CTA Tattler

Seen and heard on the Chicago Transit Authority

From second city cop

Crap Reporting - Again

The headline reads "Wrongly Accused"

The subtitle says "Think Illegals are More Likely to be Involved in Crime? Think Again"

The opening paragraphs:

• Some say undocumented immigrants -- illegal aliens, as they're often called -- spread crime when they come to the U.S. Others say that is a myth.

  Reliable statistics on crime by undocumented immigrants are hard to come by. But the Chicago Sun-Times has learned that less than 4 percent of the adults in Illinois prisons have been identified as illegal immigrants. And as of mid-July, less than 3 percent of the inmates in Cook County Jail were illegals.

  Those incarceration figures nearly mirror the undocumented immigrant population.

Damn. We guess we've been wrong about illegals committing crime. We better open up the borders first thing tomorrow, disband the border patrol, and strew the paths into this country with rose petals to welcome in our new law abiding neighbors.

Then we read the rest of the article:

• Those numbers are, as of now, the best snapshot available.

  But they could be incomplete.

  That's because the figures are based on "detainer warrants" -- and not every illegal immigrant in jail or prison has one. What's more, immigrants tend to under-report crime in their communities out of fear of the police, Weitzer said.

  The Cook County Jail figures also could be misleading, since not everyone in custody can be considered a criminal -- some have been charged with crimes but not convicted.

So the writer is admitting that his entire premise for writing the article could be bullshit? Why have that title and subtitle up top then hinting at how wrong all of the conservative racist xenophobes have been in demanding a secure border before we allow legal and documented immigrants to enter the country?

One would think the media had an agenda.

16% of Chicago Aldermen Can’t Read a Calendar or Use a Computer

An analysis by the BGA found that eight Chicago aldermen have failed to comply with Illinois law by filing their campaign statements late, not at all, or on paper. Illinois has virtually no rules on campaign finance except requiring disclosure of campaign contributions. Apparently, for some aldermen even Illinois' minimal requirements were too much to comply with in a timely fashion.

• Read the news release
• See Alderman Reilly's campaign report, which despite regulations, was filed on paper (PDF - 4.15 MB)
• Printer-friendly PDF version of BGA news release

Alderman Track

A nice little web site

http://aldertrack.typepad.com/aldertrack2/


Be sure to click on your neighborhood in right tab to see whats going on

Security Guards Busted

From ChicagoClout

Chicago Department of Water Management Honor-Guard Busted

For quite some time, the Department of Water Management has used a lousy choice for Security Guards to protect the Drinking water of Chicagoland. Chicago choose a company that is not even located in Chicago. I know the Chicago Inspector General was aware of this company because I reported them as just another form of "Hired Trucks". If you read the contract they promise some top guards, but the workers on site were never on certain posts. The "officers" guarding the entrance of the 3901 S. Ashland post was never in the post because, "there is no heat".
The two ladies would chat in the front entryway all night. The guard in the back would watch t.v. all night and had nothing to do except guard a pile of dirt at the transfer station. These guards are paid about $10.00 - $10.50 per hour and they do not receive any health and welfare benefits. In the contract with the city Honor-Guard promised benefits and health employees with a military background. They also subcontracted to two "Minority" subcontractors to have a minority presence. The guard at 39th and Iron, in the middle of the street was doing nothing for months and nobody in management noticed? I say fire more of the management. Excellent job Sun-times and star journalist Fran Spielman. According to the story, Jan Pestka actually did a good job? Also the guards never received paid training according to two of the guards. Read story below. Photo by Patrick McDonough

Corruption

If you are interested in contracts for the city of Chicago you can go to the city's web site and look up the contracts and payouts. Click on the link below and select either agency. Select payments and then type in the service you would like to explore ( security)

Remember some of the companies who do business with the city also use sub contractors who are listed on a disclosure given to the city. Take a close look who the behind scene subcontractors are.

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/vcsearch/home.do

AARGUS SECURITY SYSTEMS, INC. ABLOY SECURITY $95,500.00 ALL AROUND SECURITY & DET. INC $737,577.47 ALL PHASE VIDEO SECURITY INC $1,552.00 S024779 AMERICAN SECURITY TRAINING INS $239,080.17 C015217 AMERICAN SECURITY TRNG INST. C015557 $50,200.11 $50,134.00 $58,822.00 $101,346.00 $81,764.80 $108,605.40 C017365 C018976 D6952930007 D7952930005 D8952930086 ANDY FRAIN SECURITY SERVICE $4,434,007.53 T4990460401 AVIATION SECURITY CLEARINGHSE $1,473,875.00 4500 CHICAGO'S FINEST SECURITY INC T25255 $17,105,417.98 DIGBY'S DETECTIVE & SECURITY AGT INC E010759 $7,978.00 E011232 $8,750.00 E011255 $9,945.00 T24839 $562,998.87 T25085 $355,119.05 T26078 $21,109,033.54 T28035 $8,553.13 n

More Corruption?

From Chicago Clout

Well Written Chicago Sun-Times, Hired Trucks and Chicago Corruption

When are we going to start reviewing the contracts for Unarmed Security Guards? Or the portable dumpsters, or the lease contracts? So much corruption, clout, and crime in Chicago, Mayor Daley. I give Daley and his hoodlums credit, they protect their master. Make sure you click below as Fran Spielman and Tim Novak continue to scratch the surface of Daley's corrupt empire. I have a feeling more missing taxpayer's loot will show up soon. Patrick McDonough.

Red Light Camera info

Here is a data base of redlight cameras

http://www.photoenforced.com/

Speed Trap Exchange

Here is a site which lists all the known speed traps around the county.


Speed Trap Exchange.

Mayor proposes record property tax increase

October 10, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

Mayor Daley today asked the City Council to raise property taxes by a record $108 million to finance library maintenance and construction, but only if the Illinois General Assembly extends the 7 percent cap on property assessments.

If the state doesn’t act, Daley told aldermen, the City Council will have to find other ways to balance a 2008 city budget amid rising personnel costs and declining revenues tied to the housing slump.

To appease aldermen, Daley dropped plans to double the city’s gasoline tax, from a nickel a gallon to a dime, and also nixed plans to double the city’s tax on restaurant meals, from .25 percent to .50 percent.

But other taxes would see increases, raising the overall burden on city taxpayers.

“We have a choice: Do we maintain city services and make the investments needed to keep Chicago moving forward, or do we cut services, make substantial layoffs and and risk falling behind?” Daley said. “I believe we have only one choice

Cops to kill elite SOS unit

October 9, 2007

BY FRANK MAIN AND ANNIE SWEENEY Staff Reporters

The Chicago Police Department will disband its Special Operations Section, which is at the center of a corruption case involving seven officers facing criminal charges, a source said today.

The change could come as early as this afternoon, the source said. The unit — whose officers have citywide jurisdiction to target narcotics and gun crimes — includes the Hostage-Barricade-Terrorist Incident team.

One SOS member, Officer Jerome Finnigan, is accused of being the ringleader of a group of rogue SOS cops who allegedly conducted home invasions, kidnappings and robberies since 2002. The seven officers were arrested last year and face state corruption charges.

» Click to enlarge image

Police Officer Jerome Finnigan is accused of being the ringleader of a group of rogue SOS cops.
(AP file)

RELATED STORIES

• Bond cut for cop who aided probe

One SOS supervisor welcomed the move.

“Change us, disband us, do something,” said the supervisor, who refused to be quoted by name. “It’s getting harder and harder for guys to do good police work.”

“I’ve been in the unit for a long time,” the supervisor said. “There are still a lot of good people there. I’m tired of saying that’s where I work.”

The supervisor acknowledged Finnigan and his co-defendants have tarnished the once-elite unit.

“These are only a few bad apples [but] they’re very bad apples,” the supervisor said.

Finnigan, 44, was charged in federal court last month with trying to hire someone to kill a former cop cooperating with the government as a witness against him in the state corruption case.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported Sunday that Finnigan is No. 3 in the department in the number of complaints of misconduct — 52 — filed against him between 2001 and 2005.

He’s on a list of 662 officers with 10 or more complaints over that period. The city has been trying to keep the list secret, citing concerns about privacy and other issues.

Boston University professor Tom Nolan told the Sun-Times the department should consider disbanding SOS to send a message to the public that such conduct is not tolerated.

Interim Police Supt. Dana Starks has been holding weekly meetings with top staff to study potential problems posed by officers with repeated complaints.

Report: 3 Chicago cops get desk duty after video

Updated: 4:14 a.m. CT Oct 7, 2007

CHICAGO - Three police officers in a troubled unit have been assigned to desk duty after questions arose about the accuracy of a police report on a March 2004 drug arrest, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Officers claimed Raymundo Martinez was arrested outside a bar after they found drugs on him, but a surveillance video showed about 30 officers searching patrons and arresting him inside the bar, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The officers have been assigned to desk work, Chicago police spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

The 2004 bar search involved an elite police unit now under state and federal investigation. Seven members of the same unit already face state charges, including armed robbery and aggravated kidnapping. All have pleaded not guilty.

The newspaper reported the report was filed by special operations section Officers Eric Olsen and Greg Insley. Bond would not name the officers, citing a pending investigation, and did not confirm that Olsen and Insley were among them.

A call to the police union, the Fraternal Order of Police, was not immediately returned. A phone message left with an Eric Olsen in Chicago also was not immediately returned, and no published listing could be found for Greg Insley in Chicago.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald last week revealed a federal investigation of the unit on the same day that a former special operations section officer was charged with planning the murder for hire of another officer.

City does a graet job again---- not

From Secondcitycop

Sunday, October 07, 2007

DISASTER!!!!

Marathon called off at 13 miles. They ran out of water, Gatorade, and ambulances. An unmitigated disaster. Links to follow eventually.

UPDATE: Fire Department opening hydrants to cool runners. Squad cars being utilized to transport the ill. If you wanted to know what a terrorist attack would look like in Chicago, this is a prime demonstration of how unprepared this city is.

UPDATE: Channel 2, Channel 5, Channel 7, Sun Times, Tribune coverage

If this was a CPD event, the papers would read "Police Kill One, Hospitalize 300" We certainly hope the headlines tomorrow read "LaSalle Murders Runner, 300 Wounded."

Mayor Daley's Culture of Corruption, via chicagoclout

From Chicahoclout.com

Mayor Daley's Culture of Corruption

Please enjoy this editorial from the Chicago Tribune. Bottom line, the Chicago City Lawyers lie repeatedly to the Judges. I always thought everyone presents their case in a honest manner, respecting the laws as written. Someone at Chicago's Law Department must have ordered the Chicago Lawyers to lie, which leads me to believe the culture of corruption, scare tactics, and retaliation, is alive and well in the Mara Georges Office. I would quit working for the City of Chicago, as a lawyer, if a supervisor ever asked me to lie in-front of a judge. The law requires this activity to be reported, it never has happened. Many of City of Chicago's lawyers are not the top college graduates. Many quit Mara Georges rein after a short stay. I think the newspapers would best serve Chicago if they looked into the Law Department, as closely as the Building Department. See the Editioral below. On the same page, the Tribune wants the Olympics so bad, they are seem ready to "look the other way", to land the Olympics. Patrick McDonough

Continue reading "Mayor Daley's Culture of Corruption" »

Chicago Teamster's 726 Approve Contract October 4, 2007

From Chicagoclout.com


Final Vote. 1134 Teamsters made proper votes. 974 voted YES. 159 voted No. One Teamster (From the 11 Ward) had his vote voided. Teamsters had a chance to make some historic gains. Better luck next time. Do not forget where the unemployment line is boys. Special thanks to my Teamster Inspector General. Patrick McDonough.

Heads in sand at City hall

by Ben Joravsky on October 2nd - 3:55 p.m.

Tags: Mayor Richard Daley, Alderman William Banks, Tax Increment Financing Districts

Digg this | Post to del.icio.us | E-mail to a friend

Of all the half-truths, lies, and distortions streaming out of City Hall after the mayor called for tax increases totaling $158 million in the face of a $193 million budget shortfall, my current favorite comes from 36th Ward alderman William Banks.

"I've been in the City Council for 25 years and I've never voted for a property tax increase," he told reporter Fran Spielman. "I don't intend on voting for one now."

Banks wants the public to believe that he and his council allies are always taking a courageous stand against rising taxes for Chicago's beleaguered citizens. But, as he ought to know, this is not exactly true. The fact is that Banks and his councilmates have been routinely hiking property taxes over the last few years every time they create a new tax increment financing district.

What's the correlation between TIFs and property taxes? In a nutshell, a TIF freezes the amount the government can take in property taxes from a TIF district for up to 23 years. To compensate for the money they're not getting from the TIF districts, the city, county, schools, and parks have to raise tax rates. There are now over 150 TIF districts in the city -- with new ones proposed every month, soaking up well over $400 million a year in taxes.

Nobody really know how much these TIF districts add to the average taxpayer's bill. And nobody, except for a few academics, is looking into it. Certainly, not Mayor Daley, who pretends as though TIFs magically create new tax revenue out of thin air. It's important for city officials to perpetuate the myth that TIFs are free money because the less people know about TIFs the easier it is for the mayor (and his favorite aldermen) to spend them anyway they want. Actually, I'm starting to think Mayor Daley's fooled himself into believing that TIFs don't raise taxes. Why else would he so cavalierly propose something as wasteful as -- to pick just one recent example -- forking over $40 million to subsidize the merger of the Mercantile Exchange and Board of Trade.

I suppose it's OK for Alderman Banks and Mayor Daley to fall for their own disinformation -- obviously they make more than enough money to pay their tax bills. It's just a little harder for the rest of us schmoes to keep up.

50 city workers must reapply at less pay

Can anyone say privatization....

'BETRAYED' | Find jobs posted on Web site

October 4, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

Fifty employees at Chicago's Department of Human Resources have been ordered to reapply for their old jobs at lower pay -- or risk being fired in mid-November -- in a reorganization tied to the switch to computerized scoring and screening of job applicants.

Two years ago, Mayor Daley gave the Department of Personnel a new name -- and 37 more employees at a cost of $2.6 million -- to ensure compliance with the Shakman decree in the wake of the city hiring scandal.

Now, the newly named department is about to take another major step toward reform by eliminating manual scoring and screening in favor of a technology-based system known as Taleo.

In preparation for the change, the city asked Lincolnshire-based Hewitt & Associates to audit job titles and determine how many would be needed. The number of positions was reduced dramatically. So was the pay.

On Monday, an employee in the department's Human Services Division happened to be looking at the Internet site Craigslist and was stunned to find her job posted in the help-wanted section.

The word spread quickly among panicky co-workers, many of whom are African-American. They confronted Human Resources Commissioner Jacqueline King, who informed them at a stormy, emotional meeting that they were about to be unemployed.

"We feel betrayed. It was like sneaking behind our backs. I am pissed off at how the city is so cold and underhanded. There are people here who just bought houses and condos and cars. If we didn't see it on Craigslist, we wouldn't have known," said one analyst, who asked to remain anonymous.

Human Resources analyst Vera Davis, a 23-year veteran, called the process "unprofessional."

"We were told we would have to reapply for our positions; however, they would be significantly lower in pay. You're looking at a $20,000 pay cut, and you're losing institutional knowledge by getting rid of people with experience," Davis said.

Worker took city to court, now faces battery charge

STREETS AND SAN | Is it harassment because of suit?

October 3, 2007

BY ERIC HERMAN Criminal Courts Reporter eherman@suntimes.com

Michael Sullivan -- the Streets and Sanitation worker who battled city patronage in federal court -- has found himself on the wrong end of the law.

Sullivan, 44, was arrested last Wednesday after shoving a fellow employee while trying to enter an office in a Streets and Sanitation building on the 2400 block of South Ashland, according to the Cook County state's attorney's office.

Prosecutors charged Sullivan with one count of misdemeanor battery. At a hearing Thursday, a judge set his bond at $1,000.

Plaintiff with Shakman

Michael Shakman, the lawyer whose federal anti-patronage lawsuit Sullivan joined in 2005, said Sullivan's arrest "was the result of harassment that has been brewing there for a long time because he has been a whistleblower with respect to patronage practices."

The incident came seven weeks after Sullivan went back to court, claiming he was denied city overtime because he had become a plaintiff in Shakman's lawsuit.

In 2005, Sullivan alleged the Streets and Sanitation Department gave better assignments and more overtime to workers with political clout, especially those with ties to Cook County Commissioner John Daley, the mayor's brother.

The city settled that suit in March, creating a fund for those denied jobs and awarding $25,000 to Sullivan.

In August, Sullivan went to court to enforce the agreement, with Shakman as his lawyer.

As for last week's incident, Sullivan "contends there was no battery," Shakman said.

Streets and San spokesman Matt Smith said a "violence in the workplace" incident was under investigation. He declined further comment.

GPS may keep track of Chicago's police

Wonder who got this contract..............

October 3, 2007

BY KIM JANSSEN Daily Southtown

Every Chicago Police officer's movements could be electronically tracked by global positioning systems if a program being tested in the Chicago Lawn District wins approval.

The program, which requires officers to wear GPS cell phones while on duty, is intended as an officer-safety measure, bosses say, but also could be used to discipline officers.

A group of 50 patrol, gang and tactical officers based in Chicago Lawn will test the technology, which allows supervisors to plot their locations on a computer screen in real time.

"If there's an officer who's in a chase in an alley in a part of the city he's unfamiliar with, the dispatcher will be able to find his location and alert backup," information services Commander Jonathan Lewin said.

The phones can be used only to call a list of approved numbers. Although many officers carry private phones -- and since 2005 all cell phones can be used to track their owners -- the program is the first organized attempt to keep precise, constant tabs on officers' whereabouts.

Sun-Times News Group

Buyout ??

What are you hearing about the 8 and 48 retirement plan

Is it a rumor or not

1,443 victims of rigged hiring?

'RAMPANT' PATRONAGE | Claims seek share of $12 million fund

October 2, 2007

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter fspielman@suntimes.com

More than 1,400 people have staked claim to the $12 million fund created to compensate victims of City Hall's rigged hiring system, a federal monitor said Monday.

"It tells me what everyone has known all along: Political patronage continued to run rampant" in spite of the Shakman decree, said Ald. Joe Moore (49th).

Attorney Michael Shakman's landmark lawsuit was supposed to end political hiring and firing, but didn't.

Shakman suspects the number of victims is greater than 1,443. But some people are afraid of retribution, some chose to file their own lawsuits and others were unaware the reason they didn't get the job was the interviews were rigged, he said.

Referring to the 2006 trial that ended in the conviction of Mayor Daley's former patronage chief, Shakman said, "We know from the [Robert] Sorich trial that it was a wholesale process of rigged interviews and illegal hiring."

The $12 million fund is part of a settlement that allows the city to get out from under the Shakman decree on Dec. 31, 2008, if it can prove substantial compliance at that time.

Individual awards, capped at $100,000, will apply only to those who can prove they've been bypassed for jobs and promotions since Jan. 1, 2000.

On Monday, federal hiring monitor Noelle Brennan said 1,443 people filed claims by Friday's deadline and "hundreds" of those claims poured in at the end of last week.

Double tax trouble

Mayor Daley is poised to raise property taxes for the first time in four years -- and tax bottled water, gasoline and restaurant meals -- to close a $217 million budget gap, City Hall sources say. The mayor can either raise property taxes by the $30 million allowed by the city's self-imposed cap, raise that ceiling or eliminate it altogether.