* How suite it is to be Council Finance chief

Not Chicago’s most powerful alderman. Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th) is freshening up his third-floor suite at City Hall.

New carpeting is being installed to eliminate the need to cover holes with duct tape. Walls are being re-painted. A “small number” of chairs and cubicles are being replaced.

Acting General Services Commissioner Mark Maloney offered no cost estimate on the Finance Committee project. […]

No matter what the cost, the touch-up comes at the worst possible time from a public relations standpoint. Most of Chicago’s unionized employees have been forced to take unpaid days off and make other cost-cutting concessions.

* City pledges $25 mil. to help airline relocate to downtown

Mayor Daley is strapped for cash to run city government, but he has a rich money pot to subsidize private development downtown.

His pledge of $25 million in city help for the relocation of United Airlines jobs to Willis Tower shows the power of a relatively new tax-increment financing district. Formally, it’s called the LaSalle Central Redevelopment Project Area, and the last official accounting said it had $26.8 million in free cash. The money cannot be used for City Hall’s regular business.

The city has used furloughs, concessions and layoffs to eliminate a threatened $300 million year-end shortfall, and Daley’s preliminary 2010 budget has a $520 million gap.

* United Airlines Is Expected To Move Downtown

Fioretti says the subsidy is justified because the average United worker will spend thousands of dollars at downtown businesses.

* Will we call it the ‘old United building’ in 10 years?

When United Airlines leaves for downtown Chicago, the company has the potential to leave behind a 60-acre eyesore.

The airline reportedly will announce today that it is moving the 2,800 employees at its operational headquarters in Elk Grove Township to Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower.

Since the campus sits in an unincorporated area, only Cook County officials will patrol the site to make sure it doesn’t fall into disrepair.

* Daley Wants Stimulus Cash for Airports

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is calling on the federal government to dole out stimulus money for airports.[…]

The city had previously hoped to secure stimulus money to help pay for the estimated $15 billion O’Hare expansion.

Instead, it got just $12 million dollars for some runway improvements.

* Aviation chief wants to reduce waste-hauling costs

Air travelers who attempt to bring bottled water and coffee to the gate, only to dump the filled containers at security checkpoints, are costing O’Hare and Midway Airports a ton of money.

Liquid-filled containers are heavy. The more the garbage weighs, the more the city pays to haul it away.

On Wednesday, Aviation Commissioner Rosemarie Andolino used a so-called “Airports Going Green” conference to float an idea pioneered in Portland that could reduce waste-hauling costs and improve the environment.

“What Portland was doing was allowing them to dump the water out, take the empty bottle with them through security. They can re-fill it on the other side or dispose of it in a recycling bin. This way, reduce the amount they pay for garbage disposal,” she said.

* Village wanted casino, says no to video poker

I’ll bet there wouldn’t have been many to pick Rosemont, the town that aggressively pursued a riverboat casino license for most of the past decade, only to lose out because of its enduring reputation for mob influence.

But on Wednesday, the Rosemont village board enacted a ban on the electronic gambling devices within its borders, passing up the potential revenue due local governments under the law while citing potential social costs.

“It’s not worth it for a couple, three hundred thousand dollars,” said Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens, who succeeded his father, Rosemont founder Donald Stephens, after his death in 2007.

* Murphy’s in, Rosemont bans video gambling

The question is now: If video gambling is no good for Rosemont, who is it good for?

* DuPage’s Schillerstrom urges towns to pass on video gambling

However, he doesn’t believe communities that do pass on the devices should be denied any infrastructure dollars video gambling helps generate.

“I don’t think that’s fair at all,” he said. “The revenue (the state) expects to get from video poker is at best speculative because local governments can opt out, and there is tremendous need for those public works dollars all over the state.”[…]

Schillerstrom currently serves as DuPage County Board chairman and supports county board member Brien Sheahan’s initiative to ban the devices at establishments in unincorporated parts of the county.

* SJ-R: Governments should reject gambling law

Both Peoria and DuPage counties are considering banning it in the unincorporated areas over which they have jurisdiction.

* Chicago’s Olympic Village tab: $1.18 billion

The tab for building an Olympic Village typically is reported to be about $1 billion, but a tally of various associated costs puts the total at $1.18 billion.

* Dublin bookie has Chicago odds-on favorite for bid, but bettors can be wrong. Just ask Paris.

In this year’s sweeps, the Dublin-based agency has Chicago running at 4-6 odds, with Tokyo lagging at 10-3, Rio de Janeiro limping at 7-2 and Madrid gasping at 8-1. British online bookie bet365.com also has Chicago clearly ahead at 4-6, with Rio and Tokyo in a tossup for silver and bronze.

Federal law forbids Americans from sponsoring bets or betting on such games.

* CTA to fire employees caught using cell phones on duty

Drivers and thousands of other CTA employees caught using personal electronic devices on duty will be fired under a new “zero tolerance” policy that reflects a growing national concern over motorists’ cell phone use and texting.

* No texting, no phones for CTA rail workers

Effective immediately, train operators, rail maintenance workers and rail station customer assistants are prohibited from using or possessing cell phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants such as BlackBerry devices, MP3 music players, wireless headsets or any other device, CTA President Richard Rodriguez said.

* Cell Phone Use Could Get CTA Driver Fired

Previously, employees had been allowed up to four safety violations before a dismissal was considered.[…]

Bus drivers are only allowed to use a cell phone in an emergency. Train operators are given CTA radios and cell phones and are prohibited from using any personal device while on duty.

Earlier this week, Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said all drivers who text behind the wheel should face criminal charges.

* Cook County to ban smoking on all hospital grounds

Cook County government’s medical system will ban smoking entirely at all its hospitals and clinics in November, stubbing out outdoor smoking on its properties, officials said Wednesday.[…]

County Board President Todd Stroger, who announced the new policy in front of Stroger Hospital with system officials, lauded the decision to make the grounds smoke-free.

“I think it’s important as a health institution that we lead by example,” Stroger said. “You can’t promote a healthy lifestyle without having a healthy environment.”

The ban will go into effect along with the American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout on Nov. 19.

* County hospitals, clinics push smokers farther away

T.Cook County health system chief William Foley said making the county’s three hospitals and 19 other health care facilities entirely smoke-free will send a message to the public that “quality health care in a healthy environment begins when you come to our property.”

* Jeremih did everything right, but he’s wrong rep for CPS

To headline a back-to-school campaign, Chicago Public Schools officials say they opted for a talented, hardworking CPS grad who values education — and just happens to be famous for a salacious breakout single called “Birthday Sex.”

* ‘Birthday Sex’ no incentive for education

* 150 rally against racism; Davlin says noose investigation following protocol

Amid demands for the firing of two employees believed to be responsible for tying and hanging a noose in a workstation at City Water, Light and Power, Mayor Tim Davlin said Wednesday that “everything is going exactly the way it’s supposed to.”[…]

Before the city council meeting, a crowd of about 150 people of all ages and races rallied outside city hall, denouncing racism and making it clear how they felt: A noose isn’t a prank or a joke — it’s a hate crime.

* Bernard Schoenburg: Springfield suffers from gap in understanding

* Oak Forest mayor pitches another law firm