Results tagged “chicagopolitics”

"The effect of the Machine's systematic repression [of the urban poor] is the muting of protest, incalcuable stagnation of the general citizenry, and the loss of progress in Chicago," former 5th Ward Ald. Leon Despres told political scientist Milton Rakove in Don't Make No Waves... Don't Back No Losers., published in 1975. Rakove, went on to say, "Despres lead a band that made a valiant, often futile, but occasionally successful fight against the leaders of the [Richard J.] Daley organization."

Sixty-seven years ago today, Richard Michael Daley came kicking and screaming into the world, and immediately proceeded to secure a lucrative hospital cafeteria contract for the baby in the next room. The folks here at Chicagoist wanted to honor the mayor's birthday, i.e., the celebration of him being one year closer to death, i.e., the only way he'll leave office, and have put together a bundle of gifts that we'll be delivering to 121 N. LaSalle later this afternoon.
• Lauri is giving Hizzoner a painting of him and his dad, dressed as the Emperor Justinian. If he doesn't like that, she'll be happy to paint him dressed in women's undies, a la the Harold Washington painting that stirred up so much trouble. Or maybe a ride on her bicycle's handlebars, down one of Chicago's potholiest streets.
• Rob thinks the mayor deserves his own Picasso-like monumental sculpture, and proposes commissioning Claes Oldenburg to create a giant bronze raspberry to be erected outside of City Hall.
• Marcus will be sending over a big slush-fund flavored slushie!

In court records unsealed recently, it seems that Edward "Fast Eddie" Vrdolyak was ultimately done in by "buddy" Stuart Levine, who taped conversations between he and Vrdolyak in 2006. And if that name sounds familiar, yes, it's the same Stuart Levine whose testimony was the crux of the case against one Mr. Tony Rezko. Vrdolyak just pled guilty a few weeks ago to the real estate kickback scheme of Rosalind Franklin University's sale of a Gold Coast building. In the taped conversations, Levine is described as, "pressing his old pal for his share of a bogus finder's fee." The Trib recounts this more succinctly than we ever could.

Levine, a board member at the school, tapped his friend Vrdolyak to find a buyer, Smithfield Properties Development.

Continue reading "Fast Eddie Has A Potty Mouth"

If you've ever found yourself at a cocktail party (or in a voting booth) with your head spinning over the names and connections of the veritable cornucopia of candidates that come up for (re)election periodically, independent political consultant (and former Chicagoist politics writer) Mike Fourcher and local public interest attorney Jay Paul Deratany have just the solution: CloutWiki.

A new ad by John McCain attempts to connect Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to the storied Chicago "Machine." The ad connects Obama to Rezko, Emil Jones, and beleaguered Governor Rod Blagojevich. The Obama Campaign has responded by calling the new ad a “false, gratuitous attack." Obama's ties to the local political structure have previously been examined by the Trib and, more famously, in The New Yorker this summer, an article that was over-shadowed by The Great Cover Controversy of 2008.

Was it an over-eager desire to do our civic duty? Was it a whim? Or did we just want to check out what was inside the building in Welles Park? Who cares - our primary voting is done!