Beetlejuice fires key pot adviser

your ass is fired

WHY?

“[Paul] Stewart is no longer an employee at the Mayor’s Office. As this is a personnel matter, we will not be commenting any further,” a spokesman for Lightfoot said Tuesday.
By Tom Schuba Aug 25, 2020, 7:40pm CDT

Former mayoral adviser Paul Stewart Sun-Times file photo
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has fired Paul Stewart, her top cannabis adviser and assistant deputy mayor, though it’s still unclear what led to his ouster.

“Mr. Stewart is no longer an employee at the Mayor’s Office. As this is a personnel matter, we will not be commenting any further,” Pat Mullane, a spokesman for the mayor’s office, said in a statement

A message from the alderman

From: Alderman O’Shea

8/21/20@3:40pm

Earlier today a resolution was brought before the City Council calling for the mobilization of the Illinois National Guard to patrol the streets of Chicago. I welcome any outside resources that will make our City safer and appreciate the support that the National Guard has already provided us. I also think it is important to hear from police leadership and other law enforcement partners about

How does one get this or do they have to be friends with Lightfoot? Just asking.

Lightfoot showcases $33 million in relief for renters and property owners
The city issued $1,000 housing grants to 2,000 Chicagoans in April — but 83,000 applied. Those who missed out will be automatically considered for a $25 million pot of additional assistance for people affected by the pandemic.

By Fran Spielman Jul 27, 2020, 6:08pm CDT


Chicagoans who missed out on an early round of housing assistance will be automatically entered for a chance to receive a piece of a much larger pot of money. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times



Three months after unveiling a non-binding “Housing Solidarity Pledge” that appeased no one, Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday showcased $33 million in relief for renters and property owners

I have the feeling that some aspect of this story is BS, I just can't put my finger on it

For Arne Duncan, the violence killing Chicago’s children is personal. 

"not for profit"?
The former CPS chief now runs a program that worked with the father of Sincere Gaston, the toddler killed by gunfire in June: “Seeing him in a casket several days ago — I’ve never seen a casket that small. I hope I never see one again.”

 
By Fran Spielman Jul 8, 2020, 2:51pm CDT


Former CPS chief and U.S. education secretary Arne Duncan now has a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth. That includes Thomas Gaston, whose toddler son Sincere Gaston was slain in June: “He’s had a lot of challenges, but has really been working hard to get his life together. ... Having his son really helped to get him more on the straight and narrow. He’s actually been an amazing father.” Sun-Times file


During Arne Duncan’s seven-and-a-half-year run as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, he said a student

Another national embarrassment. When people arrive in Chicago this is the first thing they see

"blame it on corona"

Already Nearly A Year Late, Upgraded People Mover At O’Hare Still Not Running Yet. It's what they call breach of contract combined with incompetence. 

By Lauren VictoryJuly 9, 2020 at 5:28 am

CHICAGO (CBS) — It started with a frustrated viewer, angry to see his tax dollars not at work. Why

The Commission

With new sense of urgency, Chicago aldermen debate reparations
The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers — and the anger, rioting and violence that it continues to trigger — has turned a political hot potato into an open wound and a pressing need.

By Fran Spielman Jun 4, 2020, 5:27pm CDT

A portrait of George Floyd is part of the memorial for him near the site where he was arrested in Minneapolis. He died in police custody Monday night. A video shared online by a bystander showed a white officer kneeling on his neck during his arrest as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. AP

With a renewed sense of urgency, Chicago aldermen on Thursday held what once would have seemed like a politically-volatile debate about granting some form of reparations to descendants of African-American slaves.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of now-former Minneapolis police officers — and the anger,

Tyrants, Morons and Incompetents

From Second City Copper, written by John Kass (I think)

We covered some of these questions weeks ago. In fact, any thinking person (a rarity in Illinois) has been asking these questions since March/April:

• Before Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker came out with his five-phase plan to reopen a state he shut down for the coronavirus pandemic — he forgot something. He forgot to seek input from the business that employs more workers than any other in the state: restaurants and bars.
  
  “We did not have any input until after the five-point plan was released,” Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia told me in an interview on Thursday. “We’re the largest private sector employer. And no input? Again, we believe that communication and education is the key to success. But our restaurant owners and bar owners are hurting.”
  
  Until Pritzker shut down the state’s restaurants and bars, they employed more than

Give me one good reason why

Lightfoot seeks expanded emergency spending and procurement powers during pandemic (at a time when the worst of the pandemic has occurred and there is thinking that inappropriate expenditures have already been made) 
see https://19thwardchicago.blogspot.com/2020/04/transparency-my-ass.html


Ald. Anthony Beale, on of Lightfoot’s most vocal City Council critics, denounced the ordinance as a “power grab” that is unnecessary because aldermen can conduct city business by holding virtual meetings.

By Fran Spielman Apr 17, 2020, 5:58pm CDT
An ordinance the mayor wishes to get approved by the City Council on Wednesday would, among other things, give Budget Director Susie Park carte blanche to “appropriate emergency-related funds from federal, state and other sources.” Sun-Times file.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has already used an executive order to grant herself extraordinary spending and

This is a fact: Where is the Chicago Board of Health?

As a first responder, I see the lack of health care in Chicago’s black community every day
It has taken a pandemic to call attention to health care disparities that force individuals and families to rely on emergency services. This is no way to deliver health care.

By Letters to the Editor Apr 7, 2020, 1:26pm CDT


The black community is forced to rely too much on emergency services instead of regular health care. Health disparities have been highlighted by the coronavirus pandemic. AP Photo | Charles Rex Arbogast

It’s unfortunate that it takes a pandemic to highlight the devastating health status of the black community in Chicago.

As a first responder, I have witnessed for decades the lack of access, lack of health education/prevention and lack of services for those who are most disenfranchised in the black community.

One only has to ride on an ambulance in the poorest neighborhoods of the South and West sides to see this play out. It is a common occurrence for individuals and families in these neighborhoods to call 911 in their most critical (often too late) moment. Another common example: 911 calls made simply because individuals are now sick as a result of running out of medication for a chronic illness.

All too often, there is a lack of access to primary care, and people are not provided with support and education to manage their health issues. The health system has failed these communities, so they commonly rely on a rescue from emergency services. This is no way to deliver comprehensive care. It’s very costly and inefficient. It is a disservice, and everyone pays the cost.

If you want to look further, emergency services are now answering thousands of calls per year for heroin overdoses. Narcan, the antidote for these overdoses, is handed out multiple times daily in these very same black communities. Where is Chicago’s health department to address these problems?
Relying heavily on emergency medical services is like putting a band-aid on an amputation.

In hindsight, there is always a better way....

Chicago is trimming fewer trees at a higher cost because city crews rely on 311 requests, instead of proactively using a grid system to trim trees on a regular basis, Inspector General Joe Ferguson concluded Wednesday.

Ten years ago, a consultant hired by the Department of Streets and Sanitation concluded that switching to a grid system — already used for garbage collection and graffiti removal — could reduce travel times by 35 percent, cut costs by 60 percent and increase the daily productivity of tree trimming crews by a whopping 147 percent. 

That would reduce a “significant backlog” that has forced parts of the city to wait ten years for tree trimming services. 

On Wednesday, Ferguson chided the Department of Streets and Sanitation for ignoring the Monitor Group’s “overwhelming findings in favor of a grid-based approach” and continuing to

Mayor Lightfoot seems to be flustered

Exasperated Lightfoot appeals to CTU to match her offer with ‘comprehensive’ counterproposal

CTU is playing the mayor. Advice to the mayor, you care very much and have been more than considerate,  ....now is the time to play rough, so rough they can't believe it. Reverse course, withdraw all offers and demand concessions. All the other unions are watching.  Words of a wiseman. 

A grim-faced Lightfoot stood before a pair of charts to underscore her point that the Chicago Board of Education is still waiting for the CTU to bargain in good faith.

By Fran Spielman Oct 7, 2019, 11:49am CDT

A grim-faced Mayor Lori Lightfoot holds a City Hall news conference on Monday. Behind the mayor are, from left, Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle, Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson, Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade and Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24th), chairman of the City Council’s Education Committee. Fran Spielman/Sun-Times


An exasperated Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday urged the Chicago Teachers Union to share her “sense of urgency” about avoiding a teachers strike by countering the city’s “comprehensive offer” with

Seems to me that this is just a reward for something, I though Lightfoot was going to end that practice

Lightfoot defends six-figure job she gave alderman who lost re-election bid
The mayor says she won’t allow Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th), who defeated John Arena, to ‘dictate to me how or when or under what circumstances somebody gets hired.’

By Fran Spielman Oct 1, 2019, 5:00pm CDT


Mayor Lori Lightfoot defends her decision to reward defeated Ald. John Arena (45th), who supported her, with a six-figure job in the city’s Department of Planning and Development. Fran S:pielman/Sun-Times



Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday defiantly defended her decision to reward ousted Ald. John Arena (45th) with a $129,996-a-year job in the Department of Planning and Development over strenuous

Eradicated, obliterated, absentiated and confiscated

$220,000 in ‘routine repairs’ underway in Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City Hall office suite

Calm before the storm?

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s aging office suite in the Thompson Center just got a $275,000 face-lift, courtesy of the billionaire governor’s own deep pockets. Lightfoot’s installment of ‘Windy City Rehab’ is being paid for with $220,000 generated by tax increment financing.

By Fran Spielman  Aug 22, 2019, 2:55pm CDT

Repair work at Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s City Hall office suite.
City tradespeople in partnership Kenny Construction working Thursday on “routine repairs” in the room inside the mayor’s suite used for press conferences. Fran Spielman/Sun-Times
Days before lowering the boom on Chicago taxpayers to erase a $1 billion shortfall, Mayor Lori Lightfoot has signed off on a $220,000 remodeling of the mayor’s office on the fifth floor of City Hall.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s aging office suite in the widely despised Thompson Center just got a $275,000 face-lift, courtesy of the billionaire governor’s own deep pockets.

Lightfoot’s installment of “Windy City Rehab” is funded by $220,000 generated by tax increment

Streets & San to be privatized?

soon to be gone

Mayor Lightfoot has been reviewing every city governmental function and has identified huge cost savings that can be achieved by privatizing Streets & Sanitation. Long a haven for patronage, there are private companies that can do it cheaper and better. A final decision will be made before month end.  

Next time you are drinking a glass of water, think of this story

‘Take a water hose and clean out’ Department of Water Management, mayor is urged
Former employees contend discrimination persists two years after a white commissioner was replaced by an African American in response to racist, sexist and homophobic emails.

By Fran Spielman Aug 1, 2019, 1:56pm CDT

Katherine Ealy, former chief operating engineer at the Sawyer Water Filtration plant, wipes away tears during a news conference Thursday at her attorney’s office. Fran Spielman/Chicago Sun-Times

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was urged Thursday to “take a water hose and clean out” Chicago’s Department of Water Management where, former employees contend, discrimination persists two years after a white commissioner was replaced by an African American.

Katherine Ealy was promoted to chief operating engineer at the Eugene Sawyer Water Purification Plant shortly after a 2017 housecleaning triggered by racist, sexist and homophobic emails; gone were Water Management Commissioner Barrett Murphy and his top deputies and supervisors.

Veteran City Hall insider Randy Conner, an African American, replaced Murphy and was given carte

Lightfoot outlines plan to ease punitive ticketing, towing and booting policy

The plan includes ending license suspensions for non-moving violations and reinstating a 15-day grace period for vehicle sticker renewals.

By Fran Spielman  Jul 23, 2019, 5:00am CDT


Chicago’s punitive ticketing policies have forced some people into bankruptcy. Chicago Sun-Times
Mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned on a promise to bring equity to an overly punitive ticketing, towing and booting policy that has unfairly targeted minorities and forced thousands into bankruptcy.

On Tuesday, the new mayor will outline her plan to start delivering on those promises.

The mayor’s ticket-debt relief plan, to be introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting, would:

City Develops New Plan To Trap Elusive Humboldt Park Alligator

July 15, 2019 at 5:57 am

CHICAGO (CBS) — The city announced new plans Sunday night to try and trap an alligator that has so far eluded conservation police, Animal Care and Control, and a man who calls himself Alligator Bob.

The gator was again spotted Sunday night, peaking its head above the water of the Humboldt Park lagoon before sinking back below the surface.

A 4-foot or 5-foot alligator swims in the lagoon at Humboldt Park. A reptile expert is trying to trap the reptile so it can be taken to a safer environment at a zoo or animal sanctuary.

It’s been playing this game of hide and seek for a week now.

After days of trying to catch the gator with no luck, the city is changing up its strategy.

Chicago Police closed off large portions of the park Sunday evening.

In addition, they’ve closed Humboldt Boulevard to traffic between North Avenue and Division Street, and have put up fencing and barricades surrounding the pedestrian paths on the east side of the park.

Lost and Found

The city of Chicago is pleased to announce personal belongings that were lost at the Navy Pier stampede, will be available for viewing and retrieval beginning Monday July 8, at the Daley Center plaza, between the hours of 8 A.M and 5 P.M.

Such items include:

• Sandals
• Shoes
• Purses
• Hats (no MAGA hats)
• iPhones
• Cameras
• Diaper bags
• Beach chairs
• Unopened cans of beer
• Coolers
• Wallets
• Chains
• Knives
• Towels
• Guns (FOID required)
• Mace
• Blackjacks
• Sunglasses
• Baby strollers
• Ammunition clips

More bad news for deadbeats

Forget the Car Boot, Now There's a Car 'Barnacle'

1. 
   

It sucks onto the windshield and can’t be removed until drivers call to pay a fine.

Imagine arriving at your badly parked car to find some… thing latched onto the windshield like a blocky, yellow leach. That’s a reality motorists are living with in the U.S., as cities test out a vision-blocking penalty panel called the “Barnacle.”

The concept behind the apparatus, made by New York’s Ideas That Stick, is simple: It’s a rugged plastic rectangle that attaches with incredible force to the windshield, and can’t be removed until motorists pay a fine over the phone and get a release code. Adding insult to injury, drivers are then expected to return it to a drop-off