By The Sunlight Foundation

We’re really moving.
Seriously.
We spend a lot of time talking about what government should do to become more open and transparent, and in this past week there’s real movement in Congress on one of the things that we need to happen.
It’s an easy fix to our current system which would simply make government work better.
Specifically, Senator Jon Tester has introduced the Senate version of the Public Online Information Act, which would revolutionize how the public can gain access to government information. And though we’re going to have to build much more clout to actually pass the bill in the House and Senate, the introduction of this bill is a big step.

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Posted on May 12, 2010

By The Beachwood Fourth of July Affairs Desk

“To reduce costs, the McPier reform legislation includes a ‘bill of rights’ that lets convention exhibitors . . . ”
* Under-the-table payments to electricians no longer need to be made in unmarked bills.
* The right of exhibitors to bear arms shall not be infringed.
* Bills to exhibitors will now include details such as how much everything costs.
* Rounding up bills to make contributions to the Find Jimmy Hoffa Fund will now be “optional.”

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Posted on May 11, 2010

By The Beachwood Naming Rights Affairs Desk

“Mayor Richard Daley today said Navy Pier’s name should not be changed, even if it means more money,” the Tribune reports.
“The idea is part of a plan being considered in Springfield to allow the troubled agency that runs it and McCormick Place to sell naming rights to its facilities to raise more revenue.
“‘It’s called Navy Pier. You try to change Navy Pier,” Daley said at a news conference in the Austin neighborhood to announce summer activities for children. ‘Dedicated to the men and women who gave service in the Navy.'”
Daley’s stance is unfortunate because the Beachwood has learned the following new names are under consideration:

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Posted on May 6, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

“House Speaker Michael Madigan swayed the University of Illinois to admit the relatives of public officials, political allies and donors who contributed $115,200 to campaign funds he controls, a Tribune investigation has found,” the paper reports today.
“Only five of the 28 applicants helped in three recent years by the state’s most powerful lawmaker lived in Madigan’s district, and many would not have been admitted on their own merit.”
Well, there goes the excuse that he was just performing constituent service. Oh wait, I forgot that in Illinois your constituents are your relatives and campaign contributors.

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Posted on May 5, 2010

By The Beachwood Semantics Affairs Desk

“Pawnbroker Scott Lee Cohen announced his independent candidacy for governor Monday, trying to leap back into the political fray that chewed him up and spit him out in February,” the Tribune reports.
–
Pawnbroker: Unacceptable occupation for a politician.
Powerbroker: Highly esteemed occupation for a politician.
*
Pawnbroker: Exploits vulnerable people for profit.
Powerbroker: Exploits vulnerable people for votes.
*
Pawnbroker: Welcomed by powerbrokers to privately contribute to pols.
Powerbroker: Arranges private contributions to pols from pawnbrokers.
*

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Posted on May 4, 2010

By The Beachwood Editorial Cartoon Affairs Desk

We’re pleased to introduce today the Beachwood’s official editorial cartoonist, Sunil Adam. Sunil has graciously agreed to let us repost his cartoons on our site, which means we now have the best editorial cartoonist in the city. Take that, Stantis and Higgins!
The complete collection of Sunil’s Kennan & Bull can be found here. You can expect more Chicago-oriented works in the future.
Today, one of Sunil’s latest, followed by some of our recent favorites.

–

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Posted on April 29, 2010

By The Beachwood Vs. Affairs Desk

“The ad opens with black and white images of the candidate’s late father Alexis Giannoulias, as the Illinois treasurer compares his family’s financial troubles with those of everyday people.”
– Northwest Indiana Times
*
Giannoulias: Failed bank threatens political career.
Everyday people: Failed banks threaten lives.
*
Giannoulias: Cried over having to sell bank.
Everyday people: Crying over having to sell blood.
*
Giannoulias: Democrat.
Everyday people: Homeless Democrats.

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Posted on April 28, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

You can judge for yourself whether it’s an outrage that the Republican candidate for governor Bill Brady hasn’t paid any federal income taxes in three years, but the bigger outrage in this corner is the way the tax return game is played.
First, there’s the dissembling. Brady initially refused to release his returns, saying his business interests would be jeopardized. Then Brady gave in to the political pressure and decided that, you know, his business interests could survive a peek at the numbers.
Once released it became clear Brady had made a political decision, not a business decision.
Then came the spin.

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Posted on April 26, 2010

By The Beachwood Television Show Hour

1. “According to a Fox Chicago News source, former lieutenant governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen and House Speaker Mike Madigan had a private meeting Saturday morning on the South West Side.”

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Posted on April 22, 2010

By The UIC Center for Urban Economic Development

This is the executive summary of Unregulated Work in Chicago, April 2010.
This report exposes a world of work in which core employment and labor laws are failing significant numbers of workers. These protections – the right to be paid at least the minimum wage, the right to be paid for overtime hours, the right to take meal breaks, access to workers’ compensation when injured, and the right to advocate for better working conditions – are being violated at alarming rates in the low-wage labor market.
The sheer breadth of the problem, spanning key industries in the economy, as well as its profound impact on workers and their communities, entailing significant economic hardship, demands urgent attention.
In 2008, along with our colleagues in Los Angeles and New York City, we conducted a landmark survey of 4,387 workers in low-wage industries, 1,140 of whom are employed in Chicago and suburban Cook County. We used an innovative, rigorous methodology that allowed us to reach vulnerable workers who are often missed in standard surveys, such as unauthorized immigrants and those paid in cash. Our goal was to obtain accurate and statistically representative estimates of the prevalence of workplace violations. All findings are adjusted to be representative of front-line workers (i.e. excluding managers, professional or technical workers) in low-wage industries – a population of about 310,205 workers employed in Cook County.
Finding 1: Workplace violations are severe and widespread in the low-wage labor market We found that employment and labor laws are regularly and systematically violated, impacting a significant part of the low-wage labor force in Chicago and suburban Cook County.
Minimum wage violations:

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Posted on April 20, 2010