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* As expected the Chicago city council approved the real estate transfer tax yesterday with some minor adjustments…
Aldermen held their noses, swallowed hard and demanded that members of the military and disabled veterans get free rides, but ultimately voted to complete a Chicago Transit Authority bailout by hitting city property buyers with a 40 percent transfer tax increase.
Some senior citizens will catch a break, but the City Council’s approval by a 41-6 vote means that Chicago’s real-estate transfer tax will climb for most everyone from $7.50 per $1,000 of sale price to $10.50 beginning April 1. On a $300,000 home, the result would be a $900 increase.
People 65 and older who buy houses priced at $250,000 or less and attest that they will live in them for at least a year will get a refund of the transfer tax increase but will be required to apply to receive it.
* The vote was overwhelming, but Mayor Daley was angry at the half-dozen aldermen who voted against it…
The vote was 41-6 — and the six “no” votes had the mayor seething. They were cast by Aldermen Robert Fioretti (2nd), Sandi Jackson (7th), Sharon Denise Dixon (24th), Rey Colon (35th), Brian Doherty (41st) and Bernard Stone (50th).
“If Ald. Fioretti believes they don’t need the CTA in his ward, then stand up and say, ‘CTA, bypass my people.’ . . . You’ll last about a half a day. They’ll have to send . . . police and fire to protect you and your families,” Daley said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
* And…
Daley continued his diatribe, finally saying, “Those who want to run for higher political office, vote ‘No,’” a dig at some aldermanic opponents who are rumored to be seeking higher office.
* When you serve in a legislative body run by an absolute control freak, any dissension is deemed traitorous. And, while I hate to say it, Ald. Stone made a pretty good point…
Stone dismissed the senior exemption as a “showpiece” that “isn’t worth a damn,” noting that most seniors are sellers — not buyers.
The showpiece comment was on the money. There aren’t many houses in Stone’s ward selling for less than $250,000.
*** UPDATE *** WGN has posted Mayor Daley’s entire snarky rant on YouTube. It’s a must-see…
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:20 am
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If Daley can’t help but blow his top when “his” aldermen vote against him then what is he even doing presiding over the city council. He should accept that’s going to happen and move on. When something else comes up he works with them later. He should take a chill pill!
Comment by Levois Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:24 am
Heh, what makes him think he can get 50-0 votes anyway? lol!
Comment by Levois Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:25 am
Why did he call out Fioretti by name?
Comment by phocion Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:28 am
So that means that 41-6 isn’t a landslide vote?
Comment by Louis G. Atsaves Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:30 am
From the outburst at Fioretti it becomes obvious that Daley is threatened by Fioretti…he’s smart, honest, hard working, independent…and wants to be Mayor..Daley should be afaraid of Bob…he’s everything the mayor isn’t!
Comment by Happy in 2nd ward Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:59 am
Daley came off looking like a spoiled brat and a bully…what an arrogant display
Comment by Those Dems Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:02 am
I’m no fan of the mayor and all this “heavy lifting” talk has got to go, but Daley was right on this one. If you see the video, Stone in particular was grandstanding. And his tone and rhetoric were more bombastic than the mayor. To call the other aldermen “jellyfish” because they were submitting to the State’s terms for keeping the CTA running is inaccurate, to put it mildly. To say the city should give the legislature the Chicago Salute and refuse the funding is unacceptable.
Comment by DwightZinfandel Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:07 am
Yes, Daley is all those things..including very crafty..eh? When it gets to be more of a liability,he’ll appoint some good govt appearing woman to head up a new office… like the Mayor’s Office of Real Estate Transfer Tax Equity… what are they gonna do? Pick on a woman? He used to hide behind minorities. That’s sort of getting worn out. Now he hides behind skirts. Look at all his department heads and look and see who is the number 2 “man”. Get it? Crafty eh?
Comment by anonno Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:10 am
Much respect to Fioretti and Jackson for living up to their campaign promises while some of the others, like Waguespack, have been co-opted so fast they must have whiplash. TIFs? yes sir. Tax hikes? yes sir. Some reform.
Comment by SSDD Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:18 am
The majority of problems at the CTA are clearly the fault of the Mayor. He likes to point fingers and blame the legislature and governor, but for 18 years he has controlled the CTA. Hundreds of do little or nothing paper shuffling managers with clout still infect the agency. Hundreds of millions wasted on all kinds of silly silly silly plans that never came into being. Hundreds of millions in contracts to politically connected firms.
As for Fioretti he may dream of one day being mayor, but I dream of being marooned on a desert isle with the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and a truckload of Guinness. It ain’t gonna happen.
Comment by irishpirate Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:24 am
With a slightly more independent council there will be these occasional “uprisings”. While Daley will blow his stack and act like a buffoon they pose no threat to him.
The real question is: Will a viable candidate mount a serious, organized effort to topple Daley in 2011? Timid “I’m running but not that hard ’cause I don’t want to offend the mayor” campaigns don’t count.
Comment by Independent Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:37 am
The Mayor’s lecture about Alderman needing to take a tough political stand would be more believable if he ever took one himself. He is the best scapegoat artist there is and there are people sitting in jail today because they followed his hiring, political operation and trucking plan. Maybe he should stand up and acknowledge they were just following his orders and the punishment should be shouldered by him. He won’t, of course, because that would take political and moral courage
Comment by Garp Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 11:38 am
One of Daley’s most cogent and coherent rants. No stuttering, no sputtering and on-subject. I particularly liked the asides, ie “You know what I’m talking about Ald. Doherty.”
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 12:42 pm
the mayor is not afraid of Bob Fioretti, come on.
Bob is lucky he got elected, he’s such a gadfly.
but, the mayor gets himself a little worked up & it makes you wonder what would happen if he went down for the count. who would be the next mayor?
and, what is the talk of Aldermen running for higher office? Jr? Sandy? City office? State office? is someone on that council trying to angle into a statewide spot? or a countywide
spot for next go round?
The mayor is probably pissed that Ed Smith lost.
The mayor rarely backs anyone in a primary fight.
(How did Ed lose?) Tom Allen lost. Brookins lost.
Three loser aldermen and Daley probably has to put up with their losing attitudes.
Allen is a good alderman and it will be a shame
if he cannot stay in the Council. Perhaps a new
pie can be sliced and the Republican to the NW can
get cut out….Allen got huge votes on the far
NW side.
Comment by amy Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 12:50 pm
I may be wrong…it would be the first time since Noon today… But isn’t the Transfer tax going to fund the CTA pensions and not operations?
If so, why the rant about skipping stops in the ward?
Best thing that could happen to the CTA is to license the jitneys and let them prowl the streets picking up frozen people at the CTA stops.
Next best thing would be to auction the routes (and the timing) to the drivers. Let them keep the operating revenue in exchange for their bid. The low ridership routes would be auctioned at a subsidy.
Comment by Truthful James Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 12:58 pm
Third best thing would be everyone rides free, but we have been there before. A ten cents per 100 AV on all real estate would pay for it
Comment by Truthful James Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 1:01 pm
Is Daley trying to do a Robert DeNiro imitation?
Comment by Feldman Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 1:02 pm
The chair seriously abused his role when spoke last, and he singled out members of the body by name from the podium for a drubbing, then yelled “Clerk, call the role!”
Daley has no concept of decorum, no idea on how to handle dissent except with anger and verbal abuse.
Daley yelled “It’s a hard decision. You were sent here to make hard decisions.” Well, if it’s a hard decision, that means thinking persons could go either way, so you sort of have to respect those who disagree, right?
Comment by BannedForLife Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 1:06 pm
Daley scared me when right after the end of the WGN tape, Daley sat down on the edge of his throne for just a 1/2 second, then sprung back up and yelled, “Clerk, call the role!”
I hope Daley’s docs are on stand by in the wings during City Council meetings.
guys, is it inevitable we turn into our fathers?
Comment by BannedForLife Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 1:14 pm
That video is AWESOME.
Daley is a nut, but he’s right. Everyone on the city council was clamoring for the GA to pass this plan. No one offered an alternative funding mechanism.
A “No” vote wasn’t merely cowardly, as Daley stated, it was pure hypocrisy.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 2:12 pm
Great rant by the Mayor. I actually think they do have to vote yes, not for the Mayor but because Chicago put the whole state on notice over the transit bailout and if these wimps want to have their cake and eat it too - then they are pathetic.
Feldman - I had the exact same thought. Reminded me of DiNiro from The Untouchables:
“A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Teamwork…. Looks, throws, catches, hustles.Part of one big team. Bats himself the live-long day, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and so on. If his team don’t field… what is he? You follow me? No one. Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say? I’m goin’ out there for myself. But… I get nowhere unless the team wins.” TEAM!
enter baseball bat
Comment by Napoleon has left the building Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 2:17 pm
He does look like DeNiro in that video.
Also, I just noticed that WGN posted the vid in the “Comedy” category. Appropriate.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 2:33 pm
Daley singles Fioretti out for being cowardly when Fioretti made the same vote Sandi Jackson. Was didn’t Daley go down the line and attack her and the others. Is he afraid of upsetting the Jacksons?
Daley is too much of a egomanic to notice the irony.
Comment by Take It Easy Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 2:39 pm
Perhaps King Richard the Lesser singled out Fioretti for the simple reason that he resides in Fioretti’s ward.
Comment by fedup dem Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 2:47 pm
Him and JJJ have a quite truce, no need to pour gasoline on those embers. Besides, Fioretti’s district has like 5 El stations in it, bad for him to vote no on that one.
Comment by Napoleon has left the building Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 2:59 pm
My favorite part of the tape is near the beginning when you can hear a loud “wooooooooo” from someone as he started going after the aldermen.
Comment by wndycty Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 3:44 pm
I always thought that Daley was’nt the smartest guy in the room…and I do agree that Fioretti is smart, bright and honest…Daley must know that Fioretti could run laps around Daley’s lack of intelect…will be interesting to see how Bob reacts next time Daley throws a temper tantrum
Comment by Dumb daley Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 3:50 pm
A no vote was not justified given the whole extended RTA-CTA brouhaha/impasse in Springfield. Not one of the Aldermanic naysayers publicly opposed the transfer tax before the mass transit funding bill finally passed. It’s possible that some reasonable alternative to the transfer tax could have been worked out if there had been a more collegial climate in Springfield. I don’t think constituents will blame their Alderman for this particular tax increase. Everyone wanted the mass transit funding problem resolved one way or another - an increase in the transfer tax was a politically palatable option. It’s not going to be on anybody’s radar screen in the next 2010 municipal election. No votes appear to be political posturing.
Comment by Captain America Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 4:01 pm
another attack on unions and their members by King Richard. with friends like this who nneds enemies
Comment by Todd Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 4:34 pm
Mayor Richie on that video was very similar to his old man ranting against Len Despres in the City Council or Senator Ribicoff at the Dem. convention in 1968. Very eerie indeed!
Comment by Wilmette Willie Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 5:06 pm
I find this rant to be amusing. I would understand if most people voted no but it was the other way around. Chill out your highness. You won’t be affected by their votes.
Comment by JakeCP Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 5:34 pm
The story of the Daley rant video has little to do with Daley: take a look at Mara Georges (hizonor’s lawyer) as Daley goes into his rant. She looks half scared to death.
Comment by Illinois Paine Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 8:58 pm
I thought I had logged on to a rerun of the one of the Godfather movies. (”And may your first child be a masculine child.”) He’s a shoo-in for the next Coppola movie.
Comment by Disgusted Thursday, Feb 7, 08 @ 10:27 pm
I gotta admit, I really enjoyed this…
Comment by Bill Baar Friday, Feb 8, 08 @ 8:14 am
Fioretti for Mayor? Hahahahaha! As a constituent, I can tell you that he is the biggest joke around. If he doesn’t like the solution offered by the legislature, perhaps Fioretti ought to tell his closest legislative ally, Ricky Hendon, that the bill was bad, considering that it was Ricky that “saved” the CTA at the last minute, according to all his campaign advertisments.
Comment by some former legislative intern Saturday, Feb 9, 08 @ 2:27 pm