ChicagoClout

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Thank you to my Chicago Clout friends that sent in this wonderful picture. This is all Chicago Citizens site and if you have something fun you want to post here, I will. I will also give you credit. Thanks Vern. This photo was edited by Patrick McDonough. P.S. We need to fix the City of Chicago and have a plan this time. If you do not have a job thanks to Mayor Daley, go downtown to City Hall and join the other groups that are ready to speak out.

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Posted by at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

It is free, here is the link http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ Your computer will load it automatically. Enjoy, Patrick McDonough.

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Left to Right Back Row: Rev. Dr. William H. Samuels, Bishop Jerry Jones, Pastor St. John Chisum, Apostle Carl White, Chaplain for the Cook County Sheriff's Office Pastor Steve Jones, Commission Jerry Butler, NACA paricipants. Front Row: Dr. Phalese A. Binion, Rev. Jacqueline Triche Atkins, J.D, Apostle Carl White, Derren Duarte Naca Communications Director, Naca Donald Meadows, Cook County Board President Todd H. Stroger, Commissioner Joseph Moreno, State Representative Lisa Hernandez, Naca Kendell Reid, Pastor Charles Thomas. Photo by LeShawn James and edited by Patrick McDonough of Chicago Clout. Many people are losing their homes in Cook County and many more in Chicago, I am glad Todd Stroger is taking in the issue. Patrick McDonough

Posted by at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Many people in Chicago are unsure of the many rules and regulations when plumbing is needed. Some City of Chicago Plumbers and Inspectors might wish to brush up on current events and requirements. Ask Your Plumbing Inspector will address many issues facing homeowners and building management. The first guest of the show was John William Baethke III of John Baethke & Son Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. John is also the new president of the PHCC and also writes in the Master Plumber Magazine. John's family has been in business for over 60 years and is a dedicated Licensed and Bonded Plumbing Contractor. I hope John and Michael McGann bring their bullhorn next show. Chicago Clout is proud to sponsor these shows with knowledgeable guests. Make sure you watch the video below. Chicago Clout protects the health of the nation. Patrick McDonough

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July 12, 2009. No sooner than an elderly man hit the ground, than Ron Bober raced out of his Department of Water Management Truck, to save his life. Ron is a Chicago City Worker that will never get an award, despite his act of courage. The City of Chicago needs more employees like Ron Bober! Photo by Patrick McDonough.

Posted by at 11:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Make sure you show up to work and find out if your union sold you out tomorrow. Some Chicago unions accepted new contracts with-out members input or vote. All unions agreed to keep your union dues at the historic high rates despite the givebacks. Make sure you wave to all of Mayor Daley's friends as they clean up working for full pay. Mayor Daley's contractors are also working non-union and phony minority companies on the 294 expressway. Tadin Trucking has been working this union prevailing wage jobsite despite being a trucking company paying "by the load". If you are a Union Teamster contractor, ask why Tadin gets to pay different wages to his employees. Maybe Mayor Daley is paving the golden highway for his pal.

Posted by at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Photo by Patrick McDonough "TODD UNDERTOW" PUTS COMMISSIONERS AT RISK ANALYSIS & OPINION BY RUSS STEWART It's the blind leading the blind. It's the dumb following the dumb. It's beyond moronic. But, quite incredibly, of the 17 Cook County commissioners, six Democrats -- five blacks and one Hispanic -- have allied themselves with beleaguered Cook County Board president Todd Stroger, and will bear the stigma of running for re-election in 2010 as a "Stroger Stooge." When the Board, at Stroger's behest, passed the one percent sales tax hike in March 2008, nine commissioners voted in the affirmative (see adjacent vote chart). The "Todd Squad" included black commissioners Earlean Collins, Robert Steele, Jerry Butler, Bill Beavers, and Deborah Sims, Hispanic commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno, and white commissioners Joan Murphy, John Daley and Larry Suffredin. The hike was supposed to raise $400 million annually in new revenue. When the Board in May 2009 voted 12-3 (with two absences) to repeal the hike, the "Todd Squad" dwindled to Beavers, Butler and Steele, with Collins and Sims absent. And when Stroger vetoed the repeal, necessitating a three-fourths vote (13 of 17) of the commissioners to override, the Toddler prevailed. The vote in June was 11-4, with Beavers, Butler, Sims and Moreno voting to sustain Stroger's veto, and Collins and Steele voting "present." The repeal was two votes short. Now, fueled by voter wrath, the proverbial Sword of Damocles is set to fall - but not only on the "Stroger Stooges." Of the 12 Democratic incumbents, at least eight will face difficult primaries if they choose to run. Beavers, Butler and Collins are likely to retire. The credibility of Collins, Moreno, Sims and Steele, all of whom prevaricated, vacillated and then capitulated to the Toddler, has imploded. Murphy and Suffredin, who were "enablers" for the tax hike, look like fools. Moreno voted for the sales tax hike, then for its repeal, and then to sustain Stroger's veto. What did Stroger promise him? Moreno, a profile in erratic opportunism, is a disgrace to good government. In his heavily Mexican-American Southwest Side Chicago district, which also includes Cicero, Moreno will face serious primary opposition from Len Dominguez. Steele, who inherited his mother's county board seat in 2006, voted for the sales tax, opposed the repeal, and then voted "present" on the veto override. That's total cowardice. Steele has been ailing in recent months, from a kidney problem. He may not run for a second term in his West Side district. Collins, a state senator from 1977 to 1998, draws a state pension of $75,912 atop her county salary of $85,000. She voted for the sales tax hike, was absent for the repeal, and then voted "present" on the override. That's "public evasion," not "public service." She makes $150,000 a year at the taxpayers' trough, but hasn't the courage to show up or vote on tough issues. Murphy, with dubious wisdom, proposed a two-cent sales tax hike in 2007, which would have raised $1 billion in county revenues. Just imagine the hordes of payrollers who could have been hired with a $4 billion county budget. She voted for the 2008 tax hike, but then thereafter for the repeal and override. That means her instinct for survival overcame her previous stupidity. She can expect opposition in 2010, most likely from John Fairman, a trustee in Justice. Suffredin, of Evanston, provided the critical ninth vote to enact the sales tax hike. He extracted a promise to create a new hospital governing board, effectively terminating the board president's control over county health hiring. But Suffredin, who lost a 2008 bid for state's attorney, getting only 18.1 percent of the vote, is trying to make amends, backing the repeal and override. He may run for board president, opening the seat. Among the Republicans, who hold five of the 17 seats, their key to survival is not their implacable opposition to Stroger and tax hikes; instead, it's demographics. Cook County's suburbs are becoming relentlessly more Democratic. That puts Republican incumbents Pete Silvestri, Gregg Goslin, Tony Peraica, Liz Gorman and Tim Schneider at risk. All won unimpressively in 2006. If 2010 is another Democratic tsunami, some or all could lose. Here's an early analysis of developing board races: 12th District (central Northwest side; 47th Ward): Two-term incumbent Forrest Claypool (D) is retiring from politics, foregoing a run against Stroger. The hot rumor is that 47th Ward Alderman Gene Schulter, who is also the ward Democratic committeeman, will run for Claypool's spot. That would entail a $50,000-a-year pay cut, but Schulter, age 61, may want a change after 34 years in the city council. The Ravenswood/Lincoln Square 47th Ward dominates the 12th District, so Schulter can dictate Claypool's successor. Other possible 47th Ward candidates are attorney Dan Farley, son of a former state senator, and Tom O'Donnell, an aide to Sheriff Tom Dart. 9th District (far Northwest Side and close-in suburbs): Republican Silvestri, the village president of Elmwood Park, is an early favorite to win a fourth term. He won with 54 percent in 1994, 55.8 percent in 1998, 53.8 percent in 2002, and 56.7 percent in 2006. There is a sizeable base Democratic vote in the district, and 2006 loser Jodi Biacalana is poised to run again. But Silvestri has an Ace-in-the-Hole. He is allied with the Republican organization of Alderman Brian Doherty (41st) and State Representative Mike McAuliffe (R-20) in the north end of the district, and he and ally State Representative Skip Saviano (R-77) have a potent political operation in the Elmwood Park area. And all these Republicans have a non-aggression pact with the two Democrats who dominate the 36th Ward, in the south end of the district: Alderman/Committeeman Bill Banks and State Senator Jim DeLeo (D-10). Saviano was once an aide to DeLeo. In 2006, Biacalana, who lives in the 36th Ward, won her base over Silvestri by just 224 votes; Silverstri won the 41st Ward by 3,661 votes, and Norwood Park Township by 1,330 votes. The outlook: As long as the Banks/DeLeo Machine dominates the 36th Ward, and as long as Democrats remain enfeebled in the 41st Ward, Silvestri is unbeatable. 17th District (Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, then south in a narrow corridor to Lemont, Orland Park and Tinley Park): Incumbent Gorman's husband was a business partner of Ed Vrdolyak, and there is some negative fallout attaching to her. She was first elected unopposed in 2002, and re-elected in 2006 with 55.6 percent. She is the Orland Township Republican committeeman, was briefly the Republican county chairman, and has been feuding with Peraica. A likely 2010 Democratic candidate for the seat is Dr. Victor Forys, a Polish-American who garnered 11.7 percent of the vote in the 2009 Democratic congressional primary in the 5th District. If Forys can assemble both a geographic (north versus south) and ethnic coalition, he could win. Other candidates include Orland Park trustee Jim Dodge and RTA Board member Dennis Cook. But well-known Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin is also a possibility, and would be favored in a primary. The outlook: Gorman has huge problems. 16th District (Berwyn, Riverside, Brookfield, LaGrange, Lyons): Peraica was the losing Republican candidate for board president in 2006 (46.3 percent) and for state's attorney in 2008 (25.3 percent). Despite his consistent anti-tax and anti-Stroger stances, Peraica remains a much-disliked, polarizing politician with a legion of enemies in both parties. In 2006, he eked out an 845-vote (50.6 percent) win over Democrat Bill Gomolinski, now a judge. In 2002, he won by 4,565 votes (53.1 percent) over Melrose Park mayor Ron Serpico. Peraica is also the Lyons Township Republican committeeman; in 2002, he won the job with just 37.6 percent of the vote in a three-man field, and barely beat Mike LaPidus in 2006, winning by 96 votes. "I'm running for re-election as commissioner and committeeman" in 2010, said Peraica, who is "undecided" about whether to launch another board president bid. For commissioner, Peraica expects a primary challenge from Berwyn Township Republican committeeman Tony Castrogiovanni, who got only 383 votes (4.5 percent) in the 2009 Berwyn mayor's race. Possible Democrats include Countryside Mayor Robert Conrad and McCook Mayor Jeff Tobolski. Former Berwyn Mayor Mike O'Connor, who lost in 2009, may run as the Green Party candidate. The outlook: In a three-way race, Peraica is favored. Otherwise, it's a toss-up. 15th District (northwest suburban Hanover, Schaumburg and Elk Grove townships): Schneider upset 32-year incumbent Carl Hansen in the 2006 primary, and beat Democrat Jim Dasakis by just 2,758 votes (52.3 percent). The area is trending Democratic. The outlook: Schneider is in jeopardy. 14th District (New Trier, Northfield, Wheeling and Palatine townships): Incumbent Gregg Goslin is obscure and inoffensive, and won with 53.9 percent in 2006. The outlook: The district is trending Democratic, and a credible female Democrat could beat Goslin. E-mail Russ@russstewart.com or visit his website at www.russstewart.com. WORD COUNT: 1,473. COUNTY BOARD VOTE CHART IS ATTACHED.

Posted by at 10:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

GOOD KING RICH (Matt Farmer) (Spoken Intro) This is an open letter to the International Olympic Committee: As you travel the world these next few months Being wined and dined in five-star restaurants In Madrid, Tokyo, and Rio De Janeiro, remember this: You're upholding the proud tradition of your predecessors, Many of whom allegedly accepted bribes In exchange for awarding the 2002 Winter Games To that paragon of urban virtue - Salt Lake City, Utah (Chorus) Well, you can scrap that bid from old Madrid Say adios to Spain And just say no to Tokyo With its fancy bullet train And if you're ill at ease speakin' Portugese Then Rio ain't your town Oh, but Good King Rich, he'll scratch your itch When he throws that cash around (Verse) Well, some folks say that it don't make sense To hold the Games in the 312 They say our city's broke; schools are a joke Well, friends, that just might be true Oh, but Good King Rich, he'd rather fight than switch You know how the story's gonna end With all the King's family and all the King's friends Lining their pockets again and again (Repeat Chorus) (Verse w/ tag) From the two-flats and the bungalows We applaud his every scheme From a tax increase to a parking meter lease He's helping us live the dream Now with a wave of his hand and a line in the sand He's gonna bring the Olympics home So damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead He's gonna get us a velodrome We can't pay for salt when there's ice on the streets But at least we'll have a velodrome (Repeat Chorus (w/ tag)) Yeah, Good King Rich, he's gonna scratch your itch When you bring those games to town

Posted by at 10:38 PM | Permalink

Is Homero Tristan going to get charged? Will he return to his old law firm and really collect the money? Will he go to jail? Please read the extended below. Patrick McDonough July 7, 2009 Daley's personnel chief resigns amid lying accusations Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos at 4:35 p.m. Mayor Richard Daley's personnel chief told the Tribune this afternoon that he has turned in his resignation---less than two weeks after the city's independent inspector general called for his removal. Homero Tristan, a member of Daley's Cabinet as the top human resources official, was accused of lying to investigators from Inspector General David Hoffman's office. Today, Tristan said Hoffman's allegations are "grossly erroneous and irresponsible." But Tristan said he could not fight the charges and at the same time continue to represent the administration in federal court proceedings related to patronage hiring abuses. "I can't do both at this time," Tristan said. "I will continue to defend my integrity." Hoffman has been asked to provide his opinion of the city's hiring process, which the Human Resources Department oversees, in federal court. A court-appointed official has monitored Daley administration hiring since federal prosecutors filed charges of illegal political hiring against mayoral aides in 2005. Daley appointed Tristan, a DePaul University law graduate, to lead the department in June 2008. Tristan, 38, has political ties to some of the mayor's closest Latino allies, including Ald. Daniel Solis (25th) and the United Neighborhood Organization. Tristan is a 2004 graduate of UNO's leadership class for rising young Latino professionals. Under investigation was Tristan's alleged failure to report to the court and others a Jan. 29 letter written by Ald. Michael Zalewski (23rd) on behalf of a city worker. Tristan this year told a court-appointed monitor he was aware of Zalewski's letter but was unsure if he had to report it, according to court records. Hoffman said Tristan told his investigators he was not aware of the letter until weeks later. Daley initially appeared to shrug off Hoffman's report, telling reporters he did not immediately have the time to read it. "There was no political favor given," Tristan said in an interview today. Asked how he planned to try to clear his name, he replied, "I don't want to get into the details of it now."

Posted by at 8:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It was back and forth with Nick Kaleba of the Chicago Federation of Labor and Patrick McDonough of Chicago Clout this morning. Nick is the communications official of the Chicago Federation of Labor and I am a Chicago City Worker upset with the way the layoffs are being handled. By the end of the conversation we agreed to work closer together to address the privatization issues. Chicago Alderman and Mayor Daley are union busting right in front of my eyes. City workers are losing jobs to workers and companies outside Chicago. Phony minority set asides are bankrupting Chicago. Is Chicago Federation of labor better ready to protect Chicago Workers now? After this round of negotiations, I will meet with the Chicago Federation of Labor with the MAG officers and make sure they have the ammunitions to fight back. What the heck is the Journeyman Plumbers' Local 130 doing, caving in as our jobs are privatized and members starve? What dues concessions are the Unions going to make for the members? Are the Unions going to federal court to enforce the existing contracts? Why is Daley still jetting around the world when Chicago is falling apart? Patrick McDonough/Chicago Clout.

Posted by at 9:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (20)

I have been very busy getting ready for the fall of the Chicago Union worker. I am a Democrat from way back when. I never thought I would see such a lack of leadership in the Chicago Union; people so scared and crippled as Dennis Gannon and the Chicagoland Union Management team. Dennis looks like a wounded puppy every time he is pictured at the latest City Hall bargaining sessions. Chicago labor bosses live like kings and their laziness is quickly destroying the union worker in Chicago. President Barack Obama enjoyed the Union money that made him a leader of the free world, but what did he do to deserve it? He bailed out the banks and America is quickly falling apart. George Bush made sure Chicago City Workers still had a job, despite his half baked leadership. Chicago Union leadership does not allow Union members to vote the amended contract. Union cowards refuse to listen to the input of their members. Labor has a ten year contact; Daley will break it, but still do everything in his power to keep the Olympics. This is what the future of construction in Chicago looks like. The lousy construction work over the last few decades will continue to cause large expenses for homeowners. The lack of honest inspections and lack of enough inspectors will cause great pain and sorrow for homeowners. The waste and corruption from Daley and his goons have permanently crippled Chicago. Unskilled labor seems to save money in the beginning, but we will end up paying again and again. This picture shows a group of workers that do not live in Chicago. They do not have the license or training to complete this job they started. Chicago Plumber's Local 130 does nothing; this company is protected by Daley's people. None of their vehicles have Chicago City Stickers or have signs indicating who they are. They are contracted to Mayor Daley's Sewer program. They block streets, act like city workers, and in doing so, they also break laws. Mayor Daley's engineering pals supervise these companies adding more expenses to taxpayers. No authorized Chicago personnel supervise these workers. No one from Chicago is verifying who they are and what they are doing. They do not swipe in or out. They do not live in Chicago. Some get paid to drive all the way to Lake County and back every day. Chicago Taxpayers get billions stolen and wasted year after year. I admire the Unions that stand up and demand the facts. The Unions better prove they did due diligence for this round of labor negotiations. They also better prove Daley has bankrupted Chicago before a single man or women lose their job. The many people that will lose their jobs from the city is because of the Shakman Violations. Many black and minority workers that got a chance thanks to our hard work might lose their jobs. Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama, and Jesse Jackson Sr. have been mighty quiet. Two Aldermen have been chumming up to Daley lately selling out for their own advances. That was labor money that got them in their seats. Remember when the economy was cooking and not a peep was said about city workers - what happened? Let's have some yuppies work behind a garbage truck for a while, see how long they last. Mayor Daley has destroyed this city and the checks and balances of union labor are crumbled. Photo by Patrick McDonough/ChicagoClout

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