Mayor Richard Daley

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Rahm Emanuel Officially Sworn In As Chicago’s Newest Mayor

May 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

Rahm Emanuel is now officially sworn in as Chicago’s 46th mayor so we can now officially swear at him. Of course, we all know that today’s ceremony was merely a formality as he was anointed mayor months ago the second that Mayor Daley announced the end of his long reign of fiscal irresponsibility in the Windy City.

Interestingly, WLS news said that there were many seats left empty at the ceremony, even in the VIP area. One might assume that Mayor Emanuel has yet to endear himself to all the little people. With his no-nonsense, hard-nosed reputation, one wonders if he ever will?

Saying, “Our city’s financial situation is difficult and profound,” Emanuel warned the city that his upcoming term will not be an easy one.
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Rahm Emanuel Officially Sworn In As Chicago’s Newest Mayor”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Mayor Richard Daley - Public Employees Unions - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago’s City Worker Union Members Get Free Chauffeur Perks

March 31, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Let’s say your job is as a traveling salesman or a construction worker and you work at different locations throughout the year. Wouldn’t it be nice to get your own free chauffeur service to get back and forth to work? That way you could just drive yourself to one location a day and then have your chauffeur take you back and forth to your work site. Nice, huh? Well, apparently that is what’s going on in Chicago for city worker union members and taxpayer’s are paying $18 million a year for this union perk.

According to an investigation by Inspector General Joe Ferguson, at least 200 city truck drivers only duty is to drive other city workers back and forth to work sites. Outside of that one duty, these truck drivers sit and do nothing for the rest of the day as they wait for workers that are actually working to finish their jobs. These “workers” are essentially paid chauffeurs.

Ferguson recommended that one of the city workers actually involved in working at the work site could drive the trucks instead of having highly paid union members sitting around while other workers actually worked.
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Chicago’s City Worker Union Members Get Free Chauffeur Perks”

Budget - Census - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Emmanuel To Cut Number of Aldermen in Half! Self-Serving or Cost Savings?

March 25, 2011 by 1 Comment

-By Warner Todd Huston

For his first controversy, Mayor Elect Rahm Emanuel has floated the trial balloon of all trial balloons. He wants to fire half the city’s alderman and replace them with… no one. That’s right, he wants to eliminate half of the city’s aldermen. How’s that for chutzpah?

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Emanuel has had some private meetings with Chicago’s sitting aldermen and has point blank asked them what they thought of slashing the number of aldermen from 50 to 25 as a cost-cutting measure.

Naturally everyone knows that if this idea goes through, Emanuel will endeavor to save the jobs of all those aldermen loyal to him. That goes without saying. This would be Emanuel’s way of creating his own rubber stamp city council like the two Mayors Daley did for 60 years with their own bought-and-paid-for city council.
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Mayor Emmanuel To Cut Number of Aldermen in Half! Self-Serving or Cost Savings?”

Budget - Business - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Elections - Government - Illinois - Jobs - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Daley: Failed Mayor of Failing City?

March 25, 2011 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

As his last year in office winds down, Mayor Richard Daley is hailed as one of the country’s most successful big city mayors. Yet the 2010 census reveals that the city lost 200,000 citizens, the city’s budget is millions in the red, and businesses are abandoning the city with alarming frequency. How this equates to success is anyone’s guess.

Steve Bartin who writes for newgeography.com, a website that tracks information about America’s demographic statistics, notes that there are only nine U.S. cities that have more than one million citizens and the 2010 census data shows that only Chicago lost population. Yet, as Bartin notes, stories across the Old Media can’t bestow enough kudos on Mayor Daley’s long tenure as Chicago’s mayor.

It isn’t just the loss of population that marks Daley as a failure, though.
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Mayor Daley: Failed Mayor of Failing City?”

Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Gery Chico - Illinois - Illinois State Government - James Meeks - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Four Out of the Race for Chicago Mayor

December 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The man that is renting Rahm Emanuel’s Chicago house announced today that he’ll drop his bid to run against the former White House chief of staff.

Emanuel tenant Rob Halpin told reporters that the financial burden — as well as the legal hurdles — of running for mayor was simply too much for him to incur.

The board of elections also removed three candidates from the ballot due to the candidates not having enough ballot signatures to satisfy the minimum requirement of 12,500 signatures.

The three removed were M. Tricia Lee, only had 700 valid signatures; Jay Stone, had a mere 246; and Ryan Graves had duplicate signatures.

With Lee’s removal from the ballot, that puts Rahm Emanuel in the second spot on the ballot.

Certainly many more will be removed as time rolls onward, but here is the list as it stands now:
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Four Out of the Race for Chicago Mayor”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Mayoral Candidate Gery Chico’s Chicago City Hall Transparency Ideas

November 22, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

When Mayor Richard “King” Daley got himself a one billion dollar infusion of cash by selling the parking meters in the city (yes, I said one BILLION) everyone thought it was such a great deal. Gery Chico tells us that all this money is nearly gone and spent already. He wants city hall to be more transparent and if he becomes mayor that’s what he says he’ll do.

From the Chico Press release:
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Mayoral Candidate Gery Chico’s Chicago City Hall Transparency Ideas”

Budget - Chicago - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Foreign Countries - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Daley Buddy Not Billed for Years of Water Use

October 4, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Apparently some of Daley’s buddies never paid for their water use being fortunate enough to have City Hall pick up the tab. As the era of Daley winds down these sort of stories will continue to eek out, but it shows the illicit nature of the Daley Democrat machine in the crooked city of Chicago.

The Sun Times reported that Daley pal and current guest with the prison system Fred Bruno Barbara went years without being billed for the water use at his block-long garage in the city’s first ward.
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Daley Buddy Not Billed for Years of Water Use”

Chicago - Cook County - Elections - GOP - Government - Illinois - Mayor Richard Daley - Republicans - Warner Todd Huston

Conservative to Seek Daley’s Emptying Chair? R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr. Thinking of running for Chicago Mayor?

September 14, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Our friend Pat Hickey has caught wind of some potentially interesting news on Chicago’s soon to be roiling Mayoral election now that Richard “King” Daley has decided he no longer wants the big seat. Conservative publisher R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr. has reportedly said he might be interested in taking a run at City Hall.

Pat reports that through the grapevine he heard of Tyrell’s possible campaign:

R. Emmett Tyrrell, the founder of The American Spectator is interested in running for Mayor of Chicago. Bob Tyrrell, like Governor Pat Quinn, is a proud Alumnus of Fenwick High School.

It sure would be interesting to see a man of high education and one so well spoken for the conservative cause throw his hat into the right, wouldn’t it?
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Conservative to Seek Daley’s Emptying Chair? R. Emmett Tyrell, Jr. Thinking of running for Chicago Mayor?”

Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Government - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

BREAKING: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Announces Retirement, Will Not Run Again

September 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

In a surprise announcement Chicago Democrat strongman Mayor Richard M. Daley has today said that after 21 years as Chicago’s mayor he will not run for another term.

“This is purely a personal decision, purely personal,” he told reporters as his whole family looked on.

Daley, the son of the famous Richard R. Daley, said that the reason he’s leaving the big chair is to be with his family. Interestingly, his famous father also served 21 years as Chicago’s mayor.

Daley has been under increasing pressure with multiple scandals over the last few years making a dent in his popularity, but few expected he would have had too hard of a time in yet another reelection campaign.

This opens up the floodgates of those who will vie for the job. Foremost of which may be Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel who recently said he’d be interested in running if Daley was not in the race.
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BREAKING: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Announces Retirement, Will Not Run Again”

2nd Amendment - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Freedom - Government - Guns - Illinois - Judges - Law - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Supreme Court - Warner Todd Huston

ICarry Takes Chicago and Mayor Daley Back to Court!!

July 28, 2010 by

From ICarry.org…

Executive Director Shaun Kranish writes:

Although the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in McDonald that Chicago has violated an individual and fundamental right to keep and bear arms by having an outright ban on pistols (and for decades this ban did not apply to Chicago aldermen and other criminals), Daley and his cohorts have immediately responded with more outrageous restrictions.
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ICarry Takes Chicago and Mayor Daley Back to Court!!”

1st Amendment - 2nd Amendment - Anti-Americanism - Britain - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Education - Government - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Fisking the Chgo Sun-Times Anti-2nd Amendment Article

July 13, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Sun-Times is Chicago’s left-wing, left-wing paper while the Chicago Tribune is but the city’s left-wing paper and pursuant to its agenda, the Sun-Times recently made to shore up support for Mayor “King” Daley’s attempt to eliminate the Second Amendment for his Chicago subjects with its headlined “More guns in city not a good thing.” Naturally most of what is contained in the piece is incorrect and deserves a good fisking.

So, here goes…

This won’t make the NRA happy. Twelve guns a year? How dare Chicago restrict a citizen’s right to buy 12 million guns a year.

My response here won’t make the Sun-Times happy: Newspapers? They have a constitutional right to be free of government interference, too. We call it the First Amendment. But here’s an idea for you, Sun-Times… how about we limit the public to one newspaper a month? After all, ideas are very, very dangerous, aren’t they? If, Sun-Times, you have no problem with our Second Amendment rights being restricted by the federal, the state or local governments, why should you be all upset that your First Amendment rights are restricted? Where is the intellectual honesty in agreeing to restrict the Second Amendment but not the First?
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Fisking the Chgo Sun-Times Anti-2nd Amendment Article”

2nd Amendment - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Guns - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Daley’s Newest Stab at a Gun Ban

July 2, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Daley’s temper tantrum against guns continues, but at a much subdued pace. With its recent McDonald v the City of Chicago ruling the Supreme Court of the United States essentially made Daley’s outright gun ban unconstitutional so the mayor has had to retrench and come up with new onerous rules to try and limit guns in his kingdom.

As always, the Chicago City Council rubber stamped Richard “King” Daley’s whims — why do we have a city council anyway?

The new rules do show the mayor’s defeated position, however, as they are much less stringent than his previous mandates. Daley also shied from insisting that there be a one-gun limit and also dropped the idea of expensive and onerous insurance requirements for gun owners, the latter an idea popular with many gun banners.
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Daley’s Newest Stab at a Gun Ban”

2nd Amendment - Civil War - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Freedom - Government - Guns - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Rights - Slavery - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

2nd Amendment Rights Finally Considered a Right for Black Chicagoans Too!

June 28, 2010 by 3 Comments

-By Warner Todd Huston

At long last the 2nd Amendment has been considered a personal right per the Supreme Court of the United States. In McDonald v the City of Chicago the Supreme Court has ruled in a 5 to 4 decision that Chicago’s gun banning laws are not in keeping with the right to self-defense as enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. After 200 some years we are finally accorded our rights officially. Further, the Court found that the 2nd Amendment was meant to protect the very people that Mayor Richard Daley and his comrades are trying to forcibly disarm: black Americans. (See PDF of Decision)

The decision threw out the Seventh Circuit ruling upholding Chicago’s gun ban and ordered the Seventh to revisit its decision. This new ruling does not specifically strike down Chicago’s gun ban but the opinion leaves little room for the Seventh to up hold Mayor Richard Daley’s gun banning efforts.

One of the main questions before the Court was whether or not the 14th Amendment served to shore up the rights in the 2nd. The Court found that it did, indeed. In fact, it is interesting to note that the ancestors of the very people that the 14th Amendment was meant to specifically protect — newly freed slaves, called freemen — are today those that Mayor Richard Daley and others like him want to disarm. Daley and his ilk want to disempower blacks and other minorities and tie them plantation-like to their government authority.
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2nd Amendment Rights Finally Considered a Right for Black Chicagoans Too!”

2nd Amendment - Chicago - Children - Constitution - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Uncategorized - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago Police Chief Struggles to Justify Daley Gun Ban

June 19, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mick Dumke of the Chicago Reader had an interesting report on a recent press conference held by Chicago’s Police Chief, Jody Weis. Dumke said that during the presser Weis struggled to “explain how the gun ban is working” for Chicago. In other words, Weis was at a loss to prove that Daley’s unconstitutional actions are working to make the city safer.

According to Dumke the conference went from discussions of how Weis has taken “3,513 weapons” off the streets, that they are using “analytics” to determine where the crime hotspots are in the city, moving on to the claim that the city has a lower over all crime rating, yet to the ultimate fact that even with all this the death toll is still higher than other cities. “Homicides continue to challenge us,” Weis said.

How one goes from claiming that the Mayor’s gun ban is effective yet the murder rate is still so high is anybody’s guess. And that is just the thing, isn’t it? Assaults are up 2.4 percent over last year. Obviously the supposed gun ban is not effective at all if it were this murder rate would be nonexistent.
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Chicago Police Chief Struggles to Justify Daley Gun Ban”

2nd Amendment - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Guns - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Daley’s Newest Disingenuous Gun Argument

June 18, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Richard “King” Daley is at it again, talking through his royal rear-end and simply making things up to push a false theme in order to support his anti-Constitutional gun-grabbing in Chicago.

The Chicago Tribune conducted an interview with his heinous and he uncorked another one of his primo spins on his latest desire to take away his subject’s Constitutional right to self-protection: it’s the “gun lobby” argument again.

In an interview with the Tribune, Mayor Richard Daley acknowledged an uphill battle against the gun industry, which he described as the most powerful lobby in the United States. Even so, he vowed that in the event residents are allowed to have handguns at home, the city would take steps to ensure that officials can account for the weapons.

Uphill battle against the gun industry? What spin, what glorious spin. There isn’t one person, one Supreme Court justice, one gun advocate arguing that Daley’s gun-grabbing is wrong because it hurts “the gun industry.” The “gun industry” has precisely nothing to do with the reasons that the anti-Daley forces are trying to defeat him.
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Mayor Daley’s Newest Disingenuous Gun Argument”

2nd Amendment - Anti-Americanism - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Islam - Islamofascism - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - Sharia - Terrorism - Warner Todd Huston

Terrorist Supporting Islamist Group Coming Back to Chicago

June 18, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

While Mayor Richard “King” Daley goes about his important work of destroying Chicagoan’s 2nd Amendment Rights, a terror supporting Islamist organization is again coming to the Windy City to spread its message of jihad and raise money for the cause.

Hizb ut-Tahrir America, a group committed to a world-wide caliphate by which to oppress the world and destroy freedom and liberty, is bringing its newest outrage to Chicago for the second year in a row. The terror supporting group’s second conference, titled “Emerging World Order: How the Khilafah Will Shape the World,” is scheduled to be held on July 11 at the Chicago Marriott Oak Brook.

While Daley might be happy that terror supporters are setting up shop in the city he is attempting to disarm, not everyone thinks this jihadi conference is a good idea.
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Terrorist Supporting Islamist Group Coming Back to Chicago”

2nd Amendment - Anti-Americanism - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Government, Ill. County - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Daley Must Want an 80-Year-Old to be Shot to Death?

May 28, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

It’s no coincidence when Mayor Richard “King” Daley is all over the news sternly scolding 2nd Amendment supporters over their interest in upholding the U.S. Constitution after one of the gang thugs that lives in his city kills a kid or two (or 50 or more). He revels in these deaths like some grim reaper lawmaker. But when the story turns into an 80-year-old man saving his own life with a firearm, “King” Daley’s morbid anti-gun rants suddenly go quiet.

After Mr. Grant, an 80-year-old Korean War vet, heard the sounds of a break-in, he went to investigate the noise and was fired upon by the criminal when he did so. Fortunately, Mr. Grant was not hit by the assailant’s bullet. The, however, crook was not so lucky as Mr. Grant’s return fire hit home killing the intruder on the spot.
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Mayor Daley Must Want an 80-Year-Old to be Shot to Death?”

2nd Amendment - Budget - Chicago - Children - Constitution - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Lobbyists - Mayor Richard Daley - Media - Media Bias - Police - State Government - TV News - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago TV Reporter Clueless On Gun Buyback Program

May 8, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Some of my colleagues on the web are saying that Fox News Chicago reporter Tera Williams “revealed her bias” about the relative efficacy of Chicago’s absurd gun buyback program.

In yet another TV report on this meaningless program, reporter Williams was interviewing a Chicago resident on his thoughts about the whole thing. The resident told her, “it’s a good way to start,” to which Williams said “Something’s better than nothing, right?”

Well, no it’s not, Ms Williams. This program has been a complete failure for making a dent in the violence and shootings in the City of Chicago. While other great cities of the nation have seen falling murder rates over the last decade, Chicago has seen its rate rise. Even as this waste of money and time of a program was started in 2006, the murder rate has not been positively affected by the program. In fact, this year the city has already experienced over 100 shooting deaths and we aren’t even at the half way point in the year yet.

But, I am not going to say that Williams’ empty-headed statement is proof of her bias in favor of the program. I’d say it is more like her utter cluelessness of how ineffective it has been.
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Chicago TV Reporter Clueless On Gun Buyback Program”

2nd Amendment - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Foreign Countries - Government - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - International Criminal Court - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Warner Todd Huston - World Criminal Court

The Left’s Lies About ‘Peaceful’ Immigration Protesters

April 28, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

HotAir.com posted an excellent side-by-side video from Fox News that shows the lengths that the left goes to in order to excuse the common every day violence, hate and criminal actions of folks from their own side.

Take a look at this excellent report…

This ignoramus, hypocrite that Fox News dredged up to represent the left is typical of the back bending gymnastics indulged by the Old Media and the left — one in the same, I know. This is typical in the way they denigrate the perfectly peaceful Tea Party protests while excusing the lawless, criminal actions of the left’s protesters — in this case the recent pro-illegal immigrant criminal protesters in Arizona.
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The Left’s Lies About ‘Peaceful’ Immigration Protesters”

2nd Amendment - Anti-Americanism - Chicago - Constitution - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Foreign Countries - Government - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Law - Mayor Richard Daley - Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Daley Wants Foreign Kangaroo Court to Rule in Chicago

April 27, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Mayor Richard “King” Daley has just earned his monarchical (or is that maniacal) nickname by announcing his desire to have a European “court” invade the U.S. and begin prosecuting American citizens for doing a legal, Constitutionally protected business in America.

The despicable, mob-infested mayor of Chicago’s newest harebrained scheme in his fight against the U.S. Constitution is to have the so-called World Criminal Court at the Hague to begin prosecuting gun manufacturers and gun dealers here in America.

It’s bad enough that this Eurocrat wannabe thinks that this kangaroo court in Europe has legal jurisdiction in the USA, but he’s teaming up with a foreign plutocrat in Mexico to try and pursue this idiot’s scheme.

Mayor Daley again proves his essential hate for his own country. First by wallowing in his mob connected lifestyle, next by his surrounding himself with criminal Democrats that rob the city blind, then by siding with foreigners against his own country.

Maybe we would be better off with Rahm Emanuel in the big chair at City Hall? At least Rahm is just an average crook!
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Mayor Daley Wants Foreign Kangaroo Court to Rule in Chicago”

2nd Amendment - Constitution - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Guns - Illinois - Illinois State Government - Mayor Richard Daley - Rights - Security/Safety - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Ill. Lawmakers: Bring in the Army to Kill Chicagoans

April 26, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The second I hear the facile ideas of our elected officials to bring in the Army to start cracking down on “crime” I get visions of jack-booted legions of the Wehrmacht goosestepping through the city, machine guns at hand, knocking over old people and making little kids cry.

But, I guess Representative John “Twitchy” Fritchey is wholly unaware about the rules and philosophies of the American system. You see comrade Fritchey, there is a reason why the Commissars aren’t allowed to bring the Army down upon a city. It’s because our U.S. armed forces are supposed to protect us against foreign enemies. Our laws and police agencies are supposed to protect us from internal crooks, criminals and thugs. And if our police are failing, “Twitchey” Fritchey, it is your fault (yours and your fellow “lawmakers”) Not the police’s.

Further it is not the job of the Army to harass citizens into cowering inside their homes for fear of being cut down in the streets by or own soldiers.
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Ill. Lawmakers: Bring in the Army to Kill Chicagoans”

Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Illinois - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Rahm Emanuel: ‘I Would Like to Run for Mayor of Chicago’

April 19, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

On PBS’ Charlie Rose show, Rahm Emanuel finally admitted what has been rumored in hushed voices throughout the city of Chicago: He wants to run for Mayor.

Emanuel told host Rose that if Mayor Daley decides not to run again, he would like to throw his own hat in the ring and run for the big seat at City Hall.

But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the City of Chicago. That’s always been an aspiration of mine even when I was in the House of Representatives.

Now the pressure is on Mayor Daley to decide if he wants another term and to wonder if Emanuel will run against him despite his claim to want to support Da Mayor if he runs again.

The diminutive, oft times profane Emanuel reiterated a few times that he’s not looking to knock Richard Daley out of the office, but one really does have to wonder. Few Presidential Chiefs of Staff last long and one can be pretty sure that Emanuel will be gone for that position sooner rather than later. So, is he really, really sure that he won’t run to beat Daley?

This is a question that Daley would be foolish not to be asking himself.
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Rahm Emanuel: ‘I Would Like to Run for Mayor of Chicago’”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Economy/Finances - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Daley’s Deficit: $180 Per Citizen

April 14, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Business Insider reports that Mayor Richard Daley’s budget shortfall is one of the top 15 worst deficit budgets of America’s cities clocking in at $530,000,000 through fiscal year 2011. That breaks down to $180 of debt per citizen.

But this is a bit deceiving because of the $1.15 billion that Daley got by selling the city’s parking meter franchise, not to mention his sale of the Chicago Skyway a few years ago.

In February, Daley announced a hiring freeze that he claimed would save the city $11 million and the Mayor himself will work 29 days this year without pay. Daley also laid off 1,500 employees of the city last year and instituted 24 unpaid furlough days.
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Daley’s Deficit: $180 Per Citizen”

Budget - Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Taxes - Unions - Warner Todd Huston

Unions Killing Chicago Convention Biz

April 3, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The Chicago Tribune has an editorial that shocks for the outrageousness that is the corruption and overcharging that unions have forced upon the convention business at Chicago’s McCormick Place. It is so bad, the costs are so outrageously higher in Chicago, that conventions are fleeing the city in droves (as we’ve discussed here several times).

But even though we understand as a matter of course that unions are bad for everyone, it is still shocking to see just how bad they are in Chicago. In fact, the Trib notes that convention organizers are charged fully 40% more in Chicago than they are anywhere else. Yes, it’s almost half again as much to put on a convention in Chicago than anywhere else in the nation. Even left-wing infused San Francisco costs less to set up conventions!
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Unions Killing Chicago Convention Biz”

Chicago - Cook County - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Government - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Onion Skewers King Daley

March 28, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This just in, The Onion News Service has just skewered Richie “King” Daley for his newest effort to “modernize Chicago’s outdated graft programs.”

The Onion did a masterful job satirizing the corruption of Chicago in this post, I have to say. The stuff they put in Mayor Daley’s mouth is classic.

“It’s been business as usual for too long in Chicago, and now it’s time to find more efficient ways to misuse authority for personal gain,” said Daley, who has served as Chicago’s mayor since 1989. “We must modernize our illegitimate activities right now, today, before it becomes impossible for public officials to act in my best self-interests.”

While this may be funny to folks outside of the Chicago area, it is all too easy to believe for those of us sentenced to dwell in “King” Daley’s corrupt little world.

Kudos to The Onion for its satire, but shame on Chicago for allowing the corruption that is so easy to satirize.
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Onion Skewers King Daley”

Better Government Association - Chicago - Cook County - Cook County Board - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago’s Corruption Tax

February 20, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

A new study has been released by the University of Illinois in conjunction with the Better Government Association that details Cook County’s disgusting history of political neer-do-wells calling it a true “culture of corruption.” (Download .pdf of report)

“More than 140 people have been convicted of corruption in county-related cases since 1970,” the study finds.

Featured are tales of bribes, ghost payrolls, sweetheart deals, rip-offs, and the “wholesale subversion of the judicial system.”

“This rogue’s gallery of corrupt individuals is just the tip of the iceberg,” said the BGA’s Andy Shaw, “because, for every one of those convicted, there may be a dozen or more people who narrowly escape the justice system, not to mention all the clout-related conflicts of interest. It is truly a ‘culture of corruption.’”

Sadly, it doesn’t seem to be getting any better but kudos to the BGA for publishing the study. It goes to show how much of a failure our county government is.
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Chicago’s Corruption Tax”

Budget - Chicago - Cook County - Democrats/Leftists - Illinois - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Taxes - Warner Todd Huston

Another Chicago Alderman Wants to Ban Something

February 15, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

Alderman Eddie “Buttinski” Burke wants to ban styrofoam containers in the City of Chicago. I have a better idea, let’s ban these idiot Aldermen instead.

Of course, Eddie doesn’t give a crap about any styrofoam containers. He only wants to create a new revenue stream for the city by inventing a fine if anyone happens to use them after he banned them. He’s proposing a $300 to $500 fine. Thanks nanny Burke.

Once again we get another braindead Alderman trying to justify his cushy, unnecessary job by taking on things he has no business taking on. But these half-wits have been doing this for decades. We’ve had bans on all sorts of things and proposed bans on hundreds more. We had that dolt Alderman Joe Moore (I think his last name is properly spelled Mooreon) who proposed a Foie Gras ban that everyone ignored and ended up being rescinded. Even Eddie “Buttinski” Burke tried to ban horse poop, or something, a few years ago.
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Another Chicago Alderman Wants to Ban Something”

Budget - Business - Capitalism - Chicago - Cook County - Economy/Finances - Government - Illinois - Jobs - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Why Is Chicago losing Trade Shows?

February 11, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

This photo is a great example of why Chicago’s MacCormick Center is cost prohibitive for trade shows and why so many of them have pulled out of the city.

I’ve been to the auto show several times (not this year, but last) and I’ve seen these whateveryoucallthem workers that loll around the show with a plastic bag in one hand and a feather duster in the other. They lazily stroll about occasionally taking a swipe at something with their little duster but other wise just enjoying a nice leisurely stroll about the place.

This woman in this picture and all the union guys that twist in a light bulb, the union guys that plug in an extension cord, the union guys that move things, the union guys that pull the legs down on a fold-up table… each with their own unions and each forced on the exhibitors at union scale of up to $40 an hour.

It makes you realize why these trade shows are leaving Chicago like it was still on fire, fer cripes sakes!

Wouldn’t it make much more sense to have the guys manning the booth to be the ones to keep their own inventory dust free and save the stupid union costs that no one can afford anyway?

Yep, no wonder no one wants to be robbed in Chicago. Who needs Al Capone when we have Richard “King” Daley and his union thug army?
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Why Is Chicago losing Trade Shows?”

Chicago - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - Illinois - Liberals - Mayor Richard Daley - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Chicago’s Mayor Daley Says Scott Lee Cohen Earned His Election

February 7, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

The controversy over the election that put Scott Lee Cohen on the upcoming ballot as the Democrat’s Lt. Governor nominee is still roiling. Cohen has yet to step down bowing to calls for his head from every Illinois Democrat. Well, almost all of them, anyway. It seems that Chicago’s Mayor Richie “King” Daley is not one of those joining the chorus demanding that Cohen step down.

Cohen plans to speak tonight and rumors are he will step down, but Daley says he earned his spot on the ticket.

“People vote in elections. Everybody knew he was a pawnbroker,” Daley said. “You knew. The media knew. Everybody knew that, right?”

Well, they may have all known that he was a pawnbroker, but the neither the media nor the Democrat Party cared much to inform the public about Cohen’s past. Yet, even that didn’t make Daley oppose Cohen.

“So anybody who’s allegedly — who’s arrested and the case is thrown out, should not run for public office. Is that right? You want that done? I’m just saying, it’s a very complicated issue.”

Well, from his viewpoint, he might be onto something. After all, nearly everyone in his administration is either a criminal outright or an accused one. So, if we were to eschew voting for such people Daley wouldn’t have anyone left in his government!

As for me, I hope Cohen keeps his spine intact and stays on the ticket. It’s all good for Republicans, for sure!
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Chicago’s Mayor Daley Says Scott Lee Cohen Earned His Election”

Chicago - Conservatives - Cook County - Cook County Board - Crime - Democrats/Leftists - Elections - GOP - Illinois - Mayor Richard Daley - Republicans - State Government - Warner Todd Huston

Corrupt Politics in Cook County Illinois, Some History

January 17, 2010 by

-By Warner Todd Huston

There is a saying about Chicago’s weather: if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes it’ll change. This, of course, is an allusion to the fact that the weather in Chicago is often unpredictable with every season but winter seeming all too short. The rains come, the winds blow, the snow falls and the chill descends with amazing rapidity. Naturally, this saying can be adapted to Cook County politics as well as the weather. If you don’t like a politician, wait a few weeks and they’ll likely be in jail.

Of course, it isn’t just Cook County, home of the City of Chicago, but it holds for the entire state. Illinois has had three governors sent to prison and a fourth, Rod Balgojevich, waiting to find out if he will become the next to take up residence behind bars. The “Land of Lincoln” has had over 80 legislators sent to prison since the 1970s. But Cook County deserves special recognition for its corruption and criminal politicians.*

Robert Lombardo wrote an excellent history of Cook County corruption where political corruption is front and center. Speaking of an early criminal politician, Lombardo paints a colorful picture of one Michael Cassius McDonald.
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Corrupt Politics in Cook County Illinois, Some History”