Tag: Rahm

More Bankruptcy Coming (to a city near you)

The top 10 biggest U.S. cities on the brink of pension bankruptcy.

#1 Philadelphia – Unfunded liability of $9 billion, $16,696 per household, only 1 year before the pension accounts are empty

#2 Chicago – Unfunded liability of $44.8 billion, $41.966 per household, money runs out in 4 years

#3 Boston – Unfunded liability of $7.5 billion, $30,901 per household, money runs out in 4 years

#4 Cincinnati – Unfunded liability of $2 billion, $15,681 per household, money runs out in 5 years

#5 St Paul – Unfunded liability of $1.4 billion, $13,686 per household, money runs out in 5 years

#6 Jacksonville – Unfunded liability of $4 billion, $12,944 per household, money runs out in 5 years

#7 New York City – Unfunded liability of $122 billion, $38,866 per household, money runs out in 6 years

#8 Baltimore – Unfunded liability of $3.7 billion, $15, 420 per household, money runs out in 7 years

#9 Detroit – Unfunded liability of $6.4 billion, $18,643 per household, money runs out in 8 years

#10 Fort Worth – Unfunded liability of $2 billion, $7,212 per household, money runs out in 8 years

via Business Insider.

This list was put together using data from 2010-12.  So Detroit is on the list… and not at the top.  So how was Detroit the first to go?  Because the tax base fled in mass.  The constant media attention to Detroit didn’t help either.  But kudos to them for filing early and getting it out of the way.  The longer you wait the worse it is for everybody.

Chicago sadly has the highest debt per capita.  The debt per household is approaching the average annual household income.  Who’s going to pay that off?  How many will participate in paying?  As Obama would say, will be make sure that everyone pays their fair share?

Da Mare’s Private Road to McCormick Place

A $43 million busway built to whisk conventioneers between downtown hotels and McCormick Place has turned into “the mayor’s road” and should be opened to taxicabs in exchange for a surcharge, Ald. Robert Fioretti, 2nd said Monday.

Fioretti suggested turning the 2.5-mile busway into a money-maker after Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg lifted the veil on a shortcut politicians and contractors enjoy, but everyday Chicagoans know little or nothing about.  …

“I was told by some of the people in Planning that it was a good idea. But then, they came back and said, `No. It’s the mayor’s road.’ That’s what I was hit with,” [Fioretti] said without identifying the city planners by name.

Fioretti said when he argued that Chicago could not afford to maintain a “clout road” for VIP politicians, he was told there were “security reasons” for keeping the road closed to other vehicles. But he was never told precisely what those “security reasons” were.

In Monday’s column, [Chicago Sun-Times columists] Steinberg talked about his ride with County Board President Toni Preckwinkle on the road Mayor Rahm Emanuel calls the “Bat Cave” and Preckwinkle calls the “Magic Road.”

It is accessed only by those fortunate enough to be issued a plastic card that opens a steel gate to the busway that runs along Illinois Central right of way parallel to Michigan Avenue.

Built in 2002 by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the 2.5-mile roadway was billed as a speedy shortcut for conventioneers staying in downtown hotels and attending McCormick Place conventions.

As Steinberg noted, a trip that takes 25 minutes in traffic up Lake Shore Drive can be completed in just eight minutes.

via Chicago Sun-Times.

I’ve known about this “road” since forever as I used to walk by the entrance regularly.  There are a few “secret” entrances in the South Loop where the gates are almost always up.  I’m surprised folks on bikes are not on this thing all the time.

Regardless, nice to see the mayor serving no one but himself.

Chicago’s Felons with Guns Go Free

Do you know where Chicago ranks in terms of enforcement of the federal gun laws? Out of 90 jurisdictions in the country, they ranked 90th. Why doesn’t NBC News start with, “Shocking news on Chicago. Of all the jurisdictions in the country, Chicago’s dead last on enforcement of the federal gun laws?” Why doesn’t the national press corps, when they’re sitting down there with Jay Carney and the president and the vice president, why don’t they say, “Why is Chicago dead last in enforcement of the gun laws against gangs with guns, felons with guns, drug dealers with guns?

via NewsBusters.

I’ve been saying this for over a year now.  Exactly!!

Why is it that Anita Alvarez does not refer felon with gun cases to the federal government?  Why?

Why is it that CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy does not make news by telling people that Anita Alvarez is not referring felon with gun cases to the federal government?  Why?

Why is it that Mayor Rahm does not come out and make news by telling people that Anita Alvarez is not referring felon with gun cases to the federal government?  Why?

Because the WANT the gun crime on the streets because it creates the perception that there is a NEED for MORE gun laws.

It’s all a charade.

 

Moody’s Downgrades Chicago’s Motor Fuel Debt

Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded to A3 from Aa3 the rating on the City of Chicago’s (IL) $181 million of outstanding rated motor fuel tax debt. The outlook has been revised to negative.

via Moody’s.

Surprises no one.  Barely qualifies as news actually.

The City’s broke.  Unemployment (real unemployment, the U6 number) is out of control and people simply don’t have the means to support driving when they don’t have to.  Tie that in with Springfield’s ability and desire to continue to kick-the-can down the road and Chicago may just get screwed on its portion of the fuel tax.

It’s generally dumb anyway that Chicago gets a kick-back on the state’s fuel tax anyway as the city has it’s own fuel tax.  It’s just robbing Peter to pay Paul.  Round and round the money goes.

 

 

 

Widespread Violence on the CTA

With almost 20,000 CTA bus trips a day, tempers sometimes flare on a few of them. Regular users of the CTA know what an obstacle course it can be.

On the CTA’s 1,200 rail cars, riders are often met with a variety of frightening encounters- from armed robbers and cell phone thieves to fist fights and shoving.

Sometimes, shots are fired and people end up wounded or dead.

via abc7chicago.com.

Safe to say Chuck Goudie is not going to be invited to Rahm’s next party.

Then again… come-on Chuck, tell us something we don’t already know.

Red-Light Camera Co.’s Chicago Corruption

The chairman of the Australian company behind Chicago’s red-light program resigned this week and trading in the company’s stock was suspended amid an intensifying investigation into allegations of corruption in its Chicago contract.

Redflex Holdings Ltd. announced the extraordinary actions just days after board members were briefed by an outside legal team hired to examine ties between the company’s U.S. subsidiary and the city official who oversaw its contract, a relationship first disclosed in October by the Tribune.  …

The internal probe found that company executives systematically courted former city transportation official John Bills with thousands of dollars in free trips to the Super Bowl and other sporting events, sources familiar with the investigation told the Tribune.  …
The internal probe and a parallel investigation by city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson are also raising more questions about the company’s hiring of a longtime Bills friend who received more than $570,000 in company commissions as a customer service representative in Chicago, the sources said.

via Chicago Tribune.

The Tribune got the OK to print this story because John Bills was one of Daley’s guys.  Since Daley is gone Rahm gave the nod.

Hello Lisa Madigan?  Anita Alvarez?  Either of you awake?

 

Crain’s Propaganda on Illinois vs. Indiana

My comment on a brainless story:

Since when is Crain’s the new PR mouthpiece for Quinn and Rahm?

Except for the graphic this piece is nearly 100% opinion. So Indiana spent $300k on a campaign and got 20 or so companies to move. Those companies may provide several millions worth of tax base; yielding a huge ROI for IN. But the author just sweeps that under the rug.

Yes, IN does not have the “white collar” talent pool that Chicago has. But it will develop it over time. Success is a long term game; not a lottery ticket.

The Illinois Machine has driven us to the edge of insolvency. Rahm appears to have a plan. Quinn is a headless chicken. But sooner or later the taxpayers are going to get a tax bill the likes of which have never been scene before. Then we’ll see how many more people decide to move East and North.

via Crain’s Chicago Business.

Felons with Guns Go Free

Bail was set at $150,000 today on weapons-related charges for a Brighton Park man already on parole in an attempted murder case after beat officers saw him firing a gun near his home this week.

Edgar Jasso, 29, faces charges of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and reckless discharge of a firearm, and also has been charged with violating his parole for a 2005 attempted murder case, according to police and court records.

via chicagotribune.com.

This story is what I’ve been talking about for years!  Grrr….

Turns out a LOT of Illinois residents don’t know how gun laws work in the State of Illinois.  First off, if you want to touch a bullet or a firearm in Illinois you must first acquire a FOID — Firearm Owners I.D. — card.

To get your FOID you must apply to the Illinois State Police who takes your application, conducts a background check to make sure you’re not a felon, and that you’ve never been arrested for a weapons charge or convicted of any domestic violence, and then they send you your FOID.

In Illinois possession of a single bullet without a FOID is a felony.

In Illinois you cannot buy any firearm or ammunition without presenting a valid FOID card.  Neighboring states are aware of Illinois’ laws; so when you buy ammo in either Indiana or Wisconsin and they ask for your drivers license, when they see you’re from Illinois they always ask to see your FOID card.

Additionally, when you go to purchase a firearm you must show your FOID and then hold-out for the waiting period (3 days for handguns, 1 day for everything else) and the FFL that sells you the firearm must perform an instant background check w/ the BATF/FBI.

This idea that people are buying guns in Illinois w/out a background check is absurd.

As an aside, I’ve already covered that it’s illegal to convict a felony for NOT getting a FOID card prior to acquiring a firearm.  Yes, really.  Check out the link.  It’s self incrimination to apply for a FOID when you know you can’t have one.

This is why gun registries will never work.  Criminals will never register their guns.  And honest folks will immediately become criminals by not registering their guns.  … Well that and history shows that gun registries have never solved a single crime.

But I digress…

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is the federal firearms law that states that felons are barred from possession of any firearm.  It’s a mandatory sentence of not less than a year.  But get this.  If the person has 3 or more felony convictions then the minimum sentence is 15 years.

Why is State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez not sending these goons to the Feds?  They the federal government house, feed, try, sentence, and punish these guys.  Would save the state millions and get these career criminals off the streets.   It’s a win-win.

UPDATED:  Corrected some bad grammar and added two paragraphs.

Milwaukee Sheriff’s Says Arm Yourself

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. set off alarm bells Friday with a radio spot some view as a call for citizens to arm themselves.

In the radio ad, Clarke tells residents personal safety isn’t a spectator sport anymore, and that “I need you in the game.”

“With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option,” Clarke intones.

“You could beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back.”

Clarke urges listeners to take a firearm safety course and handle a firearm “so you can defend yourself until we get there.”

“You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We’re partners now. Can I count on you?”

via Milwaukee Journal Online.

Sound advice from a serious man.

Why is it in Chicago all we hear from McCarty and Rahm is that you cannot protect yourself?

When seconds count the police are just minutes away.