By Doug Dobmeyer

At the end of 2007, unsolved funding issues still exist in Illinois. While the city has addressed theirs with tax and fee hikes, the county and state are still milling around looking for a solution.
The state has implied the only way to solve fixing our roads, bridges and addressing mass transit is to expand gambling in a massive way. The proposed expansion would bring a huge casino of 4,000 positions to Chicago, two more casinos to other areas, the creation of race tracks as mini-casinos with slot machines, and Internet gambling, among other items.
The solution seems to be to move the people living in and visiting Illinois to be individual economic machines producing money to oil the wheels of government. In 1999, when casino gambling started in Illinois, 6.7 million patrons lost an average of $61.97 per visit to a casino. By 2006 (the last year statistics are available), the-then 16.1 million gambling patrons were losing an average of $118.88 per visit. The casinos are doing very well and patrons are not.
Now Illinois wants to exploit that number by increasing the number of the gambling public and how much they lose. Despite a threat of over-saturating the market, they have so little regard for our citizens and visitors the state says they must have more gamblers. Why?

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Posted on December 24, 2007

By The Beachwood Accountability Affairs Desk

At a ceremony for police officers graduating from the academy on Tuesday, Richard M. Daley once again issued his familiar canard that the media only reports negative stories about the police department.
This is not only demonstrably false, it’s an out-and-out lie.
We went back in the archives of our very own Cate Plys’s fine work and pulled this column she once wrote for the Sun-Times to show just how long the mayor has been spouting this pernicious crap. Someone has to call him on it, and if it’s us, so be it.
*
Bad News Isn’t No News
Chicago Sun-Times
June 9, 2000
By Cate Plys
This is an amazing Chicago story of courage and tenacity. It’s also a mystery. As you read, see if you can spot the bad guys:
Last January, a mother and four children were trapped behind a locked security door in a burning building. The desperate father begged Police Officer Lyzette David to save his family.
Despite the intense heat, David and officers Ricardo Colon, Rick Nigro and Erick VonKondrat managed to bend the door’s bottom half enough to let the family crawl underneath. At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Daley and the Council honored the four officers, along with firefighters who saved two victims of another fire.
Did you spot the bad guys? It’s the press, of course. A little Council history will enlighten you.

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Posted on December 20, 2007

By Bethany Lankin

To the tune of “Angels We Have Heard on High”
Oprah in the public eye –
Please remember ol’ Wes Clark.
Madonna was his best ally.
Barack will sink like the Bismarck.

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Posted on December 18, 2007

By Tom Latourette

Oh, Patti just sold a home for the holidays
‘Cause her husband is governor of this state
When you need steady income
From a lobbyist
For the holidays, just sell some real estate

Patti Just Sold A Home For The Holidays

She met a man named Tony Rezko
And he’s in jail for solicitating
kickbacks from the FBI
Her friend Anita’s been indicted for
2 million out the door
They helped raise funds for their campaigns
Now they’re paying for their Champagne

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Posted on December 12, 2007

By The Beachwood Oprah Affairs Desk

Oprah: Self-involved narcissist whose cult-like followers think she is divine.
Obama: Self-involved narcissist whose cult-like followers think he is divine.
Oprah: Chicago institution who never challenges Chicago institutions.
Obama: Chicago institution who never challenges Chicago institutions.
Oprah: Gives away cars to audience members.
Obama: Used car salesman.

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Posted on December 11, 2007

By The Beachwood Police Forum Notification Affairs Desk

City officials are expected to be in attendance
WHAT: Public Forum: “Police Interaction with Communities of Color: Profiling, Contact and Force.”
WHEN: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 13.
WHERE: Jane Addams Hull House Association, 1030 W. Van Buren, Chicago.
WHO:
* Clyde Murphy, Executive Director of the Chicago Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc.
* Author David Harris, University of Toledo School of Law Professor.

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Posted on December 7, 2007