Illinois

[maddash]

I can't wait to see what kind of wacky situations Rahm Emanuel gets himself into.

[stlouie_lipp]

Chicago: Most Corrupt City in America

"The two worst crime zones in Illinois are the governor's mansion ... and the city council chambers in Chicago," Simpson, a former Chicago alderman, told the AP. "No other state can match us."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/1 ... ef=chicago

[Hungary Jack]

Ha ha ha. So true.

[stlouie_lipp]

Looks like we got another one - way to keep it real Illinois!

An Illinois state representative was released on a $4,500 signature bond Tuesday after appearing in court following his arrest on federal bribery charges.

Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) is accused of taking a $7,000 cash bribe and then writing a letter of support for a daycare center he believed was seeking a state grant.

Source: http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/politics ... z1p2nYZ9VV

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Ch ... 11645.html

[stlouie_lipp]

This, in a nutshell, illustrates how things work in this fing state.

Cook County Judge Tom Carroll’s decision to drop out of a Southwest Side Democratic primary earlier this year helped clear a politically connected rival’s path to the bench.

Now — just four months after his withdrawal allowed the son of a top aide to former Mayor Richard M. Daley to run for judge unopposed — Carroll has landed on his feet, too.

Carroll, a former private attorney and defense attorney, was one of four candidates who in January dropped out of the race to fill a judicial vacancy he had already been temporarily appointed to fill.

The withdrawals left Dan Degnan, the son of former mayoral adviser Tim Degnan, to run uncontested in a March primary, even though Dan Degnan had been rated “not qualified” or “not recommended” by more than a dozen bar associations.

Since 2007, Degnan has worked as the executive director of the Cook County pension fund. He previously worked for five years as chief financial officer and chief deputy for the Cook County Treasurer, and he has only limited legal experience compared to the candidates who stood down.

But no Republican filed to run in November’s general election, meaning he is assured a judgeship.

House Speaker Michael Madigan in January refused to answer questions about whether he played any role in the decision of Carroll and the other candidates to drop out of the race. Reached Sunday, his spokesman Steve Brown again declined to comment, saying “I don’t know what this has to do with Mr. Madigan.”

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1281 ... -seat.html

[Hungary Jack]

Madigan. What a tool.

And looks like the Illinois legislative sun will set again on serious pension reform. Can. Kicked.

[pioneer98]

But they passed slot machines at racetracks!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illi ... 99ff8.html

My father in law works in the Illinois library system. The system as a whole is owed millions in backpayments. I guess they put their expenses on a credit card or something in the meantime. (?)

A nearby town (East Moline) recently was awarded a million dollar grant from the great State of Illinois for a park they are trying to build. The city actually debated whether they should accept the grant and move forward with the park or not. The last time they took a similar grant from the state, it took like 5 years for them to get their money, and in the meantime, the city got stuck with the bill themselves.

This has been going on for years. They just raised income taxes from 3% to 5% but the same problems persist. It seemingly made no difference.

[AdmiralKird]

But they passed slot machines at racetracks!
http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/illi ... 99ff8.html

My father in law works in the Illinois library system. The system as a whole is owed millions in backpayments. I guess they put their expenses on a credit card or something in the meantime. (?)

A nearby town (East Moline) recently was awarded a million dollar grant from the great State of Illinois for a park they are trying to build. The city actually debated whether they should accept the grant and move forward with the park or not. The last time they took a similar grant from the state, it took like 5 years for them to get their money, and in the meantime, the city got stuck with the bill themselves.

This has been going on for years. They just raised income taxes from 3% to 5% but the same problems persist. It seemingly made no difference.

Well of course it made no difference, the problem isn't the lack of money its having inept politicians in office.

[Hungary Jack]

The extra $8B or so in revenue basically covers the current liabilities (not past) in the public pension system. There is very little left over to pay other bills.

[stlouie_lipp]

Can't make this [expletive] up. Reads like an Onion article.

Despite his arrest on a felony bribery charge earlier this year, state Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) was re-elected in Tuesday's election.

Smith was expelled by his colleagues in the state House of Representatives in August in the first such vote in over a century. The Chicago Democrat was arrested in March after he allegedly accepted a $7,000 cash bribe to write an official letter of support for a fictional daycare center that he believed was seeking a state grant. According to the criminal complaint, the informant working with the FBI delivered an envelope filled with the cash to Smith, which he accepted.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/0 ... 79236.html