Disgusting

The Hastert indictment is just the latest example of our leaders feeling that they are above the rules. Hastert is the Illinois second congressman in as many months to have his career destroyed by ignoring the rules. 

Locally, the Chicago pols have created a facade of reform only to be sure that the ethics rules are riddled with holes. We are hopelessly lost. Rahm was reelected just last month by an electorate that was easily bullshitted. When will people wake up?  

Our so-called leaders are funding a decadent and corrupt machine that exists to serve themselves rather than the city.  The players are extracting extreme and undue profits as the city careens into financial insolvency. Residents face bleak futures while the players enjoy bright futures.  The fact that Chicago is famous for this “machine” is disgraceful.

The hard truth is our elites – business and civic leaders – have sold the city out. While they strip the city of needed funds with their no-bid, non-competitive contracts for millions of dollars, they recycle a portion back into politics by funding the political machine that is designed to protect their own positions.

Let’s look at another example – the lawyers.  Since Emanuel’s executive order on May 15, 2011 banning pay-to-play, Schiff Hardin LLP attorneys have given $31,850 in campaign cash to
Emanuel and received $370,000 in city legal work. Over the past four years they’ve received $1.2 million.  Jenner and Block attorneys have donated $37,200 since the executive order and have been paid more than $4 million for city legal work since 2010 with much of it coming recently.

How does this happen?  The legal work is no-bid and circumvents a competitive procurement process. According to the city transparency website, these firms are paid for city legal work without a contract.  They submit payment vouchers that are paid via a direct payment scheme. City of Chicago direct payments don’t disclose work product or purpose on their “transparency” website.

We also examined the investment firms handing the pension funds.  Since Emanuel’s executive order, one of the world’s largest private investment firms Grosvenor Capital Management’s affiliated employees have given over $90,000 in campaign cash and $444,500 to Mayor Emanuel since 2010. Yet, the firm indirectly manages city teacher pension funds.

The elites of Chicago are lining their pockets with public money while regular homeowners struggle with ever increasing property taxes, kids attend broken schools, and emergency rooms are flooded with the causalities of a wounded community. Citizens are suffering but the elites of Chicago have never had a better return-on-investment.Most of this is legal and shouldn’t be.

We can blame Mayor Emanuel, but he’s just a reflection of today’s broken culture of public service.