Asian Carp: 'Nice Try, Suckers'
Mariotti's Photo Scuffle?
Extra, Extra
Reappointment For Daley's Nephew
The unfortunate world of Arenda Troutman came crashing down around her like so much broken glass the day the FBI came and took her off to jail. And it came crashing down around her the night she lost, fairly definitively, her re-election bid for alderman of the 20th Ward. That's not to say that she didn't give the police plenty of rocks to throw at her fragile world.
You may remember that her drama has been going on for a few years now, with her formal indictment Wednesday simply adding a new chapter to the book. The indictment charges her with accepting a bribe of $5000 cash and a check for $5000, made out to the "Twentieth Ward Women's Auxiliary," a quid pro quo for writing a letter to city departments urging them to give a developer access to a South Side alley (which may or may not have actually been in her ward). Of course, it turned out that the developer was a government mole, sent to collect evidence of corruption in her Ward organization.
We have little patience for corruption here at Chicagoist, although we are secretly fans of playing dirty. (It's what makes writing about the Game so much fun in this town!) The perplexing thing about Troutman isn't that she is proclaiming her innocence; proclaiming her innocence is a given. It's that after she made sure she gave the police plenty of reasons to keep an eye on her, she went about and flaunted the law anyway. It's no shocker that they found an unregistered handgun in her possession when they raided her home. And it's not that stunning that she (allegedly) took the bribes that she took. Power corrupts, and often in ways that we don't always consider. It's no stretch to believe that an alderman, convinced she is untouchable, would keep playing the games that she played. But it is stunning that she wasn't more careful about what she did. Who takes a check for a bribe? And who allows their gang-member boyfriend use their car when they are so obviously under suspicion by the police? If the allegations against her are proven to be true, Arenda Troutman will be convicted in a court of law, and the sentence leveled against her may or may not be just. Regardless, it seems that her more glaring crime in this instance is stupidity.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
To top it all off they released transcipts of her 'deals' and she got caught calling all Chicago Alderman prostitute's and turned any allies against her. Unfortunately 1.) her sentence will be a joke (probably community service for 2 weeks, after which she will promptly be hired by Todd Stroger to supervise some new fake county dept. at $100,000+), and 2.) her qoute about alderman is more accurate than not.
Well, lets not forget who appointed her Alderman as if she was ever about any thing, Darth Daley.
Whatever happened to the "suspicious white powder" they found when they raided her home?
"she went about and flaunted the law anyway."
Probably meant "flouted" the law. Otherwise, good post.
It will never happen, but I'd get a huge kick if she defended herself during the trial. It would definitely keep the jury awake.
What did happen to the white powder?
speaking about dumb alderman; have the authorities checked Tillman's house for guns. Now that she's out, isn't illegal for her to own guns? If she's willing to do what she did with guns while she was alderman, imagine what she's willing to do while nobody is watching.
I do believe that the law allowed for her to carry a gun as an alderman; but it's legal for any non-felon resident to own properly registered firearms in Chicago (and have them in your house), just not to carry them on your person or have them in your car unless they are properly secured (packed up and unloaded). Perhaps some better informed firearms enthusiast can expound on the exact wording (or whether it's correct), but I remember that being the case.
So I guess the authorities could pat her down and make sure she isn't packing, but I don't think any cop is gonna want to face that shitstorm (although it would make a great youtube video: "Dorothy Tillman gets frisked")
I'm also very curious about the white powder.
I am sure there are a lot guns illegally in Chicago.
Well, DUH!!!
Perhaps you also suspect that those provocatively dressed women standing in the street at 3AM aren't waiting for a bus? ;-)
You white folks are so strange. Troutman was asking to be caught. Her style was so brash and careless. And the funny part was that she was the favorite to win the election before the news came out.
The anti-Shiller crowd in the 46th feel like Shiller is blatantly doing illegal things like Troutman, yet nothing seems to have been proven.
The big example is voting fraud...is there any easy way to see how many incidents were reported (and the possibility that they are related to Shiller)?
It's a claim that comes up every election cycle...that gangs are used, alcoholics are bribed with alcohol, and seniors being "focred" to vote.
Obviously, you can't have cameras in poll places (though it might be nice if they could be allowed to do so in "problem" precincts), but can't someone follow an alcoholic & see the bribe go down (literally)? Or get a confession (after yet another bribe)?
Or video of the gangbangers going to the polls?
They've got video of Shiller's chief of staff dancing (mockingly at the cameraman)...why not that?
JP Paulus: I'm sure the anti-Shiller crowd in the 46th feel like Shiller is also molesting children and worshiping the devil. That doesn't, however, make it true.
While vote fraud is certainly a serious charge, and should be prosecuted fully if it is true, unless the anti-Shiller crowd can actually prove those allegations, then that's all they really are - allegations.
One of the problems that I had with the anti-Shiller crowd, and their candidate James Cappleman, was that they seem to perceive the ward as being composed of two groups - those that are entitled to have a voice and a vote, and those that aren't. Maybe the reason that group finds it so offensive that seniors and the mentally ill vote the way they do is because they vote the way they do. They don't support you.
To compare Helen Shiller to Arenda Troutman is not only outrageous, it really goes to the credibility of your "movement". When that crowd comes up with some new ideas and some real solutions to the problems Uptown faces (besides the wholesale deportation of undesirables), it is unlikely that anyone other than the haves will oppose her.
Kevin,
You might want to look up old comments of mine in regards to Helen Shiller, and people's reaction, especially IrishPirate's & WhatTheHelen (version 2.0 of thatblog is down again...don't know if they'll revive it in a few months)
i'm not saying i agree with them -- just on how they perceive their alderman, and their rhetoric makes her seem as bad as Troutman.
They hate any "outsiders" perspective (including me, even though i lived there for a decade, have friends there, and am still a member at Uptown Baptist), but i personally am interested to hear an "objective" view and what they see out of what both sides portray (or if they see a 3rd or 4th side int he diverse ward/neighborhood).
No, it's not legal for any non-felon resident of Chicago to possess a hand gun.
If the hand gun was in the person's possession & registered when that soon to be unconstitutional law was passed, then its continued possession is legal. The law was passed in the early 80's.
Since Tillman would have been allowed to legally acquire one or more hand guns as alderman, I presume that if she had registered them prior to leaving office, then her continued possession would be legal.
But I'm not sure of that one.
And why is this law soon to be unconstitutional?
Because of the US Appellate Court that ruled that Washington, DC's almost identical law violated the Second Amendment. Either DC will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, where they are risking a crapshoot & their law is overturned or someone will challenge Chicago's law & get a different ruling from an appellate court, forcing the Supremes to rule & then throw out all the overly restrictive gun laws. Everyone knows how the current SCOTUS will rule on this.
The DC appeal was made with massive legal assistance from several LIBERAL lawyers who believe that these laws prevent law abiding poor people from defending themselves.
I rarely agree with the NRA, but their line "When guns are outlawed, only criminals will have guns" sure resonates with me.
Unindicted Co-conspirator: agreed.
to Kevin your comment #13 I think you are right on the money. I don't think Capplemen really brought any solutions to the table with his campaign. If there is voter fraud why can't the prove it?
Ross, i have brought that up before, but no one seems to have a solid answer, other than their belief in its "reality"...i have looked at Aldertrack(dot)com, and tried to see what precincts they could possibly say is due to fraud. I don't mind being corrected on this (with a specific precinct number), but it seems like most of the Shiller-favoring ards all have enough legitimate residences to win.
Ross, what struck you most about the Cappleman campaign? How does this compare , in your opinion, to previous campaigns.?
Kevin, Have you heard from anyone in the 46th who is neither an avid-Anti-Shillerite, nor a strong Shiller supporter? i am EXTREMELY curious what their opinion is...what do they find attractive for each candidate.
Such voices are absent on places like the Buena Park Neighbors Message board (the most active message board for Uptown).
And back to the subject that started it -- do we get a sense of how Willie Cochran is as an Alderman?
This is my first time voting in 46th so I can't compare it to the last campaign. All I know it that 46th hasn't progressed as well as the other wards around it and when I lived in Ravenswood a few years back even that area has improved.
We need more of a mix in Uptown.
What struck me about Cappleman is on WTTW he seemed angry at Helen and I don't think they really had their shit together(his campaign).
It also seemed that as long as you were knocking on doors for Cappleman he would talk to you but only his real inner cirlce has his ear.
Also he seemed to say she was corrupt but never seemed to prove it or really fight her.
He didn't seem to have a real plan for improvements in Uptown other than making store fronts look nice.
Also it seemed a lot of his supporters were supporting him because of the Wilson Yard project. It seemed to be those that had a different vision for it than Target etc.
I liked their ideas but I didn't think economically what they wanted would make it.
"One of the problems that I had with the anti-Shiller crowd, and their candidate James Cappleman, was that they seem to perceive the ward as being composed of two groups - those that are entitled to have a voice and a vote, and those that aren't. Maybe the reason that group finds it so offensive that seniors and the mentally ill vote the way they do is because they vote the way they do. They don't support you." - Kevin
I disagree with you there, Kevin. My campaign worked to unite all the different groups. We focused on the common values that we all share. I never made any statement and nothing from my campaign ever hinted that people living in poverty or people with mental illness were not entitled to have a voice. My concentration in social work graduate school was mental health. There is mental illness in my immediate family. I have no reason not to be an advocate for people living with mental illness.
This thread is about ethics. My campaign focused on involving the community to make decisions (as is done in many other wards) and making the whole process transparent.
I was critical and remain critical of forming committees a few months before an election and then having them drop by the wayside immediately afterwards. Her zoning committee stopped meeting right around election time and her Wilson Yard Task Force, when it does meet, has a consistent pattern of being canceled less than 24 hours before the meeting is to occur, only to be rescheduled during the work day, making it difficult for most residents to attend. She gives the perception this task force makes decisions, but there are no minutes and the members are not allowed to make decisions. Their task is to disseminate information, period.
Shiller opposes having the City Inspector General investigate allegations of abuse on the part of City Council (view the IVI-IPO's website for her response to question #50). There is this perception that "Chicago politics" is corrupt. Shouldn't we at least allow the City Inspector General to investigate aldermanic matters of suspected abuse? Instead, we have to rely on the FBI to do their sting operations on City Council, and it has to be overly blatant for the FBI to step in. Is there any other city government in this nation that flaunts this lack of accountability?
Speaking of ethics, among my criticisms has been that Ald. Shiller has not been truthful. Stating on Channel 11 in our debate that there were only 7 empty storefronts along all of N. Broadway in the 46th Ward was ludicrous. I can count 7 empty storefronts on just 2 blocks of N. Broadway alone. Telling us that the housing in the Wilson Yard was mixed-income was another lie. It's a mix of low-incomes; it comes no where near the definition of mixed-income as used by researchers, HUD, and CHA.
Let's look at the truth telling on the campaign. Shiller had campaign literature (I have copies of the literature) sent out to a number of residents living in CHA and HUD highrises that suggested I was a member of KKK, that I wanted to round up all the children in the neighborhood and have them arrested on sight, that I wanted to close down Uplift School, that I was against all affordable housing, that I was against all job training, and that I represented the worst of the Republican Party. In truth, I founded a homeless shelter, I have always supported affordable housing and if elected, would have insisted that we set aside 15% of housing units as affordable. Shiller who promised to vote for a 15% set-aside went with the Mayor's 10% set-aside instead. I was asked in the debate if I supported the job program "Jump-Up". That was a program that had over 200 applicants, 12 graduates, and 0 people with a job. No, I won't support a program that has no success, but by all means, I stated I was supportive of job training programs offered at Truman College and provided by the various case management services throughout Uptown that had demonstrated success. Shiller uses that to say I was against all job training.
Kevin, there are people who want to believe that anyone who doesn't support Helen Shiller must hate the poor. I'm a former Franciscan friar, and now I'm a licensed clinical social worker who is a Family Advocate at a children's hospital located on the Southside. However, one of the main ways I was criticized was through criticizing the people who wanted me elected. That tactic wasn't used for people who voted for other aldermen. It wasn't used for people who voted for the Mayor, or the governor, nor the current Presidential candidates. Somehow, there's a free license to do it when someone runs against Shiller.
I can't and won't control everyone who supported me. But I was vocal about rules for my campaign team. They were not allowed to say "Uptown is a dumping ground for poor people" because that term is insulting and is used for garbage. They were not allowed to refer to the Wilson Yard as "towers of poverty".
I don't mind criticism. I welcome it. That's why I surrounded myself with people who would be bluntly honest with me. I know I surprised a lot of politicians with how well my campaign was run, and I got 47% of the vote while getting outspent almost 4 to 1. Over 90% of my funds came from area residents while the vast majority of Shiller's funds came from special interest groups.
Kevin, you want the elderly and mentally ill to have a voice. I'm just not clear you want others to have a voice as well. That has also been my criticism of Shiller, who has told many people they can move elsewhere if they don't like her "rulings".
I don't mind criticism. I welcome it. That's why I surrounded myself with people who would be bluntly honest with me.
In reality, Cappleman's base of operations is the Uptown Update web site whose denizens routinely censor and/or harass any of his critics. It's also run by a right-winger who endorses David Horowitz and Charles Murray along with touting all of the Van Jones/ACORN propaganda from Fox news on his personal blog. Cappleman also endorses James Q. Wilson on one of his moribund web sites. Go figure.