Results tagged “tomtunney”

Later Tunney acknowledged that there isn’t a consensus in the LGBT community whether to pursue a special category as a qualified minority. He told the Sun-Times:

An alderman who says one thing in private and something else in public? Considered us floored. Ald. Tom Tunney is the latest political figure to come under a bit of scrutiny over perception versus reality. To hear him talk about his proposal of shutting down vendors within a certain radius of Wrigley Field, it's all about safety. Last month, Tunney told the Trib, "It's a public safety issue. You can't walk to the park." Behind closed doors is another matter though.

Anyone who's ever gone to a Cubs game knows the clusterfuck that occurs around Wrigley Field right before game time. Now, Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) wants to try to clear that congestion a bit by making it illegal for street vendors to set up shot within a certain radius around the stadium. The proposal, introduced today, would make it illegal for vendors to, as the Tribune explains, "sell food or merchandise from a cart, table or other temporary stand."

44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney suspended "indefinitely" aide Zodak Yonan, whom the Tribune busted on Monday for parking around the ward with a homemade placard. Yonan displayed the placard, which reads "44th Ward Official Business" next to a City of Chicago seal to avoid feeding the meters. "Nobody gave it to me. I made it," he told the Tribune. "I've worked for the alderman's office for 25 years. We're so busy in the office, sometimes you forget to put the money in. The sign is there for the meter maids to know. There's no problem with that." Tunney told the Tribune that "we don't have any official 44th Ward business signs. I don't even have one."

In spite of opposition from the Southport Neighbors Association, the Chicago City Council gave the Chicago Cubs permission today to hold three concerts at Wrigley Field this July. Neighborhood Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) signed the plan and promised to “minimize the concerns of the community at large.” Pop legends Billy Joel and Elton John are slated to play a pair of shows together at the stadium (July 16 and 21) and country group Rascal Flatts will squeeze a date in between (July 18). Part of the protest from the Southport Neighbors Association centered on the fact that the Rascal Flatts show is during the same weekend as their annual Summer on Southport festival. The concerts come during an 11-day stretch during which the Cubs will be off for the All-Star break and then on the east coast. [Tribune]

If Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) gets his wish, Wrigley Field rooftop owners will be allowed to sell tickets to the upcoming Winter Classic between the Blackhawks and rival Detroit Red Wings. While the rooftops are limited to only being open for Cubs' home games, Tunney has introduced an ordinance that would allow the rooftops to be open for the game, saying, "It's a fierce rivalry. Interest is very high and ticket prices are very high. There's an opportunity for the rooftops to do some business. For the concerts [by Jimmy Buffett and the Police], the rooftops were not that good a seat. We let them be open, but they didn't benefit financially. This time, the rooftops will have a saleable seat. Center ice is around second base." We think it's a grand idea that makes sense. And at least those rooftop clubs have indoor areas where you can actually warm up. With ticket prices for the game ranging from $75 to $325, it'll be interesting to see what prices owners put on packages. One owner, Tom Gramatis, has lowered his price to $200 per person thanks to the economy.

City Hall's response to cell-phone-yapping motorists is simple: get a hands-free device or put a sock in it. While that's still the case, a new plan working its way through city council would scale back the punishment for offenders of the cell phone ban, which now includes text messaging and internet surfing. Under the current ordinance, talkative drivers have their license taken away by the police department and can only get it back after they pay a fine or go to court. But during Wednesday's full council meeting, Mayor Daley introduced a proposal that allows offenders to keep their license. The proposal also allows violators the opportunity to contest their ticket by mail or through an administrative hearing.

Following up on yesterday's story regarding the city asking bars and restaurants around Wrigley Field to voluntarily honor a ban on alcohol sales after the seventh-inning stretch during post-season "clinch" games (definition for some readers/"Cubs Fans": "a game in which the Cubs can end a series with a win, facilitating their continued participation in the postseason"). How do you think Mayor Daley reacted to the protests of business owners who said that the proposed ban lacked common sense? Rationally?

44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney has introduced an amendment to Chicago’s domestic-partnership ordinance. The ordinance allows for registered domestic partners of city employees to receive benefits. The proposed amendment will modify the language so that any city employee can keep his or her benefits if they legally marry in another jurisdiction. The amendment is just a technical change.

From today's Tribune: Alderman Tom "Sticky Buns" Tunney, citing opposition from the restaurant industry (of which he's a member as owner of Ann Sather's) intends to force a vote on repealing the ridiculous-but-upheld-in-court foie gras ban. "We think we have the votes to (repeal) it," Tunney told the Trib.

Live in the 44th Ward? Care a ton about Wrigleyville development? There's a public meeting tonight with Alderman Tom Tunney to talk about the proposed development on Addison. Yes, head to the Stadium Club at Wrigley (swank!) at 6:30 tonight for the airing of grievances. Er, discussion.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks gave its OK to Wrigley Field today to add 70 more seats along the third-base line and some new digital signs along the grandstands. Or as everyone seems saying, "signage." Gaaah. There are already 82 "bullpen box seats" on the first-base side, and now that Wrigley has updated its drainage system, there's room for more money/seats on the third-base side, too.

The thousands of Chicagoans who have received citations for refusing to wear an ugly head set while driving may feel a bit at ease today. The Law Offices of Blake Horwitz is filing a class action lawsuit against the city, Mayor Daley, and several police officers for illegally ticketing thousands of drivers in violation of the cell phone ban since its inception over two years ago.

Wow, Alderman Tom Tunney has been having an interesting couple of months. First he gets a ticket for talking on his cell phone while driving and may have received special favors from the police department, then he makes a sweet deal and moves his flagship Ann Sather's, and now it's being reported that Tunney was the victim of an attempted holdup yesterday afternoon just a block from his 44th ward office.

If you were around the Belmont and Clark epicenter yesterday with a hankering for sticky buns that couldn't be sated because Ann Sather was closed, fear not. 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney and his crew are in the process of moving the long-standing restaurant a few storefronts east. In an article in today's Sun-Times, Alderman Tunney expressed confidence that Ann Sather's flagship restaurant will be open for business in its new location at 909 W....

Property tax rates for the Chicago area were announced yesterday, and the fight over how much to raise taxes flared up again. While Todd Stroger tried to make his proposed increases more palatable by offering to rebate any leftover cash from a tax hike that hasn't yet been approved, Mayor Daley took a different approach, sending Library Commissioner Mary Dempsey to a city budget hearing yesterday to shill for higher property taxes. Predictably, county commissioners...

Undeniable proof that cops actually are cracking down on drivers who disregard the cell phone ban: Alderman Tom Tunney got a ticket for talking on his cell phone while driving.

One of Chicagoist’s things to do before we die is to gamble in a casino. A lofty goal, we know. Our one previous attempt at a Quad Cities riverboat ended in a DQ, as we weren’t old enough and our mother had left her driver’s license at the hotel. We know it’s way less glamorous than movies would have us think, but damn if we don’t want to feel the chips in our fingers and...

Tom Tunney’s cracking down. The 44th Ward alderman has had it with Wrigleyville’s booze-soaked reputation. He’s sick of bar after bar after bar littering his neighborhood, sick of drunken young urban professionals that don’t act quite so professional after a long night out. He’s finally listening to constituents that are less than thrilled to wake up to a crusty puddle of vomit on their front steps. And he’s enlisting others to help with improvement of Chicago’s partyingest enclaves.

What's a Ward Committeeman?

If you're looking for a quick way to score an easy 20% on the AlderTrack Challenge, here's your crib sheet. Yesterday we told you about five of the ten aldermen who, through luck, the will of the community, or (more likely) legal wrangling, have the political good fortune of running unopposed. Today, let's take a look at the rest of the bunch. Much has been written about how Alderman Mary Ann Smith skillfully removed her...

Halfway through reading about Tom Tunney's proposal for the city, we had to start over. We searched and searched, scratching our heads, thinking, "Wait, is a Chicago alderman actually doing something?" Inspired, we smiled wide. So THIS is why we vote in local elections!

Well, the empty lot that was once a Dominick's over in Lakeview/Boystown finally has a contract on the table for a new structure and the developer for the project, Michael O'Connor of Dionysius LLC, says "the date hasn't closed yet, but the contract is hard." We're trying to leave that be, and just be grateful. Every time we walk past that gaping hole, we sigh and lose a little bit more hope that it will be just another set of boxy, half-a-million dollar condominimums.

We remember the Sunday we were strolling down Broadway when something seemed strangely afoot at the ghetto Dominick's* right at Broadway and Wellington. A crowd was gathering and soon it was amassing mob proportions. Next thing we know, the building is burning down before our very eyes! Oh my!

To people who have been to Boystown, something racy in the window of any of the shops on north Halsted probably wouldn't be a surprise.

Image via thelou137

Holiday shopping season is upon us, and who doesn't need a little extra cash this time of year? Seems even the Cubs do, maybe in hopes of being able to give their fans a shiny new free agent for the holidays. Or maybe they're just trying to pay off some debt from all that repair work over the summer. Whatever the reasons, the Cubs have unveiled a number of money-generating proposals in recent days. The...

Architect Pat Fitzgerald has concluded that the Chicago Cubs' proposed bleacher expansion plans would obstruct some of all of the views from six of the 13 rooftop surrounding Wrigley Field -- and change the neighborhood backdrop from inside the park. The Cubs are currently looking to gain approval for a 1,980-seat bleacher expansion. The Cubs have already bowed to pressure and cut 520 from the original proposal. Complicating the approval process is opposition from...

It's no secret that Cubs games are a bit more popular than they were just a few short years ago. In fact, so many bandwagon fans show up, that sometimes people just go to Wrigleyville during games to drink -- and then get rowdy. Responding to neighborhood cries for help, Ald. Tom Tunney "demanded Tuesday that police eliminate what one community leader has called the "Bourbon Street" atmosphere around Wrigley Field," according to today's Sun-Times....