Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“For the second straight year, all 50 aldermen – and state lawmakers who represent Chicago districts – have been offered the right to purchase two terrace reserved or upper deck tickets for each home playoff game at Wrigley Field all the way through the World Series,” the Sun-Times reports.
“The lucrative perk comes three years after the City Council gave the Cubs the go-ahead to rebuild Wrigley and develop the land around it and less than four months after the Cubs won the limited right to sell beer and wine on an open-air plaza next to the stadium.
“Despite the apparent conflict of interest, ‘more than 70 percent’ of City Council members have taken the Cubs up on their generous offer.”
So more than 35 of the council’s 50 members? Just say it! Not the time to use percentages.


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Spoiler: Of the 35-plus aldermen who took the tickets, we only learn the name of two in this article.
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“They are paying for these tickets. They are not being given a discount or free tickets. In that case, it would be a direct conflict,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said.
So this is just an indirect conflict, which is the savvy Chicago Way.
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“Green called the offer a ‘courtesy’ similar to the one extended to Chicago politicians in 2003, 2007, 2008 and 2015.”
A) It’s not a conflict, it’s a “courtesy.”
B) It’s not a conflict because it’s been done before. It’s a tradition.
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“Only this time, it comes with a warning.

“We are not providing tickets to elected officials to resell and turn a profit. This is only for their personal use to enjoy the excitement of the Cubs playoff baseball,” Green said. “We plan to monitor the online secondary market for resales of tickets.”

In other words, these tickets are not to be handled like everything else that comes into an aldermen’s office – an opportunity for mischief and money-making.
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For everybody else, ChumpHub.
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“Last year, Ald. Danny Solis (25th), chairman of the City Council’s Zoning Committee, spurned the Cubs’ playoff ticket offer citing the conflict posed by past contentious votes that benefited the Cubs. This year, Solis changed his mind and said yes.”
What changed?

“I really don’t like to cut off my nose to spite my face. My chief-of-staff is a really big Cubs fan. I’ll give a ticket to him. My wife is a big Cubs fan. I’ll have her go. I’ll go with her,” Solis said.
“Last year, I said no. It was dumb. I have constituents, supporters and staff who would really enjoy the opportunity to see this championship season and I’m going to take advantage of it. If you share that opportunity with people who normally wouldn’t be able to go, I don’t think it’s a conflict.”

Yeah, here’s what Solis said last year, which I looked up and the Sun-Times didn’t:
“I get invited to a lot of things: Bulls, Bears. Sometimes, they’re good seats. But, I don’t take them even though I pay face value because it looks bad. It’s an offer that’s not available to the citizens of Chicago. You just highlight yourself as someone who’s getting a special favor and that’s not how I want to present myself.”
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“Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), who has dueled with the team over that outdoor plaza and other neighborhood issues, said he, too, plans to take advantage of the Cubs’ offer, even though he might not make it inside the stadium for every single inning.

“I have to be around the ballpark to make sure everything is top-notch. But, I plan to get in there as much as I can,” Tunney said Monday.

You’re gonna take the tickets and then not even watch the games?!
This was a close one, but Tom Tunney, you are Today’s Worst Person In Chicago.
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“Rookie Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) has no intention of taking the Cubs up on their ticket offer. He called it an obvious conflict of interest.

“Someone who seeks to . . . get benefits from the city is offering a gift to aldermen and I have issues with that.

Bless him. He’s a rookie.
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A sampling.


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Also, where was her editor – or did her editor make her do it? #Editors


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What did they think their job was?


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The Beachwood Tronc Line: Winners only.

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Posted on October 4, 2016