By Kiljoong Kim

The United States as a whole gained more than 25 million people since the last decennial Census in 2000. The historical trend continued in 2007 where eastern states lost and western states gained population. Chicago, as the third largest city in the country, has experienced mostly moderate but some drastic changes.
Contrary to 2000 when Chicago gained population (2,895,964) for the first time in several decades, the city lost 5.5 percent (2,737,996) of its residents as of 2007. Though Cook County’s loss was not as dramatic (1.7 percent), considering rapid increases experienced in what was once considered outlying counties like Will and McHenry in recent years, ever-expanding suburbanization further away from Chicago may be very much alive. In this ever-changing place, the composition of people and housing stocks are good indicators of the ways in which the city is perceived and utilized.

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Posted on September 30, 2008

By Michael O’Connor

In 2006, Forbes listed Henry Paulson as the 81st top-compensated CEO, with an annual take of $16 million as the head of Goldman Sachs.
Now that same person, as United States Treasury Secretary, says the Congress must act by Friday to issue $700 billion in aid to the financial community or the system will fail disastrously.
The document he delivered to spell out how to save the U.S. economy and how he, as Secretary of the Treasury, will dole out the $700 billion in taxpayer dollars was:
THREE PAGES LONG!!!!

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Posted on September 25, 2008

The end
of the line is near
The CTA
says that its curtains

Doomsday

Eliminate the routes
and raise the fares
Cutting service
of this I’m certain

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Posted on September 24, 2008

By Lamont Lynn

A version of this was originally published as a letter to the editor in the Sun-Times. The link has died, so at the request of the author we are enthusiastically reposting it here.
*
1. No commuter should be subjected to being held hostage between stops no longer then 12 minutes.
2. If passengers have been in-between stops for 30 minutes or more, they should be given 7-day passes and free transfers to the next bus or train if their transfers have expired due to the delay.
3. If passengers are delayed not because of weather or track work, riders should be given fare cards of $5 or a 1-day pass which would cover a daily round-trip from work to home.

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Posted on September 23, 2008

By Citizen Kate

Memo to self: darker hair, shorter skirts.
–
Every Woman Counts

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Posted on September 22, 2008

By Citizen Kate

The only thing that kept me out of jail was my cute outfit.

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Posted on September 19, 2008

By The Beachwood Bob Barr Affairs Desk

Files suit in Texas alleging they knowingly missed filing deadlines
Atlanta, GA – Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president, has filed a lawsuit in Texas demanding Senators John McCain and Barack Obama be removed from the ballot after they missed the official filing deadline.
“The seriousness of this issue is self-evident,” the lawsuit states. “The hubris of the major parties has risen to such a level that they do not believe that the election laws of the State of Texas apply to them.”

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Posted on September 18, 2008

By The Nader-Gonzalez Campaign

Eight years ago, consumer advocate Ralph Nader correctly predicted that the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) were on track to follow the savings and loan industry of the 1980s and 90s into a big financial heap of trouble. Nobody listened, and taxpayers are now at risk of losing tens of billions of dollars. Wall Street is being shaken to its foundation. American International Group Inc., the biggest U.S. insurer by assets, is now teetering on the brink of ruin after suffering losses of $18 billion in the past three quarters, largely due to its sub prime mortgage exposure.
“Nader Rips Mae and Mac,” declared the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal on June 16, 2000. “Ralph Nader, warning of a potential taxpayer bailout similar to the savings and loan crisis, urged lawmakers to cut government benefits to mortgage-market giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – which he called ‘poster children for corporate welfare.'”

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Posted on September 17, 2008

By Jeffrey Meredith

Let me start off by saying that I have only voted for a Republican once. It was a county coroner. I figured, “Hey, these people are already dead – how much more damage could a Republican do?”
Outside of county coroners, I don’t vote for Republicans. People who are alive – and I’m not referring to unborn babies and those in a persistent vegetative state, who are very well served by their Republican representatives – have too much at stake.
With that said, I am not voting for Barack Obama. Why? Because he won’t solve our fiscal crisis any more than McCain will.

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Posted on September 16, 2008

A Chicago Talks-Beachwood Follow-Up

Aldermen continue to hold committee meetings with as few as two members present, despite concerns raised by a watchdog group that the Chicago City Council is in violation of state law.
The Traffic Control and Safety Committee approved more than 200 agenda items at its last meeting. The 14-member committee lacked a quorum, said lawyer Jay Stewart, executive director of the watchdog group Better Government Association. Ald. Bernard L. Stone (50th) attended, as did Ald. Patrick J. O’Connor (40th), who chairs the committee.
After the Sept. 3rd meeting, which lasted less than 15 minutes, O’Connor said the committee did not violate the law by voting on agenda items, since neither he nor Stone called for a quorum. As long as none of the committee members ask for an official count during the meeting, aldermen can proceed, according to O’Connor’s interpretation of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

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Posted on September 15, 2008