By Steve Rhodes
It was a real meeting of the minds on Tuesday when Roland Burris appeared before the Chicago City Council for absolutely no good reason.
Consider:
“We all know we got issues with the person [who] appointed him and that the process had been tainted,” said Ald. Anthony Beale (9th). “But when he chose Roland Burris, he untainted the process.”
How? By flying around the world really fast in a counter-clockwise motion?
“No matter how much you may hate and revile a person, you cannot change the law based on whether you like the person using the law,” said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th).
You mean like change the law to provide for a special election instead of an appointment?
“You stood up against an onslaught that, a lot of our knees would have buckled,” said Ald. Dick Mell (33rd). “And you did it with dignity.”
Like when you wondered in a very dignified way if Senate leaders were blocking you because of your race, and when you said in a very dignified way that God had pre-ordained your seating as a U.S. senator, or when you said in a very dignified way that you were “the magic man,” or when you reneged in a very dignified way your previous critical statements about the governor.
Obama’s Big Night Out
The exclusive details.
Democrats In Name Only
“Ald. Eugene Schulter,” Carol Marin writes, “decided to drop out. He reportedly cut a deal with 33rd Ward boss and Ald. Dick Mell to throw their combined votes to Fritchey in exchange, reportedly, for Schulter getting to pick Fritchey’s replacement should he win.
“Are you with me so far?
“That’s what Dick Mell, our impeached governor’s father-in-law, did when Rod Blagojevich went to Congress. That’s how Fritchey got the nod for the seat he holds.
“In other words, committeemen/ward bosses know only one thing about managing elections. It’s called Let’s Make a Deal.”
The political parties have hijacked your democracy. By the time you see a ballot, most decisions have already been made by a small group of insiders.
Tax Lax
How is it that Timothy Geithner, the Treasury Secretary-designate, “forgot” to pay his self-employment taxes when he was, um, self-employed? I paid self-employment taxes for five years, and let me tell you, they’re killer. But somehow, more than $48,000 in back taxes and interest escaped Geithner’s attention until it became an expedient imperative that he pony up so he could help Barack Obama change the world.
“Geithner paid most of his past-due taxes shortly after Obama nominated him in November, committee documents show,” the Tribune reports.
“Geithner told senators he didn’t know he owed those taxes. Likewise, he said he was unaware his part-time housekeeper’s work documents were no longer valid during the final three months of her employment.”
*
Geithner then outlined his agenda should his nomination pass muster. First, the United States of America will begin “forgetting” to pay its bills in order to save money. Second, work documents need no longer be valid if everyone is willing to look the other way.
Rolanderia
“I wish you all could see what’s come into my home and into my office,” Burris told council members. “There are calls coming in even from Europe, encouraging me. From the state of Maine, from the state of Washington, from the state of Texas, from the state of Florida.”
Not so much from the state of Illinois, I notice.
Pay, Play
“Many lucrative road and bridge contracts would be excluded from the state’s new ‘pay-to-play’ ban under legislation the Senate sent Tuesday to impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich,” the Tribune reports.
Also excluded:
* Contracts involving children’s hospitals
* Contracts involving municipal bonds
* Contracts involving waste management
* Contracts involving “gaming” companies
* Any contract involving a corporation operating in the United States
* Any contract involving a foreign corporation provided the person awarding the contract signs a waiver
* Any contract that would qualify as “pay-to-play”
Second-Class Citizens
“[T]he city is subjecting hotels to price controls during the Olympics, in order to protect tourists,” the Community Media Workshop notes.
“But residents of the proposed Olympics Village area are seeing huge rent increases right now, according to John Bartlett of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization.”
The Crunch of Chicago Winter
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Burning Snow Angels
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Burnin’ for you.
Posted on January 14, 2009