Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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FYI, You CAN Cheat on Your Property Taxes
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Assessor Joe Berrios on Tuesday urged state lawmakers to give them more power to go after property owners who improperly claim tax breaks, saying they could recover more than $150 million in three years with the new authority. Under legislation pending in Springfield, counties could go after back…
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Chicago Aldermen: White Collar Criminals
An analysis of pension fund documents for 21 aldermen who retired under the plan shows they are in line to receive nearly $58 million during their expected lifetimes, though contributions and assumed investment returns are predicted to cover just $19 million, or a third of that sum. The pension deal was inked more than two…
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Rooting Out Bad Cop
Cops are people. Some are going to be trouble no matter how hard you try to keep them out. However this is just nutty: Of 441 police misconduct lawsuits that led to city payments between January 2009 and November 2011, nearly a third—or 145—involved the “repeaters,” shows a Reporter analysis of federal and state court…
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IL, 3rd Worst for Business …again
Let’s first get some background on the winners: In Chief Executive’s eighth annual survey of CEO opinion of Best and Worst States in which to do business, Texas easily clinched the No. 1 rank, the eighth successive time it has done so. California earns the dubious honor of being ranked dead last for the eighth…
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Afghanistan – The Forgotten War
Consider: Since Apr. 24, the following American service members have died as a result of continuing operations in Afghanistan. Spc. Manuel Vasquez, 22, West Sacramento, California Spc. Benjamin Neal, 21, Orfordville, Wisconsin Spc. Jason Edens, 22, Franklin, Tennessee Lt. Christopher Mosko, 28, Pittsford, New York Spc. Moises Gonzalez, 29, Huntington, California Staff Sgt. Brandon Eggleston,…
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Derrick Smith ‘I intend to fight these charges’
State Rep. Derrick Smith on Monday spoke publicly for the first time about his bribery case, saying he would not “cower” and vowing to fight the charge against him.Holding a prepared statement in front of him and talking in a shaky voice minutes after he pleaded not guilty to a federal court indictment, the West…
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Another Foreclosure Wave Arrives
Half a decade into the deepest U.S. housing crisis since the 1930s, many Americans are hoping the crisis is finally nearing its end. House sales are picking up across most of the country, the plunge in prices is slowing and attempts by lenders to claim back properties from struggling borrowers dropped by more than a…
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CPS Director Accepted Gifts from Top Vendors
Now, [CPS Chief of Food Services Louise Esaian] and two members of her staff are accused in a report by CPS inspector general James Sullivan of accepting perhaps thousands of dollars in gifts from Chartwells and another vendor, Preferred Meals Systems, that have combined food contracts at CPS in excess of $75 million. Esaian told…
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Governments’ CCTV System Knows You
It’s 1984 all over again: A new camera technology from Hitachi Hokusai Electric can scan days of camera footage instantly, and find any face which has EVER walked past it. Its makers boast that it can scan 36 million faces per second. The technology raises the spectre of governments – or other organisations – being…
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How Retirement Benefits May Sink Illinois
We’re national news again. … Indiana’s debt for unfunded retiree health-care benefits, for example, amounts to just $81 per person. Neighboring Illinois’s accumulated obligations for the same benefit average $3,399 per person. Illinois is an object lesson in why firms are starting to pay more attention to the long-term fiscal prospects of communities. Early last…
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