ChicagoClout

Not long ago, Alderman Burke had a powerful cancer affecting his prostrate. Prostate cancer is not fun at all. It can expose itself by your inability to have an erection. You can have blood in your semen and urine, and in many cases, have bowel movements in public. When Alderman Burke has cancer, all the city resources are unleashed to make sure he is taken care of. Alderman Burke knows, the better the care, the longer you will live.

Of course, when Committee on Finance Alderman Burke has Chicago City employees hurt on the job, that is another matter. It is time for stall tactics, hiring incompetent people to handle the injuries. Alderman Burke kept taking his city check when he was treating even though he took many days off to recover. Per my sources at the Mayor's Office, there no investigation into Burkes health care claim, and no attempt to stop his paycheck despite him being "Non-Compliant". All of Burke's health care vendors were paid, "on the spot". Most people that do not show up from work, do not get paid. Burke's security posse, were sitting around while he recovered, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands. Nice job if you can get it.

Many Chicago City of Chicago employees suffer injuries at work related that were unnecessary. The Illinois Department of Labor has cited many Chicago Departments with fines and fees. Chicago always fights them. Instead of using shoring in a ditch, avoiding unnecessary death and injury, Chicago continue to say, "It is all about production "or "we are avoiding privatizing". The City of Chicago also continue to fight across cross the board drug testing. They were heroin drug rings in the North District Water Department not long ago, but the pill business is still doing well. The drinking situations have improved dramatically, most workers get it. Use logic, if the job foreman take a few extra minutes to make a ditch safe, they can save hundreds of thousands of additional expenses.

Alderman Burke uses a company called Vocamotive for their Vocational Training. They know the game of dealing with the city. The Committee on Finance is not under the control of the Rahm Emanuel administration. That makes them less accountable to taxpayers. Alderman Burke hired a fired City law department lawyer, Monica Somerville, to handle the dirty work. Just like the Chicago Mob, or Rich Daley, Alderman Burke has buffers. Burke hired a staff that includes dog walkers, dog groomers, and hair dressers to handle city workers claims. These workers refuse to work with the injured and create a barrier to getting a worker back to work, as quick as private insurance companies would. Thus, the Committee on Finance is forced to hired private consultants, medical specialists, law firms, and vocational training companies, to do the dirty work, the COF, a criminal enterprise requires. For over a year, the Committee on Finance refused to pay a crippled city worker in a wheelchair, but the Committee on Finance hired Lisa Helma a CRC at Vocamotive to investigate job searches against the employee that has not been paid in over a year. Wait, Alderman Burke hired Lisa Helma, at Vocamotive Vocational Training to investigate Job searches? So, what does Alderman Burke's COF investigators do? Just dye the Chicago River once a year? To think Lisa Helma, a former member of the IARP, is now playing policewomen? Amazing waste of money Chicago. Lisa Helma, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, answering to hair dresser Andrea Micelli at the COF, wasting tons and tons of money. I though Chicago was broke. Are we being lied to? I am astounded as the sheer stupidity of this entire story. The Committee on Finance refuses to pay the workers expenses, disability pay, medical care, postal expenses, travel expenses, surgery bills, MRI bills, but has the money to investigate over a year later, how many swings at the bat do you get? I suspect the Committee on Finance realized their scams are being exposed so they are attempting to sling mud on their accusers. Also, Vocamotive is still refusing to comply with subpoenas from other state agencies. Every dog gets his day. What does not come out in the wash comes out in the rinse. Do not uses Vocamotive, get another lawyer. Vocamotive is not a Vocational Training company I would ever use.

Posted by at 5:02 PM | Permalink

The City of Chicago Department of Water Management is again in the news on several fronts. The embattled North District is again attempting to cover-up a Christmas Party Brawl involving several employees. The December Party was held at a Northwest side bar. The bar confirmed the multiple fights. The Chicago Inspector General Joe 'cupcake" Ferguson is again doing nothing except kissing up to Fran Spielman at the Sun-times.

The bosses at the Water Department again sent Joe packing to chase a box of missing pencils in the transportation department. At the party, one employee was getting closer to another employee, (allegedly Sandberg), and was headbutted. I would have wrote about this but Gary Litherman FOIA Officer at the Water Department is doing everything to keep Paul "DUI" Hansen and the Hoisting Engineer Foreman out of the story. The Alderman's son was in the sun-times twice for drinking related issues, but thanks to Alderman "Toots" Tunney, he is taken care of. It takes head to get ahead.

Pictures of two men at the party have oral sex in the bathroom have been sent to the I.G. Maybe Joe can take them home and do a more personal cover-up.

For many years, the promotion system at the DOWM has promoted incompetent supervisors and the ongoing problems need addressing. I suggest Rahm Emanuel investigate the way Luci Pope-Cozzi-Anderson-Hansen promote employees. It is criminal.

Just recently, Chicago Clout has made FOIA requests regarding the contractor and contracts at the Jardine Plant. You might know, Gary Litherland is a puppet that refuses to offer up taxpayer information. The DOWM is hiding millions of dollars in no show contracts and job that are fronts for the Democrat Party fund making machine. The Jardine Plant also has morning exercise and afternoon soccer games on taxpayer money. The special payroll system covers it all up. High ranking City officers have phony companies that are stealing millions and no work is performed. Nice eh?

Every dog gets his day! The City of Chicago is losing millions in revenue from the Jardine Plant and the Chicago Water Purification system. Suburban cities are now obtaining water from other sources including Evanston. Evanston runs a professional water department free of clout and crime. Some cities like Des Plaines have said goodbye to Chicago, more Cities like Niles, Morton Grove, and Lincolnwood are on the way to make sure their residents do not pay a corruption tax. Rahm Emanuel and his corrupt administration are losing the "Chicago Golden Goose". To keep the massive payroll of unneeded supervisors like Paul Hansen, who work on 44th ward political projects on city time, (yes, we know) Chicago taxpayers are going on the hook again to make up for the massive money loss. I hope Chicago elects Chuy to clean up this madness once and for all.

I am proud to serve the citizens of Chicago releasing hundreds of pages of sworn testimony showing how the lead poisoning of Chicago taxpayers is criminal.

Posted by at 3:43 PM | Permalink

Most Americans want to clean up America. Donald Trump was elected to do so. Donald Trump wants to clean up the borders and get things under control. Many City of Chicago City Workers known for their political expertise worked like animals to get Donald Trump into office. Hillary thought everything was in the bag.

Rahm Emanuel though he could have business as usual for another four years. That means governing like an absolute idiot, stealing everything that is not glued down. Making financial deals to enrich himself and his friends. Having immigrants means Rahm's spend taxpayer dollars on programs to make his friends very wealthy. The money is made in managing programs. Just skimming off the cream at every turn. Rahm Emanuel does not care about the immigrants, but he does provide low cost labor for major corporations, like the airlines. Rahm knows for certain some parts of the population will not take these menial jobs for lousy pay. Rahm loves the pulpit acting as if he cares about the poor. Rahm thinks the poor are subhuman. Rahm Emanuel love Rahm Emanuel. He is a selfish slob.

Rahm visited some police graduating event and shaved his legs to look youthful. One of the police recruits said, "Rahm Emanuel had shaving cream on the back of his thigh". He also said that is why they were laughing at Rahm. Rahm was wearing running shorts and the Chicago media ate it up. Wake up Chicago, Rahm is another Daley. No good for business. Chicago needs to get under control fast.

Posted by at 11:41 PM | Permalink

Illinois has every reason to succeed. We have the hardest-working people in America, the best infrastructure in America and the best location of any state. We have unlimited economic potential. Yet, despite these advantages, the state's economic policies have led to very weak economic growth and massive manufacturing job losses.

Illinois' total employment peaked in 2000. If Illinois simply kept pace with the rest of the nation in economic growth since then, we would have added 600,000 more jobs.

Nearly two years ago we unveiled an ambitious 44-point plan to create more jobs and spur economic growth. Since then--in the spirit of compromise--we've narrowed our focus to the most critical priorities--term limits, more jobs, lower property taxes, better schools and real pension reform. When it comes to job creation, we have continued to advocate for changes to the workers' compensation system because of its direct impact on state government and job creation. As part of a balanced budget, workers' compensation reform should be a core part of a comprehensive agreement.

When I meet with employers, both in Illinois and across the country, they cite two primary challenges for businesses in Illinois: the highest property tax burden in the nation and our uncompetitive workers' compensation system. Those costs are particularly harmful to businesses with large physical footprints and large workforces. So it shouldn't be a surprise that Illinois has lost 34 percent of its manufacturing jobs since 2000 alone, while other states, like Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky, are growing.

Workers' compensation is not just a business issue. It directly impacts taxpayers by costing state, county and municipal governments more than $400 million every year, plus additional costs for school districts and special purpose districts. Government employees file workers' compensation claims for injuries and illnesses more than 50 percent more often than private-sector workers.

Illinois employers spend approximately $3 billion per year on workers' compensation, including medical expenses and disability benefits. The most widely used national study, conducted by the state of Oregon, shows that Illinois jumped from 23rd to the third most expensive state in the nation following 2005 changes to the law. Bipartisan reforms in 2011 helped to reduce costs, but Illinois remains the most expensive state in the Midwest and is tied as the seventh most expensive state in the nation.

A balanced approach to reform could save employers and expand job opportunities for Illinois residents. It would mean that all participants in the system--employers, workers, medical providers, insurers, lawyers and the Workers' Compensation Commission--bring savings to the system. There are many elements that can and should be included in a reform package.

LOOK TO OTHER BLUE STATES

Forty-five percent of workers' compensation costs are for medical services. While the 2011 reforms cut maximum fees, the cost for certain procedures remains multiple times--three, four, five times--the comparable Medicare rate. We can rebalance the fee schedule to find savings while protecting access to quality care and still compensating providers fairly.

Illinois workers receive among the highest benefits in the nation. The compensation for most injuries in Illinois is two to three times the national average. While we are not proposing to reduce benefit levels, we have asked lawmakers to address circumstances for which the system was not designed.

The workers' compensation system has been forced to absorb the growing costs of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other degenerative conditions. Most other states, including blue states like Massachusetts and Oregon, have responded by reforming their causation standards--a reform that Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in 2012 would "exclude those conditions which are primarily caused by the natural degenerative process which occurs during aging" and was necessary "to protect taxpayer dollars."

The court system has also increased the overall cost of the system. Recent judicial decisions have removed award caps for shoulder and hip injuries; "significantly expanded" the circumstances in which an injury to a traveling employee is compensable, according to Madigan; and undermined an employer's defense against claims caused by the intervening intentional conduct of the employee. We can reduce costs by restoring commonly accepted practices.

Many other good ideas have been proposed to make the system more efficient. Ultimately, we will all benefit from balanced reform: Employers will save costs, Illinois will be a more attractive place in which to create jobs, workers will still be protected in the case of a workplace injury while enjoying greater job opportunities, and the state and local governments will experience a broader tax base through growth.

If we cannot provide Illinois residents with good jobs and expand our tax base, the state will never be able to properly support education and human services to the level they deserve, and our pension liabilities will look even more daunting.

Change is not easy, but the status quo is unacceptable. We cannot afford to fail.

Posted by at 10:09 PM | Permalink

A change in the rules for workers' compensation in Illinois is included in a "grand bargain" package of bills Senate President John Cullerton and Minority Leader Christine Radogno are pushing this week to finally get a state budget.

In an interview Thursday with the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board, Cullerton and Radogno said the workers' comp bill undoubtedly will be tweaked before final votes in the state Senate and House. We sure hope so. Compromise is essential, but workers' comp still must deliver on its basic promise -- that injured workers get quality health care and fair treatment.

As written, the bill includes enhanced fraud protections and benefit cuts, including further reductions in the amount that medical providers get paid for some types of procedures, limitations on physical therapy and the types of drugs that may be prescribed.

Additional cuts no doubt will be proposed as the bill moves forward. But this is an area where lawmakers must tread carefully. In some other states, benefits have been cut so substantially that some injured employees have been unable to get any medical care. Some seriously injured employees have been ruined financially. If those workers wind up on Social Security Disability Insurance, the cost of workplace injuries has been shifted from employers to taxpayers.

That can't be allowed to happen in Illinois.

Workers comp is a trade-off. In exchange for giving up the right to sue negligent employers who cause accidents, workers are assured of getting medical care, pay for time when they are off work because of an injury, and compensation for permanent injuries. Any changes in the law should preserve that bedrock deal.

In 2011, Illinois enacted a series of reforms, including a 30 percent reduction in the amounts paid to health care providers, that brought down costs. But those savings largely have yet to show up in lower workers' compensation insurance premiums for employers.

One way to cut costs without further reducing worker benefits would be to give the Illinois Department of Insurance the authority to ensure workers' comp insurance companies aren't getting excessive profits. That's a safeguard that already exists in many other states.

Setting workers' comp benefits at a reasonable level can help Illinois' economic competitiveness. But Illinois shouldn't expect to have lower workers' comp costs than its neighbors. Part of the formula for calculating workers' comp premiums is the total amount of employer payrolls. Because Illinois has higher average incomes than adjoining states, it can't expect its workers' comp rates to be lower.

Cullerton and Radogno are pushing for a bipartisan solution to a political impasse that has forced Illinois to stagger along without an annual budget for more than a year and a half. We support that effort. We also trust they can get the job done while preserving a fair workers' comp system.

Posted by at 9:52 PM | Permalink

We at Chicago Clout meet many folks that in in trouble. I received Dominic's name and number from a guy I knew for years that was screwed around by the city. Since I know many people, politician, and insiders, people felt I could help Dominic. Dominic had a brutal divorce. He seemed obsessive compulsive towards his daughter and ex-wife. For some reason, he felt he could fix whatever was wrong and try again. I felt Dominic was completely unrealistic. Dominic felt people were interfering with his former relationship; he did everything he could to expose alleged wrong doing.
The story he told me was far too complex. Dominic also had a hard time keeping the same story and crafted events to fit the audience. I also could sit in amazement that a man could keep such a clean and wonderful home. Dominic also made strong accusations against the mob, his friends, his lawyers. He was also quick to give away his money if you said you could help him.
Dominic was hit on the head at work. This was the final straw. The Committee on Finance screwed him around, withheld his checks, made him go back to work sick. The usual. His story was so complex, I felt only Michael Volpe had the skills to handle his situation. To all the people that took his money, withheld his money, and denied care, I hope Hell is real. To the Cook County Court System that kept two ankle bracelets on him, like he was an animal, I hope you are proud of yourself. I also hope Alderman Burke rots in hell for the way the city treats an injured worker. Two ankle monitors and they sat on him being dead for two days? Rest in peace.

Posted by at 12:09 PM | Permalink

I am a City of Chicago Employee at the Department of Water Management and a Certified State Plumbing Inspector. You can also call 411 and you should request a test. I know for a fact; the City of Chicago has hired and promoted people unlicensed to work on potable drinking water in Chicago. The taxpayers are on the hook. I also know for a fact, the City of Chicago Department of Water Management has done everything they can to avoid fulfilling FOIA requests so needed additional research to protect the public drinking water, could be shut down. I also know for a fact the City of Chicago, to hide all the private contractors, scam deals, and millions in fraudulent work, have fought FOIA requests citing "safety of the drinking water supply". I also know when the Chicago Department of Water Management refused to open to this fair inquiry, set themselves up for a massive lawsuit. They are stuck taking responsibility for possible billions of dollars in lawsuits. Rahm Emanuel just raised the price of this water and it will not be enough. I also know Rahm Emanuel scammed the City of Chicago from thousand in fees when he remodeled his house. Also, Rahm Emanuel had a new Water Main right after he was put into office, and again was exposed for his fraud. The taxpayers also picked up his tab for a tap for his lot next door. Yes, I hope to see all the pictures in court. Today on January 9, 2017, Powerhouse attorneys for the law firm Hagens, Berman, Sobol, Shapiro LLP including top gun Attorneys Mark T. Vazquez and Elizabeth A. Fegan, also Steve W. Berman, Attorney of Seattle, Top Gun Philip H. Corboy, Jr. of Corboy & Demetrio; and David Freydin, Attorney and Timothy A. Scott, Attorney of Freydin Law Firm LLP. Look folks, if you have this army after you, you should try to minimize the damage. I heard Rahm is going to have some politically powerful law firms at massive amount of money try to reduce the losing battle. This is the same Department of Water Management that fired a City of Chicago Plumbing inspector that exposed Fecal (SHIT) matter in the drinking water served to children. Maybe when Tom Powers, P.E. was removed (as Commissioner) from protecting the Chicago Drinking Water, Rahm thought he could play stupid in court and everyone would forget about Thomas Powers, P.E.. Please see attached Complaint demanding a Jury Trial in front of the Honorable Rodolfo Garcia NO. 2016-CH-02292. Gordon Berry and Ilya Peysin vs. City of Chicago. It makes powerful reading. I also want Chicago City Workers like Caulkers (lead) and Plumbers to get lead tested at work. It is a simple blood test. I will make sure you get a great lawyer. Do not file a workers' compensation case for lead poising. Please feel free to contact me and I will help anyone who needs it. This cover-up must end. 928168_1.PDF

Posted by at 10:01 PM | Permalink