Rahm Emanuel's Sophisticated Snow Finances

Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to raise fines against businesses that don't shovel sidewalks as part of his 2016 budget.
The proposal, part of the annual city management ordinance, would hike the potential fine from $50 to $500. Emanuel also wants to increase fines for anyone piling snow in a fashion that blocks the public way — including bike lanes and racks, bus stops or building entrances — from a minimum of $25 and a maximum of $100 to a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $500.
Such penalties are rarely enforced, however. The city issued just 226 tickets for snow removal issues during the winter of 2014-15, according to the Department of Transportation. Ninety percent of those were issued to business owners or multiunit residential buildings.
Emanuel also introduced language to tie fees for heavy truck permits to the consumer price index, so they would increase or decrease each year depending on the rate of inflation. Currently, the cost for an overweight truck permit is $50 to $150 for a single trip or $500 to $2,250 monthly, according to city records.
The full City Council is set to vote on Emanuel's overall budget plan Oct. 28.( emphases my own) Chicago Tribune

Last Spring Chicago had an opportunity to bid Rahm Emanuel a hearty and genuine God Speed!  The Chicago media, Axelrod Productions, The Shakman Blessed  Exempted Executive Appointees City and County level and their families ans retainers  at command, ginned up a perfect storm of I AM WITH RAHM beat down on the opposition candidate for mayor, Jesus Chuy Garcia. 

So egregious were these Axelrodian memes and tropes that even the complacent and complicit Chicago Tribune seemed shamed enough to offer this non-apology.

The mayor and his allies have criticized Garcia for not offering enough specifics on how he'd lead the city. Despite that, the ad opens by claiming Garcia has "made $1.9 billion in spending promises," suggesting that amounts to "$1,900 in additional taxes for the average homeowner." The commercial then raises the question of how Garcia would pay for the alleged promises and ends with clips of Garcia saying his campaign was conducting research on city finances and would look at "creative sources of financing."
The ad closes by flashing the text, "Creative sources of financing? Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh" indeed.

I never once heard Garcia offer to increase taxes on City services, much less do away with them.

Nor, do I recall his, in Bruce Rauner's mewling sop to his wine-purchasing pal Rahm, offer of 'sophisticated financing' via our Parks, natural resources, or human caused terrorism against Bike Lanes.

Rahm Emanuel won, after telling each and every mope in Chicago that he was a changed man.

Yep, changed up a storm.

Chicago's Lake Michigan Lake water costs us much more to drink, wash, rinse and flush.  Our Parks were handed over to Marty Nesbitt, George Lucas and other corporatist bundlers of Rahm and Obama to come and snow that avoids the manual labor and sweat of eighty year old Mrs. Wanda Skutnik owner of Pierogi Queens' Eats of 1440 N. Greenview, Apt Z-Frank will cost old Wanda a lung.

Violations will be ZipCode Cited and fines will be politically analyzed for activist blow back.

For the last twenty years, my route to Leo High School has been the same - from Morgan Park to Gresham - via north on Western Ave. to 87th Street; east on 87th Street to Racine; north on Racine to 79th Street; east on 79th to Sangamon and a sharp right hand turn into the Leo Faculty and visitor parking lot,  after I unlock the gate, of course.

Racine from 87th Street to 79th Street is the home of no less than twenty eight (28) churches located in buildings that used to house businesses.  There is a smattering of businesses ( two bars: The Junction and Holloway's Hideaway) a dollar store, a liquor store, two car washes, an auto repair shop, an urban clothing store, a gas station, and the Paul Cuffee Elementary Academy) - all of the remaining buildings house churches and most only offer services on Sunday.

In winter, the sidewalks disappear under snow and ice until the Spring thaw.  Residents walk between the east and west curbs of Racine - at their peril and if the 17th Ward managed to plow Racine.  I am very careful not to hit people trying to get to the CTA bus turn-around on east side of Racine at 86th Street in the cold, windy dark of a Chicago morning.  Very often I will offer pedestrians a neighborly ride to 79th Street ( Hookers/Trannies and ne'er-do-wells of unaffiliated gang membership excluded) - working folks.

The reason why, the sidewalks remain uncleared of snow is due to the fact that the Pastors of the 28 store-front churches do not live in the 17th Ward.  Their parsonages are in Flossmoor, Orland Park, New Lennox, Matteson and the less-successful in Country Club Hills. If it snows on Monday, there is good chance that there are six layers of frosty precipitations layering the sidewalks and easements on Racine Avenue.  Snow removal? Not until the pastor, or his sons have an opportunity to check in on the church.

These Pastors will be considered business owners? Uh-Oh!  Churches comprise the bulk of this Racine Avenue Business community.

Well, Rahm is sophisticated enough to parse "businesses" with homeowners - "Chicago is ALL of Our Business!"  I can hear Coon-eyed Mayor hiss.  " Ticket 'em all!" He will and shortly.

You can make book on the fact that the 50 City Council Nodders and Windbags never gave a thought to Racine Avenue ( 87th-79th Streets inclusive), nor could care less.  Rahm wants the tax and the tax will happen, because Chicago was With Rahm.

I would venture to say that  the 28 pastors of the Racine Avenue churches ( 87th-79th Streets inclusive) will remain un-ticketed for Rahm's new Force Majeure  Taxation on Snow.

No, I fully expect that business owners and very shortly homeowners from what deemed to be middle class-ish Zip Codes will be ticketed and summoned to court.  TS, as Chicagoans are wont to say.

Justice has nothing to do with Progressive Global Sanctuary City like Chicago.

Sophisticated Finances He Said? Here's What Bruce Rauner's Fellow Wine Sophisticate Said . . ."We Strongly Disagree!"

Every neighbor of mine in Chicago gets his finances rated.  Try getting a couple of buckeens from any bank, or Easy-Credit-Big VIG loan operation and wait with your two weeks of recent pay stubs, utility bills and bank statement without sweating blood while the loan officer checks in with TransUnion and the Twins to get your score.

Chicago has been governed by really sophisticated buccaneers supported by pie-chart policy looters like Ralph Martire and academic tweed nodders ever since Old Richard J. had that grabber in the Doc's office.

Here we are today, with Rahm peeing on our Thom McCann's and telling us it is soft tears of heaven moistening grass-roots with help from his wine guzzling compeer Gov. Bruce Rauner.

Bruce Rauner is Governor of Illinois because he is not Pat Quinn.

Now, The Two-Headed Coin Governor -'heads I win and heads Rahm wins' - tells the Tribune Tower of Babble that Chicago needs a financially sophisticated mayor - like Rahm.

Asked by reporters if it matters who is mayor, Rauner said voters should “look at who’s financially sophisticated to deal with the issues, who’s ready to stand up to…and fight for the taxpayers in the city and take on some of these government union power issues.”
Added Rauner: “The voters got to decide … but they better look at it 'cause Chicago financially is going down the drain.”

Emanuel has shown financial sophistication in his past private dealings with Rauner. During a lucrative stint in investment banking after leaving the Bill Clinton White House as a senior adviser, Emanuel was part of a deal that helped make hundreds of millions of dollars for Rauner’s equity investment firm. Emanuel also became a millionaire during his short time in investment banking.

Rauner’s urging of a mayor with “financial sophistication” is in line with the latest campaign tactic being used by Emanuel’s campaign to criticize Garcia, contending the challenger has lacked specifics in dealing with the city’s budget woes. But Emanuel also has offered little in the way of financial solutions, preferring instead to talk about his past four years.

I am not a craven sophisticate with a heady wine subscription, but I know when I bollix-up my personal finances by liberally larding my pet urges and inclinations with cash.  In my unsophisticated accounting practices, I borrow what I can afford from savings, retirement and debtors with less humor than my own.  It works . . .so far.

• the kids are Okay -schooled, clothed, healthy, happy and out of here
• the mortgage and bills are paid . . .largely on time
• no threats from collection
• credit rating is good
• had me a steak on Wednesday

I am doing better than City of Chicagoland - From The New American:

Within hours of Moody’s Investors Service announcing another downgrade to Chicago’s general obligation bonds last Friday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration responded, saying that Moody’s was out of touch with reality:

We strongly disagree with Moody’s decision to reduce the city’s credit rating and would note that Moody’s has been consistently and substantially out of step with the other rating agencies [Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings], ignoring progress that has been achieved.

At the moment those other two agencies rate Chicago’s debt at A-plus or A-minus, with a negative outlook. But in light of an imminent court ruling that could invalidate efforts to cut pension benefits, along with the crushing and increasing burden of those benefits, observers are just waiting for the next two shoes to drop.


Comment très sophistiqué de Vous , Bruce -Pass la Night Train Express '15 !

That'll do, Rahm.  Vote for Chuy, Neighbors. We can't afford sophisticated finanaces.


 

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