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August 31, 2010

5700 Block of North Lincoln Avenue Chicago Taxpayer's money goes to more Hispanics

Lincoln and Fairfield Construction Project Mayor Daley gives more work to Hispanic workers as Chicago Union Workers sit home and starve. Most people need to look at all the construction sites on Chicago streets. Almost every worker in the North side of the city is Hispanic. Where are the women? Not good enough Mayor Daley? Where are the blacks Mayor Daley? Not good enough? Construction jobs to people just speaking Spanish is out of control in Chicago. Go to the 5700 block of Lincoln in Chicago. See if what I say is true. Look at all these stories below. I am not against Hispanic folks, I am asking about a balance for all people. This is out of control in Chicago. Mayor Daley is out of his rocker. We need the FEDS to overlook all the minority cuts and no bid contracts. Do it now in case the Chicago economy gets worse. You will really have big problems than. Photo by Patrick McDonough

Roberto Maldonaldo does not want you to call 311 until AFTER the campaign

Maldonado service request form ENG 1 Chicago Clout Devon Reid is a fine young man running for Alderman against a well-known Chicago Hispanic Politician. Mayor Daley has transferred a lot of jobs and wealth to these communities because the Hispanic community is sure fire votes. Roberto Maldonado is abusing his position by attempting to persuade folks he is the go to guy. I know he was a go to guy when a couple of water department employees got caught up in theft and Hired Trucks, that was before a much better Office of the Inspector General. I think most Chicago citizens know this silly goose is really sending out campaign flyers. Devon Reid is new to the game, but caught on quick. Remember, after the election, you will not see any more of these flyers. The Hispanic community is fed this junk all the time. Sad. Call 311 not that silly goose Roberto. I covered this in Munoz's turf a few years back. Patrick McDonough

Hispanics make the Lincoln Park Flowers bloom with taxpayer water

Patch landscaping Company Chicago Clout Flowers on the public way look very nice. Mayor Daley loves his flowers and the contractors that install them. One of my favorite pictures has Alderman's Mell daughter and a special friend that got tons of contracts because she is a woman. Mayor Daley has control of millions of dollars by making unemployed people feel bad for knocking a no bid contract. A massive amount of money is directed to no bid minority companies thus bypassing a proper honest bid. As long as a front company looks over the work, the real theft continues behind the lines. As long as people are afraid to offend someone, the game continues. I still cannot understand why a major sewer supply company acts as a front and has a minority company with a Hispanic name supply sewer precast to the Department of Water Management marking up supplies for no reason. The City of Chicago should buy directly from the large vendor and save taxpayer's millions. Chicago is broke, but the Chicago mob is still getting its cut. The Daley crime syndicate still skims the loot in the name of rightness. Enjoy this picture of this company that has Hispanic workers I had a hard time understanding. They had fire hydrant adapters and wrenches and the workers told me they take the water from fire hydrants. Mayor Daley wants water meters in homes, but the contractors take water for free. I am sure a markup is charged to the end user. I hope Daley offers our undocumented workers to China; there is no work or soup kitchens for unemployed Chicagoans. I called for Plumbing Inspectors but they are too busy to respond. Photo by Patrick McDonough

Send the Chicago Union Honkies home, Daley hires Hispanics only.

Dangerous Chicago Contractors Most people know the fastest way to save lots of money in construction is to avoid safety rules. These actions backfire when someone gets injured or killed. I have talked about the complete and total reckless disaster at the Milwaukee Avenue, Cicero Avenue, and, Irving Park construction area. Mayor Daley packed this project with minority companies that are not working fast enough. Day after day, week after week, year after year, this project continues. It looks as though Daley is using taxpayer's money to train Hispanic workers that speak very little or no English. As Americans starve, Hispanics are working all over Chicago in publicly funded projects. It gets worse every year. What a scam. I hope these companies pony up for Mayor Daley's re-election. This is the new version of Hired Truck Scandal. I never see women or blacks on these sites. I never see gay workers. What a joke. Mayor Daley is heading to China to sell some more assets. It is all a joke. Other countries stopped coming to Chicago due to corruption and mis-management. This company has gradall equipment rolling into the lanes with no flaggers or barricades. I called Chicago emergency 311 and nothing was done for the public yesterday of today. If you are white and out of work, do not go to this jobsite, honky. Photo by Patrick McDonough. (Funny Story) A City of Chicago Department of Water Management boss that had a best friend fired so she could get a promotion, called in to one of the districts to announce he/she was heading in. Trick learned from Daley?

August 29, 2010

Mayor Daley uses child labor to repair fire hydrants in Chicago

Kids paint Chicago Fire Hydrants I know Mayor Daley is absolutely out of control in Chicago, but this is a new twist. I was called after work Saturday to look into a bunch of kids painting Fire Hydrants in Chicago. The kids were doing a fairly nice job and even took the time to place tape on the threads of the ports. I made sure some police showed up as everyone should when people tamper with the potable water supply. This is a major priority after 9/11 and posters at work inform us to not take this lightly. The kids told me they were doing a project for an Eagle Scout that was not on the site. I got another story about something to do with Alderman Doherty. I am not sure but they said they have written permission from the Alderman of the 41st Ward to paint Hydrants. The Chicago Police showed up after calling the leak desk and I let them know what was going on. The Police officer told me he painted hydrants red, white and blue during the America's bicentennial when he was a kid. After the cops left, I talked to a man that is a Union 14 painter out of work over one year. It is a shame Daley and Doherty are having kids paint hydrants as working men starve. This is an interesting story; it just depends on your point of view. Is politics involved? I know I do these things on my own time, it shows what a great guy I am! Remember you silly gooses, do not touch the drinking water in Chicago unless you are an employee of the Department of Water Management, a phony minority company approved by Daley, or you have direct permission from the Commissioner of Water Management. Photo by Patrick McDonough

August 24, 2010

Mayor Daley and Tim Mitchell of the Chicago Park District got caught with their pants down. How could they allow strippers at work?

Fran Spielman wrote a great piece on a Chicago Park District boss that got fired when a male stripper was entertaining ladies in another room at the Wentworth Park District near Mayor Daley old home in Bridgeport. The fired park boss will be on Chicago Clout in a couple of weeks. Chicago Clout promised more stories and we deliver. Mayor Daley is the boss of the Chicago park District.

Chicago continues to waste money on crazy sewer projects

Chicago Sewer Frame and Lid.jpg To put in simple terms, Mayor Daley is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in repair sewer systems to avoid problems in the future. Deadly chemicals are entering our water system as the contractors spay sealants into our waste water system. The old system of bricks and re-enforced concrete when properly installed lasts hundreds of years. So why are we coating perfectly good sewers with deadly chemicals? Because, Daley can and no-one will stop him. Did anyone release the contents in the buckets sprayed onto our sewer system? No. Are all the yuppies screaming bloody murder? No. Will these repairs fix the manholes like the one pictured above? No. Will these coatings repair existing broken sewers? No. Will someone get rich? Yes. So while Daley and the goons split up these contacts, our cars will be destroyed by broken basins and big holes all over the city. Again, the repair that needs to be done is put on hold. Arrowboard and barricade companies are making a ton of money renting to Chicago gathering dust on streets. The City of Chicago is out of barricades to cover new holes in the street and private contractor are stealing these barricades for use on their personal jobs. I guess when you have a couple of decades of hiring scams, everyone pays, and pays. My future story is how city workers got screwed last Friday with no pay while privates cashed in! Photo by Patrick McDonough

August 21, 2010

Benchmark Construction wins the Contract but does not do the work, Daley2011

Smith and American 1.jpg Friday was a day off for most Department of Water Management Employees. The 48Th Ward was packed with major repairs from Mayor Daley contractors today. Chicago Contractors were working Saturday at time and one half!!! One of the contractors that sparked an interest with me is Smith Maintenance. Smith, as far as I remember, was involved with Daley in the Chicago Harbors. As far as I can make it, Daley gave a multi-million dollar deal to Benchmark Construction to dummy up the sewers and basins in Chicago. Jay Levine, the chief correspondent for CBS 2 Chicago, was real close when he was on to Kenny Construction and the Sewer lining deal. Again Jay found another sub-contractor doing the work. This contract is a phony patch and a real nice deal for another one of Daley buddies. The variation on the theme is Benchmark Construction, which sub-contracted Smith maintenance. Smith is completing the work for Daley contractor of choice. The almost 30 million dollar sewer contract also has Minority Business and Woman's owned Business's cut of about 28%. So the question is who is doing the work? Why continue to have work for minority contractors when people are out of work? In this picture you will also see, American Surveying Consultants. Mayor Daley likes Hispanic owned businesses to handle the engineering. Unemployed Chicagoans are too stupid I guess. I will make one thing very simple to those who do not understand Chicago politics. Daley has a special systems for contracts, bids, racket protection, and phony minority cut-ins, right until payday. If you get a ticket for pollution, shortchanging the terms of the contracts, the house drain inspectors will look the other way, the Chicago Department of Environmental Inspectors like Mark Pantaleo will not write tickets, Chicago Department of Water Management staff will not enforce the contracts, the Office of the Inspector General will do nothing, and Scott D. Sachnoff, Senior Counsel of municipal Prosecutions Division under Mara Georges, will allow staff to cut deals prior to the actual court date and times. This is how money is made in Chicago folks, when Daley's friends get the bid, they do not enforce the rules. I think the FBI needs a little phone call, got a dime? Photo by Patrick McDonough

August 20, 2010

Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Department of Water Management troubles continue

Carvinal Barker Mayor Daley Many people in Chicago are struggling to make ends meet. Thanks to Mayor Daley and his insane desire to sell everything for a quick profit, we will give our children a grim future. Daley continues to lie to the press and the press continues to warn us. One of the greatest problems is the constant promotions to political family members and hacks. One of the positions that make us sick is Alderman Crothers brother. It is great to be the Alderman's brother, but nutty Daley put a gun and badge in the wrong hands. Daley does not want average citizens with a gun, but this loon carries 24/7? In the rumor mill is the promotion of General Superintendent at the Department of Water Management. The promotion might be reposted because one of the clout dummies did not interview well. The Shakman monitor allows reposting which is a scam. This is a moral buster. Enjoy Daley2011, the City is worse by the minute. Patrick McDonough

August 19, 2010

Mayor Daley never questioned in Marco "Daley" Morales downfall

Mayor Daley 2011 official picture Mayor Daley and his goons have one powerful weapon that controls the elections in Chicago. Contracts. Mayor Daley and his family prospered despite the boom and bust cycles of the economy. The FEDS never took the time to take apart the miracle minority fortunes made almost overnight. The Office of the Inspector General never made any connections to the upper Daley family confidents that decide who gets what and when. When a minority company is blessed by Daley, they show up all over the State, County, and City. The Chicago Unions keep away and workers are paid well below prevailing wage. The insiders have their flavor of the day, when the ice-cream melts so do the contracts. John Kass wrote a great article about Morales, it is below for your entertainment. Morales rests in jail and no reporter asked Daley what he knew; they did not want to offend Daley. No reporter asked Daley if his administration launched an investigation into the City officials that had contact with Marco. I guess they do not want to offend Dick Tator. Patrick McDonough. Kass: Forgotten man Morales pleads guilty June 18, 2010|By John KassThe 65-year-old man in the orange jumpsuit and chunky mustache stood before U.S. Judge William Hart to say the magic words. "Guilty, Your Honor," Marco Morales said Thursday, pleading to a one-kilo cocaine charge, even though there was a lot more to it than cocaine. By then the courtroom was all but empty, with no one in the gallery but his ex-wife Stella Lila Morales, his granddaughter, my colleague Wings and me. There was a time when a guilty plea by Marco Morales would have struck fear into City Hall and the tough guys who've been propping up Chicago politicians for a century now. Fourteen years ago, Morales was a city contractor busted on a federal cocaine charge. He said he'd been threatened by the Chicago Outfit to keep his mouth shut about bribes he says he paid to top Daley administration officials. Allowed to drive himself to prison in 1997 to serve 59 months on the narcotics conviction, Marco drove instead to Mexico and kept his mouth shut there for years. This being Chicago, almost immediately after he fled, a miracle happened. With Morales unavailable to a federal grand jury, Mayor Richard Daley's administration showered Morales' son with $40 million in city contracts, with more to come year after year. So if Thursday were only a few years ago, there would have been a crowd waiting for Marco: courtroom sketch artists, TV cameras staking out the lobby and political snitches on cell phones calling their bosses. Back then, the Morales appearance would have been closely watched by City Hall and by Daley's buddies (and Marco's old pals) like trucking boss Mike Tadin and former city Transportation Department chief Tony Pucillo. Perhaps somebody would have thought to call Marco's favorite hot dog stand in Bridgeport, to let reputed Outfit street boss Frank "Toots" Caruso know what was on Marco's lips. But not now. "Those days, there were the Pucillos and Tadins and the Carusos around him," Stella Lila told me. "They'd slap my husband's back, they'd call him a big man, they would call him 'El Presidente' and then they would wink at each other." Lila, as she's called, began to cry as she remembered it. "And I would tell him, 'Wake up! Marco, wake up!'" Lila said. El Presidente Marco had a wife and a girlfriend and kids from each, and money and influential friends. But Thursday's Marco was an old man with diabetes and high blood pressure facing at least five years in prison. He wiggled his fingers in a little wave to his ex-wife, a sad smile under that sad moustache. There were no crowds for him. The crowds were for other stories, on other floors in the federal building, stories with real star power. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was preening before the jury in his corruption trial. And in another courtroom, former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge was testifying that he never tortured suspects. Marco was the forgotten man. There were civil lawyers in Hart's courtroom, waiting for their cases to be called. Wearing suits, these men and women of expensive educations, these people of writs and procedures, were not of Marco's world. So he spent the better part of an hour tuning them out and staring out the window, to the south, as if he could stare himself back to Mexico. "I went up to seventh grade, right here in the U.S.," Morales said. "I came here in 1956. I started from washing dishes to road construction. I worked in factories and then I was president of a company." The company was called Polmex Construction, a minority-owned subcontractor in a massive Daley-backed project to scrape and repave every street and alley in the city. Marco may have been El Presidente. But he wasn't the boss. The mayor's guy, Tadin, was boss. And the man who oversaw it all for Daley's Department of Transportation was Pucillo. The three of them -- Pucillo, Daley and Tadin -- were seen riding in the same golf cart at Department of Transportation outings. It was a signal to the lowliest laborer that the mayor had blessed the paving deal. Everything was working fine the Chicago Way until Morales helped a friend score some cocaine. That friend was John Christopher, the FBI's informant in a separate investigation, Operation Silver Shovel, a probe of corrupt aldermen. When Morales got caught up in the Silver Shovel case, Chicago's established political order was terrified. He got the message to keep his mouth shut, and rather than drive to prison, he drove himself to the Yucatan. His son began getting all those city contracts. A new federal prosecutor came to Chicago, and after a long extradition fight, Marco was finally brought back home last September. Statutes of limitations on corruption cases have long expired. Some of the insiders like Tadin are wealthy beyond imagining. Others are gone or retired. The politicians skated free. If Morales has cooperated in any federal case, the feds aren't saying. Hart said he'll meet with the lawyers in August to discuss sentencing. Marshals led Marco away, shackled, to the federal lockup. He smiled and waved his fingers at his ex-wife and the door closed and then he was gone. And what of the men who called him El Presidente? "Everybody is retired, comfortable, they made their money, they got their pensions, now they're free," said Lila of the men who once slapped her ex-husband's back and smiled. "The statute of limitations is gone. "He's no threat to them now. But somebody has to pay. And that's Marco."

Joel Pollak, Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois' Ninth District

Chicago Clout confirmed a interview today from Mr. Pollak's staff. We welcome a half hour with a well spoken candidate.

August 18, 2010

Mayor Daley's Chicago Park District Patronage Machine exposed.

SEIU Chicago 73 Reps.jpg As one of the most recognized anti-crime reporters in Chicago, just the sight of my handsome face makes Union officials cringe. Today was no different when I was watching Mayor Daley's friends rack up the loot on Western Avenue and Arthur. Kenny is lining sewers before anything is wrong with them. I think is the best racketing since Mayor Daley's pals started the sewer restrictors. Many people are not aware of the powerful patronage army Mayor Daley has at the Chicago Park District. We have documented stunning video footage we will release around the time Daley and his clowns run for office again. The Chicago Park District is violating Federal Law by not having a Federal Monitor in interviews for promotions. Daley and his goons must have thought the Federal Judge was a dummy that would overlook every Department Daley controls. The Chicago Park District does not ever have Kronos machines to monitor employees when they arrive and leave. The Chicago Park District still has employees simply sign in and out. This works great when Daley wants signatures for his re-election. The largest joke at the Chicago Park District is the lack of an official Inspector General. Many employees from the Park District continue to use clout and aldermanic influence for promotions. I think it is time for the SEIU to demand proper working conditions for all Park District employees. These are my pals from the union, Dale Jackson and Taalib-Din Ziyad. I hope all you folks filling out applications for Chicago Park District jobs contact a lawyer; you got a good chance of a Shakman settlement. With Daley's pals fixing the sewers on the cheap, look at all the money we will save for all the future lawsuits. Sounds like another pickle Daley got us into. Patrick McDonough.

August 17, 2010

Who will be the next Alderman of the 48TH Ward?

The 48Th ward in Chicago has been poorly served by Mary Ann Smith for a mighty long time. Any slop Mayor Daley served up to Mary Ann Smith was eagerly gobbled down. Mary Ann was at the trough for far too long. Two candidates could not even get on the ballot last election, because of Mary's staff of political experts. I really wish Mary Ann Smith would have spent that time looking over proposals the Daley Administration dumped on us. Mary Ann would blindly vote for everything and anything. Many parts of the ward vastly improved thanks to the massive cash influx during the last couple of decades. Andersonville is a great neighborhood. Many improvement have been made to the ward but the decay is evident more each day. The infrstrucure in crumbling, sewers, water main leaks left for weeks are on the increase. 48th Ward Superintendent Conrad Suerth has been one of the bright points in the ward. Conrad was a ditchdigger at the political Chicago Water Department. Connie dumped ship after the Hired Truck Scandal. My concern for the ward is political gadfly Harry Osterman, a real windbag, useless as they come. Harry will be back with the same old machine politics destroying Chicago. The only bright spot is a guaranteed job for Conrad Suerth. The 48Th Ward needs a fresh face ready, willing and able to address ward problems. I am happy Mary Ann Smith is going out to graze. Bye, Bye. Patrick McDonough, the pride of Andersonville.

Blagojevich is GUILTY

We got it first on Chicago Clout! On one count number 24. False statements.

August 12, 2010

Scott Lee Cohen Interview at CAN-TV Chicago, host Patrick McDonough

August 11, 2010

Chicago Clout Video on Chicago Mayor 2011 candidate Fredrick K White

August 8, 2010

How do you like the new Local 130 Plumber's contract?

James Sullivan and Plumber's Local 130 on Chicago Clout Do you like the way things are going at Chicago Plumber's Local 130 U.A.? Just asking.

August 7, 2010

Jay Levine and Ed Marshall expose more of Daley's Corruption

Is City Flushing Money Away By 'Lining' Sewers? One Alderman Prefers Chicago Suspend Program And Redirect The Millions To Services Reporting Jay Levine CHICAGO (CBS) ― Click to enlarge1 of 1 With the city of Chicago facing a $600 million budget deficit and a critical shortage of police officers, Mayor Daley is desperate to save money. Well, one alderman says he's found tens of millions of dollars in savings. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports. Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) first learned about the project on Clybourn Avenue when he spotted a crew working. "That was the first time I'd seen this rag-tag crew out there working on the sewers, and I said, 'What exactly is going on with this one?'" CBS 2 came across a similar crew, actually a single worker, with a bunch of hose, white buckets, and some kind of machine spraying a semi-liquid resin into an open manhole. "We're lining the sewers," the crew member told CBS 2 producer Ed Marshall. His company, Sewer Tech, is a subcontractor for Kenny Construction, the mayoral favorite and low bidder for a contract that could be worth $120 million or more. The Water Department says Sewer Tech "creates a pipe within a pipe" and can "renew the old main for up to a century." "The sewer lining is helpful but if it's not a necessity right now, let's put the money where we need it, in the police department," Waguespack said. City investigator Patrick McDonough, who helped expose the Hired Truck scandal, says the firm's contract can lead to greater expense. "It's just an open-ended contract for Daley and his friends. That's all it is," he said. Kenny Construction, which declined an on-camera interview, issued a statement saying the sewer-lining work "is a cost-effective program that will save the city and its taxpayers money and inconvenience." By putting it off, the Water Department maintains, "we'd be playing catch-up." The project, launched in 2006 when the economy was booming and the city was in much better financial shape, is about three-quarters finished. That still leaves about $40 million to be spent on the city's aging sewers. "If it's a collapse, do the collapse, I don't care about the other stuff right now," Ald. Waguespack said. "If you can suspend these contracts, suspend them and redirect the money to something else." A Water Department spokesman conceded that the sewers being lined weren't about to collapse. In fact, they have to be in reasonably good shape to be stable enough to hold the lining. Contributing: CBS 2 Political Producer Ed Marshall It all about lining Daley's pockets folks. Report corruption to Jay Levine.