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* U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez has made more than $420,000 on real estate deals

Among the reasons his real estate dealings do not cause conflicts, Gutierrez has said, is that he never interferes in local zoning matters. But the Tribune reported in October that Gutierrez sent a letter to Mayor Richard Daley seeking support for a controversial project built by one of the congressman’s political donors who also had lent him money. The newspaper reported that federal authorities investigating zoning matters have shown interest in the Gutierrez letter.

* Rep.-elect Debbie Halvorson: From cosmetics sales to Congress

* Admission Price Tops $1 Million for Most Winners in House Races

* Lots of bread along 14th District trail

Ranked in order by votes received, here’s a look at how much they each spent and the per-vote cost of their campaign. Vote totals are according to the Illinois State Board of Elections, while the financial information comes from the Federal Election Commission.

• Rep. Bill Foster: 303,011 votes; $4,880,916 spent, or $16.10 per vote.

• Jim Oberweis: 269,275 votes; $5,036,947 spent, or $18.70 per vote.

• State Sen. Chris Lauzen: 65,539 votes; $1,222,287 spent, or $18.66 per vote.

• John Laesch: 60,445 votes; $179,489 spent, or $2.96 per vote.

• Jotham Stein: 10,947 votes; $228,411 spent, or $20.86 per vote.

• Joe Serra: 6,033 votes; $0 spent.

• Michael Dilger: 1,847; $0 spent.

The bottom line in this race for Washington? Coincidentally, $16.10 per vote — the amount Foster spent.

* Is Daley mortgaging the future?

He has now unloaded four of the city’s most valuable assets for a $6 billion mountain of cash and saddled taxpayers with $5.8 billion worth of long-term debt.

The great Chicago sell-off started with the Skyway ($1.83 billion), continued with downtown parking garages ($563 million) and Midway Airport ($2.5 billion) and culminated this week with the sale of Chicago parking meters ($1.15 billion).

More troubling for future generations is the fact that the mayor plans to spend at least $425 million of the parking meter windfall over the next five years — and $324 million more if the moribund economy is slow to bounce back.

Daley has also increased the city’s long-term debt by a whopping 178 percent over the last decade — from $2.1 billion to $5.8 billion or $2,006 per person.

And Chicago has more than 150 tax increment financing districts that siphoned $555.3 million away in 2007.

The bottom line is that Daley’s successor will be boxed in by heavy debt, a diminishing tax base and precious few money-making assets.

* Daley Asks Why Plows Missed Some Street Corners

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he wants to know why some street corners weren’t plowed properly following this week’s snow storms.

DALEY: That’s the key. That’s the key. How do they miss corners? How do they miss a corner over here and take every corner down Madison Street. Why did they miss that corner? So that’s what you’re trying to figure out.

* Daley admits mistakes were made in snow removal

* CTA trains speed up as slow zones fade away

* Union ignoring facts in defense of Burge

* The undercover agent

On Tuesday the Justice Department announced charges against 17 defendants, 15 of them Chicago, Cook County or suburban law officers. They’re accused of providing armed security for what they believed to be cocaine and heroin transactions. They were paid, the government alleges, to serve as lookouts, ready to intervene in the event honest police—or rival drug dealers—tried to interfere with the purported drug trafficking.

* Part II: Let’s talk taxes, baby

This week, I’ll revisit tax cap legislation of the 1990s; how it affected your pocketbook; and the status of the 7 Percent Expanded Homeowner Exemption pushed by Cook County Assessor James Houlihan.

Sharpen your pencils, pupils. Here we go:

* Banks protege gets new City Hall zoning post

The influence of the Northwest Side political clan that dominates City Hall’s real estate development process expanded Friday as Mayor Richard Daley named Patricia Scudiero the first commissioner of the new Zoning and Land Use Planning Department.

Scudiero is a protégé of Ald. William J.P. Banks (36th), chairman of the City Council Zoning Committee since Daley became mayor in 1989. She served as a Banks aide from 1989 to 2004.

* Federal regulators green light CN merger with conditions

Echoing the sentiments of a divided Chicago region, federal regulators issued their final report Friday on the environmental impact of the Canadian National Railway merging with the smaller EJ&E railroad, finding it will ease freight traffic in Chicago and nearby suburbs but cause problems for some towns along the “J.”

The report issued by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board gave a list of conditions CN must follow to ease negative impacts of buying the EJ&E but seemed to assume the deal would move forward.

* Planes go around again for added safety

* Virgin abandons O’Hare plans

* Staff Cuts at Chicago Public Radio

* Tribune Co. hires bankruptcy advisers

Tribune must raise cash, either by selling assets such as the Chicago Cubs, or by cutting costs. It already has cut hundreds of jobs at its newspapers, which include the Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun, and last week managers cut 11 jobs in the Chicago Tribune newsroom.

The recession in newspaper advertising has hurt the Tribune as it tries to swallow $12 billion in debt that Zell took on last December when he took the company private.

Analysts who follow Tribune debt, which carries junk-bond ratings, have said the company’s immediate concern is a covenant that limits its borrowings to nine times its cash flow. Some experts believe Tribune no longer meets that standard, especially after it reported a third-quarter operating loss of $124 million. Tribune reportedly owes $1 billion in interest payments this year and a $512 million debt payment in June.

* Media: It’s all skittles and beer for the newspaper business

* Media: Journal Star losing two reporters

* NYT’s 10K subscribers on Kindle: The start of something bigger?

One other important note from that internal New York Times memo my colleague Zach got a hold of: The company reports it has “more than 10,000 paid subscribers” to an electronic edition of the newspaper on Amazon’s Kindle ebook reader. To my knowledge (please correct me if I’m wrong), that’s the first time a major newspaper has released numbers on how it’s doing on Kindle — a platform lots of newspaper execs are eager to see turn into a saving grace for their industry.

Given that the electronic Times costs $13.99 a month, that would mean the NYT Kindle edition is generating in the neighborhood of $1.68 million a year. How much of that goes to NYT Co. and how much stays with Amazon is unclear.

* Idled workers occupy factory in Chicago

* Plant Closing Leads to Sit-In

* Republic Windows, workers at odds over closing

Disgruntled union workers for Republic Windows & Doors Inc. met Friday with company management, a congressman and representatives of Bank of America in an attempt to settle a dispute over the manufacturer’s abrupt closing.

The meeting Friday was brokered by U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill.

Republic’s 239 workers learned Tuesday that the Chicago company would close Friday morning after B of A cut off its line of credit. The company, already struggling from a prolonged downturn in the housing market, was unable to stay in business.

Rich Gillman, Republic’s CEO, said that the company’s monthly sales had fallen to $2.9 million from $4 million in the past month, and staying open would only create greater financial losses. The company had “no choice but to shut our doors,” he wrote in a memo to the union

* Chicago factory layoffs are a ‘wake-up call to America’

* Cure for recession won’t be sweet, will require balance

* Mitsubishi plant shutting down for seven weeks

* McDonald’s girding for union fight

* Mortgage Modifications Help Homeowners, But for How Long?

* Trains no longer home for homeless?

* Tough choices, difficult times

* Everyone–in this economy—has a story

* Another election season begins with local filing today

Candidates will head to their village halls today as the filing period for begins next spring’s local election.

In area suburbs where primaries are possible - namely Hoffman Estates, Schaumburg and Palatine - candidates have from 8 a.m. today to 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 to file.

* Cops: Bob Shaw slugged on street

* Man questioned in confrontation with South Side politician Robert Shaw

posted by Kevin Fanning
Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 8:52 am

Comments

The Tribune is about 10 years too late with Cong. Luis’ adventures in housing development. Luis was the Chair of the Housing and Land Development Committee of City Council. while things way past are beyond the scope of the law. Luis and his pals in the manufactured housing arena dealt with housing that was defective. his long history should be detailed. Crains had articles on the topic back in the day.

Comment by Amy Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 9:04 am
I believe candidate filing also begns in the Town of Cicero, as that community also has elections on February 24.

Comment by fedup dem Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 9:20 am
In Forest Park we had a police officer fired for using the f-word and taking three sick days on Fridays during a short period of time.

The Fraternal Order of Police gave him the most perfunctory defense. A lawyer came to the hearings, but she did practically nothing. The union didn’t mobilize any members or resources to help the officer.

But if cop beats a Black man, the FOP will go to the ends of the Earth to get him legal representation and advocacy in the media.

From the outside the FOP looks like an absurdly racist organization with some Uncle Toms employed in the media relations department.

The Burge case is just one more opportunity for the FOP to show its true colors.

Comment by Carl Nyberg Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 9:27 am
Could someone please explain the phrase “…is all skittles and beer” to me? No entry in the Urban Dictionary for this one. kthnx.

Comment by Leroy Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 9:49 am
skittles and beer

Basically, it means a game you might play at a bar, with friends. So, the larger meaning is a pleasant way to pass time.

Or, as used, a way of wasting time, not a serious way to make money.

Comment by Pat collins Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 10:06 am
The winner almost always looks good in cost per vote comparison, unless there is a big mismatch. His denominator is larger

Comment by Pat collins Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 10:08 am
oh skittles as in a game, not the candy…

I thought this was some crazy new drink or something.

Comment by Leroy Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 10:14 am
Yes, Mayor Daley is mortgaging the city’s future and sticking it to average citizens.

Comment by Chicago Cynic Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 10:26 am
Can we please have Lisa Madigan look into the Chicago Tribune’s finances before the bankruptcy situation over there turns into a Republic Windows fiasco? For the sake of the Tribune employees?

Perfect opportunity for the future governor to head off a disaster instead of reacting to one.

Comment by Johnny USA Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 10:28 am
When will people wake up and realize that Daley is one of the absolute worst big city Mayors in America, if not the worst?

He is not a good mayor. He is a terrible budget manager. He is terrible at assessing people. He presides over scandal after scandal after scandal. He pushes taxes every upwards and still doesn’t have enough bling for his friends, so he saddles us with enormous debts.

He’s getting taken to the cleaners on these privatization schemes.

Such horribly bad decision making.

And so many people in this city want him to be awarded with the Olympics?

The 2016 Olympics will run billions over budget and start just in time…for the 2020 Olympiad.

Comment by jerry 101 Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 10:59 am
To allow perpetually bankrupt or near bankrupt companies like United and American to monopolize all the gates of O’Hare International Airport and thereby stymie competition, reduce local jobs and decrease revenue generated by user fees is beyond foolish.

The Airport Authority should not be subservient to the airlines but needs to be a fair arbitrator for all airport vendors and users. The Daley administration has allowed gates to be underutilized for years. The result is less airlines, less jobs and higher fairs.

I can only imagine what a privatized Midway will do to further shut down competition but I suspect gates space will have to be approved in Texas.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 11:35 am
A couple friends of mine were present when Zell gave his first pep talk in the Tower after he risked $300 million of his own cash and all of the employees’ stock options and profit-sharing to leverage privatizing the Trib.

It basically went: “If this works, I and all of you are going to make a lot of money. If it doesn’t, I’ll be alright, and the rest of you will be __________.”

Comment by wordslinger Monday, Dec 8, 08 @ 12:48 pm