Chicago

This news out of Chicago is surprising, especially since Chicago is facing serious economic challenges. 

Chicago is fighting Wal-Mart from entering the Chicago market and is specifically targeting larger type "big box" stores.   I often shop at Wal-Mart and Sams Club and even buy my furniture and applicances from Sams Club.   I appreciate their commitment to low prices.

If Wal-Mart is so bad, couldn't people just decide to not work there if the pay and benefits are not attractive?   Also, if the people of Chicago did not want lower priced products, couldn't the big box critics encourage customers not to shop there?  Here in Champaign-Urbana, these stores appear to be attractive to both customers and quality employees.  

"Burke said the measure -- which would apply only to companies with 50 or more employees who benefit from a city subsidy -- would satisfy labor leaders who have opposed more Wal-Mart stores in Chicago."

Why are labor leaders deciding what choices the customers of Chicago should have?   I don't have any problem with labor leaders negotiating for themselves, but I don't think labor leaders should be deciding what's best for customers. 

"Wal-Mart spokesman John Bisio issued a statement after the meeting saying the proposal "is the wrong direction for a city that desperately needs jobs and economic growth."

I've always wondered why I've never seen a Walmart in Chicago.   Now it makes more sense.   As a taxpayer and consumer, I don't want other special interest groups making choices for me.   It's hard to imagine life without Wal-Mart and Sams Club. 

From local Chicago news outlets on the bigger issues of the 2016 Chicago Olympic bid. First from the Chicago Sun-Times:

We admit to having mixed emotions. Professionally, it would of course be a very good thing. Newspapers and their brethren thrive on huge stories, so it's little wonder that the local media have climbed aboard the 2016 bandwagon. For seven years, we would have an opportunity to examine the Olympic process up close and personal, and the result would be plentiful and fascinating story angles involving local news, business and sports. The media would be a big part of the story, which is why you read so many glowing accounts about the wonders of the Olympic experience: If you're in the media, you get to go to the events, meet the athletes, talk to the visiting fans. You're invited to the party, so naturally it seems like a wonderful thing.

Of course, if you're an Average Joe, forget about it. The tickets are much too pricey and difficult to acquire. You'll end up watching it all on TV, same as you will if the games are awarded to Rio. If you live in Chicago, you will have to put up with countless inconveniences, the shutdown of streets and lakefront facilities, the tedious traffic jams and the misplaced priorities. And, as a taxpayer, you will be on the hook for any and all cost overruns, as rubber-stamped by the cheerleading City Council.

Local history tells us it's the movers-and-shakers, the power-brokers, who will cash in on the Chicago Olympics. Mayor Daley's legacy will be ensured, and those with clout will reap rich rewards. Now, are all those who are engineering Chicago's Olympic bid in it for themselves? Of course not. The vast majority are upstanding, civic-minded individuals who are absolutely convinced they are acting in the city's best interests. They may well be right. But it's debatable how much the general populace will benefit, in terms of new jobs, new construction, increased tourism. Who knows what the economy will look like seven years from now? Chicago as a whole likely will gain some tangible lasting benefits, some invaluable enhancement of its image, but at this point, that's difficult to quantify.

And from the Chicago Tribune:

But the city -- whose mayor is hoping once again to cast it in the best light for the 2016 Olympics -- has a dark side. Despite its dazzling profile and the self-congratulation attendant to an Olympic bid, Chicago can never truly be a world-class city until it figures out how to save its children.

Consider this: The Black Star Project, an advocacy group that mentors and tutors black and Latino students, has counted 53 children and teens under 18 who have been killed in Chicago from Sept. 2, 2008, to Sept. 2, 2009.

"Since the Iraq war started in 2003, we've lost 10 soldiers who resided in this city, and that's awful," said Phillip Jackson, executive director of Black Star. "But during that same time, we've lost about 300 of our children. So you tell me: Is this not a war?"

The Tribune article goes on about the efforts put forth to gain the money pot of an Olympic event being held there and asks for a similar effort be made for the endless Columbine loads of deaths Chicago faces year after year after year after year after year...

Some how, some way, this Olympic bid, whether it succeeds or fails must be used to beat this corrupt government over the head until it actually makes real progress in bringing real change to this unbearable situation. Ignoring it between brief moments of half-measures has got to stop. Enriching the 'haves' with Olympic pork for maintaining the status quo of the 'have nots' continuing to die in the streets while just trying to go to school is unacceptable.

And honestly, if all we can do is maintain that status quo, does any body in Chicago or this State deserve any Olympian perks? Hell no.

Welcome back 634th!

But I'm just a little curious, where was MG Dennis Celletti, CDR, Illinois Army National Guard, during all of the ceremonies for the return of the largest battalion in the state?

Next time anyone runs into him, ask General Celletti why, in 2006, a no-name security company based out of Chicago was awarded a contract to provide security for NG facilities around the state, strangely replacing Additional Duty soldiers who had been working directly for state security at each critical NG facility since 9/11/01. Also ask him why this company failed to provide weapons, training, or even conduct felony background checks on the personnel that it hired. Perhaps ask him why, at Marseilles Training Area, the largest training area in the state, with rugged off-road terrain, that security company provided only a SINGLE SEDAN that was up on a jack for months on end in full view of the front gate. Maybe ask why the employees of this company, spread out over the state, took their direct orders from their civilian supervisor in Springfield, instead of each local facilities' state security employee supervisor.

Finally, ask him why, after many complaints and questions, and no answers from the Puzzle Palace in Springfield, the company was quietly removed and replaced by a reputable, established security company.

This killing was brought up in previous threads and comments by a regular poster who worked at the school this young man attended, so it's probably worth mentioning that the killer of Blair Holt has pled guilty to the slaying as well as the young man who provided him with the weapon for conspiracy to commit. From the Chicago Tribune:

It was another senseless gang-related shooting, this time on a CTA bus crowded with Julian High School students on their way home.

Blair Holt, a popular 16-year-old Julian student, had pushed a friend down in her seat moments before he was fatally shot in the abdomen.

On Friday, as dozens of prospective jurors waited in a nearby courtroom, Michael Pace, 18, decided to forgo a trial and pleaded guilty to killing Holt and wounding two other students. Prosecutors said Pace was in search of rival gang members when he opened fire on the bus. He faces 45 years to life in prison next month at sentencing.

Earlier in the week, Kevin Jones, 17, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder for giving Pace the .40-caliber handgun used in the shooting. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Circuit Judge Nicholas Ford.

Whether one is on one side of the gun control debate or the other, the loss of innocent life in Chicago is unacceptable and must not be ignored. Regardless of whether you feel the appropriate response should be from the people or the governent, whether it has more to do with access to firearms or access to opportunity, or whether you blame this or that... the fact remains that innocent children are left in the crossfire by our inaction.

So if you prefer community and private solutions... support them. If you prefer government solutions... support them. If you think banning my guns is the solution... fight for that. If you think better enforcement of current laws to prevent unlawful use of firearms is the solution... fight for that instead.

Just don't let this, as so many of these stories tend to, go by as if we do not have a duty to our fellow man... especially the innocent amongst us, to watch out for one another as best we can and in keeping with our various philosophies on the proper role of government or community.

Save the Date: 04/15/09 Noon - Daley Plaza - Chicago, IL

The next rally/protest (whatever you call these things) is scheduled for Noon on 04/15/09 in Daley Plaza, Chicago, IL. 

Warning: there are protesters in the crowd who are cursing the republican speaker and the language might be offensive to you.   I don't think I've ever seen a capitalism rally.    There's a first time for everything.   I think it's about high time I attended my first political rally.   See you in Chicago!

Note: The republican they were cursing was Dan Proft.   Didn't he speak at a recent breakfast in Champaign?

I had another work function, so I could only stay for about half-an-hour, but I did catch a portion of an event for Social Justice educators held at Decima Musa (if you don't know who that is, you probably should).

The event featured workers from Republic Windows and Doors. One of the workers gave a chronological explanation of the series of events that led to the occupation of the factory in English, while the others threw in their perspectives occasionally through a translator.

What I found interesting was that the decision to occupy the factory was more a shared, in-the-moment strategy in response to extreme inhumane treatment by the company. The workers had not intended to do such thing, but when it was suggested in their brainstorming session, everyone quickly agreed that it was the best strategy. They had been lied to repeatedly about the status of their jobs and the factory and then when they demanded their rights under the law, the owners and management refused.

They seemed surprised at the amount of press attention they received, but said that it helped keep their morale up. They said that they knew it was the right thing, but they weren't sure if they would win. The main speaker said, "None of us had ever been on television before, so when we saw ourselves and the outside support, it really lifted everyone's spirits!"

He said the most ironic thing was that when Bank of America agreed to negotiate, suddenly the factory owners jumped in and said that they should get their share of any settlement. He said it was typical--they had done none of the organizing work, but wanted to take a large portion of the settlement. The workers as a group decided that was completely unacceptable and that the settlement must go to them and their families.

They are working now to find a group to take over the factory and allow them to run it themselves. They felt that they were the ones who had the expertise to produce using the plant facilities anyway, so they don't really need the ownership at all.

The workers closed out by reminding people that the society values what we the people choose to value. If we choose to value hardwork and fight on behalf of those who do work hard, our society will reflect that. If we do not, then our society will reflect that decision too. It buoyed my spirit to fight against the school sabotage agenda of the Chicago Board of Education.

Sigh: Backpaged again...

Kathryn Lopez says of the Blagojevich scandal “Finally, a political scandal you can talk to your children about.”  And if you are from Illinois, particularly Chicago, there is plenty to talk about.  The first question your child might have is this:  “Why is Uncle Blago in trouble for selling the Senate seat; Cousin Maxie the alderman sells building permits?”

You may respond thus:  “Aldermen have been doing this for years, honey.  It actually helps contractors and building owners get their permits and variances faster and more efficiently.  Almost everything the City does can be handled more efficiently by the aldermen.  Plus, its hard to keep track of the inspectors.  If they were always paid directly, Cousin Maxie would go broke. Everybody here on the North side knows how this works.  Your poor relations on the South Side do it too.”

But Mom, why does Maxie have to charge money if he is just helping people?  Doesn’t he get paid to be an alderman?

Well, son, he doesn’t get paid much, and his time is valuable just like ours.

If Maxie runs for Congress like he says he wants to, can he sell stuff for the federal government, and does he get more money?

Honey, where do you get these ideas?  It is illegal and wrong for a congressman to sell political influence, just like it is for the governor.

I don’t know, Mom.  It sounds like someone forgot to tell Uncle Blago that there were different rules for his job.  I suppose he got in the habit from watching his friends and relatives in Chicago.  Who was in charge of making sure Uncle Blago knew the rules were different when you change jobs?

I don’t know Son.

Maybe Uncle Barry can have a talk with Uncle Blago.  He knows how it works.

I think it might be too late.  Go to sleep now.

That was conversation number one.  Conversation number two will explain why Illinois Courts and Illinois prosecutors are unable to find any corruption in Chicago.

And as always, our final prayer at night is for God to arrange that all federal money to Illinois comes in the form of federal prosecutors.

I'm baffled.   Bank of America cancelled a line of credit at a struggling factory in Chicago and the company closed.   The union expects Bank of America to pay the workers severance and vacation pay: "Carrying signs that read "Bank of America: Don't Steal Christmas," workers at a North Side manufacturer continued their protest Saturday after the company shut its doors on three days' notice because the bank canceled its line of credit."

"The union said the bank is not letting the company pay workers their vacation and severance pay. In addition, the union said they were not given 60 days' notice of a mass layoff, as required by federal law."

Here is the story: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-window-factory-sit-in-07dec07,0,667083.story

Enter more unions with the support of Rep Guitierrez.   "Members of several unions attended Saturday's sit-in as well as Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who accused the company of knowing the plant was going to close long before last week's announcement to avoid paying workers for the days they are owed under federal law."

But when you look at Federal Law the Warn Act there are some exceptions:

The common-sense exceptions to 60-day notice are:

(1) Faltering company. This exception, to be narrowly construed, covers situations where a company has sought new capital or business in order to stay open and where giving notice would ruin the opportunity to get the new capital or business, and applies only to plant closings;

(2) unforeseeable business circumstances. This exception applies to closings and layoffs that are caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable at the time notice would otherwise have been required; and

(3) Natural disaster. This applies where a closing or layoff is the direct result of a natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, drought or storm.

Enter Barak Obama with his support...

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/12/08/obama-supports-a-hometown-protest-against-layoffs/

It's not clear whether he is (1) against a company suddenly going out of business (2) encouraging a bank offering a line of credit that the bank will never see again or (3) encouraging laid off workers to trespass on private property.

“The workers who are asking for the benefits and payments that they have earned, I think they’re absolutely right,” he said.   Sure, but severance pay because a company went belly-up?  

This really sucks that workers lose their jobs.   It is horrible!   But to blame a bank???   Expect severance pay from the bank?  Sit in on someone else's property?   And then watch our newly-elected president publicly support this message?   It's just getting whacky. 

It went from really bad to absolutely ridiculous very quickly.   If that wasn't enough, look what we learn about our good friend Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. 

Apprently the guy wants to replace Barak Obama in the senate.   http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-gutierreznov26,0,1555756.story

Hopefully this method of attracting businesses to illinois will work. 

I'm shocked to see this comparison.  I thought - indeed, I was told - that no decent human being would ever consider doing so.

In May, cbs2chicago.com began tracking city shootings and posting them on Google maps. Information compiled from our reporters, wire service reports and the Chicago Police Major Incidents log indicated that 123 people were shot and killed throughout the city between the start of Memorial Day weekend on May 26, and the end of Labor Day on Sept. 1.

According to the Defense Department, 65 soldiers were killed in combat in Iraq. About the same number were killed in Afghanistan over that same period.

Shocked, I tell you.

UPDATE:  Instapundit beat me to it.

I saw this on Instapundit over the weekend, but just got around to reading it last night.

In the past three decades, Chicago has undergone changes that are routinely described as gentrification, but are in fact more complicated and more profound than the process that term suggests. A better description would be "demographic inversion." Chicago is gradually coming to resemble a traditional European city--Vienna or Paris in the nineteenth century, or, for that matter, Paris today. The poor and the newcomers are living on the outskirts. The people who live near the center--some of them black or Hispanic but most of them white--are those who can afford to do so.

It's long, but quite an interesting article, and I urge you to read the whole thing.   I thought it might be worth discussing both because of its focus on Chicago, and our own discussions of downtown housing in Champaign.

Saw this on Drudge.  More lunacy from Gov. Blagojevich.

To make good on his offer to help Chicago combat violence, Gov. Blagojevich envisions putting speed cameras on interstates across Illinois -- and using the revenue to form an "elite tactical team" that would operate in Chicago and other cities.

The idea is in its infancy, with no budget and no timetable.

Sigh.

Regardless of how you feel about Chicago and/or Illinois politics, bringing the Olypmics to Chicago would be great for Champaign County and the University of Illinois.  So this is good news:

The IOC has picked four finalists in the bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Making the cut are Chicago; Tokyo; Madrid, Spain, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Three cities were eliminated from the race -- Doha, Qatar; Prague, Czech Republic, and Baku, Azerbaijan.

Gov. Blagojevich is using the surge of violence in Chicago for political reasons.

Blagojevich said the $150 million for his anti-violence initiative, which includes up to 20,000 summer jobs for young people in high-risk communities, isn't an unreasonable amount of money.

"This is an emergency. Children are being shot and killed. And for lawmakers to say we can't do it, that's exactly the reason why there's so much violence out there today and so we're just not gonna take no for an answer," Blagojevich said as he left the youth center surrounded by reporters trying to ask him questions.

Blagojevich's proposal includes spending $30 million to provide summer jobs statewide. He's proposing another $20 million to fund grants for after-school programs and other activities to keep kids off the streets. And he wants to invest $100 million to revitalize neighborhoods, support local businesses that create jobs and help police departments buy equipment, according to his office.

I'm shocked - shocked, I tell you - that anyone would use the deaths of children to push a political agenda.

Billy Joe Mills at Urbanagora reports that Governor Rod Blagojevich is a closet Dallas Cowboys fan.  The reasons for a recall keep rolling in. 

I'm a few days late on this, but thought it would be worth discussing, given its impact on Illinois and our own local discussions about sales taxes.

Among the things Chicago wants to be known for, having the highest total sales taxes of any major U.S. city is probably not one of them.

But that's what it's getting after the Cook County Board voted Saturday to double the county sales tax to 1.75 percent. When added to the city's sales tax, the county' increase has the cumulative effect of setting a 10.25 percent sales tax on goods bought in Chicago.

The rates in New York and Los Angeles are below 8.5 percent. The next highest rate in the country is in Memphis, Tenn., at 9.25 percent.

And, they're increasing a bunch of other taxes and fees, too.  I know it's easy to caricature this as typical of the most Democratic city in America, but is this good for the State of Illinois?  Are these rates having any sort of impact on sales tax receipts in the City vs. Cook County or the Collar Counties?

(Hat tip: TaxProf)

Go Cubbies!

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald strikes again.

Just a story I saw in which a law enforcement officer attacked a decorated veteran for parking a van in his driveway. He tossed in some ignorant AND false racial epithets for good measure (not that "true" racial epithets would be any better :P)

From Angry Asian Man:

Heard about this from SALDEF... They're calling for the Joliet Police Department in Illinois to investigate an violent incident involving an officer patrolling a local neighborhood last month. The cop allegedly assaulted a Sikh American man while yelling racial epithets, right in front of his wife and six-year-old child:

On Friday March 30, 2007 at around 3:00pm , Mr. Kuldip Singh Nag, a Sikh American who was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in the U.S. Navy during the first Gulf War, was at his home in Joliet , IL when a local police officer noticed that a van parked on Mr. Nag’s private property had expired registration tags. Upon being confronted with this, Mr. Nag’s wife, Vera Kaur Nag, informed the officer that the van is parked on their driveway and was inoperable.

Mr. Nag then came outside to answer the officer’s questions regarding the van. The Joliet police officer then demanded that Mr. Nag park the van inside his garage and not on the driveway, to which Mr. Nag responded to the officer that it was not possible and that regardless, the van is parked on his private property and he has a right to park it on his driveway.

At this moment, the officer pulled out his pepper spray and attacked Mr. Nag. As Mr. Nag screamed in agony, the officer removed his baton and violently struck Mr. Nag numerous times until he fell to the ground. While the assault ensued, the officer was reported by both Mr. and Mrs. Nag as saying, "You f****** Arab! You f***** immigrant, go back to you f****** country before I kill you!"

The assault landed Mr. Nag in the hospital for five days, with complaints of intense pain and head trauma. And the whole thing happened right in front of his wife and kid. All this, because Mr. Nag parked a van with expired tags in his own driveway. Police brutality alone is unacceptable, but this clearly crosses the line as a hate crime. This incident needs to be investigated, and this officer needs to be taken down. That's racist!

In honor of Opening Day - a classic by Steve Goodman.

BTW, have the Cubs been mathmatically eliminated yet? Go Sox!

Marathon Pundit has a story that has this Marine torqued off.  It seems that the Executive MBA program at the University of Illinois doesn't cotton to veterans.  Good enough to take a bullet for you, but not a class from you, eh? Or good enough to use for advertising, but not diverse enough to mix in. 

Broken promises: How "jarheads" got shunted aside at the University of Illinois: A Marathon Pundit series

"So the idea was a go and a press release announcing the program was sent out on March 3 [2006]. In it, the 110 military scholarships was the big news. No other University in the country had ever done something on this scale for veterans. "

The announcement was made.  A free MBA program, targeted at 110 Illinois veterans.  It was big news, getting national attention.  Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld mentioned it.   Soldiers overseas were signing up and being told they were accepted.

But something happened.

Apparently fearing that there would not be enough funds for the program, University official decided to un-accept them, telling them the program was closed ... except that they continued to recruit civilians for the program.  It seems the point was to recruit from the Middle East, all right, but not Americans serving there.  Teaching Americans involves too much paperwork -- the foreigners pay hard currency.

As an alumnus of the University, I am ashamed, and deeply offended.

[h/t: Moe Lane at Redstate]