the next few days.

"The thing I can’t understand (is) this whole assessment deal," the mayor said. "Now, no one’s value is going up in the city. … I’m asking him how he does it."

Despite the attack, Daley didn’t make clear how the assessor could have acted legally to alter the trajectory of the latest round of bills. The mayor also did not mention that new bills to Chicago residents reflect a $65 million City Hall property tax increase passed two years ago but that’s only showing up now. Houlihan spokesman Eric Herman blamed big hikes largely on the General Assembly’s decision to phase out a program designed to soften the effect on taxes of soaring property values earlier this decade. "This idea somehow that we’re going around jacking up everybody’s assessments is just fiction," Herman said.

The finger-pointing took place after Houlihan released new data showing that homeowners across much of the city and county can expect to be hard hit by the latest installment of tax bills.

Mayor Daley has been around long enough to know exactly "how [Houlihan] does it." These assessments the tax bills are based on are already two years old, according to the Tribune, "The latest round of bills actually reflects 2008 taxes. For city neighborhoods, those bills were calculated using assessment values from 2006."

Then the bottom dropped out:

The bubble burst last year, too late to be factored into the tax bills that West Garfield Park homeowners have to pay this year. "We are legally prohibited from using current market conditions to go back and change assessments for a previous year," [Houlihan spokesman Eric] Herman said.

Houlihan said the legislature must shoulder responsibility. From the Sun-Times:

"This is a direct result of Speaker Madigan’s phaseout of the 7 percent homeowner exemption," Houlihan said. "This is the one thing that worked. For the first three years, when it was really going, it protected homeowners. I met with the mayor and urged him to go to Springfield and try to reverse that. The budget indicates how serious the problem is: The mayor has $35 million to deal with that."

Daley supported the "7 percent" cap on property tax increases, but a $65 million property tax increase from Chicago’s City Hall does make a difference, and the mayor owes it to the citizens of Chicago to admit that.

Read more here at the Trib, and read more here read more here from the Sun-Times.

Owners of Original Mother’s Bar Urged to Apologize After Blocking Black Students

Posted on by TL

Some people say even bad news is good news, because any news means free advertising.

I don’t buy that. One Gold Coast bar in Chicago has some powerful civil rights groups creating bad press all around.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Two Chicago civil rights groups on Friday called for formal apologies and retraining for employees at a popular Gold Coast bar, citing allegations that six black college students were prevented from entering last weekend because their pants were too baggy while white friends with similar clothing were admitted.

The Anti-Defamation League and the Chicago Urban League made their request in a letter to the owners of the Original Mother’s bar at 26 W. Division St.

"We strongly suggest that Mother’s re-examine its dress code, conduct immediate retraining of all employees to avoid any future racial discrimination or appearance thereof, and issue a formal letter of apology to the six students who were denied entry," the letter read.

A public apology would be the best thing right now. This part of the story is especially interesting:

The black students offered to change clothes in their hotel, but the bar told them it wouldn’t matter, students said. They also said a white student traded pants with a black student and got into the bar without trouble.

Ouch. A white student got into the bar without trouble? Dressed like that?

Ouch.

Mr. Monk Pleads Guilty, Agrees to Testify Against Blagojevich

Posted on by TL

As former Governor Rod Blagojevich continues to work on tying the knot with Donald Trump, one of his closest friends and advisors pleaded guilty today and agreed to testify for the prosecution when Blago’s case comes to trial.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Another domino has fallen in the corruption case against former Gov. Rod Blagoejvich.

Alonzo "Lon" Monk, one of the governor’s closest friends and advisers, pleaded guilty today and agreed to aid prosecutors in their attempt to convict the former governor. In exchange, he faces a recommended sentence of 2 years in prison.

If his plea agreement is any indication, Monk — a former chief of staff to the governor and his two-time campaign manager — could be a valuable witness.

His 31-page plea agreement provides the most damning detail yet about meetings between Blagojevich and his three closest confidants — Monk, Antoin "Tony" Rezko and the late Christopher Kelly.

The indictment against Blagojevich last spring alleged that, even before Blagojevich was first elected governor in 2002, the four had discussed ways to profit from public corruption.

Monk’s plea agreement states that Rezko typically led the discussions, and most of the ideas were intended to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Video from WGN:

Sympathy for the Devil: James Degorski Spared the Death Penalty

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

A Cook County jury today spared James Degorski of the death penalty three weeks after he was convicted in the murders of seven workers at the Brown’s Chicken restaurant in Palatine in 1993. 

He will be sentenced to life in prison.

The jury began deliberations at about 12:20 p.m. after hearing closing arguments from lawyers on both sides.

Degorski, 37, is charged with killing seven workers in the suburban restaurant 16 years ago in an attempt "to do something big." His co-defendant and high school friend, Juan Luna, was sentenced to life in prison two years ago for the murders.

"He slaughtered them that night," Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Tom Biesty said in his closing. "He wanted to do something big and he wanted to be famous. Well, he did do something big and he is famous…and now it’s his judgment day."

In rebuttal, Mark Levitt, a senior Cook County assistant public defender, encouraged jurors to look deep into their hearts and give Degorski a life sentence instead of death.

"Finding mercy where it shouldn’t exist is exactly what mercy is," said Levitt, who spoke in a soft tone during closing arguments and referred to Degorski as "Jim."

Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Tom Biesty pulled out all the stops, mixing crime scene pictures with photographs of the victims smiling, according to the report. Family members wept as images of loved ones flashed on the screen.

But the Public Defender Mark Levitt won the day, especially after recounting Degorski’s childhood:

In his closing arguments, public defender Levitt recounted the convicted murderer’s abusive childhood abd showed school-age photos of Degorski and his four siblings while recalling the sexual and physical abuse they suffered at their father’s hand. Levitt portrayed Degorski as a young child willing to take extra blows in the hopes of protecting his siblings, a role that left him with deep psychological wounds.

At moments, a typically stone-faced Degorski swallowed hard and looked away as Levitt described a tyrannical and sexually-perverse father.  Levitt said his client suffers from neurological problems, was in special education classes from an early age and wet his bed until the age of 14.

Another violent chapter in the Brown’s Chicken murders comes to a close.

I can’t help thinking how violence begets violence, considering Degorski’s childhood. From that violent past, seven more lives lost.

From WGN as the jurors heard closing arguments:

Read more here.

Ramiro Guevara, 17, Shot and Killed in Chicago Club

Posted on by TL

Sad news out of Chicago.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death this morning in a Logan Square neighborhood nightclub, police said.

Police were notified about the shooting at about 2 a.m. inside the V Live night club at 2047 N. Milwaukee Avenue, said Chicago Police News Affairs Officer Hector Alfaro.

Ramiro Guevara got into an argument with another man inside the nightclub, and the other man pulled out a handgun and started firing, Alfaro said. Alfaro said Guevara was shot in the head, but a police source said Guevara was shot in the back.

The shooter fled the nightclub, and no one was in custody this morning, Alfaro said.

As always, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim. If anyone knows anything, please step up and contact the Chicago Police Department. You can also use your cellphone to TEXT a crime TIP.

Read more.

CTA Cutting Service, Raising Fares

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The CTA’s plan to cut service dramatically and raise fares as high as $3 for express bus and rapid transit service is “very, very ugly,” but so is the 30 percent drop-off in local tax revenue that created the crisis, Mayor Daley said Tuesday.

Although the plan to erase a $300 million shortfall was crafted by the mayor’s handpicked CTA president, Daley stopped short of giving it his blessing in an apparent attempt to avoid taking the blame.

“No. This is only proposed. And like anything else, that’s the last resort. No one wants to see fare increases or service cuts. But they are in a very difficult position,” the mayor said.

“When you raise fares, it drives people away. You know that. That’s why they’re coming up with every form of cost savings . . . to keep the CTA reasonable and fair to everyone….You have to analyze everything and try to come up with some new solutions, if it’s possible.”

A $300 million shortfall is unconscionable.

The Great Recession.

Everything must change.

Read more from the Sun-Times here.

Apparently We’re Killing Each Other Less Frequently in Chicago

Posted on by TL

The news is better in Chicago, but only 11% better.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Homicides continued to decline this year in Chicago through September, including homicides of school-age children, according to Police Department statistics.

Homicides fell 11 percent through the first nine months of 2009 compared with the same period a year ago, department officials said.

Through Sept. 30, there had been 348 slayings, down from 393 for the same period last year.

Through Sept. 15, killings of youths between the ages of 6 and 18 declined by 14.5 percent compared with the same period last year.

Last week, police Supt. Jody Weis trumpeted a 47 percent decline since last year in homicides involving youths — but that figure included those between ages 9 and 19.

Despite the decline in youth slayings in Chicago, the issue has grabbed the spotlight since the fatal beating of 16-year-old Derrion Albert near Fenger High School after classes on Sept. 24.

The city and nation have been riveted by the startling video of the beating, in which several teenagers can be seen wielding large planks of wood in a melee involving more than 50 youngsters.

In response, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney General Eric Holder came to Chicago last week to meet with students and city officials about youth violence.

Was this a quick move on Mayor Daley’s part to quell the unease surrounding the death of Derrion Albert? You bet. 11% means that forty-five fewer people were killed in Chicago this year compared to last year.

That is significant.

Let’s hope it lasts…

Eric Berger, Off-Duty Chicago Police Officer, Killed in Kennedy Rollover

Posted on by TL

From the Southtown Star:

An off-duty Chicago police officer was killed overnight in a rollover crash on the Kennedy Expressway on the city’s Northwest Side.

Eric Berger, 52, lost control of a 2007 Volkswagen two-door hatchback about 3:45 a.m. in the northbound lanes of Interstate 90 at Nagle Avenue, Illinois State Police Trooper Mark Hall said.

A preliminary investigation indicated Berger lost control on a curve at Bryn Mawr Avenue, at which point the car rolled over and he was ejected, Master Sgt. Todd Borisy said.

From WBBM:

State police are now confirming that it was an off-duty Chicago police officer who was killed in an early morning crash on the Kennedy Expressway.

State police say 52-year-old Eric Berger of the Albany Park district on the Northwest Side was off-duty and driving a 2007 Volkswagen north on the Kennedy expressway when he lost control. 

The car flipped over and Berger was ejected. He was dead by the time emergency crews arrived. 

Police say there’s no evidence alcohol was involved. They say it appears he was simply driving too fast. 

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Read more

Alleged Conservative Vice Lords Gang Member Shot Dead

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

An alleged gang-member was fatally shot near his home Thursday night in the West Side’s Austin neighborhood.

Brandon Chambers, 21, of the 100 block of North Lavergne Avenue, was pronounced dead at 9:41 p.m. Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez said Chambers was walking on the sidewalk in the 160 block of North Lavergne Avenue when a dark-colored car — possibly a Pontiac G6 — approached and somebody inside called Chambers to the car.

Somebody inside the car then opened fire, striking Chambers in the head, Perez said. An autopsy is scheduled for later Friday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

It’s all about drugs.

Legalize them.  All of them.  Regulate them.  All of them.

Right now, the gangs control the drug market.  And our young are dying every day.

President Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize: It’s About Hope

Posted on by TL

Barack Obama

(PHOTO: ENEWSPF)

The news of President Barack Obama has circulated and percolated throughout the world for just over three hours now. I’m not even taking a look at what anyone on the far right is saying at this point. No doubt the right wingnuts now have to figure out how to turn this into a political liability for Obama. That should be interesting to watch.

Here’s the fact: President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Why?

Many on the right and the left and those more moderate are asking themselves this question. No doubt President Obama is asking himself the same questions right now. As a friend on Facebook commented, "Here’s hoping Obama’s real reaction upon hearing the news this morning was, like everyone else’s, ‘WTF?’ "

I have not yet begun to survey opinion from around the world. I can only offer my own assessment. Yes, it’s true that Obama did not succeed in locking the Olympic bid for Chicago, but, in all honesty, is Chicago ready to join the Federation? (Yes, that’s the Trekker in me.) The Olympic bid was more about Rio de Janeiro. After Chicago lost in the first round of voting, the votes went overwhelmingly for Rio.

Chicago 2016 was not about Obama. It was about a young man beaten to death in the streets of Chicago just a week before the vote. It was about the many, many doubts regarding the ability of Chicago politicians to do the Olympics honestly.

To begin, I don’t think we as Americans have the least understanding how world opinion about the United States has shifted since the November 2008 election. No, we’re not out of the woods yet. But consider this from Reuters:

The United States is the most admired country globally thanks largely to the star power of President Barack Obama and his administration, according to a new poll.

It climbed from seventh place last year, ahead of France, Germany, theUnited Kingdom and Japan which completed the top five nations in the Nation Brand Index (NBI).

"What’s really remarkable is that in all my years studying national reputation, I have never seen any country experience such a dramatic change in its standing as we see for the United States for 2009," saidSimon Anholt, the founder of NBI, which measured the global image of 50 countries each year.

He believes that during the previous administration of George W. Bush the United States suffered in the world ranking with its unpopularforeign policies but since Obama was elected, and despite the recent economic turmoil, the country’s status has risen globally.

"There is no other explanation," Anholt said in an interview, referring to the impact of Obama.

The Obama Administration means the return of diplomacy to the world stage. From the New York Times:

The Nobel Committee announced in Oslo that it has awarded the annual peace prize to Barack Obama, just nine months into his presidency, “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”The award cited in particular Mr. Obama’s effort to reduce the world’s nuclear arsenal. “He has created a new international climate,” the committee said.

The announcement shocked people from Norway to the White House. “There has been no discussion, nothing at all,” said Rahm Emanuel, the president’s chief of staff, in a brief telephone interview.

Mr. Emanuel said that he had not yet spoken directly to the president. A senior administration official said in an e-mail message that his press secretary, Robert Gibbs Mr. Gibbs called the White House shortly before 6 a.m. and woke the president with the news.

“The president was humbled to be selected by the committee,” the official said, without adding anything further.

The White House has made no official comment.

I don’t think we as Americans realize how far we had fallen in the eyes of the world during the Bush Administration. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize is about America regaining honor and respect throughout the world. At least to a point. This prize is as much about the future as it is the past. My students asked, "What has he done? He just got elected!" But the committee is not simply recognizing Obama’s accomplishments as president. Obama has spent his adult life in service to others. As a United States Senator, Obama was campaigning for a return to diplomacy, for a radical shift in United States foreign policy. He has begun to implement the siesmic shift in policy we need in this country and throughout the world: a return to diplomacy.

Have we arrived? No. The United States is still mired in two wars. Iran — the government, not all Iranians — is still a threat.

The last president labeled himself a "war president." May this award be a constant reminder to President Obama that it is possible to strive, every day, to be a "peace president."

French President Nicolas French President Nicolas Sarkozy said today President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize marks "America’s return to the hearts of the people of the world."

Are Obama’s — and America’s — greatest days ahead?

The world hopes so. This award is about that hope.