Today about 61 employees from the McPier authority had a going away party; another twenty five should have their own going away party next week. A total of one hundred are slated for the chopping block due to greed and mismanagement. No more public pensions and now it is 401 K for the new hires. When I read the newspapers, they report how Daley and Quinn are going to fix the problem. These are the fools that have destroyed our convention business with incompetent personal incapable of realizing there is a problem and are too scared to fix the problem. This is how management in Chicago works, you have people in charge that come to work to play on the computer, if you make a decision, jealous supervisors undo any improvements. The only qualifications you need in Chicago for management positions is an ability to tell the next lackey above you what a great job they are doing. Get a picture of a young Daley on your desk if you really want to impress. I hope you enjoy the fruits of this work ethic, this is a picture I took at McCormick Place today. The Chicago Boat and RV show was a yawner if I ever saw one. The boat show yesterday was really bad, Wednesday was worse, and today was a disgrace. I talked with many vendors and they told me they are going to the smaller surrounding shows to sell next time. This Chicago Boat show is less than one third of prior shows. There was a lack of carpeting, just some red carpet in the aisles. The vendors looked shell shocked at the lack of business. Many people are sick of the nineteen dollar parking fee as soon as they arrive. You are out of twenty dollars before you turn you car off! When I went inside you can feel the unhappiness of the employees. Most of the employees work for private companies and really do not care what goes on. Most of the workers are black folks that look unhappy, just rock kicking to collect a check. Each bathroom had two persons cleaning and I watched one guy with rubber gloves wiping the urinal lip with toilet paper, his mind on other things. The bathrooms were the same old tile from decades ago and the expansion joints were very dirty, even the McDonalds had dirty wallpaper. The pizza from Connie’s was dry due to the lack of customers, but the service was excellent. The McDonald’s express did not have the fine line of coffee I really like. Much of the boat show was sales of things that had nothing to do with boating, cheap knife sets, pots and pans for cooking healthy. The pots and pan guy reminded me of a sham wow commercial! If the attendance of the boat show is any indicator of the health of Chicago, we are all in trouble. I took many pictures and they were all very depressing. I think the thing that bothered me the most was the lack of elegance or class McCormick Place has. I guess when you have idiots making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year doing nothing and a bunch of no-cares making minimum wage, you have a receipe for disaster. I would really look at the contractors and investigate the markup they get on these workers making minimum wage. I would also reduce the pay of the trades’ people to twenty dollars an hour and fire their union representation. Privatization may be good for Mayor Daley and his family finances, but it is hell for everyone else in Chicago. I was told changes are on the way for McCormick Place, but Daley threw the baby out with the bath water. There are many ways to improve McCormick Place, but change starts at the top, I think this gig is up for quite some time to come. Make sure you book all of your conventions outside Chicago until Daley is gone, you cannot make a silk purse out of a cows ear! Photo by Patrick McDonough taken January 15, 2010
Welcome 2010, last year, 2009 was not good for Chicago!
2009 was not a good vintage for the City of Chicago. The City of Chicago is in turmoil and things might get much worse. On this website, I blame Mayor Daley for many of Chicago's troubles. I will ask many of you to take a good long look at yourself and then decide who the real culprit is. Chicago could be considered a small country by many standards. Too much control has been given to too few, and the results have been disastrous. We need new leadership in Chicagoland. Chicago Clout will continue to help as many as possible, we will work much smarter in 2010. Please run for office if you have solutions, we will give a voice to anyone willing to step forward. The candidate's opinions are different than mine; the city workers voices are different than mine. We have had many high profile candidates and elected officials over the years on our public access show and internet. Please make sure you call Chicago Media outlets his year and tell them your story. Be organized and brief. Remember, if your story is not heard right away, it might be heard later. Everyone is needed to fix our City and our country, but you need to challenge those that use elected positions to reap a financial harvest and pilfer for personal gain. Time to work anew, Patrick McDonough.
Looks Like Todd Lighty nailed the Hammer on the head of City Hall Whistleblowing
Survey says Chicago city workers less likely to blow whistle on misconduct Todd Lighty
Chicago city workers are less likely to report job-related misconduct than their counterparts elsewhere, largely because they don't believe the problem will be fixed and they fear retaliation from bosses, a new survey by Mayor Richard Daley's hiring compliance office reveals.
The snapshot into City Hall work culture found that Chicago employees report only one out of every two instances of misconduct that they witness. Workers for other local governments, however, were more likely to disclose on-the-job wrongdoing, reporting two out of every three instances of misconduct.
Anthony Boswell, the executive director of the mayor's Office of Compliance, said he is going to create new initiatives, including training programs, to address Chicago workers' concerns about being retaliated against.
"If people think nothing will happen when they report misconduct or if people believe they will be retaliated against, then they are likely to say nothing," Boswell said. "We are going to work on that."
Boswell said city workers need to be encouraged to report even mistakes that may not amount to misconduct and be assured they won't be punished.
The survey also found that a paltry 17 percent of Chicago's workers believed they will be rewarded for following compliance and ethical standards.
Boswell ordered the survey, which cost approximately $40,000. The survey took the pulse of more than 1,800 workers and was conducted in August and September by the Ethics Resource Center, a private, nonprofit organization. The survey's error margin is 2.2 percentage points.
You can read the survey here. Other highlights include:
* Eighty-one percent of Chicago's workers said the primary reason they don't bother reporting misconduct is because they believe nothing will be done about it. Of those who reported misconduct, 26 percent said they were retaliated against.
* Only 62 percent of Chicago's workers believe City Hall has a strong culture of compliance and integrity. That's far below that of workers for other local governments from around the nation, where, overall, 80 percent believed they have a strong, ethical work culture.
* The most likely misconduct witnessed by Chicago workers involved abusive behavior, 27 percent; lying to employees, 21 percent; discrimination, 20 percent; hiring violations, 15 percent; and conflicts of interest, 15 percent.
* Chicago's workers were less likely to report hiring violations, sexual harassment, and on-the-job abuse of email and the Internet.
* The survey found that 93 percent of city workers were aware of the Office of Compliance, which Daley created in 2007 to promote ethical conduct. But workers surveyed said they were less likely to seek guidance from that office than from other city resources.
McCormick Place bled to death by Mayor Daley and his Goons.
The City of Chicago needs the convention business to not only promote our city, but to provide much needed income to support Mayor Daley and some of the leeches he employs. For over a decade money was flowing into Chicago and no one seemed to care about the waste. I complained about the top-heavy management and the lack of proper certifications to oversee Chicago’s departments. Mayor Daley loaded departments up with political hacks, clowns, and incompetent freaks. To get a promotion, you just needed to understand the political games, understand common sense was secondary, and work extra around the political season. Many of Daley hires are still milking the workman’s compensation claims despite the many inroads we have made for worker safety. The situation at the McCormick Place is paving the way to how Chicago is seen to the rest of the United States and the World, especially China. You cannot keep milking the convention business in Chicago anymore. Let’s review the factors that are sending convention business to other states and cities. The major players in the convention business are high rollers, wealthy, smart, and are business savvy. When they roll into Chicago, they wanted Meigs Field to handle their private planes. These are high class people that are not going to put up with the herds at O’Hare Field. They need to get in and out. Why waste your time on the Kennedy Expressway? The Chicago convention business is run by political hacks that think they are special and above the law. It is run by amateurs and immature morons, period. When businesses go to other cities, they are treated with kid gloves, entertained, wined and dined. When convention executives are in Chicago, they notice the citizens are ticketed and circled like vultures. The red light cameras, the array of high taxes and fees other cities do not experience are a detriment. Taxes for rental cars, taxies, hotels, dining, parking and travel never seem to end in Chicago. Companies attending conventions see no reason to relocate to Chicago. Businesses are like herds, they will continue move in packs away from Chicago. We need to offer some strong incentives to keep conventions in Chicago, hiring Mayor Daley’s friends and family is not the answer. Daley’s has family employed at McCormick Place. Unions such as Journeyman’s Plumbers Local 130 decide which workers work at the convention center instead of a proper application process which could provide better employees. Safeguard the conventioneers by giving management more power to enforce work rules. I think major conventions like the boat show and the car show will stay, but Daley needs to give them incentives like United Airlines tax breaks. I suggest all conventioneers threaten to boycott now for better contacts, Daley will cave in. As I said before and I will say again, keep your eyes open and expose corruption now, before it is too late. Switching subjects, I also hope the incident involving a laborer assaulted by a plumber yesterday at the Department of Water Management is not going to be covered up. I also hope the rise to power by Lemuel Austin from a Department of Water Management laborer to a superintendent’s position at Transportation is just a rumor. I know Daley is an idiot, but does he need another black eye to learn his lesson? Keep in touch; I have another gem on Daley’s son Patrick! Patrick McDonough.
Chicago Scool Board President Michael Scott remembered in song
The Clout Meisters are finishing the song, “The Ghost of Michael Scott”. Michael Scott has fallen on the sword for Mayor Daley. Money was used for personal expenses such as trips to Copenhagen. This alleged suicide is a pattern of behavior by high ranking friends of Mayor Daley and Rod Blagojevich. When small potatoes commit a crime, they rot in Cook County Jail. Politicians steal millions and are left free until their court dates. There is no difference between a bank robber and someone sworn to uphold the public trust. Michael sure delivered whatever Mayor Daley wanted, but when he got in a jam, I guess Daley left him no choice. Photo edited by Chicago Clout.
Did the Tadin Goons bite off more than they can chew? Hired Truck Boss back to feast!
Fran Spielman was back on top of her game today tying in Mayor Daley’s friend and family program, Mike Tadin’s goon enterprises, and the Building Department special inspectors for the 11TH Ward. What do I mean? Tadin an 11TH Ward Goon, is entering into the house building business. If you have money to launder, this is the business the IRS is too uninformed to watchdog. Fran Spielman also put together theft of water from the Chicago Fire Hydrants. Amazing. It seems to me the pieces are almost all together in the Tadin, Daley, Water Department pimps and players. The script; if Tadin is going to build home, all the city building inspectors on the project know to find nothing wrong. This project needs to be watched by the Office of the Inspector General with a close eye. Tadin made millions with his scab trucking company; expect unions to shy away from enforcing a 100% union worksite. The part of the story Fran nailed was related to ABC 7 News special with Plumbing Inspector/ Whistleblower John Swietczak exposing the stealing of water from Fire Hydrants. Chicago Clout also demands an investigation into the way the fines were imposed by the Department of Water Management against contractors caught pilfering water from Chicago taxpayers. Michael Tucker, son of retired Plumbers’ local 130 enforcer Paul “RC” Tucker, had his plate full yesterday with an all day Building Department meeting at Chicago City hall. Michael Tucker got a nice ride up the promotion ladder, and needs his workload increased. Chicago Clout also demands a review of the websites he has visited the last few years. Chicago Department of Water Management brass has failed again enforcing rules and regulations. I say fire all the goons Daley sent from the Police Department to hush to dissention at the Water Department. Feel free to ask Michael Tucker how he got his job and promotion and make sure you call 1-312-744-3764 if you plan on taking water from a Chicago Fire Hydrant. See attached story below. Photo by Patrick McDonough.]]> Continue reading “Did the Tadin Goons bite off more than they can chew? Hired Truck Boss back to feast!”
Mayor Daley fails the Chicago Department of Water Management
Why did the City of Chicago leak a story to the Chicago Tribune implying the impending sale of the Department of Water Management? Why would the Mayor deny the sale? After many decades of the Daley run Chicago Water Department, the cracks are showing, the gross incompetence and lack of professionalism is taking the toll of the Water Department. I will tell you why I think the story is a scam. The Department of Water Management was run into the ground for years. The Department is loaded with political hacks and deadbeats. The Department is a source of contracts for the Daley friend and family program. No legitimate company could take over the liability of the water mains and the decrepit condition of the valves and fire hydrants. A private company would have a difficult time absorbing all the pending lawsuits. A private company could not shield itself and make special insider deals with unions. A private company would not allow double dipping and payroll fraud. The Department of Water Management is too high profile and too closely watched. I think the public would benefit by the ability to personally sue any employee of the water department breaking the law. On a different note, make sure you take notice if Michael Scott. I guess he somehow ended up with a gun, it is reported he killed himself. I thought it against the law to own a handgun in Chicago. I also noticed Mayor Daley took the death in a very cold and callous manner, he showed no signs of remorse. I guess when his friend “Mike” killed himself, it was no big deal. In Chicago, it might be called business as usual. Logo edited by Patrick McDonough.
Chicago Clout Video explores the Chicago Residency Issue and Challenge
Chicago Clout Video "Chicago State of Affairs" with Emery Joe Yost and Michael Volpe, produced by John Swietczak
Alderman Joe Moore was on hand for the ABA Protest Today
