Morning shorts
Tuesday, Oct 16, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Chicago Public Radio: Marines march into CPS; Daley defends Marine academy
* Schools struggle with meaning of silence law
* Luciano: On silence law
It’s not as if there’s ever been a ban on prayer in schools. Students can pray all day. And, just as with the moment of silence, they can even pray in their heads. I do it all the time, especially as deadline approaches. I’ve gotten so accustomed to this, my lips don’t even move. That’s OK. God can hear.
* Cops let Ald. Tunney skip license hassle
* Ald. embarrassed for getting cell-phone ticket
* Union leader Fitzgerald dies at 57
“He was a true champion of working men and women - a great guy who never forgot where he came from,” Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Monday.
Mr. Fitzgerald, 57, a longtime resident of Chicago’s Beverly community, died Saturday in his home in the Little Village neighborhood after a brief illness, according to sister Maureen Kelly, of Evergreen Park.
A year ago, for health reasons, he stepped down as business manager and financial secretary of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 134. In that role for 11 years, Mr. Fitzgerald raised more than $625,000 in political contributions - only one measure of his influence.
* Opinion: Did Poshard’s dog eat this bibliography?
* Sun-Times Editorial: Don’t give up the SCHIP
Congress boosted the amount families in Illinois could earn to up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level — $61,950 for a family of four. In Illinois, SCHIP is used to partially pay for the state’s All Kids health insurance program.
- Johnny USA - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 8:52 am:
Schools struggle with meaning of silence law
Yup - if there is one thing the public schools in this country (and their leash holder teachers unions) DON’T know how to do, it is keep their mouths shut.
It is hard to level demands or whine incessantly if you have to remain silent.
- Greg - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 9:10 am:
Paul,
The Sun-Times editorial is “Don’t give UP the SCHIP.” That’s not to say I wouldn’t prefer your “Don’t give US the SCHIP”…
- Paul Richardson - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 9:34 am:
lol, thanks for catching that Greg.
- Lula May - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 9:35 am:
Rich,
On the other subject about SEIU of last Friday. Sorry I just got back but I ‘ve been busy. Just a quick search of SEIU came up with some interesting facts.
You have probably heard of the case Justice for Janitors Campaign. This was a case of undocumented SEIU members that were represented by their union.
There is an organization called PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. The article the case is in is “Ten Ways To Protect Undocumented Workers”.
The SEIU secured a contract that stated employers must inform SEIU when Immigration Authorities plan an investigation.
The same contract stipulated that employers cannot provide any information to the Immigration Authorities beyond the information that they are legally obliged to provide.
- Reddbyrd - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 10:06 am:
What a boring morning.
Let’s focus some attention on one of Blaggo’s favorite companies — Ameriquest. Remember Blaggo gave them $25 million to locate and office in the ‘burbs. Attorney General Madigan and other prosecuted the slimeballs abgot $350 million in fines.
Good Morning America ran this:
While the mortgage company he founded is in shambles and many of its customers facing foreclosure, Roland Arnall continues to enjoy a life of prosperity as the United States ambassador to the Netherlands with an estimated fortune of $l.5 billion.
“If you’re building a ‘Mount Rushmore’ of people who should be on the face of the mortgage lending crisis, I think Roland Arnall has a distinct place in that litany,” said Ira Rheingold, executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates.
Ameriquest has fired thousands of its employees and closed its sales offices after settling a lawsuit brought by 49 state attorneys general over alleged deceptive and predatory lending practices. The company has since been sold.
While admitting no wrongdoing, Ameriquest agreed to pay $325 million to resolve the legal action.
Thousands of Ameriquest customers are involved in a class-action lawsuit, alleging they were misled or deceived about the terms and rates of their mortgages. Many say they have lost their homes as a result.
“Mr. Arnall knew, or should have known, that the practices he put in place would result in this kind of conduct,” said Jill Bowman, one of the attorneys in the lawsuit. “He just got to sit at the top and collect the profits,” she said.
The profits were huge. At its height, Ameriquest bought the naming rights to the Texas Rangers baseball stadium, sponsored a Rolling Stones summer tour, and Arnall and his wife became the single biggest Republican contributors during the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004.
Arnall was later appointed U.S. ambassador to the Netherlands.
At his confirmation hearing, Arnall denied being involved in the day-to-day operations at Ameriquest and said the problems were the result of “rogue” employees.
“When we found out, they were let go and action was taken so that it wouldn’t happen again,” Arnall testified.
“That’s completely laughable,” said consumer advocate Rheingold. “I mean I think what you had at Ameriquest was a corporate culture of corruption.”
Many of Ameriquest’s customers are being forced out of their homes, including the Anderson family of New Hampshire, stuck with monthly payments they cannot afford.
The Andersons say Ameriquest promised them a low, fixed-rate mortgage, never telling them the mortgage would be switched to an adjustable-rate mortgage two years later.
“The gentleman…promised me everything was going to be great,” Doug Anderson told ABC News. “This is the best move.”
But then the Andersons’ house payments increased from $760 to $1400, and they were forced into default, becoming victims, they say, of Ameriquest’s tactics and Arnall’s greed.
“I can’t even imagine being able to sleep at night with all that money, knowing where it came from,” said Leighlon Anderson.
A number of former Ameriquest employees say that deceiving customers about their rates was a common practice, part of a culture to close the deal at any cost.
“It was to get the customer to feel comfortable with the fact that they were in a loan that they thought was going to be stable, but, in reality, it wasn’t,” Tyson Russum, a former Ameriquest employee who worked in a Florida office, told ABC News.
Russum says other loan officers would falsify customers’ job or financial information so they could qualify for mortgages.
“The people that were doing stuff like that were doing it because they felt like it was okay,” he said.
For example, Teresa McCulloch’s mortgage application says she had a $45,000 retirement plan, making …..
- One_Mcmad - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 11:43 am:
Alderman Tunney should have recieved his license back as it should not have been taken for driving while using a cell phone. As it has been discussed in the past and on this blog, it is a waste of procedure to take someone’s license and write them a ticket and then mail it back to them. There is no point to taking someone’s license when it might be their only identification.
Let’s hope Alderman Tunney leads the way of eliminating the practice in this City of taking drivers licenses and writing tickets. In my view that’s two punishment for one violation.
- cermak_rd - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 5:29 pm:
Not likely. No one wants to look like their trying to coddle traffic law breakers, goes against the whole get tough on the behavior du jour thing.
Not that I don’t agree, just saying.
- wallace - Tuesday, Oct 16, 07 @ 9:11 pm:
Cannot Daley deliver a single speech without ranting and raving like a lunatic. What is this guy so angry about? Who cares about the few people who don’t like the military, why can’t he calm down and talk to the vast majority of us that do support the military. Daley was elected by %70 of the registered voters who chose to vote. Only %30 who chose to vote cast a ballot for Daley which means that he was elected by only $21 of eligble voters. I hope that all of those morons enjoy paying all of Daley’s new taxes and user fees. The %69 of us who didn’t vote for him are vindicated.