Category: Chicagoland

R. Kelly has a mole on his back

June 6, 2008
ChicagoChicagolandLegalStrange
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R. Kelly actually had an expert testify about the mole on his back:

R. Kelly‘s mole returned to the forefront of his child pornography trial on Thursday, as a forensic video analyst testified the blemish on the R&B star’s back is not identical to the dark mark seen on the man in the sex tape.

The mole has emerged as the surprise crux of the singer’s defense in the three weeks since testimony began. From the onset, his attorneys have told the jury that the caterpillar-shaped mark along Kelly’s spine would clear him of the crime.

Ugh. There are many things I didn’t need to know about R. Kelly, and I certainly didn’t need to know, nor could I have cared less, that Kelly has a mole on his back.

He could’ve had the bloody thing removed in his doctor’s office sometime over the past six years this trial has been delayed.

In addition to Kelly claiming he’s not the guy, the defense is also claiming the girl is not the girl:

Shonna Edwards, 27, said she was formerly in a singing group with her cousin, who prosecutors allege is the underage girl in the tape. The group toured throughout Europe in the late 1990s, she said.

“Was the female in the [sex] tape your cousin?” asked defense lawyer Ed Genson.

“No, she definitely wasn’t her,” Edwards said.

Similar words from an uncle later on.

On the other hand, the fiance of the prosecution’s star witness reportedly wanted $300,000 to keep her quiet:

Jack Palladino — a private investigator best known for being hired by Bill Clinton to track down women he’d been linked with — testified Thursday that the fiance of the prosecution’s star witness wanted a $300,000 payoff to keep the witness quiet.

The star witness, Lisa Van Allen, testified Monday that she had engaged in threesomes with R. Kelly and the underage girl who allegedly appears in a sex tape with the singer.

So, R. Kelly’s not the guy, the girl is not the girl, but Lisa Van Allen might have kept quiet about the whole thing for a few bucks? Everyone’s bending over backwards to drag each other further into the mud.

Mr. Kelly may be innocent — and he is, right now, innocent until proven guilty. But we need to remember what this is really about: the awful reality that an underage girl may have been horribly violated. If she was, we don’t need another sexual predator driving around the south suburbs of Chicago looking for his next conquest.

The Oberweis Reality Tour: Bush on Steroids

June 6, 2008
ChicagolandDemocratic NewsElectionsRepublicans
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The way Jim Oberweis sees it, he just needs one more chance to explain himself to the voters. After a past unsuccessful bids for the United States Senate and Illinois governor, Jim simply feels he hasn’t had the chance to really tell the voters who he is. So, he’s going to try to explain himself again to the voters as he makes an attempt to unseat Congressman Bill Foster in the 14th Congressional District.

Before we take the “Oberweis Reality Tour” together, let’s first listen to Jim:

“The opportunity is there,” Oberweis said during a visit to The Courier News. “If we can explain to voters where we are on the issues … I believe I’ll win. I do believe my views represent the majority of views in the 14th District. But we didn’t do a very good job of communicating our views.”

Jim doesn’t want this fall’s campaign to turn ugly and negative. He wants to tell you who he really is.

“It became well-known that my opponent was going to portray me as a George Bush clone,” Oberweis said. “I didn’t think there was any way they could possibly do that. I was wrong.”

So, Oberweis was just misunderstood.

I don’t think so. The reality is, Jim Oberweis is George Bush on steroids, and the voters in the 14th Congressional District need to watch out.

Let’s start with Oberweis’ Final Solution on immigration: send back the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants immediately. Perhaps he’ll even throw in a carton of milk for the bus ride back. According to the ArchPundit:

Oberweis staked out the hardcore send back 12 million people immediately and no exceptions kind of policy and not only embraced the position, but embraced fairly radical anti-immigrant activist organizations.

Most amazing is that John McCain, long a reasonable voice on the immigration debate embraced Oberweis as McCain’s flip flop to the dark side of several issues continues.

Oberweis is a Board of Director for NumbersUSA which is one of the leading right wing anti-immigration groups.

He’s spoken at Illinois Minutemen meetings such as this one on May 6, 2006 mntmn017.wav

And despite railing on the businesses using undocumented workers, Oberweis Dairy never wondered why the company cleaning for them could afford to do the work they were doing. Turns out the contractor were paying below minimum wage for undocumented workers.

According to the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, two undocumented workers brought a complaint to the Illinois Department of Labor against Oberweis Dairies for violating Illinois and federal minimum wage laws and failing to fully pay its employees:

Meet Rosa Ramirez and Jorge Ibarra — two undocumented workers who live and work in northwest suburban Chicago. Rosa, who is 41, and Jorge, who is 34, were both hired on May 1, 2005 to clean three Oberweis Dairy stores. The stores are located at 9 East Dundee Road, Arlington Heights, 1405 Palatine Road, Hoffman Estates, and 30 South Roselle Road in Schaumburg.

In fact, according to the ICIRR, these workers were paid less than half of minimum wage to clean Oberweis’ Ice Cream Stores:

“Mr. Oberweis has exploited these workers twice,” says Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “First he exploited them for cheap labor, and then he exploited them by demagoging their illegal status for cheap votes. We have asked that the Illinois Department of Labor conduct a full investigation into Mr. Oberweis’ employment practices. No one likes a hypocrite,” Hoyt continued, “and Mr. Oberweis’ hypocrisy just shows how our economy is powered by the labor of undocumented immigrants like Rosa and Jorge.”

So, we need to deport 12 million people, but, in the meantime, it’s okay to hire them to do our dirty work?

Who’s cleaning your toilets, Mr. Oberweis?

Rezko convicted – all eyes on Blagojevich

June 4, 2008
ChicagoChicagolandLegal
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From the Chicago Tribune:

A federal jury today convicted developer Antoin “Tony” Rezko of corruption charges for trading on his clout as a top adviser and fundraiser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

And there you have it in one sentence: Rezko – Blagojevich, Blagojevich – Rezko.

Barack Obama, who once counted Rezko as a friend, commented also:

“I’m saddened by today’s verdict,” Obama said Wednesday. “This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew, but now he has been convicted by a jury on multiple charges that once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform. I encourage the General Assembly to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent these kinds of abuses in the future.”

The Chicago Sun-Times links Blago and Rezko:

A federal jury in Chicago convicted Rezko this afternoon on 16 of 24 charges he faced in a political corruption trial that cast a harsh light on the Blagojevich administration.

It’s only a matter of time until we hear the words “Blagojevich” and “indictment” in the same sentence. That will be a sad day for Illinois, but it’s coming.

Pfleger Pflummoxes with Pfustian Prelection

June 2, 2008
Barack ObamaChicagoChicagolandElectionsHillary ClintonRantReligionStrange
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Archbishop George must have turned Cardinal red.

What was the Rev. Michael Pfleger thinking? Was he jealous of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? Did he really want to make his debut on the world stage on You Tube?

Pfleger’s rant was juvenile and sad:

”I really don’t believe it was put on,” Pfleger said. ”I really believe that she just always thought, ‘This is mine! I’m Bill’s wife, I’m white, and this is mine! I just gotta get up and step into the plate.’ And then out of nowhere came, ‘Hey, I’m Barack Obama,’ and she said, ‘Oh, damn! Where did you come from? I’m white! I’m entitled! There’s a black man stealing my show!’ ”

Mimicking Clinton mopping tears, Pfleger added, “She wasn’t the only one crying, there was a whole lot of white people crying.”

Cardinal George clamped down:

“To avoid months of turmoil in the church, Fr. Pfleger has promised me that he will not enter into campaigning, will not publicly mention any candidate by name and will abide by the discipline common to all Catholic priests.”

Pfleger apologized:

“I apologize for the words that I chose. I apologize for my dramatization that was, for many people who do not know me, simply typical dramatics I often use in sermons,” said Pfleger, reading from a statement as nearly two dozen church leaders surrounded him. “I apologize for anyone who was offended and who thought it to be mockery, that was neither my intent, nor my heart.”

What is truly sad in all of this is, Pfleger is a good man. He is. And we desperately need a dialog on race in this country. White entitlement is real, but Hillary Clinton is not running because she feels entitled. That’s just silly. Hillary is doing something historic, and she should stay there as long as she pleases.

But the Democratic nominee will be Barack Obama, and the overwhelming majority of Democrats, whether they support Clinton or Obama not, will support Obama in November.

Pfleger will, well, pfade. He’ll be a priest again, and that is as it should be.

Barack Obama resigned his membership at Trinity, and that’s probably a good thing for now. Republicans are salivating, but that is only temporary. Only Democrats are having a dialog on race — and every other social issue, for that matter. Republicans embrace social issues and “compassion” once every four years, tops.

Look, McCain/Bush2 will no doubt fill the stage at the Republican Convention with every minority and minority child he can find in the Republican ranks, but that will be an artificial statement.

It’s still time for change. That’s the only constant in this election cycle.

Want to be a witness at the R. Kelly trial?

May 28, 2008
ChicagoChicagolandLegalStrange
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This could be your chance to make the big leagues.  After six years of lurid publicity, the defense has suddenly unearthed a surprise witness.  After six years of delays, the defense claims a witness called them today, for the first time.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times:

Testimony from a woman who says she had a sexual encounter with R. Kelly and an underage girl could be undermined by another witness in the singer’s child pornography trial who claims to know damaging information about the woman.

The judge abruptly halted proceedings Wednesday about an hour before the woman, who is from Georgia, was set to testify that she had an encounter with both the R&B superstar and the female who is depicted in a sex videotape at the heart of case. The Georgia woman also was expected to tell the jury that the woman was a minor at the time of the video recording.

The show will go on.  I’m just a bit surprised at this development.  How likely is it that a new witness no one apparently knew about would call the very day this woman was set to testify?  That’s downright uncanny, as if this witness, a man, had some kind of sixth “R. Kelly” sense.

The defense appeared to be as shocked as well:

“We never knew about the witness until 9 a.m. [Wednesday],” defense attorney Sam Adam Sr. said. “The witness called us.”

Want to be a witness at the R. Kelly trial?  Apparently there are still openings.

This one ain’t over until R. Kelly sings.

Dwight Welch knows how to spend your money, C.C. Hills

May 13, 2008
ChicagoChicagolandDemocratic NewsPhilosophicalRant
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With one grand jury investigation currently investigating the use of Country Club Hills firefighters to demolish a pool house at the home of Mayor Dwight Welch, the Sun-Times reports Mayor Welch continues to turn his nose up at the taxpayers of Country Club Hills with a $27,000 weekend training seminar for “some aldermen, department heads and city employees.” The seminar was held at the The Abbey Resort, billed as “Only Full Service Resort And Spa On The Shores Of Lake Geneva [sic],” according to their Internet ads.

$27,000.

Welch defended the expense.

“That was the deal, $27,000. We [rented] a room for [each] person. If they were married, they could bring their husband or wife. That’s like it is on any convention. . . . It’s not like we were going to some exotic place,” Welch said.

The seminar was conducted by Dr. Paul Craig, according to the Sun-Times. Craig is “a senior fellow in the University of Illinois’ Institute of Government and Public Affairs in Champaign.”

Country Club Hills spent $1,447.50 to bring Craig along, “$1,000 for the seminar, $187.50 in travel expenses, $60 for meals and $200 for lodging.”

That leaves $25,552.50 for the remaining members who attended.

I know Dr. Craig. He’s worth every penny they spent on him and more. If anyone can help a politician find his soul, it’s Dr. Craig. He’s extremely well-read, perceptive, and, most of all, ethical.

But the student needs to be open to the lesson.

Look, this just all smells bad.

When the news about the demolition of the pool house first came to light, one Country Club Hills resident, Robert Darnell, expressed his support for Mayor Welch, “Mayor Welch has done such a good job, I can not say anything bad about him,” Darnell, 73, said.

That’s admirable. Not everyone was so impressed:

One 67-year-old woman, a 20-year resident, said Welch “gets all kinds of perks,” and joked that firefighters “can paint my deck and back porch. I can’t tell you my name. If I did, they’d be out tomorrow, tearing down my garage,” she said.

What are residents saying now? Is a weekend at a luxury hotel and resort acceptable to the taxpayers of Country Club Hills?

Too often, public officials start to believe they’re royalty, pampering themselves, spending taxpayer dollars as if it was their own.

$27,000 for a weekend away?  Did they really need to go to Wisconsin, to a luxury resort?

Nero wouldn’t bat an eye.

Have we been too tough on Todd Stroger?

May 12, 2008
ChicagoChicagolandEconomy
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People tell me I should be more understanding of what Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is going through.

The media has been relentless. The Chicago Sun-Times today ribs Stroger’s choices for a new county hospital board: Hospital board slights suburbs.

They tell me we have to understand “the way things are.” When Stroger was running for office, I heard one Democratic Committeeman say just that to a college student who was critical of Stroger’s candidacy. This young lady wanted to know why she should support Todd Stroger, that it seemed that Stroger was on the ballot simply because he was John Stroger’s son.

“Young lady, you need to understand the way things are,” this committeeman replied. He then went on to describe what a great man John Stroger was (he’s right), and why Todd has earned this (he’s wrong).

I’m told President Stroger is young, still new on the job, and we should be patient. He’ll learn. He’ll catch up. His father was a tremendous man (they’re right), and Todd will prove himself before long (still waiting).

I don’t buy that at all.

Todd Stroger chose to run for Cook County Board President, and he has not handled things well.

Let’s look at this latest blunder. Regarding Stroger’s choices for the new county hospital board:

Six of Stroger’s choices live in Chicago, while the others are from Evanston, Flossmoor and Naperville, in DuPage County. None is from the heavily populated northwest or southwest suburbs — areas Stroger has been hammered by for perceived slights, and where there has been talk of breaking away from Cook County.

DuPage County? Did we really have to go all the way to DuPage County to find someone qualified to sit on a board in Cook County? Why did Stroger choose Jorge Ramirez of Naperville?

It makes one wonder, was Ramirez owed any favors?

Park Forest to be cut in half after CN acquisition of EJ&E

May 11, 2008
ChicagolandEconomyRant
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Canadian National in Chicago

One thing is certain regarding the proposed acquisition of the EJ&E railroad by Canadian National: it’s not good news at all for Park Forest.

There’s no other way to put it. The municipality, which is about 30 miles directly south of Chicago’s Loop, would most likely be cut in two unless CN builds either an overpass or and underpass at the railroad crossing on Western Avenue.

Representatives from the Village of Park Forest attended a meeting on April 29 with representatives from Canadian National and returned with information provided by CN that clearly demonstrates that most CN rail traffic will be diverted from the Chicagoland Metro area and end up in Park Forest’s back yard. In essence, Park Forest will be become a town cut in half for most of the day, while traffic along Orchard Drive will continue to increase.

Police, fire and Emergency Medical Service response times will also be adversely effected.

If the viaduct under the tracks at Orchard should ever flood…. Well, do the math. Orchard Drive is the only access to the north end of town from the police department and fire station.

According to information gathered by the Chicago Operating Rules Association (C.O.R.A.) from the October 2007 Canadian National application to the Surface Transportation Board, Forest Park, IL, will see rail traffic decrease to 0 trains per day from 5.4 trains per day, while Park Forest, IL, will see traffic increase from 8.6 trains per day to 31.6 trains per day. The story is even worse in the Joliet and Walker, IL, areas, where rail traffic will increase from 18.5 to 42.3 trains per day. Traffic between East Sidling/Eola and West Chicago will increase from 10.7 to 31.6 trains per day.

Northwest Indiana also suffers if the deal goes through, with rail traffic increasing from roughly 10 trains per day to more than 29 trains per day. Gary, IN, will see traffic increase from 11.8 to 31.8 trains per day.
CN Rail Map
The map on the left details the shift in rail traffic in the Chicagoland area. Click here for full-size PDF . (Graphic: CORA)

Where is the extra traffic coming from? Easy — it’s coming from Chicago and municipalities lucky enough to be closer to the Loop.

Compare these numbers with other communities along the current CN tracks inside the EJ&E belt that surrounds the Chicagoland area. The CN tracks that currently run parallel with the Metra Electric Line will lose almost all of their daily traffic. Markham will drop from 19.5 to 2.0 trains per day. Riverdale, Kensington and Wildwood will drop from 8.4 to 2.0 trains per day. Blue Island, which currently sees 14.9 trains per day, will see only one. Tracks in the Chicago Loop will drop from 4.6 and 6.4 trains per day down to zero trains per day. Schiller Park drops from 19.3 to 2.0 trains per day. Hawthorne goes from 4.5 to zero trains per day.

CN acknowledges they received substantial public comment about the increases in traffic. In a Surface Transportation Board Corrected Decision document dated April 23, 2008, CN says “Many commenters suggested that the Board should require CN to install highway/rail grade separations or change rail operations wherever vehicle delays or safety risk would exceed the existing conditions.”

CN makes vague promises on this point, saying the Environmental Impact Analysis (EIS) will “address vehicular delays at rail crossings and intermodal facilities due to increases in rail traffic operations as a result of the proposed transaction. Estimates of typical delays will be made for highway/rail at-grade crossings that have an ADT of 2,500 vehicles per day or are within 800 feet of another crossing. Vehicle delay analysis will be done for traffic levels in years 2015 and 2020. Detailed analysis also will be conducted at highway/rail at-grade crossings that have an ADT of less than 2,500 vehicles per day, but have unique circumstances that make such evaluations appropriate.”

Any way we slice it, Park Forest loses in this transaction, unless CN does the only appropriate thing and builds an overpass or underpass on Western Ave.

(Photo: CN)

R. Kelly trial finally under way

May 10, 2008
ChicagoChicagolandLegalStrange
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The Chicago media is calling it the “R. Kelly Porn Trial.” After successfully delaying proceedings for six years, Kelly’s attorneys made last-ditch efforts to further delay the inevitable. The defense claimed that potential jurors would be influenced by pre-trial media coverage, specifically mentioning recent articles in the Chicago Sun-Times.

The Sun-Times reported Friday that a potential witness in the R. Kelly trial — who would testify to having a threesome with Kelly and an underage girl — was allegedly paid by an aide to the singer in order to get back an incriminating sex video.

“There is no escaping the fact that the Sun-Times will be in every news box in Cook County,” said defense lawyer Marc Martin.

That’s very flattering for the Sun-Times, but it’s hardly true. While circulation of the Sun-Times is respectable, there are no doubt people in Cook County who do not regularly read the paper or follow its stories online. I would bet that there are plenty of people in Cook County who have never heard of R. Kelly, never heard one of his songs or don’t know that they have, and could care less who he is.

It is astounding that this case has stalled in the courts this long, and the court is making every effort to ensure the press is locked out of the initial proceedings:

Exactly how the opening moment of a trial six years in the making played out is unclear, however, because sheriff’s deputies barred reporters from entering the courtroom. In a case kept shrouded in secrecy by Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan, the opening moments of the trial were also behind closed doors.

…

Kelly, 41, faces 14 counts of child pornography for a videotape authorities say was shot between Jan. 1, 1998, and Oct. 1, 2000, and shows him engaging in a variety of sex acts with a girl as young as 13. He has pleaded not guilty.

Six years.

I have no doubt R. Kelly will get a fair trial. If anything, the six-year crawl to justice simply bolsters arguments that the Olympia Fields resident has been treated with more fairness than most others who are accused of crossing the law.

Finally some good news for Todd Stroger

May 4, 2008
ChicagoChicagoland
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At long last Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is getting some good press, and from the Chicago Sun-Times, no less. The Sun-Times has been extremely critical of Stroger’s recent blunders, as has the Chicago Tribune. This time, however, Stroger gets some good news:

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger is set to hand control of the county’s struggling health system to a panel of nine health care and industry executives he says “reflects the cultural, gender and racial diversity” of the county.

And Stroger’s choices are largely drawing praise.

The paper lists the names of those Stroger has chosen.

In March, the Chicago Tribune reported that Palatine, IL, was looking into ways that it could secede from Cook County. The issue in Palatine is not necessarily Stroger’s incompetence, but the higher taxes proposed by Stroger.

The Cook County Board needs to get a handle on all of this, or other municipalities on the outskirts of Cook County will consider like measures. There are strong arguments to be made for secession. Cook County’s equalizer may make sense for the City of Chicago, but it only makes a bad situation worse in the suburbs.

The first thing we need to realize is that taxes in Illinois make no sense. No one thought this mess through from start to finish. The Illinois tax code is a hodge-podge of nonsense.

Municipalities on the outskirts of Cook County are wise to consider other alternatives.