Ill. Green Party seeks to remove white supremacist from ballot--but what about McKinney?

An odious turd named Richard B. Mayers of Berwyn has filed the necessary papers to be placed on the Green Party ballot in the 3rd Congressional District. Mayers is a white-supremacist and if he wins the primary over Jerome Pohlen, who is endorsed by the state Green Party, Mayers will appear on general election ballot of the district, which encompasses Chicago's Southwest Side and parts of the western and southern suburbs.

The Chicagoist has a rundown on Mayers here.

Naturally the Greens want nothing to do with this trash, and want him off the ballot.

The Decatur Herald & Review has an odd article about Mayers and the Greens objections--but without saying what's so objectionable about Mayers.

"We don't want him on the ballot because of his past activities" is what Illinois Green Party spokesman Patrick Kelly said.

However, as bad as Mayers is, if his--to use a famous Nazi badgering technique--"papers are in order," the Greens can't kick him off the ballot because of his hateful views.

Bad in my opionion, but not as awful as Mayers is Cynthia McKinney, who will be on the Illinois Green Party ballot. McKinney, the first black congresswoman elected from Georgia, surrounds herself with race-baiters. Including her father, her bodyguards, and her campaign manager.

Before he assumed his title of Savior of the Earth--something Green Party members care about, Al Gore was a presidential candidate. During the 2000 campaign, McKinney complained that Gore's "Negro tolerance level has never been too high." Donna Brazile, an African American woman, headed Gore's campaign in 2000.

This YouTube video shows McKinney playing the "racial profiling card."

The Greens however don't seem to mind McKinney appearing on the Green Party ballot a a presidential candidate.

There was one objection made with the Illinois State Board of Elections about McKinney. It was made by Richard B. Mayers.

Can't we all just get along?

To comment on this post, please visit Marathon Pundit.

Read more...

Daley Wants to Charge for Anti-Graffiti Efforts

In typical short sighted manner, Mayor Daley lashed out at graffiti artists and their parents yesterday. "Who should be responsible, the building owner?" Daley asked asked the press. "The building owner should sue them." While Hizzoner has had some success battling graffiti as a quality of life issue here in the city, Chicago is gearing up for a projected increase in vandalism, anticipating some 170,000 incidents of graffiti vandalism this year.

In response, Daley has proposed an ordinance, which aldermen balked at yesterday, that would have required fines up to $3,000 in restitution or $750, whichever is greater. Additionally, administrative hearing officers would have no authority to lower the cost, or order community service in lieu of the fines. Said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th), I'm "worried about the grandmother taking care of seven grandchildren because dad is in the penitentiary and mom is someplace -- they don't know where she is. ...Is someone from municipal prosecutions going to be standing there saying, 'This young person has never been in trouble before. We recommend to the hearing officer that they get community service as opposed to making this lady over here pay $500 that she doesn't have and she's not going to pay.' Or are we just going to say, 'Everybody who comes in the door [must pay] $500'?"

Of course, like most Daley measures, this isn't really about solving any sort of issue that matters to the people that actually live here and pay his fucking salary. In fact, we think that ordinances like this one are just more window dressing for the white middle class who find the poverty and ethnic culture of the city so edgy until it comes crashing up against their own values and ideals. And families and homeowners in neighborhoods that are plagued by gang violence won't find answers in an ordinance like this either, as most of the social conditions that create gang graffiti won't be solved by forcing parents that often times aren't around, let alone financially solvent, to pony up for these costs.

Just like banning spray paint and wide-tipped markers hasn't stopped vandalism, charging parents, especially parents and guardians who most likely can't afford restitution, won't prevent this sort of thing from going on. Say what you will about graffiti - some people call it art, others call it crime - the bottom line is that crackdowns like this one serve not to prevent or solve a social ill in a society, they serve to punish those most vulnerable to those ills. Give kids a reason to be in school, give kids a creative outlet, and they won't be as compelled to try and turn your piece of property (still the most sacrosanct concept in our democracy) into a work of art. And they won't have as compelling a reason to join a gang and mark their territory.

Image via graffiti.org

To comment on this post, please visit Chicagoist

Read more...

Daley Reloads

If there is one thing that you can say about Mayor Daley, it’s that he’s a tenacious motherfucker. With one eye always on expanding his influence beyond the borders of the city, he’s been taking on the state legislature for some 15 years now over the issue of gun control. Often at odds with those that represent Illinoisans outside of urban areas, Da Mare has been defeated in the General Assembly more than once in his attempts to restrict access and ownership of firearms. First it was a ban on assault weapons, defeated by one vote in the House. Then it was a bill to limit handgun purchases to one per month, failing by a 34-20 vote in the Senate. Then it was a bill that would require licensing for handgun dealers.

After the recent killings in Chicago, Daley is renewing his attempts to get wider gun control measures enacted in the state. In an exclusive interview with CBS2, he discussed his thoughts on gun violence not only in Chicago, but around the nation. This, coupled with his announcement on Monday that he'll soon appoint a commission to target gun laws and gun makers. The question that remains unanswered, however, is whether any of these measures – changing gun laws or targeting gun manufacturers will actually have any positive effect on the gun violence that plagues Chicago.

If the shootings in the city, if not in other parts of the nation are any indication, these laws will simply tie the hands of responsible, law-abiding citizens. Certainly the people that open fire on a basketball court or a city bus aren’t exactly lining up to apply for a state-issued Firearm Owners Identification Card. Even if they were, what impact would it have on the level of gun violence in the city?

While we generally agree that most legitimate sportsmen don’t need semiautomatic assault weapons or large capacity ammunition feeding devices, we also recognize that the concept of ordered liberty and a free society is predicated on an armed populace. And while the right to keep and bear arms is guaranteed in the Constitution, we also recognize that the state has a compelling interest in regulating the transportation and sale of firearms. We just wish that lawmakers would approach gun control sensibly, instead of taking the easy way out. As Daley is so fond of pointing out when it is convenient, you can’t address issues like this on a city, county, or state level. If we really want to make sure that firearms don’t find their way into the hands of people that have no legitimate use for them, the government needs to find a reasonable way to address the issue. And frankly, part of the responsibility for that change falls on society as a whole. As long as we continue to sweep gun violence under the rug by simplistically defining the issue as “guns are bad”, we can expect more of the same.

Image via Target Culture

To comment on this post, please click here.

Read more...

Hump Day Political News Roundup

Although the week is shorter, that doesn't mean that there hasn't been political news out there to round up! This week, we're making a special dedication to Chicagoist's favorite bad guy, the man that makes us the national butt of every political joke in town, the guy that represents everything that is wrong with our local political system, Todd "The Toddler" Stroger. Without further ado, let's take a gander at his follies and foibles, and all the newsworthy nonsense he's been up to of late:

More Taxes From the Stroger "Administration"? Unlike Papa Stroger, who seemed to like to avoid property taxes, anything goes with this kid. In spite of his campaign "promises" to the contrary, The Toddler told Fox News over the weekend "for years, we haven't taken any of the natural growth [in property values]. We should go to the next level that we can." Forrest Claypool slammed Stroger on the proposal, noting that in the face of several recent scandals in county government, it is arrogant to ask taxpayers to shoulder more of the burden of the waste and corruption going on there. "Todd Stroger needs to get his priorities straight, and he's shown that his priority is protecting the bloated patronage system and the county system full of six-figure salaries for his friends and relatives and cronies," Claypool said Monday. "Now he's saying, 'I want to raise property taxes on people.' ... The president is certainly tone-deaf to be talking about raising property taxes."

Hey Cook County, Good Job Screwing You're Own Employees! If you work for Cook County, getting yanked around by your employer is nothing new. Worked hard to get someone elected? Too bad. Hold an advanced degree in management science? Sorry, Charlie. Now the county has taken it to the next level. Cook County Correctional Officer Vito Zaccaro was stabbed in the neck with a shank by an inmate trying to escape, who wrestled the officer for his weapon (which he didn't give up). Now the county has sent Zaccaro a bill for $3,750 in emergency medical services he received that day. Cook County Board President Todd Stroger's Office has told Zaccaro he can't prove his injuries happened while he was on duty.

Cook County Recorder of Deeds Accused of (gasp) Patronage. Michael Shakman, the attorney who has made it his personal mission in life to restrain the Machine, is charging Cook County Recorder of Deeds Eugene Moore with violating the terms of the so-called Shakman Decree, which bans political hiring and firing. According to Shakman, Moore "has engaged in substantial, illegal patronage hiring, promotion and firing" of employees with politics deciding who gets full-time jobs, as well as summer jobs intended for students. According to former employees, many of those summer jobs went instead to "middle-aged political workers."

Ex-Con on the Cook County Payroll! While we can't directly attribute this to The Toddler, we can blame this one on the political system that created this clown of a political hack. Turns out that a convicted felon was put in charge of handling the cash disbursements for the Cook County program intended to help needy veterans. (And the fact that we even need such a program is pretty fucked up, isn't it?) According to records, Andre Baker was left "unsupervised" as cash, food stamps and bus cards disappeared. County officials admit they never conducted a background check before hiring him as a secretary in the Veterans Affairs Commission office in May 2001. Making this even more shameful is the fact that he remained on the payroll after being incarcerated again in 2005!

Peraica to Introduce a 'No Confidence' Vote Against The Toddler. Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica will introduce a resolution of "No Confidence" in the Stroger Administration at next week's County Board Meeting. Eric Zorn has "blogged" about this, arguing that it makes sense, but probably won't pass. Even Peraica has admitted that it probably won't get far, with the Republican Commissioners on the board ignoring it. He's turned that into his opportunity to flog the rest of the state's GOP for it's utter and complete failure to capitalize on the sorry excuse for Democratic politics that is patronage and corruption in Illinois.

To comment on this post, please click here.

Read more...

Memorial Day

Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was first commemorated after the Civil War as a way to honor fallen Union soldiers. After World War I it was expanded to honor all men and women who died in a US war or military action. It was originally observed on May 30, but since becoming a federal holiday, is now always observed on the last Monday in May, effectively creating a national three-day weekend.

For many, today marks the unofficial start of summer. Along with picnics and the Indianapolis 500, today is also a day to honor those who gave their lives for our country. Most government offices are closed today, as are many businesses. There is no mail today, and if you are the academic type (or have little ones) schools are closed as well. With flags flying at half-staff and politicians giving speeches, there is also a national moment of remembrance, held at 3PM Eastern time.

Chicagoist always feels a little conflicted at this time of year. We remember our grandfather, who fought in World War II, enlisting at the age of 17, and serving through the European occupation. Although he never really spoke of his time in the military, the significance of the American opposition to global fascism and the fight against genocide was impressed upon us at an early age. At the same time, however, we often find ourselves wondering what he really fought for. We'd like to believe that grandpa was a thoughtful man - a fellow disposed to reflection and reason on the experiences he had in his long life. Certainly we get at least a portion of our progressive tendencies from the Bulgarian steelworker and union leader that opposed the Korean War and Vietnam. In fact, we are certain that his silence on his war experiences was more about his desire to not glorify war, rather than some deeper, more traumatic experience.

As we head out to enjoy a day free of the worries of work and filled with friends and sunshine, we are cognizant of the images in the media of American families at tributes and gravestones, mourning the loss of yet more loved ones in recent conflict. We hope that we live to see the day when Memorial Day will truly be just that - a day not just to commemorate fallen countrymen, but also the end of war and conflict. Perhaps one day our grandchildren will look up at as and ask us why there was ever such a thing as war, why there was ever a need to fight and die in the name of one's country.

To comment on this post, please click here.

Read more...

An Unnamed Public Official

Chicagoist woke up to the headline "Feds subpoena governor's campaign fund records" in the Tribune. Oh no, we thought, this can't be good for ol' G-Rod. For a governor that has seen friends indicted, had a public feud with his father in-law that has resulted in charges of gross misconduct and confirmation by prosecutors that they are looking close and hard at very real accusations of wrong doing, this news certainly can't bode well.

At the heart of the subpoenas is the question of whether or not top aides and advisors traded state business and jobs for political support, part of an investigation US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has been conducting for over a year now. While Blagojevich has not been directly accused of any wrongdoing, he has refused to answer questions regarding the ongoing investigation, often deflecting the constant questions that seem follow him around with a blanket "we do things right."

On top of the subpoenas for campaign records, federal prosecutors have also subpoenaed hiring records, looking hard at charges of "pay-to-play" that surfaced early in Blago's first term. With his already crippled budget proposal being publicly ripped, and his poll numbers in the toilet, we have to wonder what Blago is thinking right now. What's left of his administration has become fodder for cocktail hour jokes and speculation ("If Obama wins the presidency, who does Blaogjevich pick to replace him?") With Tony Rezko already under indictment, and state hiring practices under intense scrutiny, all that's left is for Fitz to connect the dots and follow the lines to the top. Perhaps the most intriguing thing about all the indictments and investigations of late is seeing these pols go donw not for money, but for power. .

It's been said that even if you are acquitted, being put on trial in federal court usually means you did something wrong; the only issue is whether or not they can make the charges stick. About the only irony left in this state is the fact that it took a corrupt president, hell-bent on erasing the 22 electoral votes of a generally blue state, to put a dent in the crooked politics of a midwestern prairie state that was all but built on back-room deals. Let's hope that each step the feds take closer to a pol in Chicago, they get closer to the truth. We imagine that Daley's sweating a little harder on the fifth floor right now.

To comment on this post, please click here.

Read more...