Six children die in Chicago fire, building owner a major Ald. Joe Moore contributor

Crossposted on Marathon Pundit, right next to the Boris Yeltsin article.

Early Sunday morning a deadly fire swept through an third floor apartment in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, the city's highest fire death toll since 1964. Six children, all from the same family, died.

The electricity to the unit had been shut off for weeks, and according the Chicago Fire Department officials, the unit didn't have working smoke detectors.

At night, family members used candles as lighting, and it's believed a candle caused the deadly blaze.

The Rogers Park building is located in a rough corner of Alderman Joe Moore's 49th Ward, the North of Howard neighborhood.

Here's what Moore said yesterday about the fire, courtesy of NBC 5 Chicago:

I did conduct a visual inspection of a couple of the other units in the building today, they were equipped with smoke detectors, hard-wired. So, I believe the fire department's finding of there being no smoke detectors in that apartment were preliminary.

But the fire department said there weren't working smoking detectors. Who would you believe?

Craig Gernhardt who writes the excellent Morse Hell Hole blog, doesn't believe Moore:

Lie, lie, lie. Then lie some more. This is just another example why the man sitting in the 49th ward Alderman's seat has to go. He's out of touch with his community.

Didn't the Alderman know you need electricity to make these hard-wired smoke detector's work?

Jay Johnson, the owner of the "Death Trap on Marshfield" is a frequent Alderman Moore campaign contributor and has been notified of the tragedy. Mr. Johnson blames the Ramirez family for this tragedy on the news programs. Mr. Johnson also sits on Alderman Moore's rubber stamp - local 49th ward, "community" Zoning And Land Use Advisory Committee. (ZALUAC). He must have known the electricity was turned off to the 7706 North Marshfield #3 unit. ComEd is required to tell the property owner when they shut off power to a unit.

More on Moore and his money, again from Morse Hell Hole:

Joe Moore can afford to be "generous" toward the Ramirez family - he's gotten at least $8000 in campaign donations from Jay Johnson. What kind of credibility is this investigation going to have?

I think Joe's campaign fund should donate at least $8000 to the Ramirez family fund, although at that point it would only be breaking even.

Donations from Jay Johnson to Joe:

Cornerstone Residential GR LLC dba CIG Management 350 W. Erie
Ste 100
Chicago, IL 60610 $1,000.00
2/11/2005 Individual Contribution

CIG Management LLC c/o CIG Management to Citizens for Joe Moore

$1,500.00 6/14/2002
$500.00 11/13/2001
$500.00 3/25/2004

Cornerstone Residential Group LLC dba CIG Management LLC

$1,500.00 1/24/2003
$1,500.00 1/24/2003

$1,000.00 2/11/2005

Morse Urban Development to Citizens for Joe Moore
$500.00 4/12/2000

Moore, of course, is doing his best to getting his name out nationally leading the Chicago front on the Democratic Party's jihad against Wal-Mart, as well as his idiotic bill banning foie gras from Chicago eateries.

Moore, however, has a lot of explaining to do in regards to what's happening in his 49th Ward.

CORRECTIONS 2:15PM CDT: Only five of the victims were from the same family, the sixth was a friend.

The information on Jay Johnson's donations to Moore did come from Morse Hell Hole, but from the comments section/ That contribution came from another North Side blogger, Rogers Park Rake.

Related Marathon Pundit posts: Ald. Joe Moore, retail genius

Ald. Moore: Putting the unions' money where his mouth is

Mayor Daley says phooey on Chicago foie gras ban

To comment, head to Marathon Pundit.

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Duckworth's ads against amnesty for illegal immigrants

Take a look at them. They're over at Soap Blox Chicago.

I'm a liberal on immigration. I was raised hearing immigrants are better Americans then those of us born here, because they chose the United States. So I choke up when I see non-citizens joining the service. I read Spanish surnames in CENTCOM's website and see our next generation of leaders.

I understand the illegal part of illegal immigration is a problem, and unpatrolled boarders threaten security. But basically I'm with Bush: grant amnesty and just call it a guest worker program.

These ads sure put Duckworth way to the right on the issue (if right and left have any meaning any more).

I sure don't like her image here.

Footnote: Jeff over at Soap Box Chicago corrected me that it's Soap Box, not Soap Blog. So I corrected the link above. No slur intended.

Postscript:
The pictures are also posted at Bridget in the Sixth.

cross posted at Bill Baar's West Side

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The Wrong Lizard

Last April, “The Wrong Lizard,” was posted on a blog called "Thoughts of a Regular Guy."

Here’s the beginning, but I would encourage you to read the application to Illinois politics.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

The Wrong Lizard

In his science fiction spoof, So Long And Thanks For All The Fish, Douglas Adams described an alien planet as a democracy in which the people are ruled by lizards.

"The lizards rule the people, and the people hate the lizards," we are told.

The hero asks why, if it's a democracy, and if the people really hate the lizards, they don't simply vote them out of office.

It's explained to him that the people believe that, if they don't vote for a lizard, then the wrong lizard will get in.

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

= = = = =
Lizards found at the Shedd Aquarium, which probably gets state grants.

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A rainy labor day

City Democrats may be crying in their Millers this long weekend. From today's Trib...

Federal authorities investigating illegal hiring in Mayor Richard Daley's administration have subpoenaed documents from the mayor's former campaign manager relating to a Hispanic political group that has provided crucial campaign support to Daley and his allies.

Authorities subpoenaed records on the Hispanic Democratic Organization from the mayor's 2003 campaign manager, Gregory Goldner, whose Resolute Consulting company did political work for the group. Goldner worked in Daley's office under top aide Victor Reyes, HDO's chairman and a focus of the City Hall corruption investigation.

[***]

Besides managing Daley's campaign, Goldner also worked on the 2002 campaign of U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and the March primary campaign of former Cook County Board President John Stroger.

I hope this isn't a case of Fitz gone wild; because he's sure shown some poor judgement.

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Reaching for the High Life in Chicago

I'm committed to Huber beers and a strong Rhinelander guy; so I won't put a dent into Millers bottom line with the boycott Michelle Malkins calling for here.

And some clips from the Trib story that set Malkin off.

Marchers had to duck into fast-food restaurants for water when they first took to Chicago's streets in support of illegal immigrants five months ago. At the next two marches, family-owned grocery stores offered free bottled water from trucks emblazoned with their names.

This time, as demonstrators march from Chinatown to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) Batavia office this weekend, they will have Miller Brewing Co., as a sponsor. The brewer has paid more than $30,000 for a planning convention, materials and newspaper ads publicizing the event.

[***]

Mathew Romero, the company's local market development manager, said Miller felt it was important to speak out against Sensenbrenner's legislation, though his campaign was one of many the company supported.

Romero noted that company founder Frederick Miller was a German immigrant and many current executives are foreign nationals. Miller is now part of London-based SABMiller.

I hope these folks show some appreciation while demonstrating of the High Life we -legals and illegals alike- enjoy in Chicago. Prost.

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Nick Hultgren Continues to Make Wisconsin Waves

He may live in and have been indicted in Illinois, but former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson aide Nick Hurtgen is still making news in Wisconsin.

Although a watchdog group called The Media Access Project didn’t want the indicted Hurtgen to own part of a radio station chain in South Dakota, it apparently filed no objection to “Bob Romanik('s), the ex-Washington Park police chief who owned two strip clubs and served time in prison,” starting a 1000 watt radio station to cover the Metro East area.

But, maybe The Media Access Group didn’t know the details of this deal.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the station was purchased

from the Rev. Larry Rice, president of the nonprofit New Life Evangelistic Center in St. Louis, for $450,000.

But, back to Hurtgen.

Hurtgen, head of the Chicago office of Bear Stearn before resigning, was indicted for his role in a hospital approval scandal.

The pay-to-play scheme became public when the Chicago Sun-Times got a copy of a whistle-blower suit filed by officials of Naperville’s Edward Hospital.

The scandal expanded to include the approval of Wisconsin’s Mercy Health Systems’ hospital bid in Crystal Lake.

The suit said those wishing to build new hospitals were allegedly told they could receive approval from the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board if they used Bear Stearns for financing and Kiferbaum Construction as their general contractor.

Former super-lobbyist and George Ryan campaign strategist Don Udstuen introduced former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson aide Nicholas Hurtgen to Naperville’s Edward Hospital officials. Hurtgen was then investment house Bear Stearn’s Chicago head.

Jacob Kiferbaum has already pled guilty and Stuart Levine has been cooperating with federal authorities for quite a while.

Before the hospital scandal, when Wisconsin Energy was seeking an Illinois lobbyist in 1999, Nick Hurtgen asked Crystal Lake resident Don Udstuen’s advice. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that Udstuen conferred with Ryan and Ryan suggested Ron Swanson, who was hired.

You get the picture.

At any rate, more recently, he was an investor in a group, including Tommy Thompson, that was trying to purchase 6 South Dakota radio stations.

When former State Rep. Penny Pullen and I met with South Dakota State Representative Roger Hunt, we learned that radio plays a much larger role in state politics than it does in Illinois. One probably would be safe in assuming that the pending purchase is not only a business deal, but also has a political side.

The application for license transfers was object to because of Hurtgen’s 7 felony indictments. Hurtgen’s share of the purchase was 12.5%.

Hurtgen is now out and the deal is expected to go through.

For more McHenry County Blog, click here.

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Trib: Busted by Bloggers: or maybe Coburn Obama vs Byrd Stevens?

Well, the Trib gives bloggers some credit, and now we know the two Senators putting a hold on our Obama.

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Drug use, fabrication of alcohol, homosexual activity

Those were some of the charges in the arrest of the Iranian Poet Ali Akbar Saidi Sirjani .

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami visits Chicago this weekend and will be speaking to various religous leaders while here. They should speak truth to power and ask President Khatami about the questions Iranian dissidents have asked about Sirjani's death in prison.

His daughter Sayed said,

Sayeh, daughter of Iranian poet Ali Akbar Saiidi Sirjani who died in an Iranian jail 12 years ago, accused Khatami of being her father's "murderer" and asked the former president to take part in a public debate over his responsibility in the repression of the opposition in Iran.

And Iranian Woman wrote,

The US State Department has issued the visa for Khatami, and Reverend Peterson is inviting him to The Center for Global Justice and Reconciliation. Reverend Canon John L. Peterson at jpeterson@cathedral.org or (202) 537-5745

Khatami's team MURDERED Saidi Sirjani in 1994. Khatami became the president of the Islamic Republic after this Murder and the system continued killing intellectuals and WHO EVER had a secular belief.

Also the Persian Gay and Lesbian Organization on criminalization of homosexuality in Iran including some paragraphs on Sirjani's case.

Gov Blagojevich's Human Rights Commission should be standing in front of that Mosque in Streamwood asking why.

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What was Fitzgerald thinking?

The Mayor can only hope Fitzgerald is as far off mark as he was with Cheney and Rove. The prosecutor's conduct here is inexplicable. The NYTs today,

An enduring mystery of the C.I.A. leak case has been solved in recent days, but with a new twist: Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the prosecutor, knew the identity of the leaker from his very first day in the special counsel's chair, but kept the inquiry open for nearly two more years before indicting I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, on obstruction charges.

Now, the question of whether Mr. Fitzgerald properly exercised his prosecutorial discretion in continuing to pursue possible wrongdoing in the case has become the subject of rich debate on editorial pages and in legal and political circles.

Richard L. Armitage, the former deputy secretary of state, first told the authorities in October 2003 that he had been the primary source for the July 14, 2003, column by Robert D. Novak that identified Valerie Wilson as a C.I.A. operative and set off the leak investigation.

Mr. Fitzgerald's decision to prolong the inquiry once he took over as special prosecutor in December 2003 had significant political and legal consequences. The inquiry seriously embarrassed and distracted the Bush White House for nearly two years and resulted in five felony charges against Mr. Libby, even as Mr. Fitzgerald decided not to charge Mr. Armitage or anyone else with crimes related to the leak itself.

And the Washington Post yesterday: End of an AffairIt turns out that the person who exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame was not out to punish her husband.

...it now appears that the person most responsible for the end of Ms. Plame's CIA career is Mr. Wilson. Mr. Wilson chose to go public with an explosive charge, claiming -- falsely, as it turned out -- that he had debunked reports of Iraqi uranium-shopping in Niger and that his report had circulated to senior administration officials. He ought to have expected that both those officials and journalists such as Mr. Novak would ask why a retired ambassador would have been sent on such a mission and that the answer would point to his wife. He diverted responsibility from himself and his false charges by claiming that President Bush's closest aides had engaged in an illegal conspiracy. It's unfortunate that so many people took him seriously.

Unfortunate indeed that at a time of war people with knowledge of the truth wasted the Nation's time and money on this story.

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Judge Silences Scott Willis

Whenever someone is convicted, it is standard policy for letters of “gee, he’s the closest thing to an angel that I know” letters to be submitted for the judge’s consideration before sentencing.

You can bet former Governor George Ryan has plenty of them. I could even have written on based on this second-hand story of his personal concern for the health of one his addicted legislative employees.

Although most judges don’t release the letters, my guess is that the letters in support of the convicted far outnumber those who think he deserved the sentence.

Earlier this week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office made public the Rev. Scott Willis’ desired to make an oral statement during the sentencing phase of the trial next week.

Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office released this copy of Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer denied Willis’ request, saying that he could file a written statement. (Click to enlarge the image.)

During Ryan’s trial, I noticed a couple of other “leaning over backwards” in Ryan’s favor.

Besides prohibiting mention of the tragic Milwaukee accident where a truck driver with a license received because of a bribe led to many children's deaths, another stuck in my head. It was Pallmeyer’s prohibiting evidence of how Roger Stanley's and Ted Lechowicz’ pension bases were increased substantially through short-term Secretary of State jobs which paid much more than their final legislative salaries.

Most blogs will be shut down this weekend, but not McHenry County Blog. You can read why the U.S. Attorney's Office wants Ryan to serve 8-10 years right now.

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Daily Herald: Blagojevich Gets an "F"

Although the Daily Herald was given side-by-side comparisons of the Blagojevich lottery proposal and the Topinka Education Plan, Eric Krol opts to stick it to the Governor with this headline and lede:

Group flunks governor’s schools plan

By Eric Krol
Daily Herald Political Writer

Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich is fond of poking fun at his mediocre academic history, often mentioning his C in constitutional law.

But the governor might be wishing for a C after a school reform group flunked his education plan — which is centered on selling the Illinois Lottery — with two D’s, two F’s, and a B-.

Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka’s plan — which would give Chicago a casino — fared somewhat better, getting a pair of B’s, a C- and two D’s.

The grades came from non-profit group A+ Illinois, which reviewed both candidates’ proposals and spared neither from criticism Thursday.

You can read the rest of the story here.

A+ Illinois report cards on the Governor is here, Topinka's is here.

What do you think?

Are the report cards fair?

Are there other criteria you'd like to see an education plan judged by?

Is depending on local property taxes the best way to fund our schools?

What impact do you think our current education systm has on Illinois' economic future?

If you were running for Governor, what would you include in a comprehensive eduation plan?

I know that some folks have argued that the state should strip away some local control from school boards, especially when it comes to negotiating union contracts. If that's your position, I'd like to know what school district you live in and whether you've ever run for school board or campaigned for a school board candidate. If you live in Chicago, I'd like to know whether you think Mayor Daley really is accountable for the school system there, since he argued for control of the schools back in 1995, and whether this will impact your vote in the upcoming mayorl race.

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George Bush is coming to the Illinois 6th

Is the subject of an email from Tammy,

First it was Dick Cheney, then Laura Bush and now it’s George W.’s turn. That’s right, President Bush is coming to town to raise more money for Peter Roskam, because he knows he will be a rubber stamp for his failed policies if elected to Congress.

Just like Dick Cheney’s visit, President Bush’s is expected to raise big money for Roskam, possibly adding $1 million for his campaign war chest. Peter Roskam’s Washington D.C. friends have deep pockets and they are willing to give whatever it takes to keep control of the House. With your help, we can fight to change the direction this country is headed in and try to raise just as much money.

Now Maj. Duckworth needs Powerful Pelosi to visit the 6th on her behalf,

Ex-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Wednesday that the thought of California Rep. Nancy Pelosi becoming the next leader of the House and being third in line to the presidency is frightening.

"The prospect of her bringing San Francisco values and a whole attitude on foreign policy that is, I think, an attitude of weakness and appeasement and surrender, I think, would be a disaster for the country," the outspoken Republican said.

Gingrich said keeping power out of the hands of Pelosi, the House minority leader, and other Democrats is one of the reasons he was in South Carolina this week raising money for the GOP.

On Wednesday, Gingrich was at a fundraiser for Ralph Norman, the White House's chosen opponent for U.S. Rep. John Spratt, the 5th District Democrat who is Pelosi's assistant minority leader.

To suggest that "any Democrat is for appeasement is ridiculous" and "shows how desperate the Republicans are," Pelosi spokesman Brendan Daly said. "We know we have a dangerous world out there," he said, but "fear-mongering is not helpful to the situation."

The former Georgia congressman said he wakes up every day worried about national security and the potential loss of U.S. cities to nuclear attacks.

"If you think, as I do, that we're in the early stages of an emerging third world war, the world is truly dangerous on a scale that I think, in a worst case, could lead to losing several American cities to nuclear weapons in our lifetime," he said.

I don't think Gingrich is fear-mongering. It's a legit fear and a probable event. It's fair for debate for sure.

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