Sunday, May 31, 2009
Illinois House rejects state income tax hike
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
The Illinois House dealt Gov. Quinn a serious budgetary setback Sunday by overwhelmingly rejecting his plan to temporarily hike the state's income tax to help close an $11.6 billion deficit.Not all Illinois Democrats are going along with higher taxes.
The House's 42-74 vote increases the likelihood lawmakers will send Quinn only a partially funded state budget by midnight tonight, which supporters said would lead to “apocalyptic” cuts to state-funded human-service programs and education.
Under Quinn's plan, the state's individual income tax rate would rise from 3 percent to 4.5 percent and raise $4.4 billion for state government. It would sunset in two years.
“We're looking at a very significant budget shortfall and this would staunch the tide,” said House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), the bill's chief House sponsor.
Illinois Senate Passes 67% Income Tax Increase !
The Chicago Tribune reports:
Senate Democrats attempted to jump-start a tax hike on the eve of the legislature's scheduled adjournment, approving a plan to increase personal income taxes by 67 percent and broaden the sales tax to include services such as cable TV.You'll want to read this one. One of the Illinois State Senators who voted for the massive tax increase is Chicago Mob linked Assistant Majority Leader James DeLeo.
The 31-27 Senate vote late Saturday capped a long day of political chaos that enveloped the Capitol as House Democrats tried to advance their own alternative plan -- increasing income taxes by 50 percent for two years -- even though they appear to lack the votes to pass it without Republican help that's not forthcoming.
Facing a late night Sunday deadline, Democrats under House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago began preparing the equivalent of a political punt -- formulating a state spending plan that would keep normal state operations going for the budget year that begins July 1 but not last the full year.
The action, which unfolded on the floor of the House and Senate and in a series of closed-door meetings among legislative leaders and Gov. Pat Quinn, demonstrated the dilemma of Democrats who rule Springfield. They're trying to deal with a huge budget gap while trying to keep control in next year's elections.
U.S. census sparks feud over the counting of illegal immigrants
The L.A. Times reports:
In a high-stakes battle that could affect California's share of federal funding and political representation, immigrant activists are vowing to combat efforts by a national Latino clergy group to persuade 1 million illegal immigrants to boycott the 2010 U.S. census.Here's some food for thought:
The Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy & Christian Leaders, which says it represents 20,000 Latino churches in 34 states, recently announced that a quarter of its 4 million members were prepared to join the boycott as a way to intensify pressure for legalization and to protect themselves from government scrutiny.
According to a study in 2003, California's sizable illegal immigrant population allowed it to gain three House seats it might otherwise not have received. The state's illegal immigrant population also caused Indiana, Michigan and Mississippi to each lose one of their seats and prevented Montana from gaining a seat.An interesting article.
Has economic twilight fallen on nation's Sun Belt?
The AP has the answer in this contradictory piece:
Out of the nation's 100 fastest-growing counties, the majority were in Texas (19), Georgia (14), North Carolina (11) or Utah (nine), according to U.S. Census figures last year. Raleigh-Cary, N.C., and Austin-Round Rock, Texas, were the nation's fastest-growing metro areas, registering growth rates of 4.3 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively. Both high-tech centers, the two metros are also sites of major college campuses that helped cushion them.Just think Texas has no state income tax.
Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston registered the biggest numerical gains, the census figures show. Phoenix and Atlanta ranked third and fourth in growth, respectively, followed by Los Angeles, despite the housing slump.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Spitting in the eye of mainstream education
The L.A. Times reports:
Not many schools in California recruit teachers with language like this: "We are looking for hard working people who believe in free market capitalism. . . . Multi-cultural specialists, ultra liberal zealots, and college-tainted oppression liberators need not apply."Can this be true?:
That, it turns out, is just the beginning of the ways in which American Indian Public Charter and its two sibling schools spit in the eye of mainstream education. These small, no-frills, independent public schools in the hard-scrabble flats of Oakland sometimes seem like creations of television's "Colbert Report." They mock liberal orthodoxy with such zeal that it can seem like a parody.
It would be easy to dismiss American Indian as one of the nuttier offshoots of the fast-growing charter school movement, which allows schools to receive public funding but operate outside of day-to-day district oversight. But the schools command attention for one very simple reason: By standard measures, they are among the very best in California.Imagine that.
Senior Dem staffers called in corruption trial
The Hill reports:
Two senior House staffers have received subpoenas for testimony in the corruption trial against former Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.).Heh.
Roberta Hopkins, deputy chief of staff to Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.), and Angelle Kwemo, an attorney for Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), notified the House of the subpoenas before the Memorial Day recess. Hopkins and Kwemo had served as Jefferson’s acting chief of staff and legislative director, respectively, as late as December 2008.
Chicago Mob Linked Illinois State Senator James DeLeo Hands Out Scholarships
He was one of Obama's closest friends in the Illinois State Senate. He was a bagman that plead guilty to filing a false statement in the infamous massive Cook County judicial scandal Operation Greylord. John Kass reports on Rod Blagojevich's good friend, Jimmy DeLeo :
If the Tribune's series on political clout influencing University of Illinois admissions hasn't made you angry enough, try this one:Can Jimmy DeLeo deny knowing this important Chicago Mob boss?
Kurt Berger is a corrupt former Chicago Buildings Department supervisor now in federal prison for taking bribes. A couple of years ago, he had a problem. It wasn't just the FBI.
In 2007, Berger's son was a student at a state school, as Berger was facing time in the federal pen. The feds shut down his bribe operation, and he needed some extra cash for the tuition.
But he didn't have enough. So he gladly accepted the gift of your cash. That's right, yours. And who helped him to your cash?
Why, none other than state Sen. James DeLeo (D-How You Doin?), the eminent philanthropist.
Now hiring, your Uncle Sam: the growing federal payroll
The Boston Globe reports:
At a time when many companies are shedding jobs at an alarming rate to survive the recession, one employer is still hiring: the federal government.The coercive sector of the economy doesn't feel like cutting back.
While the number of job openings in the private sector has dropped 4.6 percent since December 2007, hiring across federal agencies during the same time period has increased 2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In some ways, the economic decline has been a boon to the federal government. Agencies are seeing a dramatic increase in applicants, including some with blockbuster resumes who are willing to work for lower salaries. Many say they will trade a smaller paycheck in exchange for job security and good benefits, while others say they are answering President Obama's call for public service.
Kate Bender left the corporate world behind this week to become an executive at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. Bender, who previously worked at Wachovia Bank and has two master's degrees, is earning less in her new position (she won't say how much), but is nonetheless enthu siastic about the career shift.
"I wanted to focus on something with more meaning," Bender said. "And while the pay might not be the same, the benefits are much better."
Congress's Afterthought, Wall Street's Trillion Dollars: Fed's Bailout Authority Sat Unused Since 1991
The Washington Post reports:
On the day before Thanksgiving in 1991, the U.S. Senate voted to vastly expand the emergency powers of the Federal Reserve.You'll want to read this one. Here's the best introduction on the origins of the Federal Reserve.
Almost no one noticed.
The critical language was contained in a single, somewhat inscrutable sentence, and the only public explanation was offered during a final debate that began with a reminder that senators had airplanes to catch. Yet, in removing a long-standing prohibition on loans that supported financial speculation, the provision effectively allowed the Fed for the first time to lend money to Wall Street during a crisis.
That authority, which sat unused for more than 16 years, now provides the legal basis for the Fed's unprecedented efforts to rescue the financial system.
Grand Jury Summons Concerning Obama's Ex- Boss and Mayor Daley's Nephew's Real Estate Deals
Here's the grand jury summons concerning Daley's nephew and his partner Obama's ex-boss Alison Davis. Here's more on the ethically challenged Chicago Way.
Friday, May 29, 2009
The appeal of 'Live free or die' : Antigovernment activists putting down roots in N.H.
The Boston Globe reports:
The Free Staters, as they are known, hope to lure thousands of like-minded souls to the state, with the goal of paring government to a bare minimum by eliminating things like taxes, speed limits, and zoning laws.You'll want to read the whole article. Patriotism is alive and well.
Thus far, just 427 Free Staters have relocated. Yet, here in Keene and in pockets across New Hampshire, Free Staters are making their case in increasingly provocative ways.
"Like Ghandi, like Martin Luther King, we need to educate and enlighten the public," said Miller, who joined the Free State movement after breaking up with his fiancée.
The actions have ranged from the odd, such as when Free Staters filed another person's fingernails without a manicurist's license on a public sidewalk or held an unlicensed puppet show, to the irksome, as when they tried to dig a garden in a downtown Keene park, to the instigative, such as the day they stood on a street corner with a marijuana bud held aloft. Sometimes, they simply veer toward obstinate, wearing hats in a courtroom after being asked to take them off or refusing to remove a couch from a lawn.
Chicago Aldermen May Have Highest Felony Conviction Rate of Any Profession in America
CBS Radio Chicago reports:
UIC Political Science Department head Dick Simpson is the first to acknowledge that Aldermanic privilege that allows Aldermen to veto or approve projects in their wards can be a recipe for corruption.Even high ranking "made members" of the Chicago Mob make it to city council.
Developers of high stakes projects could feel the so-called Chicago way of doing business means they may need to offer bribes to get their way. Simpson says there have been 31 Aldermen who've apparently succumbed in the last 36 years. They were indicted for corruption. That's nearly one a year, he says.
And Simpson—a former Alderman himself—says that’s a high crime rate. There are only 50 City Council seats, and only about 150 individuals have been there since he served.
Illinois Lawmakers Spend Time on Bowling Shoe Safety
Illinois lawmakers might not have a budget, but they are spending precious time on bowling shoe safety. Gatehouse News Service reports:
State lawmakers are busy handling the most pressing issues on their scheduled final few days of work. A new state budget. Ethics reform.Illinois lawmakers want a big, activist government so they can extort campaign contributions.
Bowling shoe safety? Yes, indeed.
The Senate voted 51-4 today for Senate Bill 1335, which tries to protect bowling alley owners from some lawsuits.
The measure would push alley owners to clearly place signs near entrances and exits warning that bowling shoes are “specialized footwear” meant only to be worn inside the alley. Users are cautioned that they could slip or stumble if they wear the shoes outside in rain, snow or other debris and then come back in.
Starbucks Pushing Landlords for 25% Cut in Cafe Rents
Blooomberg reports:
Starbucks Corp., the world’s largest coffee-shop operator, is pushing some U.S. landlords for as much as a 25 percent reduction in lease rates, taking advantage of a declining real estate market to save on rent.No word from the real estate lobby on this one.
Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of New York-based Prudential Douglas Elliman’s retail leasing, marketing and sales division, is generally advising about a dozen landlords to work with Starbucks after they received letters seeking rent reductions of 20 percent to 25 percent. She hasn’t seen the correspondence.
Separately, two other letters were confirmed by two property managers, who declined to be named because the negotiations are still under way.
“In this environment, what we’ve seen in general is the landlords and the retailers really have to work together more closely to prevail,” Consolo, 50, said in a May 27 telephone interview. “We’re talking a lot about tenant retention.”
Lakers coach Jackson dismisses allegation of payoff
The L.A. Daily News reports:
An anonymous Denver Nuggets player claimed the Lakers paid $50,000 to win Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Wednesday night at Staples Center.
He did not reveal who received the money or who wrote the check. Or, whether it was in cash.
The implication was clear, however.
The Nugget believed the referees were paid to call the game in the Lakers' favor, a charge the Lakers dismissed Thursday. The Nuggets were whistled for 30 fouls compared to 22 for the Lakers. Denver shot 30 free throws, and the Lakers shot 35.
"The Lakers paid $50,000 to win that game. They got their money's worth," a Nugget told the Denver Post newspaper after Game 5, not wishing to be identified for fear of receiving a fine
Rep. Gutierrez Profited Through Indicted Developer
CBS TV Chicago reports:
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-4th) actively fronted for now-indicted real estate developer Calvin Boender, and the relationship led to personal profit for Gutierrez sources tell CBS 2.There's more:
Gutierrez allegedly squired Boender around City Hall and introduced him to aldermen. Those meetings led to discussions about potential development deals in various Chicago wards.
One source says Gutierrez purchased three successive homes in Boender projects at discounted prices. Gutierrez then "flipped" or re-sold the homes after the market had risen. Gutierrez then sank those profits into other homes. The source says Gutierrez has followed this pattern for the 16 years he's been in Congress, flipping more than half a dozen homes in the same manner.For more real estate adventures of Luiz Gutierrez and his "friend" Tony Rezko. Who could forget that Gutierrez encouraged Blago hire a FALN terrorist to a high level position?
36 Congressmen Ask Obama to Return Authority Over Auto Bailout to Congress--But White House Says Its Not Over-Reaching Its Power
CNS News reports:
A bipartisan coalition of 36 members of the House of Representatives--including 30 Republicans and 6 Democrats--has sent a letter to President Obama asking him to return to Congress its constitutional legislative authority to oversee the bailout of the auto industry.Great moments in lawlessness.
In December, Congress failed to pass a bill authorizing a bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. President Bush and now President Obama, however, proceeded with a bailout process even without legislative autority. That process has cost the taxpayers billions of dollars and given the Executive Branch unilitaral and unprecedented authority to control what happens to the two major auto companies.
Feds Probe Obama's Ex-Boss and Mayor Daley's Nephew
The Chicago Tribune reports:
Federal law-enforcement authorities are probing the controversial investment of city employee pension fund dollars in a real estate firm involving Mayor Richard Daley’s nephew Robert Vanecko.News you will not see or hear today on MSNBC or the New York Times.The Chicago Sun-Times also has the story.
A federal grand jury issued a subpoena Wednesday to the police pension fund, according to records obtained today by the Tribune.
Prosecutors with U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald’s office are demanding fund officials turn over documents regarding their dealings with DV Urban Realty, which includes Vanecko and longtime Daley ally Allison Davis. The police fund’s board voted in 2006 to invest $15 million in DV Urban, part of a $68 million deal that also involved other local government pension funds.
The federal subpoena is a virtual carbon copy of the subpoenas sent to four pension funds in March by City Hall’s inspector general, David Hoffman. But fund officials refused to comply with those requests, arguing that Hoffman’s office does not have the authority to investigate them.
Did Terry McAuliffe Try to Buy Off Ralph Nader?
The Nation reports:
Consumer activist Ralph Nader has made a significant charge against former Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe — that of attempting to bribe a political foe in order to influence an election result.The Clinton way.
Remarkably, McAuliffe, now a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia, is not denying it.
Career lawyers overruled on voting case: Black Panthers had wielded weapons, blocked polls
The Washington Times reports:
Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews.Eric Holder- Chicago Way justice.
The incident - which gained national attention when it was captured on videotape and distributed on YouTube - had prompted the government to sue the men, saying they violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by scaring would-be voters with the weapon, racial slurs and military-style uniforms.
Career lawyers pursued the case for months, including obtaining an affidavit from a prominent 1960s civil rights activist who witnessed the confrontation and described it as "the most blatant form of voter intimidation" that he had seen, even during the voting rights crisis in Mississippi a half-century ago.
Maryland's Estate Tax Causes Millionaire Exodus
The Baltimore Sun reports:
The millionaires are fleeing Maryland, all right. But not because of the measly tax surcharge on income over $1 million.Taxes have consequences.
They're bugging out because of Maryland's estate tax, which applies to a bigger portion of a dead person's hoard than the federal estate tax or those in other states.
Strange to tell, rich refugees didn't want to speak with me. But their lawyers did. They suggest the high inheritance tax costs the state a lot more than it brings in because absconding aristocrats don't pay any Maryland tax, let alone the one when they die.
"For years and years, I have had clients who complained about Maryland taxes and never took any action," says Lowell G. Herman.
Autoworkers swallow a bitter pill
CNN Money reports:
There was a time, not very long ago, when getting a job on the production line at a big automaker meant an instant ticket to the American dream, even for someone with little formal education. Not anymore.An article well worth your time.
"The minute you signed the paper, you were instantly vaulted into the middle class," said Mike Smith, director of Wayne State University's Walter P. Reuther Library in Detroit, named for the founder of the United Auto Workers, the union that represents auto workers.
Labor chief wants pension insurer on less risky path
The Boston Globe reports:
Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, chairwoman of the federal agency that insures the pensions of 44 million Americans, has urged its board to suspend a controversial strategy under which the majority of a $64 billion investment fund was to be shifted out of bonds and into riskier stocks, according to documents obtained by the Globe.The struggles of non-free market economics.
The investment strategy is important because the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. announced last week that it faces a $33 billion deficit - triple the amount six months earlier - and could face an even greater crisis if it has to take over the pension fund of an automaker or other large business.
In February 2008, at the urging of its then-executive director, Charles E. F. Millard, the pension agency's board unanimously approved a plan to put 55 percent of its portfolio in stocks, private equity, and real estate, up from 15 to 25 percent in stocks. Millard argued that the change in strategy would pay off over the long term and possibly avoid the need for a taxpayer bailout. The gradual move into stocks started late last year.
But earlier this month, the agency's inspector general reported that Millard violated rules by playing a role in awarding contracts to Wall Street firms that would implement part of the strategy dealing with real estate and private equity. The inspector general also said Millard had discussed his Wall Street job prospects with an official at one of the firms. As a result, the pension agency indicated it would freeze three contracts that had gone to Wall Street firms.
Rezko relative is among those admitted to U. of I. in shadow system influenced by trustees and other insiders
The Chicago Tribune reports:
At a time when it's more competitive than ever to get into the University of Illinois, some students with subpar academic records are being admitted after interference from state lawmakers and university trustees, a Tribune investigation has revealed.Public universities are controlled by politicians.In a sleazy place like Illinois, look at the results. You'll want to read the whole article.
Hundreds of applicants received special consideration in the last five years, according to documents obtained by the Tribune under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The records chronicle a shadow admissions system in which some students won spots at the state's most prestigious public university over the protests of admissions officers, while others had their rejections reversed during an unadvertised appeal process.
In one case, a relative of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the now-convicted influence peddler for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, got admitted after U. of I. President B. Joseph White wrote an e-mail stating that the governor "has expressed his support, and would like to see admitted" Rezko's relative and another applicant.
White's message to the university chancellor was passed on to admissions officials on the same day they entered a rejection decision for the Rezko relative. "He's actually pretty low," replied an admissions officer, referring to the applicant's ACT score and other credentials. "Let me know when the denial letter can go out."
Powerful Chicago Alderman Wore Wire for a Year : Chicago Sun-Times Exclusive
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
One of Mayor Daley's closest allies on the City Council has been wearing a wire and secretly recording "public officials and real estate developers" for more than a year, a City Hall bombshell that was revealed in a federal court document Thursday.Imagine that.For more on Carothers link to Tony Rezko.
Ald. Isaac "Ike" Carothers (29th) was charged Thursday with fraud and bribery for allegedly accepting $40,000 in home improvements and other gifts from a politically connected developer, but he has been cooperating with the feds since April 2008, according to court papers.
A government motion filed in February asked to keep under seal the indictment of the developer -- Calvin Boender -- until May. It was unsealed Thursday.
The document identifies Carothers as "Public Official A" -- with clear identifiers pointing to him, including a reference to one of his family members running for Congress in 2004.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Deal threatens pension fund co-managed by Daley nephew
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
Developers are foundering in attempts to build a Dominick's-anchored condominium development in Lake View, a deal that threatens public pension money from a fund co-managed by a nephew of Mayor Daley.Imagine that.
The fund, DV Urban Realty Partners, pooled $7.9 million from five city pension funds to invest in the project at 3030 N. Broadway. The money was for a mezzanine loan, similar to a second mortgage, that the fund now says is in default.
DV is run by Robert Vanecko, eldest grandchild of the late Mayor Richard J. Daley, and Allison Davis, a business partner of convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko. The Broadway loan was the partnership's second-largest investment, records show.
Is New Indicted Chicago Alderman Following in Father's Footsteps?
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
In the history of City Council corruption that has seen 30 aldermen convicted since 1972, there has never been a son who has followed his father to prison.You'll want to read the whole article. You might think that some of this stuff is genetic. For more on powerful Ike Carothers.
His father, former Ald. William Carothers (28th), went to prison in 1983 for extorting up to $32,500 in remodeling work for his ward office from the builders of Bethany Hospital.
Now, Ike Carothers stands accused of accepting $40,000 in home improvements, meals and sports tickets from a West Side developer in exchange for zoning changes that netted the developer millions.
See Dick Pay Jane: Chaste Dating for Cash
The Village Voice reports:
Thousands of Mets fans are streaming into sleek new Citi Field to watch their team take on the Brewers. It's 10 minutes before game time, and I'm sitting on a bench outside the left-field VIP entrance, wondering if Carlos is going to show.What some guys will put money out for.
We've never met before. All I know about Carlos is that he's five-foot-six, Asian, likes baseball, and is looking for a "cute, smart, and fun chick to enjoy the game with."
That chick is supposed to be me.
My "date" with Carlos has been arranged by the Austen's Janes Agency. Three unemployed women in their mid-twenties set up this business—with its awkward name—earlier this year to provide men with an unusual service: platonic female company for a price.
Newspaper Publishers Hold Secret Meeting in Chicago Mob Linked Suburb to Monetize Internet Content
The Atlantic reports on the secret meeting on how to monetize internet content by the newspaper executives. Secrecy in Rosemont.
Chicago Mob Member and Cicero Police Officer Indicted
ABC TV Chicago reports:
Racketeering indictments have been handed up against a top Outfit member and a current Cicero police officer on charges that include armed robbery, arson and illegal gambling.Here's the indictment.
The case grew from a 2003 bombing of a gaming house in Berwyn that was allegedly ordered by the mob and carried out by members of a violent motorcycle gang.
The lead defendant is Mike Sarno, a career hoodlum who as a rising mob figure was known as "Fat Boy" due to his bulging, 350 pound waistline. Now, as a 51-year old boss Sarno is known in Outfit circles as "The Large Guy."
Powerful Chicago Alderman Indicted : Ike Carothers
Here's the press release. Here's the indictment(PDF) Carothers was a clout heavy hitter, one of Mayor Daley's favorite Alderman. Here's a connection between Carothers and John "Quarters" Boyle, the man who stole $4 million in quarters from the Illinois tollway system.
Another Chicago Alderman to Be Indicted: Federal charges expected today against Ald. Isaac Carothers; Executive Vice-Chairman of Cook County Democrats
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
Federal authorities later today plan to announce charges against Ald. Ike Carothers (29th), the chairman of the City Council's police and fire committee, sources told the Sun-Times.Carothers is a Rezko linked Alderman that wants to ban guns. Carothers is also Executive Vice- Chairman of the Cook County Democratic party. Ike's dad William Carothers was an Alderman that went on to be a convicted felon.
The U.S. Attorney's office would not confirm, deny, nor comment about the target of the charges.
They issued an alert today indicating that new charges are expected in a public corruption case involving an FBI investigation.
Federal prosecutors and the FBI will hold a 2 p.m. news conference.
Chicago Democratic Machine Organizes to Pressure for More School Funding While Chicago Lost 41,000 Students since 2000
Chicago may have lost over 41,000 public school children, but that hasn't stopped the Chicago Democratic Machine from wanting more money.Watch the video down below.
Sonia Sotomayor 'La Raza member'
WorldNetDaily reports:
As President Obama's Supreme Court nominee comes under heavy fire for allegedly being a "racist," Judge Sonia Sotomayor is listed as a member of the National Council of La Raza, a group that's promoted driver's licenses for illegal aliens, amnesty programs, and no immigration law enforcement by local and state police.Imagine that.
According the American Bar Association, Sotomayor is a member of the NCLR, which bills itself as the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S.
Meaning "the Race," La Raza also has connections to groups that advocate the separation of several southwestern states from the rest of America.
Over the past two days, Sotomayor has been heavily criticized for her racially charged statement: "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
L.A. Teachers start hunger strike to protest layoffs
The L.A. Times reports:
A group of teachers and community activists started a hunger strike Wednesday in protest of the Los Angeles Unified School District's plan to lay off thousands of teachers.If you work in the private sector, would a hunger strike allow you to keep your job?
At least nine teachers and two activists are participating in the action, said Sean Leys, a Lincoln High School teacher.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Professor Bill Ayers Exposed as Educational Fraud
Mary Grabar has a 32 page PDF report on Comrade Bill Ayers.
Critics Assail Congress for Using Subpoena Powers and Strong-Arm Tactics
Fox News reports:
On Oct. 23 last year, William Frey, the president of a company that puts together mortgage-backed securities, told the New York Times that he had been contacting banks and threatening to sue them if they renegotiated mortgages for homeowners facing foreclosure.You'll want to read this one.
Providing better terms for homeowners, Frey explained, would mean reducing the value of the mortgage-backed securities held by investors like himself.
"Any investor in mortgage-backed securities has the right to insist that their contract be enforced," Frey, president of Greenwich Financial Services, told the Times.
Before the day was out, Frey received a letter from six members of the House Financial Services Committee who said they were "outraged" by what he'd said.
Germany is losing the cream of its workforce to other countries
Deutsche Welle reports:
Researchers at the independent Council of Experts on Integration and Migration have found that some 180,000 Germans have left their country in the past five years. And that, says Council chairman Klaus J. Bade, presents a national-scale "personnel problem.“Interesting.
He says it's time for politicians to wake up and realize that those who are leaving are better qualified than those coming in from elsewhere. One field where the personnel pinch is being acutely felt is medicine.
The Council's latest report shows that more than 3,000 medical staff, most of whom were trained in Germany, left the country in 2008. That brings the total number of German doctors working abroad to 19,000. Meanwhile, Bade points out, there are places in the eastern part of the country, the former GDR, where the lack of medical practitioners is reaching crisis proportions.
Chicago Loses 41,000 School Kids While Chicago City Council’s Latino Caucus Urges State to Fund New Construction to End School Overcrowding
Chicago has lost a whopping 41,000 public school children recently, but that hasn't stopped Chicago's Machine from wanting to build more schools! Capitol Fax has this paid ad from the Chicago City Council’s Latino Caucus:
Education is an important tool for self-empowerment and future success, however overcrowding in many of Chicago’s Latino neighborhood schools leaves students in precarious situations. Overcrowding has been a long-standing problem for the city’s Latino community, and as a recent UNO study makes clear, it continues to disproportionately shortchange Latino students, limiting their full potential.It appears Alderman Burke is first among equals in the Latino Caucus even though he's Irish.
In overcrowded schools, closets and hallways become classrooms, students are denied one-on-one attention from school staff, and many educational opportunities are lost due to a lack of space. It becomes easier for students in these environments to lose interest and fall through the cracks.
We have to do better for the future of the City of Chicago and the future of its Latino communities. Doing nothing about overcrowding in Chicago Public Schools will continue to guarantee a high dropout rate and a low level workforce for a major segment of our city’s population.
We join UNO in calling on our state legislators to provide funding for new schools in overburdened Latino neighborhoods and we support its initiative for public/private partnerships to build new UNO schools.
Visit www.endschoolovercrowding.org.
Aldermen who signed this letter:
Edward M. Burke, 14th Ward
Richard Mell, 33rd Ward
Ray Suarez, 31st Ward
Daniel Solis, 25th Ward
George Cardenas, 12th Ward
Arial Reboyras, 30th Ward
Manuel Flores, 1st Ward
Walter Burnett, 27th Ward
$30,400 to Dine With Obama at Big L.A. Fundraiser
The L.A. Times reports:
If there are two things folks in Hollywood know, it's (a) how to run a fundraiser and (b) how to make a deal.These are the rich that can't stand that some people don't want to pay higher taxes.
Both skills will come into focus tonight when President Obama arrives in L.A. for a huge fundraiser on behalf of the Democratic Party, with many of the industry's heavy hitters in attendance. For those not at the top of the food chain, there will be tickets available in a range of prices for the event at the Beverly Hilton -- some of them even less than Lakers floor seats.
Yes, it will take $30,400 -- don't ask how anybody came up with that number -- for a couple to dine with the chief executive. But you can attend a reception for only $1,000 a person, and $2,500 gets you VIP seating while you listen to "American Idol" alum and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson and Earth, Wind & Fire perform. Assuming you're on a diet like everyone else, you can skip the high-calorie dinner, spare your wallet -- and still show your support for the Dems as they gear up for the midterm elections.
A Steep Climb for Indebted College Grads
Business Week reports:
Graduates with student loan debt work many years before their net earnings equal those of workers without a degree, according to a College Board studyIt's kind of poor form to mention this.No word from the Big Education lobby on this one.
Jamie Dimon Asking $10.5 Million for Chicago Mansion
Crain's Chicago Business reports on the newer offer.As opposed to the old $13.5 million offer.
Sonia Sotomayor's Socialist Yearbook Quote
Gawker reports on one student's inspiration: the infamous six-time socialist presidential candidate Norman Thomas.
Troubles for Obama's Former Boss and Mayor Daley's Nephew: Controversial fund to auction former Dominick’s site
Chicago Real Estate Daily reports:
A $7.9-million loan on a former Dominick’s site in Lake View is turning into a sour deal for a controversial investment fund managed by developer Allison Davis and a nephew of Mayor Richard Daley.An interesting article.
The fund managed by Mr. Davis and Daley nephew Robert Vanecko is seeking to auction off a site at 3012-3036 N. Broadway St. after an apparent default on the mezzanine loan by a venture owned by little-known Chicago developers Michael O’Connor and Jonathan Zitzman, according to a recently published notice of public sale.
The developers planned a 53-unit condominium building and a bigger Dominick’s to replace a store destroyed by fire in 2005.
The auction comes just a couple months after news reports that Chicago’s inspector general is investigating millions of dollars in investments by city pension funds in the fund, called DV Urban Realty Partners L.P., according to news reports. The auction is to take place June 5 at the office of law firm DLA Piper LLP, according to the notice.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Andy Shaw Named Better Government Association Executive Director
Business Wire reports:
The Better Government Association (BGA), an 86-year old nonpartisan government watchdog, today named veteran political reporter Andy Shaw as its executive director.No word yet from Alderman Burke on this one.
"I've spent my entire career asking politicians from presidents to park supervisors the tough questions about the governments they run with your hard-earned tax dollars. I've held their feet to the fire. And now, after a short break to recharge my batteries, I'm back,” Shaw said.
Shaw covered local, state and national politics for the past 26 years at WLS-TV. Shaw resigned as chief political reporter for WLS-TV in January, capping off a 37-year news career that included stints with WMAQ-TV, the Chicago Sun-Times and the City News Bureau.
"The Better Government Association is Chicago's pre-eminent corruption-busting civic watchdog group, so I pick up the torch in the fight against waste, fraud and corruption with a keen knowledge of history and a deep sense of appreciation,” he added. “Let's get it on!"
Low taxes: NH's recession buster
The Union Leader reports:
Of all the New England states, guess where the recession is expected to be over first? If you guessed Rhode Island, go sit in the corner.An interesting article.
The answer, of course, is New Hampshire. Is anyone surprised?
The New England Economic Partnership's latest study, released last week, projected that Rhode Island would suffer the most in the current recession, New Hampshire the least. New Hampshire would not only come out of the recession sooner than the other states, but it would have the lowest unemployment throughout. Our peak unemployment is expected to hit 7.1 percent; Rhode Island's 10.9 percent. New Hampshire is expected to be the only New England state to maintain an unemployment rate lower than 8 percent during the recession.
Housing Bust Leaves Most D. C. Area Sellers at a Loss
The Washington Post reports:
Never mind a profit. Breaking even would have been nice.The National Association of Realtors used to say it's always a good time to buy. I guess not.
But Tammy and Charles Bloomer are losing more than $100,000 on their Silver Spring home, which they bought for $525,000 four years ago. The house, now under contract to be sold, lost value even though the couple had remodeled the kitchen and replaced the roof, furnace and windows.
"Unfortunately, we bought at the peak of the market," said Tammy Bloomer, a federal worker who is moving to take a job in Chicago. "The market is terrible now."
In the past six months, most Washington area sellers have lost money on houses they purchased since prices started climbing in 2000, according to a Washington Post analysis of residential sales. In the first three months of this year, 62 percent of local home sellers accepted less than they paid for their homes, in part because aggressively priced foreclosures have dragged down prices around the region.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Millionaires Go Missing
The Wall Street Journal reports:
Here's a two-minute drill in soak-the-rich economics:A really good one.
Maryland couldn't balance its budget last year, so the state tried to close the shortfall by fleecing the wealthy. Politicians in Annapolis created a millionaire tax bracket, raising the top marginal income-tax rate to 6.25%. And because cities such as Baltimore and Bethesda also impose income taxes, the state-local tax rate can go as high as 9.45%. Governor Martin O'Malley, a dedicated class warrior, declared that these richest 0.3% of filers were "willing and able to pay their fair share." The Baltimore Sun predicted the rich would "grin and bear it."
One year later, nobody's grinning. One-third of the millionaires have disappeared from Maryland tax rolls. In 2008 roughly 3,000 million-dollar income tax returns were filed by the end of April. This year there were 2,000, which the state comptroller's office concedes is a "substantial decline." On those missing returns, the government collects 6.25% of nothing. Instead of the state coffers gaining the extra $106 million the politicians predicted, millionaires paid $100 million less in taxes than they did last year -- even at higher rates.
America's Pink-Slip Capitals
Forbes reports:
To see who's been hit hardest, we ranked metropolitan statistical areas by the number of jobs lost through layoffs involving more than 50 employees during the first quarter of 2009. Separation had to be for more than 31 days, so as to exclude temporary furloughs.An interesting article.
Where's it worst? Detroit, where 57 mass layoffs snuffed out 14,781 jobs in the first quarter of 2009. Much of the pain came from the Big Three carmakers: General Motors, Chrysler and Ford Motor. The area has the highest unemployment rate in the country at 14%.
Chicago runs a close second with 13,647 jobs erased in mass firings. Construction-heavy Los Angeles, also hurt by the Golden State’s financial crisis, wiped out 10,594. Finance-focused New York lost 8,688 during the first quarter of 2009.
2010 U.S. census will be the biggest, most expensive to date
The Chicago Tribune reports:
Nine states -- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and Utah -- stand to gain U.S. representatives in the census. Analysts say Texas could gain as many as four seats.
A dozen other states -- California, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- could lose representation. In the 2000 census, Illinois went from 20 House seats to 19.
The NYT's Paul Krugman Thinks California' s Problems are Due to Lack of Taxes
Paul Krugman of the New York Times say California doesn't have enough taxes:
The seeds of California’s current crisis were planted more than 30 years ago, when voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 13, a ballot measure that placed the state’s budget in a straitjacket. Property tax rates were capped, and homeowners were shielded from increases in their tax assessments even as the value of their homes rose.Paul Krugman fails to mention California's massive increase in government spending the last several years.One has to laugh about how the Republican party in California is to blame according to Krugman.Remember, this is the ultra-Blue state of California. Maybe the 3600 California prison guards making over $100,000 a year should hire Paul Krugman as a press agent.
Feds target Detroit area as Medicare fraud rises
The AP reports:
Federal prosecutors say they are expecting guilty pleas in a case involving a clinic in a Detroit suburb that is accused of paying patients for phony or unnecessary treatments.Great moments in socialized medicine.
Investigators say Livonia Wellness Services in Livonia recruited people and then received more than $500,000 in Medicare reimbursements in just six months. The clinic has been closed.
Assistant U.S. Attorney F. William Soisson (SOY'-sun) says three people have negotiated plea deals.
The FBI says Medicare has paid more than $10 million to Detroit-area clinics suspected of billing for services that weren't performed or weren't necessary.
Mayor Daley No Match For Alderman Burke : Burke gets zoning break, special parking
The Chicago Sun-Times reports on the most powerful man in Chicago:
Ald. Edward M. Burke has ruled the 14th Ward for 40 years.You'll want to read the whole article.This is another great investigative piece of journalism by Tim Novak.For more on Alderman Burke's rise to power.Tim Novak in the Burke article brings up the name of developer Anthony DeGrazia.Here's the Roti family tie:
He has used his clout to build himself a palace -- right alongside the CTA's Orange Line near Pulaski.
The house is part of a $4.6 million development that Burke and his partners built on a parking lot over the objections of Mayor Daley's zoning administrators.
Daley's zoning staff thought the development -- one massive, three-story house along with 13 town homes -- wasn't "compatible" with the Archer Heights neighborhood, where it would tower over the surrounding bungalows.
But Burke, the city's most powerful alderman, won permission from his colleagues on the City Council for the project anyway.
Ferro and DiPiazza have been partners with Anthony DeGrazia, another Bridgeport developer. DeGrazia's aunt, Donna Barbara DeGrazia, is a member of the Roti family. She was a secretary to former Ald. Pat Huels (11th). Huels' successor, Balcer, lives in a home built by Anthony DeGrazia. As alderman, Balcer has signed off on DeGrazia's developments, including a townhome project on an industrial site across from the 11th Ward offices.Imagine that.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Chicagoans among least-ready for DTV in June
Crain's Chicago Business reports:
Chicago is one of the least-prepared big cities for the nationwide switch to digital television, which is only three weeks away.Some places don't believe in change.
Yesterday, area residents generated more calls than those of any other city after television stations across the country ran five-minute warnings on analog broadcast channels about the June 12 transition.
“Chicago, Chicago, Chicago,” sighed a Federal Communications Commission spokesman. “Chicago has been a leader in our call center for some time.”
The FCC says 13.6% of Chicago’s 3.5 million households with televisions rely on over-the-air broadcast signals, higher than the 11.5% national average. According to a May 10 audience survey by Nielsen Co., nearly 77,000 Chicago households are not ready for digital TV.
Vegas casinos try bargains to lure back visitors
The AP reports:
It's back to the buffet, bargains and customer bonuses for Las Vegas casinos.An interesting article.
Fast food is up, fine dining tabs are down and hotel rooms are available for under $50 in a city that has been calling on recession-weary tourists to come back and play the quarter slot machines.
Value is the hippest thing on Las Vegas Boulevard this year.
At O'Sheas Casino, the president of five Harrah's Entertainment Inc. hotel-casinos on the Las Vegas Strip is poking fun at the economic downturn and the excesses that built Sin City's anything-goes reputation.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Illinois Is not ready for reform
The Chicago Tribune has an editorial on that ultra-sleazy place called Illinois:
In December, Democrats who control the Illinois legislature were back on their heels. In a weak moment, they even proposed a special election -- yes, a vote of the people! -- to select a new U.S. senator. The arrest of a Democratic governor and the resulting fury had that profound an effect. Reforms to end the Illinois culture of political sleaze? Would there be reforms!Here's an in depth look at Illinois corruption by University of Illinois-Chicago.What state, in America, would have their Governor accused of having been a bookmaker for organized crime?
This is May, and the Democrats are back on their game. House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have been oh, so publicly respectful to members of the Illinois Reform Commission. Last week, though, the commissioners experienced lots of hazing, with little but bruises to show.
Madigan and Cullerton danced commission proposals around Springfield, then slapped them down at turn after turn. On Friday, a Senate subcommittee rejected all nine anti-corruption enforcement proposals from the commission and Cook County prosecutors. "We've gone through one subject area," commission head Patrick Collins fumed, "and we've lost everything." He was told he could come back Thursday -- to argue for bills in a session scheduled to end next Sunday.
Pilots staged sham divorces, lawsuit says
Kansas City Star reports:
Continental Airlines Inc. is suing nine pilots that it says got sham divorces so their ex-spouses could collect their retirement benefits while they kept flying.Interesting story.
The airline said the pilots concealed the divorces from children and friends, then remarried their spouses after getting the money.
The company said it paid out between $10 million and $11 million in suspicious pension distributions, including sums paid to other pilots who weren’t named in the lawsuit.
Eight of the pilots have been fired or quit, while one was rehired after he promised to pay back the retirement money, the airline said — although he too was named as a defendant after failing to repay. The spouses were also named as defendants.
GI Bill's wording costs California's student vets
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
After four years in the Marine Corps, Paul Miller was looking forward to going back to school - in his case, to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to study the clarinet.You'll want to read the difference between fees and tuition.
He auditioned well and won a scholarship - not enough to cover the full master's program tuition, but student loans covered the rest of his $33,000 tuition last year. He figured the new Post-9/11 GI Bill would replace his need for loans when he begins his second year this fall.
But last week, Miller, 28, learned the amount of his tuition the bill would pay: none.
Miller ran into an anomaly unique to California's university system - a difference in a single word that could cause thousands of California veterans like him to miss out on educational benefits available in every other state.
The L.A. Times Not Too Concerned With High Taxes of California
The L.A. Times has a rather biased article in which California's economic problems aren't viewed as a tax problem:
Businesses have long complained about big-spending government in California. But with state and local spending accounting for about one-fifth of the state's gross domestic product, California is in line with some other heavily populated, expensive-to-manage states, such as New York and Florida.We suggest you read the whole article.The bias here for higher taxes is laughable.Note to the L.A. Times reporters who wrote the story: do you California's education system is so good right now?
Judge won't delay Chrysler sale: Indiana Teachers Lose in Court
The Boston Globe reports:
A bankruptcy judge denied a motion from a group of Indiana state pension funds to delay the proposed sale of most of Chrysler's assets, saying its plan to challenge the legality of the sale in another court wasn't enough of a reason.We wonder if Judge Arthur Gonzalez understands bankruptcy law and the concept of secured lenders? Do you want to lend money to companies that get "government help" ?
Judge Arthur Gonzalez said yesterday the group failed to show it would suffer irreparable harm, while noting that an expedited sale is key to Chrysler's survival.
Chrysler plans to sell most of its assets to a group led by Fiat Group SpA, of Italy, and form a new company, leaving behind many liabilities and costs that sent it into bankruptcy protection. A sale hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday, with the deal expected to close 30 days later. Without the sale, the government is unwilling to offer the financing the company needs to restructure itself.
The Indiana State Teachers Retirement Fund, Indiana State Police Pension Trust, and Indiana Major Moves Construction Fund objected to the proposed sale, saying the deal as currently structured gives preferential treatment to other stakeholders while ignoring the needs of Chrysler's secured lenders.
Friday, May 22, 2009
A brief History of Illinois Corruption
Time has an excellent article from December on Illinois corruption . Here's a quote :
And of course there was the time Mayor Richard M. Daley hired John "Quarters" Boyle — a man previously convicted of stealing $4 million (in quarters) from the Illinois Toll Highway Authority — for a Department of Transportation job. When asked in a press conference whether stealing $4 million from a public agency disqualified someone from a city job, Daley replied, "No, I don't think so." Boyle went on to take hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Hired Truck bribes, for which he was eventually convicted. "Everyone else was doing it," he later said. In Illinois, that may be a bit too close to the truth.For a look at "Quarter" brother the infamous "Matches" Boyle.
Gay Curriculum Proposal Riles Elementary School Parents
Fox News reports:
A group of parents in a California school district say they are being bullied by school administrators into accepting a new curriculum that addresses bullying, respect and acceptance -- and that includes compulsory lessons about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community that will be taught to children as young as 5 years old.Great moments in public education.
The parents from the Unified School District in Alameda, a suburb of San Francisco and Oakland, say these issues are best learned at home and most definitely are not age-appropriate for elementary school children.
The parents are also angry that they will not be allowed to keep their children out of the classes.
The Side Jobs Of Top Cook County Democratic Bosses-The Property Tax Appeals Business
The Chicago Tribune has an editorial explaining the sleazy conflict of interests from some top Cook County Democratic bosses:
Joe Berrios is the chief lobbyist for the video poker industry. He's also one of three members of the Cook County property tax appeals board.Wouldn't you know,powerful Chicago Alderman Burke is also in the property tax appeals business and tried to cut Tony Rezko's taxes.
House Speaker Michael Madigan's law firm specializes in property tax appeals.
Senate President John Cullerton is also an attorney. He specializes in tax appeals too.
The fate of video poker largely rested in their hands.
Does anyone see a conflict of interest here?
Not Berrios: The proposal has been "out there for years;" he's lobbied "everyone" in Springfield and the video poker industry pays him only about $25,000 to $30,000 a year
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