Corrupt Chicago- Part 2; and an open letter to Dick

Once again the morons who are Chicago City Council struck again.

So as most people know, Chicago has the highest tax in the nation, a wonderful 10.25%. Makes grocery shopping joyous. The blame for this genius move falls on- suprise, suprise- the ass-hat of the year, Todd ‘Nepotism get’s you everything’ Stroger.

Well, finally the city council decided to pick up the clue phone during this recession and  move forward on a rollback of that tax increase. it passed city council. WooHoo!

Then Todd vetoed it. Mind you, this man still owes $12,000 in back taxes, and he still wants us to support him as he’s making the rest of us suffer?

So city council can overturn this veto. And it looks like it could happen. And yet, it wasn’t overturned. Because we have morons in the city council. Oh, and please don’t take my word on it, read some of these fantastic excepts from yesterday’s chicagotribune.com article:

–In support of Stroger’s tax, Earlean Collins oddly invoked Ecclesiastes, who doesn’t pay taxes in Cook County. And Robert Steele said a tax rollback would cripple county health care — letting swine flu run rampant. Then Collins and Steele deprived their constituents of any voice whatsoever on whether to uphold or override Stroger’s veto. Both voted present. (What a cop out for these two. No spine whatsoever.)

–A few heads swiveled as Joseph Mario Moreno, one of the 12 board members who had voted to repeal the tax increase, this time voted to sustain Stroger’s veto. (Definitely someone I want in our city government, a person who goes back and forth on important issues depending on the day. I bet he also can’t decide between Bud or Miller Lite.)

–Although Collins, Steele and Moreno were strong contestants, the award for Most Confused Commissioner goes to Joan Patricia Murphy. Try to follow: Murphy was among the 12 who voted to repeal the full tax increase. On Tuesday, though, she spoke against that repeal — but then voted  for it. She added that any rollback should be done in increments. Minutes later, though, Murphy voted against a follow-up motion to phase out the tax — in increments — over two years. Yes, faced with the option of rolling back three-fourths of it in 2010 and the rest in 2011, she sided with Stroger in opposing … any tax rollback that came to a vote. (All I can say is… Sybil? Is that you?)

So as you can see, Chicago is truly a fine, well oiled machine at work. And the kicker? While most people should be up in arms about this and not only want to impeach the lot of them but also drown them in the Chicago river, most likely, as Alan so deftly pointed out in his email to me over said article, most Chicagoans are so thick and oblivious that these people will probably have another several years in office. Chicago has become a city of apathy.

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Meanwhile, you can tell that Bush had to cut the muzzle he had on Dick Cheney for the past 8 years, because suddenly Dick is everywhere, and running all over the place oozing like the STD he is. Today’s press conference that just happened to coincide with the conclusion of Obama’s is case in point.

While I can give two shits what Dick has to say, there are those morons out there that, since he’s a Republican, will listen to his word and spread his gospel.  And spread it he will, like gonorrhea. So instead I offer this open letter:

Dear Dick-

Please keep your cesspool mouth shut. You didn’t have aything good to say for the past 8 years, so you were kept silent by Bush, which may have been the only sensible thing George did for us. Now you aren’t under his thumb, you keep popping up with nothing good to say, and even your fellow GOPers want you to shut your hole. So why don’t you take you’re inane bitching and moaning, and your rifle full of bird shot, and go SHOOT YOUR STUPID SELF IN THE FACE. Like Sanjaya, your 15 minutes are over.

Love,

Jon

Facebook bizareness

As I surf the net at just a bit after 12 on a school night, I must comment on the bizarre that is Facebook groups.

Some of them are alright. Sure, I’m a fan of Kathy Griffin. And Augusten Burroughs. Arcade Fire too, and the woman I saw perform in New York last year, Colleen McHugh. She has a great voice and is very cool.

Then there are some of the sillier groups that people create that I have joined. For example, and very appropriately, I joined the I Hate Stupid People group. I found it fitting, since I do, and considering my blog, extraordinarily exact. I also became a fan of some rugby player guy, Ben Cohen, simply because my friend Ricky was a fan and, truth be told, Mr. Cohen is incredible hot. I mean, hot. McSteamier than McSteamy.

And then there is the inane. For example, tonight I see there is a group that are fans of how I Flip My Pillow Over to Get To The Cold Side.  Well so do I, but is there a need to create a group exclusively dedicate to that? On the same token, there is one that is dedicated to sitting around a camp fire and drinking. I mean who wouldn’t love that, I sure do. I would give anything to start a great big bonfire in my backyard here in Chicago, pull out a couple six packs (and some tequila), and make some s’mores while sitting on a blanket. But does one really need to stand up and say, I’m a fan of this on Facebook, and I’m going to join 50,000 strangers in this liking?

I guess my aforementioned hating stupid people group could fall into the above same catagories, but to me it seems a group like that is a little bit more selective, and shall we say, perversely unique?

It’s amusing, just the other night, TBS’s original series ‘My Boys’ has a funny episode on the whole Facebook phenomenom. Very timely, and perhaps in a few years antiquated, but for the most part accurate. Do we really want so many people knowing so much about ourselves? At what point does the line between private and public blur? I’ll be honest, there are things I share on Facebook and in this blog that perhaps I should reign in, but then again, there are things NO one knows. And that no one will know. Those are all mine. And will stay that way. I guess I like to straddle the line in that aspect, which is why so much  sharing online perplexes and annoys me.

So enough, I gotta go and do this quiz on which David Lynch film I am most like. Oh damn, Wild at Heart? I really think I’m more Blue Velvet…

The continuing saga of a corrupt Chicago

Father and Sons Barber Shop has been an Edgewater fixture for nearly 40 years, and the place where I’ve entrusted the shaving of my coif now for the past 5 years. Pete and Anthony are brothers, and great all around guys. When I get my haircut, we bullshit about soccer, randomness on the TV (usually tuned to ESPN), or even the weather.

This morning, however, the discussion was about the incidents of the past few weeks that have them boiling over the way Chicago treats small business owners. By the time I left with my newly shorn scalp, I too was boiling on their behalf. Once again, the Chicago machine strikes again. And get this… it starts with an awning.

After 30 some odd years, the guys decided to finally buy instead of lease a space, and they relocated to their current spot on North Broadway. New construction, so permits and such were involved. They wanted an awning, and decided to be on the up and up and have the contractor get all of the proper permits from the city. He did so, and now they have a great 14′ by 2′ burgundy awning over their store front, not only friendly looking but a great respite when it’s raining.

The first sign of trouble came when they were told they had to pay $50 a year to have a permit to even have the awning up. Just to have an awning, because it covers the sidewalk, they have to pay $50 a year. So fine they pay it. Then they have to have it inspected, so another $30 a year. Fine, just pay it so they don’t keep the business license from being renewed.
Then suddenly, they get a fine. Pete and Anthony questions it, and they are told (rather rudely) that it has to be inspected for electrical. Well, there is no electrical in connection with it. Still, it has to be inspected. Oh yeah, and they don’t have a permit to put canvas on the awning.
Basically, what it breaks down to is that small business owners are getting nickeled and dimed by the city to exist. I saw the permit the guys pay $50 a year for, and it’s specific about the dimensions and what it covers (frame and canvas). It comes down to the fact that the city is suddenly making up arbitrary laws, or perhaps even more, are not being upfront about certain laws, and as a result are suddenly billing business owners left and right for $30 here and $100 there. The city signed off on a permit for them to put this awning up. At no point did they disclose that they have to have a permit to keep it up, or pay to have it inspected, or pay to have canvas on it. In the permit they have, it is written to be all encompassing. Now suddenly, at the city’s whim, these aspects are al-a-cart.

It’s fraudulent, and bullshit practices. And are they getting any assistance from their alderperson? Well, according to Mary Anne Smith’s office, all businesses are getting theses notices. So evidently this is a new ‘practice’ trying to be enforced. In the end, Mary Anne and her next door neighbor, Helen ‘Low income slum lord’ Shiller, are in bed with Daley and will do whatever he says. And the worse part- they will be in office until they die. The city is hypocritical: no big box business, power to the local business owner, but let’s charge them up the ass so they can’t stay in business in this economy.

It all boils down to the fact that for sometime now, and I am guilty of turning a blind eye to it, city of Chicago is on a downward spiral, out of control into complete corruption and chaos. The parking meter debacle, Aldermen telling us we can’t eat foie gras, and the ultimate poster boy of nepotism, President of City council Todd ‘Asshat’ Stroger owing $12000 in taxes… we are the laughing stock of the nation.

I am wondering why I even live here any more. We shouldn’t get the Olympics. I want to tell people not to come visit here. Don’t root for our sports teams. Don’t support our tourism. Stop shopping and spending here. This is a foul, evil, hateful city, and frankly there needs to be a serious investigation into the government here. Daley needs to go. Stroger needs to go. Shiller and Smith need to get the fuck out of here.

The worse part… we are an apathetic community. We’ll continue to pay, because we have to, because no one will stand up for us. No one can get in there to make change, because Daley won’t let it.

I would love the chance to get in there and change things. Oh boy, heads would roll.

Maybe it’s time to get moving and consider it…