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* Daley lets fly against presidential field for failure to focus on education

* Daley’s hands-on school plan: add lacrosse

* Seniors, disabled ride free on MCT

* Transfer-tax hike will hurt housing market: Realtors

* Metra Fares Go Up 10 Percent

* Schillerstrom aids challengers of his County Board foes

* New tollway signs bearing governor’s name irk activist

* Proft: Four Tops Forum Leaves Me in Tailspin

* Record 82,000 cast early votes in city, 60,000 in Cook County

* Latinos Lag in Chicago’s Early Voting

* Illinois Sex Ed Short on Safe Sex

* CHA Residents Pushing for Meeting with New CEO

* Conrad Black loses bid to stay free during appeal

* Briefs: $10 million for schools

* IDOT checks out Lincoln-Way road situation

* Friday Beer Blogging: Return of the Beer Fridge Edition

posted by Kevin Fanning
Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 9:06 am

Comments

Deratany had A hilarious cartoon ad on cable and broadcast last pm. Anyone find it online?

Comment by t-rex Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 9:19 am
I saw the Deratany ad and laughed out loud, but I think it gave me nightmares.

Comment by Team America, World Police Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 9:48 am
The Deratany ad is very funny, saw it twice during Lost on ABC I think.

The Dan Proft piece on the Northwestern Forum was nice. Rich did you attend? Have you found any other coverage of it? I’m curious.

N

Comment by Napoleon has left the building Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 10:10 am
http://youtube.com/watch?v=MS7rx-k1v60

Comment by Anon Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 10:56 am
I saw this today on Carl Nyberg’s Website this morning

http://provisoprobe.blogspot.com/

Vicenik and Yarbrough use taxpayer resources for political work

West Suburban Journal-News (L. Nicole Trottie with Kevin Williams contributing) covers the criticism Broadview Village President Henry Vicenik took over letting Rep. Karen Yarbrough and U.S. Rep Danny Davis use a village-owned property rent free.

Vicenik said the board’s decision to offer the space rent free was never a board agenda item….

Vicenik counters, the decision by the board is justified as providing a service to Broadview residents.

“I thought it would be good for the village and residents to have a state representative and congressman here as a resource for the people of Broadview,” Vicenik said Tuesday.

Having a village subsidize constituent services is at least an unusual arrangement. And unusual arrangements need more specific contracts. And contracts need to be approved by the governing boards, or they formally delegate this power.

Broadview has been in financial trouble for years. Why wouldn’t it ask its tenants to pay for using village property?

IMO, Yarbrough and Vicenik are in some legal trouble, or should be, for using public resources for political activities. I assumed that Yarbrough and her organization were paying rent and that there was a contract which separated the political portion of the premises from the government part of the premises. I’m pretty sure my assumption was based on this being claimed or implied by Yarbrough. Maybe I’m misremembering.

If Yarbrough and Vicenik knew that the space was provided gratis by the Village of Broadview they both know that there should be no political activity being done there. I made a formal complaint to the Cook County State’s Attorney against Eugene Moore and District 209 for a comparatively minor transgression.

h/t Proviso Insider

BTW, there is something of a back story to Trottie’s interest in this building. Trottie sought to acquire use of the property for free from Vicenik. Trottie mentioned the arrangement to Yarbrough. Apparently Vicenik decided it was more advantageous to him to give the property to Yarbrough and Davis than to Trottie’s newspaper which was brand new at the time.

However, whether Trottie has an ax to grind with Vicenik and Yarbrough over this property, it doesn’t mitigate the wrongdoing by Vicenik and Yarbrough.

Comment by This Aint' Good Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 12:30 pm
Wrong!
Previous adminstrations, the adminstrations prior to Rod Blagojevich came up with ‘open road tolling, not Rod Blagojevich.
Rod Blagojevich has taken credit for many things he did not do.
Besides Blagojevich being corrupt, he is also a huge fraud.

Comment by Tollway Dan Friday, Feb 1, 08 @ 8:35 pm