Understanding Chicago’s Democrat Stockholm Syndrome September 8, 2010

The psychological phenomenon of “Stockholm Syndrome” focuses on the strange tendency of a victim or captive to develop sympathetic feelings toward their captor–sometimes even enabling them as the case with publishing heiress Patty Hearst.  In 1974, Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and subsequently aided them in robbery.   Because of the complicated relationship between identity politics and victimization, I argue that despite Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley’s announcement yesterday, that he will indeed not seek re-election,  the city will not be free as many would hope but will instead elect another political captor.  Daley will be gone for good however the odds are excellent that the “Democratic Machine” politics will remain.

From the start of 2010, it was evident that “King Richard” as the mayor is dis-affectionately called,  was on a downturn.   Chicagoans learned in 2009 that they had lost their bid for the 2016 Olympics to Rio.  Even the star power of city heavy weights Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey could not help the city that boasted violent crime levels and an ousted Governor “Blago”.   Though Daley put everything from his political muscle to the stolen kitchen sink in the failed bid, he was expected like any hearty Irishman to rebound. To the contrary, he did not.  Chicago’s economy sank even lower than the morality of its politicians. Budget cuts, increased crime- 300 plus shootings in the month of July alone.  Even the highest court in our nation told Chicago that it was the weakest link concerning gun laws and the 2^nd Amendment.  Rarely had King Richard ever been so politically battered and emotionally drained.  His wife Maggie Daley has been battling breast cancer for years, his foot soldiers – the Chicago police- were being killed – one right in front of the station with his own gun.  Daley had lost a good deal in the way of respect from his supporters when he told a journalist ‘If I Put This [gun] Up Your Butt, You’ll Find Out How Effective It Is’…  Yes it was definitely time for King Richard to step down from the sludge covered Chicago throne.

From this story in the Chicago Tribune:

Daley won’t run for record seventh election to be mayor

By Bob Secter
September 7, 2010

Richard M. Daley’s 21-year run as mayor will end next spring with the city broadly reshaped by his vision and unprecedented grip on power, but with his image as Chicago’s sure-handed leader increasingly challenged.

He stepped off the political stage in stunning fashion Tuesday, with the city in a time of great transition, years of recession taking its toll on his reputation as a shrewd manager, and money running out to keep Chicago moving forward.

The two Daleys. Left - Mayor Richard J. Daley who served from 1955 until his death in 1976. (Right) His son and current Chicago Mayor, Richard M. Daley who has been in office since 1989.

His rule was defined by bold strokes and secretiveness, traits that brought him his greatest successes but gradually undermined his effectiveness.

Daley leaves a legacy of broad accomplishments, such as Millennium Park and neighborhood revitalization. Other initiatives remain incomplete, such as the ongoing efforts to improve Chicago public schools and expand O’Hare International Airport.

Daley often spoke of how his passion for leading the city remained strong, so his decision to pull the plug led to questions about his underlying motivation.

Was it the fragile health of his wife, Maggie, who has been battling cancer for years? Was it the looming $600 million city budget deficit that could make running the city in the short term about as enjoyable as a root canal? Or was it the increasing un-restiveness of a once docile City Council emboldened by public outrage over the parking meter deal and other administration missteps?

Or, perhaps, it was the realization that his city may be suffering from Daley fatigue. He was elected to his sixth term in 2007 with 70 percent of the vote, yet a Tribune/WGN-TV poll in July found that just 31 percent of city voters said they wanted him elected to a seventh term while 53 percent said they did not.

For his part, Daley on Tuesday said the answer was none of the above, though he revealed very little about his thought process as he insisted he has been thinking about retiring for the last six months. He said he became increasingly comfortable with the idea in the last couple of weeks.

“It’s time, everybody is replaceable in life, no one is here forever,” Daley told reporters at a reception at the Chicago Cultural Center. “I knew it was my time. I was not afraid of any election … I don’t work on an election, I work on what to accomplish as an incumbent and I’ve done that for years.

“You know like anything else, it’s time, it’s personal, there wasn’t one reason at all and it’s hard for people to understand that and this was the best kept secret in Chicago.”

For all his longevity, the younger Daley remains a sometimes baffling study in contrasts — different in so many ways from his powerful father, Richard J. Daley, yet a chip off the old block in others.

To many, he has been the model of a progressive big city mayor, straddling the need for economic development with community inclusiveness in a diverse city. Yet others see him as a well-intentioned but sometimes inflexible autocrat who for most of his time in office ruled almost by fiat rather than consensus.

When he leaves office next spring, Daley’s tenure will surpass by several months that of his father, whose legacy as the last of the old-fashioned, iron-willed political bosses still hovers over the city…

As a side note, including the tenure of King Richard’s father, Mayor Richard J. Daley do you realize that that is 42 years of Daleys???? The article above, speaks of the Daley clan in romantic terms.  Chicago’s love affair with iron willed politics.  Have you ever seen this clip from the movie The Untouchables?

Sure you have.  Who hasn’t?  It was rather shocking for me to see that scene as a teenager in the Village Movie Theater.  My quarrel was not so much with why would someone kill someone in broad daylight view of his “colleagues” but rather, why would anyone continue to avow loyalty to a “team” in which its players could be clobbered to death without so much as a warning or hint from fellow players- particularly the captain.

They tell us that life imitates art…So tell me how different is the art of Chicago corruption in The Untouchables from this slice of real life depicting Mayor Richard M. Daley speaking to his teammates in a Chicago City Council meeting.

Courage? Principles?  Ha!!! Talk about the Divine Comedy or  Waiting for Godot!  In Chicago life does not imitate art. It mocks and shoots it in the head at point blank range then kicks it for good measure before keeping its mouth shut with duct tape. Take a close look at the woman to Daley’s right.  She is most likely hoping there is not a baseball bat under that table. And liberals say that 12 years of Bush was bad…Why would constituents continue to vote for someone that threatens them whenever he does not get his way? If you do not vote my way, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will not pick up your constituents. They can get on a garbage truck. Okay…

Let’s be honest here.  Chicago politics is not just about the Daley dynasty. It is also about the dynasty of corruption and its citizens undying loyalty to Democrats.  Chicagoans have always distrusted the Democratic run political machine- can’t you tell?

Yes Mayor Daley is stepping down but the liberal delusion is still up and running.  Looking at the above evidence,  everyone should recognize that there never has been and obviously for whatever insane reasons cannot be any conservative in the mayor’s seat.  The voters will not take the perceived political risk- which is what exactly?   What could go so wrong if they do elect Republicans in a city that does nothing but pizza and hot dogs right?

Really, what is the worst that could happen if conservatives ruled in the city of liberals with no spine and big shoulders?  Maybe just maybe the sales tax of 9.75 %  will go down even further than the measly half cent, the Democrats rolled it back from 10.25%.  Maybe someone will actually help our failing public schools or allow more vouchers.  Maybe the citizens will have their gun rights restored so they can protect themselves from the criminals who do not seem to care about the gun laws.

Rarely has a Democrat in Chicago been successful at dealing with any of the aforementioned issues.  Not Daley I or II.  Not Governor Blagojevich. He was a better impeached governor and an especially inspirational figure in reality television.

Cartoon by Michael Ramirez

Not Jesse Jackson.  Not Arne Duncan.  Not Valerie Jarret.  In several cases,  these Democrats are the problem .  Jarrett is a slum lord and Duncan did nothing for the Chicago Public School system.  Which brings me to the biggest most ineffective Chicago Democrat- President Barack Obama.  He is the most seriously unqualified liberal of them all.  His record on fighting crime, poverty or corruption in Chicago— ZERO.

In reaction to Obama’s lackluster record in Chicago, I rewarded him by NOT giving him my vote during the 2008 presidential election.   Understand that my behavior was normal. Most Chicagoan failed their fellow Americans by not demonstrating the truth about Obama. If someone captures me and makes me suffer under their ineffective political regime, I do not vote for them in future elections- regardless of political party.  Some- those with political Stockholm Syndrome,  will forgive such local blunders as high taxes, high crime.  I do not.  I did not do it for Mitt Romney when he was my governor in Massachusetts nor did I do it for George W. Bush when he was my governor in Texas.  Neither man has nor ever will receive my vote for the United States Presidency.  This voting approach may be bottom up but it also applies to top down election decisions.

The burden of political responsibility lies with us all.  It is not just about what the politicians do.  It is about what we do in the voting booth.  Invariably, politicians play a crucial role in shaping our sociological destiny. Corruption, lost hope and lives are all ailments that have not changed much historically in Chicago- unless that change involves the problems growing worse with time.  I should know- I am a native.   You cannot have real hope or change without the determination to change the system. In Chicago there is an absence of that determination.  The slave is free but where do they go? they know nothing else. Yesterday’s Blago is today’s Rahm-bo.

That’s not change.  That’s just stupid.

There are Chicagoans who will rejoice at Mayor Richard’s recent announcement  in the blood covered streets but the shocking truth remains that their next mayor will be a Democrat and no better than the person who held them captive for nearly twenty-two years.

The jail door is locked tight and the key buried far beneath the earth in a place called hope.

Chicago students held an anti-violence rally in the Loop March 31, 2008 . Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and then Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich joined the rally which was held to draw attention to the 21 students murdered in the city during the year

Autographed Letter Signed,

AFROCITY

Supreme Court May Give Blago Get Out of Jail Free Card November 30, 2009

The entire universe is pretty much aware that when it comes to Chicago, there is a distance between political reason and justice. This morning after awaking from a wonderful relaxing Obama free holiday weekend, I open the Chicago Tribune to find this story about former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich:

Anti-corruption law: Supreme Court decision could derail ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s trial

Justices are asked to scale back or strike down prosecutors’ key tool for public corruption cases

November 30, 2009

By David G. Savage

Tribune Newspapers

WASHINGTON — The nation’s most potent law against public corruption could be in danger of being scaled back or struck down by the Supreme Court, threatening a series of high-profile cases, including those of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Washington lobbyists who worked for Jack Abramoff and several jailed corporate chiefs.At issue in court arguments in early December is a ban on “honest-services fraud,” often used against public officials who accept money, free tickets or well-paying jobs for their spouses and children in cases where bribery cannot be proved.”In Chicago, this was our go-to statute. Every major public corruption case in the last 10 years relied heavily on an honest-services charge,” said Patrick Collins, formerly a top anti-corruption prosecutor for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago. These cases include the conviction of former Gov. George Ryan.The trial of Blagojevich is set to begin in June, but Collins said it could be derailed by a high court decision. “If the court were to gut the statute, the prosecution would have to think long and hard about how to restructure the case. (Honest-services fraud) is the core operating theory of the case,” he said.In Washington, anti-corruption activists fear the court’s ruling could take away from prosecutors their best tool for combating the culture of gift giving and cozy deals between lobbyists and members of Congress and their staffs.”It would undercut public corruption cases across the board,” if the court struck down the law against honest-services fraud, said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Opponents say honest-services fraud is vague and ill-defined. It fails to spell out, for example, the point when a friendship turns into a criminal scheme. Julian Solotorovsky, another former federal prosecutor in Chicago, said the court should strike down the law and force Congress to spell out what is a crime. “There is no vaguer statute on the books than this one,” he said. “I’m surprised it’s taken 21 years to get this before the Supreme Court.”

In New York, the former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno is on trial in an honest-services fraud case for allegedly obtaining $3.2 million in private consulting fees from clients who had business before the legislature. His fate is before the jury.

Last month, a jury in Washington was told Abramoff’s lobbying operation spent more than $5 million between 2000 and 2005 doling out free tickets to sporting events and concerts for members of Congress and their staffs. But the jury could not reach a verdict on a series of honest-services fraud charges against Kevin Ring, a former congressional staffer who worked for Abramoff. The judge put off a retrial until the Supreme Court rules on the law.

In recent decades the Supreme Court has made prosecuting public officials more difficult.

 

 

 

My reaction to this story while seemingly defeatist, should be understandable when one takes into consideration where I live. Blago will get off free as a bird. If corrupt Illinois politicians actually went to and stayed in jail, would we really have corrupt Illinois politicians???

 

Todd Stroger (D-IL) Cook County Borad President and the reason for 10.25% sales tax in Chicago. The highest in the nation.

I have a very clear idea that Illinois is a lost cause. The citizens of the “Land of Lincoln” will continue to elect corrupt Democratic politicians such as Blago, Daley, Todd “sales tax 10.25%” Stroger, and others I will not mention. Despite Stroger’s veto of the tax roll back, he remains on the Democratic primary ballot for Cook County Board President. His challenger Cook County Clerk, Dorothy Brown, withdrew from the race after withdrawing her challenge to signatures on Stroger’s nominating petitions. Interestingly, the only “corrupt” Illinois politician that has remained in jail is former Gov. George Ryan who is a Republican. Gee, I wonder what that is all about?

 

Autographed Letter Signed,

AFROCITY

 

 

 

 

Chicago may be picture perfect but Not A Sissy Town… November 16, 2009

Nothing to say. Just disappointment at the stories  I have to share:

(All from the Chicago Tribune)

1. Gitmo Detainees in Illinois:

U.S. prison officials to tour Thomson today

November 16, 2009 5:58 AM |

A delegation from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is scheduled to tour and inspect the Thomson Correctional Center today as part of a White House proposal to buy the facility and use it to house some terror suspects now detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, officials said Sunday morning.

Speaking Sunday at news conferences in Moline and Chicago, Gov. Pat Quinn called the Obama Administration’s interest in the prison near the Mississippi River a “great, great opportunity for our state.”

Housing the detainees here would be “good for our state, good for our economy and good for our public safety,” the governor said.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who also spoke, estimated that using Thomson to hold terror suspects would generate more than 2,000 local jobs directly related to the facility and an additional 1,000 in the surrounding community.

“People are struggling to keep their homes. … They’re getting desperate. With the recession and the loss of jobs, they’re not sure which way to turn,” Durbin said. “Now they’ve got a chance, a fighting chance.”

Republicans on Saturday warned of the security risks posed by housing terror suspects in Illinois.

“As home to America’s tallest building, we should not invite Al Qaeda to make Illinois its number one target,” said Senate candidate and current U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk in a letter circulated Saturday.

Republican U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo, whose district includes Thomson, was among several members of Illinois’ congressional delegation to sign the letter.

Durbin said Sunday he was confident the detainees would not be a threat.

The saga of violence continues:

Mayhem erupts throughout city after appeal to end violence

November 15, 2009

After community activists pleaded earlier for a day without killing, violence erupted throughout the city after the stroke of midnight on Saturday, leaving at least two people dead and several injured.

At about 12:06 a.m., Frederick Evans, 20, of the 6800 block of South Ada Street was found shot to death in an alley in the 500 block of West 58th Street. He was shot in his back and chest.

Witnesses told police Evans was involved in a dice game shortly before midnight, according to Chicago Police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor. Evans was seen being chased by a unknown person who opened fire, Taylor said. He ran to an alley to take cover before collapsing.

A handgun was recovered from the scene, Taylor said.

Minutes after Evans’ shooting, a 32-year-old man was shot at about 12:13 a.m. on Chicago’s West Side in the Lawndale neighborhood.  Police said he was shot after he watched a fight in the 3900 block of West Ogden Avenue. He suffered wounds to his leg and thigh, police said.

At about 2 a.m., Howard Hodges, of Park Forest, was shot and struck by a car near a lounge in the Chatham neighborhood. Hodges, 34, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Another man also was shot in front of the lounge located in the 8300 block of South Vincennes Avenue, but he was taken to St. Bernard Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said he suffered a wound to his shoulder.

Later, two other people were stabbed in the Englewood neighborhood at about 3:15 a.m. in the 6600 block of South Carpenter Street, and three people were shot in the Brighton Park neighborhood at about 5 a.m. near 47th Street and Homan Avenue, police said.

Several community activist groups and teens met throughout the city Saturday to discuss ways to end the violence in Chicago neighborhoods.

And finally…If the head of the Chicago Public School’s Board of Education commits suicide what hope is left for the actual kids who attend Chicago Public Schools? You know..the folks who see the violence on the daily basis.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Chicago Public School board chairman Michael Scott’s death ruled suicide

November 16, 2009

BY MAUREEN O’DONNELL, ROSEMARY SOBOL, FRAN SPIELMAN AND FRANK MAIN Staff Reporters

The death of Chicago School Board President Michael Scott was ruled a suicide this afternoon by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. He died of a gunshot wound to the head, officials said.

When police found his body early this morning, Scott was face down in a foot of water along the Chicago River downtown, a .380-caliber handgun under his body, a source said…

The 60-year-old Scott, Mayor Daley’s go-to-guy for years, had a gunshot wound to his left temple.

He left behind his cell phone on a ledge overlooking the river on the west side of the Apparel Center, 350 N. Orleans.

But he left no note, a source said.

Scott, who was reported missing by his family Sunday, night had apparently plunged about 15 feet from the ledge into the shallow water. His car — a blue Cadillac — was found about 30 feet from his body, a source said.

Police found the body at 3:15 a.m. It was taken to the department’s Marine Unit headquarters and then transported to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

As details continued to emerge about the stunning death of the head of Chicago’s school board, family, friends, colleagues expressed their sadness.

An ashen Daley said he saw no indication that his close friend was troubled, saying Scott’s death “is a shock for everyone.”

“No, no. None whatsoever,” Daley said when asked if he sensed Scott was struggling with personal issues. “Mike was always helping people with troubles.”…

A stunned Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up at the scene Monday morning after hearing about Scott’s death on the news. He said he spoke with him last week — and Scott sounded normal to him.

“Everyone thought Michael was their guy,” Jackson said. “People are so very sad. .. . The suddenness of it all — midday has become midnight. The sun has been eclipsed.”

Jackson described Scott as someone equally comfortable working with Chicago’s poorest children or sitting courtside at a Bulls game.

“That’s why I think the mayor leaned on Michael the most,” Jackson said.

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the former CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, issued a statement saying he was “shocked and saddened.”

 

 

Chicago: A Literal Sea of Sex Drugs and Corruption July 14, 2009

Just when you thought it was safer for the environment to drink tap water.

Chicago Tribune

Chicago water: In public reports, city silent over sex hormones and painkillers found in treated drinking water

Pharmaceutical chemicals aren’t on list of substances in water that require public notice

By Michael Hawthorne

July 14, 2009

Annual water quality reports mailed to Chicagoans this month didn’t say a word about sex hormones, painkillers or anti-cholesterol drugs, even though city officials found traces of pharmaceuticals and other unregulated substances in treated Lake Michigan water during the past year.

Like other cities, Chicago must notify the public if its drinking water contains certain regulated contaminants, including lead, pesticides and harmful bacteria.

But pharmaceutical chemicals, which have been detected in drinking water across the country, are not on that list. So Mayor Richard Daley is technically correct in stating that the “pure, fresh drinking water” pumped to 7 million people in Chicago and the suburbs “meets or exceeds all regulatory standards.”

Chicago officials didn’t start conducting their own tests until last year, after a Tribune investigation found small amounts of pharmaceuticals and other unregulated chemicals in samples of the city’s tap water.

The city collected samples of treated Lake Michigan water four times in 2008. According to results posted on the city’s Web site, the tests found small amounts of the sex hormones testosterone and progesterone; gemfibrozil, a prescription cholesterol-fighting drug; ibuprofen, an over-the-counter painkiller, and DEET, the active ingredient in bug spray.

The tests also found caffeine, nicotine and cotinine, a nicotine byproduct, all of which researchers consider to be indicators of pharmaceuticals from human waste.

Drugs end up in drinking water after people take medications and some of the residue passes through their bodies down the toilet. Conventional sewage and water treatment filters out some of the substances, or at least reduces the concentrations, but multiple studies have found that small amounts still get through.

Although treated sewage from the Chicago area drains away from Lake Michigan, more than 300 other cities put treated waste and untreated sewage overflows into the lake and its tributaries, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Chicago’s tests found tiny amounts of the antidepressant Prozac and sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic, in untreated water collected from Lake Michigan intake cribs. But those prescription drugs weren’t found in treated water. Nor were most of the 71 other unregulated compounds the city screened for.

This report makes me livid. Recently I posted on the varieties “sin tax”  within our country and cited Chicago as a city that engages in using sin taxes to pad liberal politicians pockets by charging 5 cents per bottle of drinking water.  The reasoning behind this is that the disposable water bottles are bad for our environment.  Indeed those three bottles of Ice Mountain spring water that I consume  and discard in the trash everyday could be ruining our environment but I think I will continue to pay for my sins and skip the Chicago tap.

While  I am aware that studies have shown that bottled water is really no cleaner than tap water, it just looks and tastes better which makes me feel better about drinking it.  It is not surprising that Mayor Daley (D-Chicago) lied about the purity of his city’s water source. I  personally will never believe anything that comes from the lips of politicians in Illinois. As I was reading the comments to the article above, two astute readers had the following to say:

“This is related to the new Democrat universal health plan. Cut the purchases of of prescription drugs by just drinking a glass of water.”

“Maybe all these drugs in the drinking water explains why Chicagoans continue to re-elect Daley, Stroger, and the rest of the left-wingers!!”

The Strogers, like the Daleys  are an old school Chicago Democratic political family (machine).

According to Wiki, Todd Stroger:

Todd H Stroger (born January 14, 1963) is the current Cook County, Board president and former alderman for the 8th Ward in Chicago. Stroger is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2001, he was appointed to the Chicago City Council by Richard M. Daley. He is the son of the late John Stroger who served as Cook County Board president for 12 years.

Todd Stroger was the glorious architect behind Chicago’s tax increase to 10.25%.

Todd Stroger is also in the midst of a nepotism scandal for hiring his cousin Donna Dunnings as Cook County CFO.

Wiki:

Stroger has also drawn fire for perceived nepotism, such as hiring Donna Dunnings (Stroger’s cousin) as the County’s chief financial officer. Dunnings and Stroger received additional criticism when she received a $17,000 raise after she initially agreed to not accept a pay hike (in an attempt to help county finances). Dunnings stated that critics could have blocked the pay raise by submitting an amendment to the proposed budget “if they were so concerned about the salary of the first African-American female CFO”.^[6] Dunnings was forced to resign her position after the press reported that she bailed out Tony Cole from jail. Tony Cole was a former Georgia basketball player and busboy who was hired by Todd Stroger to a $60,000/year Cook County position despite having an extensive felony record.

Photo and caption from Chicago Tribune: photo by Chuck Berman / July 12, 2009) Stephanie Jackson (center) of Posen cannot find the headstone for her 4-year-old daughter, Charrhonda Tisdale Ford, who was buried in 2001 in Burr Oak Cemetery

As you can see after an enviable rise to power, Barack Obama washed his hands of Chicago political dirt only to have it recycled by his strongest supporters. Daley, Blago, Stroger. Now with the Burr Oaks Cemetery corruption scandal involving four employees who dug up the remains of hundreds in order to resell burial plots to unsuspecting mourners, Stroger is proposing that Chicagoan must pay more taxes due to the corrupt actions of others.

Chicago Breaking News.com

Stroger warns about cost of probing Burr Oak

July 13, 2009

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger warned today about the mounting costs of investigating Burr Oak Cemetery as he ordered stepped up inspections at 28 other cemeteries in unincorporated areas.

Chicago Tribune:Tribune photo by Chuck Berman / July 12, 2009) Vera Tucker of Alsip holds a funeral program from her daughter Shawaun's funeral in 1985. Tucker said the grave site was one of the ones disturbed at Burr Oak Cemetery

Sheriff Tom Dart expects the cost of overtime pay alone to reach $200,000, Stroger said. County workers helping with crime-scene logistics under the Emergency Management Department also is racking up overtime, he said.

“It’s going to be very expensive,” Stroger said. “And this is why we pay taxes–so we can do things like this. . . . This is such a massive undertaking, the sheriff may even have to ask for some additional resources, and I don’t know where that’s going to come from.”

Take a look at this shocking video clip of angry loved ones demanding answers from Burr Oak Cemetery.

For the sake of these victimized people, Cook County should investigate the Burr Oak Cemetery inciden However Stroger is wrong for using the someone else’s grief as an excuse to raise taxes on the good folks of Cook County.  Stroger asks where are the additional resources coming from.  From the looks of it, the resources are not going to come from Todd Stroger.

Another Democrat Tax Cheat

Autographed Letter Signed,

Afrocity

Chicago: The Liberal Shop of Horrors July 10, 2009

Every American city creates history in ways that reflect its citizens and character.  Los Angeles has its mega stars and scandals such as  the OJ Simpson trials, the Manson family murders, the riots of 1992. Boston is a huge sports and university town and focuses on its historic schools and teams such as Harvard, the Red Sox and Celtics, they also have the Kennedys.

The new Chicago Sears Tower "unobstructed view boxes" from the 103rd floor. One of the safer things to get yourself into in Chicago.

Then we have Chicago, a very special city that seems to harden more everyday right before the nation’s eyes.

Despite producing our first African American president, the citizens of Chicago are somehow stubbornly resistant to the change that President Barack Obama was seeking.

Since Obama’s election, Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) was impeached for attempting to sell Obama’s senate seat, the murder rate has doubled, the retail sales tax has risen to 10.25%, hundreds of city jobs have been cut by Mayor Daley, and political scandal after scandal has rocked the news.  There is no doubt that Chicago has been in the media more than any other city this year.

New York is beginning to get jealous of its cousin the slightly less popular  “second city” who is managing to steal the media spotlight by being the troubled wild child”.  The phrase “The Chicago Way” is  uttered from the lips of Americans hailing from small Southern towns  to Alaskan igloos. All bestowing Chicago and its “way” with an unfortunately credible urban legend of political corruption and crime.

After everything we have seen and heard this year, what else could possibly go wrong in the slumlord millionaire, loyally Democrat voting “City of Big Shoulders” ? A city that surprisingly, is still in the running to host the Olympics in 2016–talk about “hit and run”. Will pay to play and drive by shootings become a new Olympic sport?

Yesterday, just when you thought it was safe to take Chicago off your Twitter updates, a new scandal arose from the grave which literally transformed Chicago into a liberal shop of horrors

Now in Chicago not only do the dead vote often, they are also making money for other people.

Robbers strip 300 graves at historic black Chicago cemetery

By Mira Oberman

CHICAGO (AFP) — Grave robbers stripped at least 300 plots at a historic black cemetery outside Chicago, dumped many of the bodies and then resold the plots for a profit, officials said Thursday.

The years-long scheme was carried out by the cemetery’s manager and three gravediggers who sold the “used” graves so they could pocket the fees rather than pass them along to the Arizona-based owners.

“This was not done in a very delicate way,” Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart said at a press conference.

“They would excavate a grave, excavate the entire site and then they would proceed to dump the remains wherever they found a place to do it in the back of the cemetery.”

They would also sometimes leave the remains in the grave and “pound them down and put someone else on top,” Dart said.

It will likely take months before authorities can identify all of the bodies and restore the gravesites, Dart said, adding that efforts will be complicated by the fact that the cemetery’s records were destroyed and altered.

“We don’t know what else to tell the people, but we are horrifically sorry they have been subjected to this,” Dart said.

“We are working on making this right.”

The scheme came to light when Burr Oak Cemetery’s Arizona-based owners contacted the sheriff’s department after discovering a large discrepancy in the cemetery’s finances.

Burr Oak is one of Chicago’s oldest predominantly African-American cemeteries and is home to a number of historic figures, including Emmett Till, whose 1955 murder galvanized the civil rights movement.

Blues legend Dinah Washington and boxing champ Ezzard Charles are also buried at Burr Oak.

The gravesites that were stripped and then resold were very old and appeared not to have regular visitors, officials said.

Scores of distraught family members flooded the cemetery to check on the graves of their loved ones and try to find answers.

“There should be a special place in hell for these graveyard thieves who have done so much to hurt these families,” civil rights leader Reverend Jesse Jackson said at the afternoon press conference.

The cemetery’s manager, Caroyln Towns, is also accused of pocketing cash from a fund she set up to build a memorial museum for Till.

Towns and grave diggers Keith Nicks, Terrence Nicks and Maurice Daily were charged with dismembering a human body.

“This crime is a whole new dimension that shows us what lengths people would go through for financial gain,” said Cook County prosecutor Anita Alvarez.

Olympics 2016, are you kidding me?

You know that some politician somewhere, somehow knew about this.

Chicago as a voting block is solidly in the Democrats camp. They need to change this. There needs to be a higher level of demand in the city for accountability and honest political dealings. Do the residents expect this? Do they care?  It is difficult to tell when they continue to vote for Democrats like zombies.

How ironic that the city that thrust the changeling Obama into the presidency with all his promises of a new and better life, higher standards of living for all but the rich and conservative, seems somehow immune to the hopium pipes they were smoking.  Crickets from Barack Obama on the problematic and troubling accounts that seem to pile up from his former home base like dead bodies.

Autographed Letter Signed,

AFROCITY

Chicago “Crook County” School Official House Raided July 2, 2009

You know, it gets to the point where there really is no reason for me to turn on Chicago news anymore.

Everyday a child is murdered. Every weekend at least 6 people are slain by gunfire and everyday some Democratic  politician is arrested.

Chicago please vote out the Democrats. This is the bottom feeding cesspool that our top Washington officials are from. How can you tell me that they are clean?

Investigators raid home, office of Cook County regional schools superintendent

State audit had found fiscal problems in office run by Supt. Charles Flowers

By Stephanie Banchero |Tribune reporter

July 2, 2009

Investigators raided the home and office of the Cook County regional schools superintendent Wednesday, carting out laptop computers, cell phones and boxes of files, sources said.

Officials with the Cook County state’s attorney’s office confirmed that they have launched a criminal investigation into Supt. Charles Flowers‘ office. The Westchester office handles teacher certification and safety inspections for suburban Cook County schools.

The investigation comes after a scathing state audit that found Flowers’ office was nearly $1 million in debt after, among other irregularities, he made personal charges on an office credit card and gave a $6,000 advance to a relative he hired to work for him.

The office was in such disarray that county commissioners lent it $190,000 last year to make ends meet. It has not been repaid.

Flowers, who was elected in 2006, could not be reached for comment.

Commissioners are expected to vote Thursday on a resolution that demands his resignation and asks state lawmakers to abolish the office and transfer its duties to the state board of education.

“The authorities are doing the right thing,” said Commissioner Elizabeth Gorman (R-Orland Park). “This office, under Flowers, has been of service to nobody but themselves. He ran that office like he won the lottery — and it was at taxpayers’ expense.”

A bill was introduced in Springfield last week by a Republican state lawmaker that would abolish the Cook County regional office.

Last month, the state auditor general released a 75-page report that detailed 12 findings of financial mismanagement.