October 30, 2019
ARENA'S CITY APPOINTMENT PROMPTS MAJOR 45TH WARD PUSHBACK
It is said that no good deed goes unpunished. That being the case, then it is logical that no bad deed goes unrewarded. There many 45th Ward voters, like about 63.8 percent of them, who on Feb. 26 thought and continue to think that John Arena's tenure as alderman was an unending succession of bad deeds which should not be rewarded. They are incensed that Mayor Lori Lightfoot has bestowed upon Arena a golden parachute: A $123,996-a year job as a deputy commissioner in the city's Planning and Development department. "He (Arena) goes from working 70 hours a week as an alderman," said an alderman who wanted to stay anonymous, "to working 40 hours a week as a city bureaucrat, and getting paid $14,000 more." Full Article...
October 23, 2019
NON -NICETIES ABOUND IN CIRCUIT COURT CONTEST
Civility is nice. Being nice is nice, right? It is said that if you can't say something nice about somebody then you should not say anything. Developing in the 2020 Democratic primary for Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court there is a whole lot of nastiness brewing. "There is an appearance of impropriety," said Jacob Meister, a lawyer running for the clerk's job. "There is a circle of corruption." Meister is not referring to the 20-year tenure of Dorothy Brown, who is retiring. He is instead attacking one of his three opponents, Board of Review commissioner Mike Cabonargi, who is the slated Democratic candidate to replace Brown. Also passing petitions for the March 17 primary for clerk are state Senator Iris Martinez (D-20) from the Albany Park-Logan Square area, who was elected to her seat in 2002, and former county commissioner Richard Boykin of Oak Park, who was an outspoken foe of Toni Preckwinkle's soda tax and got beat in the 2018 primary in his West Side district. Full Article...
October 16, 2019
PROPERTY TAXES LIKELY TO INCREASE 35.6% IN 2020 TO COVER CHICAGO'S $843 MILLION BUDGET DEFICIT
To close Chicago's projected $843 million deficit in the 2020 budget, expect property taxes to rise 35.6%. Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) said the hike will be "massive," in the range of $400-500 million. Since property taxes provided $1.474 billion in revenue in the 2019 budget, an increase as Beale predicts will bring property taxes close to $2 billion in an $11.8 billion budget. Property related revenues, specifically taxes and water/sewer fees, are 26.6% of the 2019 budget, and will hit close to 35% next year. This will have a trickle-down effect, with renters and consumers paying more. A 10% across-the-board cut in every city agency's budget would cure the deficit. But in an era of entitlements, who would consider such an antiquated notion? And, quite soon, who would consider buying property in Chicago? Full Article...
October 09, 2019
GOSSIP & TRIVIA
Columnist Stewart on vacation this week. Here is a rerun of the 9/11 column with updates. Back next week. Full Article...
October 02, 2019
IT WON'T BE OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER -- AND THAT MEANS TRUMP IS GONE
Just when it appears that the Russia/election interference/impeachment flap is over, along comes Ukraine/Biden. What is wrong with this guy? A lot of people think Trump is doing a great job as president, and even more take great joy in the fact that he pisses off the liberal elites who piss them off. But now we've got to spend another year embroiled in IMPEACHMENT. And, if Trump is re-elected and Democrats take Congress, we'll have to put up with this CRAP for another four years. We're approaching the point where this guy just has to go. Paradoxically, Democrats want Trump on the 2020 ballot. Full Article...
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