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* Vaccination plans on hold for many Chicago area school districts

Uncertain delivery of vaccine throws many schools into the waiting game

* Judge tosses Dart’s suit vs. Craigslist

U.S. District Judge John F. Grady ruled that ads offering “adult services” aren’t explicitly offering sex, and Craigslist is an “intermediary,” and is not “culpable for aiding and abetting” customers who “misuse their services to commit unlawful acts.”

“Sheriff Dart may continue to use Craigslist’s Web site to identify and pursue individuals who post allegedly unlawful content,” Grady wrote in his ruling. “But he cannot sue Craigslist for their conduct.”

* Unemployment rises in Illinois

* Cook County health, hospitals issues layoff notices

335 employees notified today, plus 700 openings to go unfilled

* Cook County Board President Todd Stroger blasts health system layoffs

* Todd Stroger calls Cook County health system layoffs a threat to patient care

* Stroger preserves Forest Preserve budget without tax hike

* Will aldermen fall after parking meter rates rise?

Can you imagine explaining the city’s parking monopoly to a newcomer to Chicago in 2020: how the city sold all its parking meters and blew the whole bonanza in three years?

* Mayor Daley defends decision to raid city’s reserves

He’s not only siphoning $370 million in parking meter money and $50 million from the Chicago Skyway lease to fund day-to-day operations and hold the line on taxes, fines and fees in 2010.

He’s using $35 million of that money to provide property tax relief — by doling out $200 grants to homeowners hardest hit by the phase out of the seven percent cap on property tax assessments.

After introducing his $6.14 billion budget and delivering his budget address to the City Council today, Daley defended his decision to risk the city’s bond rating by raiding reserves he once called untouchable.

“It’s called rainy day funds. It’s called economic sadness. That’s what you have and that’s what it was prepared for. . . . Leasing public assets for a rainy, rainy day. And this is a flood day and a flood year,” Daley told the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board, using the same language he once used to declare those funds off-limits.

* Daley wants $200 in property-tax relief for low-income homeowners

* Aldermen told details of Daley’s raid on reserves

That would leave roughly $864 million in mid- and long-term reserves from the combined, $3 billion take from those transactions, which gave private operators the right to pocket Skyway tolls for 99 years (ending in 2104) and parking-meter fees for 75 years (through 2084).

* Daley is right to tap reserve fund for 2010

* Daley in denial

* City plans to curb recycling program, pick up blue carts every third week

Chicago’s citywide switch to curbside recycling would hit the brakes in some neighborhoods, while pickups would be less frequent in others, under cuts tied to Mayor Daley’s 2010 budget.

The mayor’s proposed budget includes no money to continue the citywide switch to blue-cart recycling that was supposed to be completed by 2011 for all 600,000 households that get city garbage pickup.

Also, some of the 240,000 households that have blue carts will see pickups every third week instead of every other week.

* Tourism funding: Mayor Richard Daley says proposed cuts will force overhaul in marketing efforts

* Wishing for a casino: Gamblers ‘might as well lose it in Chicago’

After listening to Mayor Daley describe his plan to raid city reserves, the City Council was abuzz with talk about the “next big revenue source” to finance city government.

If there had been a roll call, it would have been close to unanimous: The pot of gold lies in casino gambling.

* CTA OKs new parking, soft-drink vending deals

Cash-strapped agency expects deals to bring in $1.2 million a year

* CTA to allow credit cards at its lots

The CTA board approved a contract today with Central Parking System (CPS) Chicago Parking for five years for 11 of its 17 park-and-ride locations.

The new contract guarantees the CTA revenue of $1 million a year for five years, or up to 49.5 pecent of net revenue, whichever is bigger.

* No Pepsi, only Coke at CTA stations

The Chicago Transit Board on Wednesday approved a three-year vending machine contract to keep Coca-Cola on its properties. The CTA estimates it will earn more than $1.4 million over the next five years under the terms of the contract, which gives the agency a 50 percent revenue split.

* CTA chief operating officer to retire after maxing out pension

The CTA, which is trying to cope with a $300 million deficit for 2010, is losing some help at the top.[…]

Mooney explained in an e-mail that as CTA pensions are structured, he has maximized his earnings “and there is no financial reason in terms of pension for me to stay.”

* Few attend video gambling hearing in Joliet

* Small towns concerned about sheriff’s cutbacks

* Attorney general, CUB oppose planned Verizon sale

* Verizon plan to sell landlines runs into opposition

* Chancellor’s resignation good for U of I

* Taylorville man sues U of I over clout list

* H1N1 vaccine: Panic, media and politics

* Developer of downtown Chicago block faces foreclosure

* Will Pullman Park become Chicago’s next neighborhood?

* Still time for first-time home buyers to close deal for $8,000 tax credit

* White Sox launch new tech venture

* Designing daughter: From governor’s mansion to New York fashion

posted by Mike Murray
Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 9:15 am

Comments

The morning shorts today is such a sad testament to the state of the state and the city of Chicago. I think I will take the day off from the news today. I need a break.

Comment by Speaking at Will Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 9:33 am
Kudos to Samantha Thompson, a rare child of politicians who went out and made her own life instead of demanding a seat at the government trough.

Comment by cassandra Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 9:46 am
Wonder what tune the Pantagraph will whistle when BlueFieldBob turns as the new U of I honcho? We are sure that everyone has figured out this is the final step in BigIke’s revenge….Do we get an another dose of Jim “Wow, the G just missed me” Edgar?
Does anyone remember where BlueFieldBob was when the MSI guys where emptying the state checkbook, dropping off computer at Jimmy’s E’s log home and dropping the memory lapse juice into the coffee maker.
Maybe Dillard could fill us in

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 9:58 am
++Kudos to Samantha Thompson, a rare child of politicians who went out and made her own life instead of demanding a seat at the government trough.++

Really? Rare? I completely agree that there is too much nepotism in politics, but the vast majority of politicians’ kids do not demand a seat at the government trough.

Comment by Montrose Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:20 am
Montrose is right.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:25 am
What Daley has done is sold off the City’s assets and future earnings to prop up his re-election chances. It is pathetic-but lots of folks are buying it.

I wonder who will take him out next year. I’m thinking the sheriff.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:37 am
Stroger preserves forest preserve budget without tax hike?

hmm…

I’m actually impressed. Not that he did it, but that he even considered it. Guess he has no relatives working for the forest preserve…

Comment by jumpingjohn Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:39 am
RE: The 3 week pickup of recyclables:

My ward has blue carts, and we use ours heavily. So much so that our regular trash cart almost never gets filled. My blue cart is usually full after one week. Wouldn’t it make sense to put additional blue carts in the alleys if they don’t want to pick them up more often?

Right now, they provide one blue cart and two regular trash carts for each building, mostly two-flats or single family homes. Why not 2 and 2?

Stupid is as stupid does. I can’t wait for the summer stink of 3 week old trash next year.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 10:43 am
Montrose may be right on the statistics, but I live in greater Chicagoland, where nepotism is running amuck and the statistics are hard to see.

Comment by cassandra Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:10 am
They’re only hard to see because you are so in love with gross generalizations.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:13 am
–I wonder who will take him (Daley) out next year. I’m thinking the sheriff. –

The sheriff of Nottingham? You don’t mean Tom Dart taking on Daley, do you? That doesn’t compute. Where’s the base?

Dart passed on running against Todd or Alexi. He’s not going to turn his back on a lifetime of alliances to start a South Side Irish feud that he would lose badly.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Oct 22, 09 @ 11:42 am