Morning shorts
Monday, Oct 20, 2008 - Posted by Kevin Fanning
* Recession threatens virtually every segment of local economy
“This one is going to be a full-fledged consumer recession,” says Paul Kasriel, director of economic research for Chicago-based Northern Trust Corp. “With corporate-led recessions, you have job losses. But now you have households with record debt, and liquidity at near-record lows and net worth falling — and they’re losing their jobs.”
* Foreclosure crisis hits city, suburbs
Each foreclosed home reduces the value of other homes in a one-block radius by 0.9 percent, according to the Woodstock Institute.
About $2.5 billion worth of property in the Chicago area reverted to the lender in 2007.
* Illinois Poverty: Addressing the Causes, Investing in Solutions
* From Southern Africa to Southern Illinois, poverty needs to be stopped
* Calatrava stops work on Spire, files lien
* County aide suspended in probe of contracts
Cook County President Todd Stroger’s best friend’s wife, county purchasing agent Carmen Triche-Colvin, was suspended after an inspector general investigation found she violated county policies for awarding contracts and used a fax machine in violation of federal law, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
* Peraica cuts it close with ethics ordinance
A year after running afoul of Cook County ethics rules, Republican state’s attorney candidate Tony Peraica is again benefiting from thousands of dollars worth of office space from a landlord with county business, state records show.
* FOP Chief: Contract Finalized Within a Year
The head of Chicago’s police union says he thinks officers will have a new contract within the next year.
* Buyout bonanza for some short-time city workers
When Mayor Daley offered buyouts to nonunion city workers to fight a gaping budget deficit, some short-timers on the city payroll were able to cash in on a pretty good deal.
Any active, full-time, salaried, nonunion, civilian employee qualified for a minimum $12,000 payout — regardless of how long they’d been on the city payroll. A few workers left with a payout of nearly half their annual salary — after less than a year on the job.
* City Health Dept., food inspection cuts put public at risk: union boss
* Seniors can’t pass up free rides
* Firm that guarded CTA wants job back
* New CTA Brown Line has rough edges, building shortcuts
* Daley defends payments for grades
The nation’s third-largest school system has handed out more than $265,000 in checks for good grades.
Chicago Public Schools distributed payouts Thursday to 1,650 freshmen in 20 high schools as part of the privately funded “Green for Grades” program unveiled last month. Freshmen and sophomores receive $50 for A’s, $35 for B’s and $20 for C’s every five weeks.
- I hate JCA - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:11 am:
The Sun-Times endorsed Marty Ozinga in the 11th Congressional District race.
- Kevin Fanning - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:19 am:
Yep saw it earlier, thanks.
- Snidely Whiplash - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:27 am:
Hillarious that the Sun-Times is again going after Peraica, of all people, for allegedly (and by their own admission in the story, he’s not doing ANYTHING illegal) taking contributions from a donor with county contracts. No one in his right mind (or with any knowledge of county government at all) would believe that Peraica could secure even a $10 contract from the county board. He’s hated by those holding the purse strings. If anything, donating to Peraica would pretty much ensure that you’d NEVER get a county contract.
It almost seems as if the Sun-Times (or people within it) are hell-bent on destroying what little remains of the GOP in Cook County. They made their endorsement of Anita Alvarez way back in September, and didn’t get around to making another candidacy endorsement for WEEKS after that. Why did they come out so early (and out of order of level of office) for Alvarez? It has to make you wonder.
I’m hardly a fan of Peraica’s, but it isn’t too hard to discern an agenda there. And I’m sick and tired of this one party dictatorship we’re stuck with in this county and state. How are things going to improve when the media goes after their only real competition?
- Snidely Whiplash - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:32 am:
Kevin said: === Yep saw it earlier, thanks. ===
I know you guys aren’t great fans of Ozinga, Kevin (heck, I’m not either, that race is the ultimate “lesser of two evils” vote, to me), but what harm is there in citing it? It’s not as if anyone with the least bit of political knowlege (as with the readership here) really takes these endorsements into account.
I actually find it funny that the Sun-Times will actually be objective when a race doesn’t involve Cook County or statewide offices (see my previous post).
- fedup dem - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:42 am:
Snidely, the Sun-Times is a screwball tabloid that will issue a sensible endorsement editorial and then one or two screwy ones. I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to it.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:45 am:
Snidely, you need to be patient. The Sun-Times endorsement is at the top of another post. Not everything gets put into MS. You should know that by now.
===I know you guys aren’t great fans of Ozinga===
Take a breath, dude.
- Bill - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 9:46 am:
===I’m sick and tired of this one party dictatorship we’re stuck with in this county and state.===
Maybe you should vote with your feet, then, dude. Its gonna be like this for a long, long time. County, state, and, federal.
- Judgment Day Is On The Way - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 10:02 am:
Regarding Cook County Health Dept cutbacks:
Ok, there were 62 positions (Sanitarians and supervisory) for 15,000 establishments, and 17 positions are being cut, with 14 of the 17 being Sanitarians (who do the real work out in the field). Well, there’s more to the story than is being presented - either sloppy work by the reporter, or they didn’t know what questions to ask.
Here’s why:
1) The City of Chicago has 15,000 establishments requiring annual inspections. High-risk establishments are supposed to be inspected twice per year, others are inspected one time per year (schools, hospitals, low-risk establishments like gas stations). It’s about a 55-45 mix, so the actual number of total inspections within a year for those 15,000 establishments (assuming the 15,000 are all permanent establishments, not including “Taste of Chicago”, etc.) would be 8250/6750; with total number of inspections being 23,250 yearly [((8250 x 2) + 6750) = 23,250].
2) 23,250 inspections sounds like a bunch. But you’ve got 45 sanitarians supposedly working an average of 48 weeks a year, 5 days a week.
(a) 23,250 / 45 = 517 inspections per year per Sanitarian.
(b) 517 inspections / 48 weeks = 10.78 inspections per week.
(c) 10.78 inspections per week / 4.5 days = 2.4 inspections per day.
2) Now, a real professional restaurant inspection handled by most County Health departments around the State of Illinois tends to take several hours, but most Sanitarians working in those Health Departments average 2 to 2.5 inspections per day, and sometimes more, depending upon location of the establishments.
3) Notice I said “real professional restaurant inspection” above. I’m talking something similar to what King County, Washington (Seattle) does, or even local places like tiny little Livingston County, Illinois (Pontiac, IL). Those folks do the job the way it’s supposed to be done. I’m not talking about the handwritten scrap of paper that gets handled out by the City of Chicago.
4) And don’t even get me started on the rumors that there are a whole bunch of places in the City of Chicago that haven’t seen an inspection for years. Course, we’ll never know unless we get inside access to the records.
The Sun-Times article was just a shill job for AFSCME.
- Snidely Whiplash - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 10:08 am:
=== Snidely, you need to be patient. The Sun-Times endorsement is at the top of another post. Not everything gets put into MS. You should know that by now … Take a breath, dude. ===
True, and point well taken. Sorry.
- wordslinger - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 10:18 am:
The CPS payout story saddens me.
One, it presumes that grades are a true measure of learning or “learning how to learn.” Not necessarily so.
Two, it’s just another way of telling the CPS kids that they’re inferior when they are not. “Oh, those kids won’t try for good grades unless you pay them.” That’s just so wrong. Lot of success stories in CPS, despite the challenges.
Third, how long do you think it will take before we have a teacher/student kickback scandal? Really, it’s only a matter of time. With those kinds of payouts, it would happen anywhere.
- Captain America - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 10:57 am:
I can’t really tell from the newspaper article whether Ms. Colvin really committed any serious violations.
My real concern is why a friend’s wife should be put in charge of an important office like purchasing and can’t help wondering what her qualifications and expereince were to warrant placing her in such an important job. Purchasing officers need to be above reproach and suspicion! There may be more to this story than meets the eye, but eventually the truth will out.
Reserving judgement about Colvin, but the real stroy may be more evidence of rampant cronyism, instead of professionalism, in county government. Same old, same old!
- cermak_rd - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 11:15 am:
Snidely Whiplash,
The fact is, Peraica is not a good candidate for the GOP to rebuild in Chicago. First off, he’s running against someone who actually has some relevant experience to the office in question. Secondly, he has a history of using questionable campaigning tactics (the Fitzgerald mailer, a mailer sent on his behalf in the county commissioner race which purported itself to be about back taxes). Thirdly, he showed pretty poor judgment as well as poor political in leading his supporters on a night time march on election central. Fourthly, his personality is not exactly bubbly.
I don’t see the GOP becoming relevant in Chicago or most of Cook County. I’m hoping the Greens or another party will step up and become a decent competitive party in the region because I do believe in competition.
- Snidely Whiplash - Monday, Oct 20, 08 @ 11:22 am:
Cermak, I never said that he was, and I’m not saying that most of what you’ve said isn’t true. What I’m saying is that there are certainly bigger fish to fry in Cook County, and the S-T chooses to gorge itself on the minnow-like Peraica. And, like it or not, he’s the most viable GOP candidate in the county right now.
But, for you to say that the GOP CAN never become relevant, or that the Green Party will somehow become a major political party on the level of the GOP, kind of implies to me that you’re a Democrat who really has no desire to see any real competition to the Cook County Dems.
Either that, or your history is a bit blurred. Remember the Harold Washington Party? Or maybe that LaRouche party? Didn’t quite work, did it? Yet, the GOP, even with Peraica, came pretty darned close to taking the county board presidency last time, and managed to win a state’s attorney’s race or two after the HWP and the Larouchies were gone.
Can we please be realistic?