Friday Afternoon Diversion
Jay-Z Announces 2010 Tour Dates. Chicago Not On List.
I Fight Dragon$
"Batman" Headline Is a Stretch, But Prison Escape Story Could Be Its Own Movie
Grates To Tear Up Schubas
For CTA President Frank Kruesi, yesterday was a bad day at the office.
As if the problems affecting the downtown Loop trains and the southbound Red Line weren’t bad enough, yesterday was the monthly CTA board meeting, and the management team at the agency got a bit of an ass-handing-to.
At issue was a life insurance policy for 11,000 CTA employees and retirees that is set to expire in 18 days. The policy was presented to the board by CTA management on Monday, and its members were expected to vote on the policy yesterday without giving it a thorough review. If they hadn’t voted to accept it, those 11,000 folks would be sans life insurance.
While board members later said the policy is a “good deal” and any lack of life insurance would probably have been temporary, ABC-7 connects the dots between this latest incident and the “careless” (to use CTA board chair Carole Brown’s word) mismanagement at the agency over the past year.
No Brown Line permits? Poor communication with riders during the Blue Line fire? Illegal demolition of historical architecture? A reasonable person could argue that laying blame at Kruesi’s feet for yesterday’s routing problems, funding issues, slow zones, and questionable capital spending is unfair. But the agency frequently demonstrates a lack of basic, short-term managerial skills.
When asked why the policy was just now being brought up for review, Kruesi said, "I'm going to have to find out specifics about what happened here.” Wait … you don’t know? We’ll give Kruesi the benefit of the doubt and say he does know why it happened, but the answer isn’t anything he wants in the press. But not having an answer makes him look like he either doesn’t know or doesn’t care.
Let’s put it this way: things are so bad now that the CTA is patting itself on the back when nothing goes wrong. As Brown says in the ABC-7 piece, “what we have to do is set standards for our professionals and when they don’t meet those standards, get new professionals.”
Speaking of, our Frank Kruesi Dead Pool is still running. Leave your guess as to when the CTA President gets kicked upstairs in the comments here.
Also at the board meeting: the plan for express train service to the airport (from the CTA superstation that no one asked for) is on hold, the trial period for the West Side rail and bus improvements has been extended and it’s unlikely that an aldermanic plan to put conductors back on trains will happen.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
But this city is in such great shape.
At least that's what I hear from the Daley apologists, and all those Chicago natives who love corruption and inefficiency.
Come on, Scott, get with the program: Talk about the Olympics. Or the noble work being done by Patrick Daley in the military. Or how Sorich is, at heart, a good kid. Or all those parks. Or how the 80s were really, really bad.
Chicago natives? WTF is that? what are we some kind of ancient tribe dressed in loincloth?
There is something in the bigger picture going on with the CTA. Either they want to kill or take it private but it sure looks to me like something is up and they are trying to run it into the ground. Maybe to sell off all the CTA land. Who know's but something as simple as getting a train from point A to point B be managed this badly. They need a real manager at the top. How could the maps with the Bemont instead of Belmont make it out without anyone proofing?
Oh man, I forgot that one.
I used to think it was cool that Frank Krusei actually rode the brown line. I figured maybe he would realize that we aren't lying or just whining when trains get delayed, break down or are so packed you can't even get on. I was hoping that this bit of reality would wake up the powers that be that our public transit system is whacked and sooo behind the rest of the world in sooo many ways, but I'm forced to believe that Frank must have been one of the homeless sleeping across one whole width of the train (with legs on the opposite set of seats)I've seen from time to time, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. How does one wait for a train at say, Grand Ave or Wilson or Oak Park Ave and think, "mmm, I really think we need to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in a downtown subway station that may or may not ever really be used so Joe Business Guy can get to O'Hare or Midway 10 minutes faster." Don't get it.
My loin cloth by the way has a hoodie for those aforementioned waits for a train.
NSH: All those Chicago natives (not all, but many) who for years have been apologists for corruption; who would have you believe nothing would be good in Chicago without corruption; who made up the patronage armies; who like to keep saying "well, it ain't as bad as in the '80s"; who can't imagine this city without a Daley-led machine in charge; who think is it OK to pass down offices as though the city were a monarchy; etc. etc.
No, these types of natives do not deserve all the blame, but this "where's mine" attitude has been more harm than help to this city.
What I find silly about many Chicago natives--not all, but many--is how they affect this tough, working-class attitude, but are more than willing to bend over for the machine masters. All big cities have these types of tough-acting sheep, but I think this has reached its perfect form in Chicago, which apparently is determined to keep 20th-century corruption and inefficiency alive in the 21st century.
Seriously, Chicago needs a freaking outsider US attorney to even start to fix things and punish the politicians and other officials who steal from us? The natives couldn't get it done? Pathetic. I'm lucky enough to know more than a few natives who don't have this attitude, who are honest and honorable and outraged at machine corruption, but the majority of Chicago natives I've met are mere sheep (or, in some cases, outright thieves) when it comes to the machine and the corruption problems. In fact, some are even proud that Chicago is so corrupt, as though it proves the unique toughness of the city, or something like that. It's hard to understand such twisted thinking. I guess you have to have been born here.
Is that clear enough for you, NSH?
Wow vise it doesn't sound like you like it here very much. Have you tried moving to Naperville?
krusei should have been fired a long time ago. the guy is a complete ass, and the most hapless, useless city employee i've ever heard of.
Wow Vise,
I'm not a native (10yrs.) but boy do you come off like Elliot Ness with a Mayor Daley sized unpicked nit up his ass. You keep repeatedly and hysterically screeching about everyone supporting 'the machine' yet I rarely see anoyone on this site who's guilty of doing just that. As NSH pointed out it seems like you've got some kind of larger mental beef with Chicago that we don't know about.
you know what? i moved down to illinois from wisconsin (yeah, sue me. i knew i was going to live in a big city when i was *twelve years old.*) to go to a small liberal arts school in naperville. i quickly figured out naperville wasn't at ALL what i had imagined.
being a small town girl, i hadn't really imagined anything, frankly. having sidewalks and traffic lights was something. the concept of suburbs was a transitioning point for me. but it wasn't long before i knew my liberal heart was not for these republican walls and i yearned to get out of there. it took me several years, being young and poor.
however, i DID make it to chicago a little over nine years ago. while this doesn't exactly make me a 'native,' it definitely makes me a resident and one who loves this city dearly. HOWEVER -- from the moment i stepped foot into this beautiful city i love so much, i have NEVER been able to understand why people are so willing to accept mediocrity in their elected officials (at best) and downright disgusting dirty underhanded politics and crime (at worst).
and then to do the "have you tried moving to naperville" routine? oh, should i go move to iraq, because i think our current administration is a bunch of lying, thieving, scamming, greedy fucks whose actions have led to death over and over again, even in the face of expert opinion, investigation, and subsequent suggestions that they should take contrary action, also again and again?
i should now be labeled an american hater or something and just get the hell out?
lame. it's because i love my city and my country so much that i *dare!* to criticize them and hope that real change can be made. that people will wake up and see that we don't have to settle for things to get done. that we don't just have to accept the status quo and act that things are okay. that we don't have to wait until our asses are on fire to get up off a smoldering chair.
but that's just me.
Naperville? That's the best you have? Serioulsy--love it or leave it? Pitiful. There should be a law on this board, similar to the blog Nazi rule, about the first person who says "move to Naperville" automatically loses the debate.
I love urban living, and I love Chicago. Instead of me moving, why can't I support efforts to clean up corruption? Why can't I do what I can to get these slugs and crooks out of office?
You sound like one of the people who don't mind politicians stealing from you. Sounds like you think part of the Chicago experience is to let politicians steal from you and run institutions such as the CTA into the ground. Sounds like you don't mind criminal activity and dishonesty, and doing what the machine says should be done.
Tell you what, NSH, why don't YOU move out of the city, and take the weaklings and apologists and crooks with you--that is, the ones not already on their way to prison? Maybe we can get more honest and honorable people in here--no, Chicago won't be the same, but perhaps it would be at least a little bit better, and perhaps the taxes might even go down at least a little bit.
And next time you try to counter a point, offer something better than "leave." Honestly, if it weren't for annoying carpetbaggers such as myself, professionals with money to spend on local goods, services and taxes, this city wouldn't be as strong as it is. It is people with attitudes like yours--accept the corruption or leave--who are harming this city, making it harder for things to get even better.
Chicago's public transportation system is in the dark ages and will never come close to rivaling public transportation sytems in the likes of Berlin, Munich, London, etc etc due to the laughable level of corruption. The blatant nepotism lately in the county and city (Stroger, Steele, Beavers)has taken it to an all new and ridiculous level. All the money that is wasted in corruption could probably fund the CTA for the next decade. That and Frank Kruesi isn't fit to manage a McDonalds......but what does it matter, if he's canned they'll just hire another Daley Crony to keep running the CTA into the ground.
Well I'm glad you've come to a website to vent your frustration with Chicago and it's "natives." I haven't heard anything about your alderman campaign Vise, but if you've yet to pass out the flyers about that, by all means let us know. You did hear that this year more people have started Alderman campaigns then ever in the history of Chicago (sort of flies in the face of your disinterested sheeple strawman, but why let facts interrupt an angry college-style rant). Maybe you're one of those concerned citizens, more likely not.
If you love Chicago so much, maybe you should stop bitching at it's inhabitants and start making some positive suggestions or start getting involved with your "beloved" community.
And if you could provide some support for your "Natives love Corruption" claim, I'd love to see it. Or conversely, if you could show me a large metropolitan region that is free from corruption and sheeple, that would be great too.
Get off your high horse and stop belittling the people whose opinions you are trying to change. Seems to me at the last CTA meeting I attended (have you been to one? they're real fun) there were tons of citizens there letting their voices be heard.
If you really want to do something about the all these problems, support an incumbent, walk the streets for petitions, ask to see a manager when your fries are cold. I don't think bitching on chicagoist is going to tip any elections though.
don't support an incumbent
Never said bitching in Chicagoist will elections, NSH, though thanks for dodging the real point, that too many natives are apologists for corruption. No, I have no scientific proof--do you of your point?--only years of interaction with natives here, most of them white and black, usually working or middle class.
One BIG hurdle in improvement is this attitude from the natives, who still have a lot of power and influence over what happens in Chicago. You can see when people who bitch are told to leave.
By the way, Navin, I think Elliot Ness, for all his many faults, was a decent man who had the right idea. We need more such men and women. So thanks for the compliment. And believe me, I've done a fair amount of work in the civic arena--not all the work involves handing out fliers or sitting through CTA meetings (which I've attended, though the hours are really not suited for working people). That you think someone who hates corruption is just hiding some other beef else points to some serious shortcomings in your understanding of human nature, I think.
And I've seen plenty of defense of the machine and corruption on this site from various visitors and some regulars, so spare me that inaccuracy.
By the way, does any realize what a weak defense this is: Other cities have corruption, too, so shut up?
The logic of a child.
Or a machine apologist.
(And that ignores the fact that not all regions and cities are as dirty as Chicago, at least going by the number of FBI agents devoted to this area's political crooks, or the persistent culture of corruption in Chicago, or the way our mayor talks nicely about convicted felons and tries to act innocent about corruption, which is in contrast to several other big city mayors. No one is arguing for or even expecting perfection, only a rejection of this culture of corruption.)
What point have I made vise? Who said I didn't agree with you? You are so quick to judge, I am from here so I must be some dunderhead who follows king daley. Being a native I have heard my fair share of conspiracy theories (http://www.theconspiracy.us/vol10/cn10-53.html) and have met many good people in Chicago politics on the other end. So stay in chicago, bitch on the internet about how much you hate it, eat a ham sandwich, but don't be so angry.
NSH you're such an apologist for ham sandwiches. Don't you KNOW how much corruption there is in the hamming industry. For shame!
How can one not be angry, NSH, when politicians and officials are stealing from you, and smiling while doing so, while the quality of life--CTA and the still poor schools--are so low? Why aren't you more angry?
If I have mischaracterized you in specific, I apologize. But my general view of natives--which applies to most, but not all, of the natives I've met and worked with-stands. This is based on my interactions with them, as well as the people elected to office year after year after year. I hope all the crooks rot in jail. If there were justice in America, the worst political crooks, like the worst gangbangers, would face either life sentences or execution. After all, corrupt officials steal from many people; often ruin their lives or livelihoods. The worst of them commit what I consider a form of treason, as they abuse and twist our Republic's ideals, and more or less subvert or laws and princples of our constitutions (state and national) for personal gain.
Yes, I'm a geek that way, but I care about my country, state and city, and honest government. Again, why aren't you more angry?
That you think someone who hates corruption is just hiding some other beef else points to some serious shortcomings in your understanding of human nature, I think.
No I think it's your way to work in some kind of hysterical high and mighty dig at people who in your fantasy world love Daley and The Machine that gives me this perception. As I've said most people here (maybe all) agree with you as far as corruption's concerned so why do you keep screaming at the converted. You're the like the guy at The Dead concert screaming 'Save the Whales!".
And I've seen plenty of defense of the machine and corruption on this site from various visitors and some regulars, so spare me that inaccuracy.
Mmmkay, go get em' tiger!
i'm not trying to get into a bitch fest or call names or trying to be super 'angry' or anything. but i guess i'm scratching my head just like i do every time this comes up.
because for the time i've lived in the city, i've encountered the same thing vise has. over and over and over again. to the point where i think i'm living in some bizarro alternate universe.
people i know who are smart and educated and support change and politics and volunteer and do stuff and all that. but then you bring up the chicago machine, and all of a sudden it's like their eyes glass over and they start saying things like "but things get done here," and "all government is like that," and "that's the way it's always been," and "you should have seen it when," and "your garbage gets picked up, doesn't it!?" or even worse: "what about millenium park/state street/northerly island?"
yeah, what ABOUT those??!!!?!?
it just seems weird that nearly everyone i meet no matter what line of work they come from, no matter how much they make, no matter their racial background, religious leanings, whatever -- they all are down with daley. and i just think, man. it could be so much better, i KNOW it could.
Jocelyn, nest time you get together with your friends try this, when your conversation starts to get political, instead of bringing up the machine, and then talking about the 80's. Talk about that aldremanic candidate you are supporting to oust your current alderman, talk about the positive ideazs you have for change. No one wants to go out and drink with debby bowner
Check out the big brain on Vise, seriously, yo!
The problem is every body piles on Todd Stroger
but with Darth Daley, no one wants to say the emperor wears no muth*&%@ Fu#@&* clothes, son.
Yea the CTA sucks and its getting worse. I mean the Blue Line has so many delays that its common for people to get sick and pass out on those sardine cattle cars!
Its clearly not a priority for his Dishonor
And NHS you have no idea what people are doing outside this here blog
How can you assume that some one like Vise is not
working to bring down the machine or make her/his community better outside this blog???
And again the alderman, like the County Board Pres are all tentacles of the Daley Empire, son.
I find the debate refreshing, its funny how its patriotic to show passion about
sports, but demonstrate passion about how Chicago poli-trix and you get a one way metra ticket to Naperville,
unless its bashing Todd Stroger, that is.
To all those confused about the attitudes of certain Chicago natives, check out the Trib story today about how Bridgeport treated a guy who cooperated in the Sorich corruption probe.
If you aren't angry, you aren't paying attention.
working to bring down the machine
Poli-trix, His Dishonor and you didn't change the above to "Raging against the machine"?
Spook son, you be slippin' seriously, Yo!
BTW:
When does your record "Crook County Poli-Trix" drop?
I'm really feelin' "ILLstate a' mind"
Let's be real here. Frank Kreusi has that job because he'll do exactly what Rich Daley tells him, and will run the CTA for the benefit of Richie's pals, rather than riders.
I don't think Kruesi will be fired anytime soon; he'll continue to have the job until Richie finds it expedient to throw him under the bus.
I'm confident that no "mistakes" were made with regard to the insurance policy. It was intentionally submitted to the Board in an untimely manner because (a) some aspect of the deal won't withstand public scrutiny; and (b) neither Rich nor Kruesi care in the least what the Board thinks anyway.
Why is this a surprise to anyone?
vise77 - those people suck. I don't know what else to say, what asshats.
For CTA President Frank Kruesi, yesterday was a bad day at the office.
He was able to get to his office? He must have cabbed it.
Navin
As soon as they give me some studio time my double CD will drop,son! Couse Nas said Hip Hop was Dead intodays NY Times, so maybe I'll switch styles
But till then,
word up MLH Daley run this whole piece, his county and his city, and half the state
including the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson. To assume any thing else is just subterfuge
ANOTHER derailment!!! yay!!!
pathetic.