Chicago Public Radio Blog

Photo by Pavel Trebukov

Earlier this week, Michael Sneed of the Sun-Times delivered this gem:

Sneed hears Mayor Daley has not only pulled the plug on supporting embattled Cook County Board President Todd Stroger for re-election, but he has hatched plans to back Ald. Toni Preckwinkle for the Cook County Board presidency.

The item appeared in the paper Wednesday morning. The day before, at the city council meeting, I saw Preckwinkle and Daley chatting in the back room of the chamber.

Preckwinkle’s campaign spokesperson, John Keller, says he doesn’t know specifically what the alderman and mayor were talking about then, but he read this statement to me…

Toni has discussed the race with the mayor several times, and right now we are lining the support from elected officials from across the county.

It’s important to note that Preckwinkle is often among a handful of aldermen causing occasional headaches for Daley. Here she is at Wednesday’s meeting complaining about the city budget staff’s response to questions related to proposed furlough days.

Board President Stroger’s spokesperson Sean Howard says Stroger’s not commenting on anything related to politics right now:

There will be a time and place for that, and [Stroger] will address that at that time.

And here’s Mayor Daley’s somewhat obvious response to Sneed’s column:

A little background here: When the Cook County Board was fighting this spring over whether to roll back the Cook County sales tax increase pushed through by Stroger, Daley weighed-in, calling the increase “detrimental” and “very very questionable.”

(Daley’s brother, Cook County Board Finance Committee Chairman John Daley, had voted to repeal the tax hike, much to Stroger’s annoyance.)

The mayor’s comments appeared all over the place, then he tried to clear things up, saying, “All of a sudden you’re trying to get me fighting with Todd Stroger… [My problem] is not with him personally or his political life.”

In related news, Congressman Danny Davis is holding a press conference this Sunday outside the old Cook County Hospital. If that doesn’t show how clear his intentions are, here’s a blurb posted recently to www.davisforcookcountyboardpresident.com:

Within a few weeks, we will announce an exploratory committee for Cook County Board President.

The list of candidates who have confirmed they’re running or considering a run now includes: Stroger, Preckwinkle, Davis, Commissioners Larry Suffredin and Tony Peraica, Sheriff Tom Dart and clerk of courts Dorothy Brown.

The budget is still not approved. The Comptroller says we have 2 weeks til we really have to worry.  They have money, it’s the authority to spend the money that’s missing. So right now, the Comptroller’s office is paying for work for last year. On July 15th, new payroll will be due and Hynes won’t be able to pay state employees.

Now, Senate leader John Cullerton and House Speaker Mike Madigan say they will reconvene the legislature on July 14th.  That’s one day before the deadline. That’s not a coincidence. The leaders have hinted at how this is by design so they can work with a cliffhanger deadline looming. It helps get things done. Or makes those who are strong-willed weak in the knees because jobs, money and statewide meltdown are hours away.

While all this is happening, the social service agencies have sent out layoff notices. Not necessarily because they don’t have a budget, but because the economy and the proposed state funding in the budgets is less.  So regardless of any doomsday, they are cutting staff.  This is a comment from a story yesterday. Now, it’s just a comment, it’s not confirmed, but it did grab my attention:

My co-workers were not left in limbo. 50% of our staff was laid off today. Human services has been massacred, budget or no budget, tax increase or no tax increase. Many shut their doors today, and many lost their jobs…. This has happened to often in my lifetime—this year was particularly bad because the economy. I heard it before, but these people are not public servants. They are \”self servants.\”

In other news, computers are ruining our lives. First Mary Poppins, now United? What’s next? I better be able to check my fantasy baseball scores in real time. If that screws up, I’m gonna lose it.

These stories are popping up more and more. But what is on-the-record and what is off-the-record? Ethical discussion…start your engines!!!!

Ben Gordon is gone. And he feels bad for me. Marty Havlat is gone. But his Twitter feed lives on.

Ed. Note: In an effort to find a fresh angle on the Taste of Chicago, we sent Ben down to investigate the street performer scene.

A juggler solicits pedestrians at the corner of Jackson and Michigan just west of the Taste of Chicago entrance.  He flashes his newly minted street performer permit, which displays the name Glen Pearson.  Despite an accent that places him somewhere between Australia and Scotland, Pearson explains that he’s 21 years old and rides the train downtown from Naperville.  Although he’s had the permit for less than a week, events such as the Cubs/Sox games and the Gay Pride Parade have resulted in steady money.  It’s like Christmas for street performers in Chicago right now.

But Pearson’s crowd is sparse.  Dozens of Taste-goers stream past as he attempts to make a connection with little success.  As a licensed performer, Pearson is allowed to take his show inside the festival to Street Performer Zone B.  His time slot is from 1 to 3.  It’s 2:30 and he’s opted to skip it.  Why?  “Nobody’s there,” he explains.  The zone is particularly secluded - wedged between bathrooms, fencing, and supply trucks.  Pearson thinks a rival group of bucket drummers performing a block north of him is to blame for the unfavorable zone location.

The rival drummers fill the atmosphere with rhythmic beats.  They have amassed a substantial crowd that is snapping pictures and dropping tips into a yellow bucket.  The most famous of these drummers, known as the Bucket Boyz, have performed at Bulls games and were even featured in a commercial.

But groups like the Bucket Boyz have been the subject of hundreds of noise complaints from local businesses and residents.  Aldermen addressed the issue.  An ordinance was passed on June 3rd supposedly aimed at clamping down on the bucket drummers.  Nevertheless, they remain one of the more popular street performers.

As another group of pedestrians flow by Pearson without a pause, he decides to switch it up and break out the accordian accompanied by a Southern accent.  The instrument sounds tinny compared with the powerful drum beats in the background.  Finally, a couple of women break from the pedestrians and approach him with palpable interest, only to ask for directions to the nearest train station.

Despite an empty tip jar, Pearson sounds hopeful as he explains, “Everybody that walks by me has a smile.”

Yesterday Governor Quinn told the Illinois General Assembly that if they sent him a budget that cut social services, he would veto it. Hours later, the legislators did just that. So it’s valid to wonder what the folks in Springfield are thinking. That’s where TweetIllinois.org comes in. The new site from the Illinois Policy Institute collects the Twitter feeds of Illinois State Representatives and Senators. I was pretty amazed by this new window into the thinking of our elected representatives, so I contacted Kristina Rasmussen, the Executive Vice President of the Illinois Policy Institute to learn more about the site. Appropriately, she kept all her answers to 140 characters or less.

AG: Where did the idea for Tweet Illinois come from?

KR: TweetIllinois.org was inspired by TweetCongress.org, which tracks Congressional tweeters. We highlight IL state legislators using Twitter.

AG: How do you hope people will use the site?

KR: The site aims to promote communication between legislators and voters. We can follow their ideas and actions and share our own thoughts.

AG: Who are the best Tweeters in the General Assembly? Any memorable tweets?

KR: Sen. Dan Rutherford (@RutherfordDan) and Rep. John Fritchey (@johnfritchey) provide a good stream of to-the-minute updates from Springfield.

KR: (part b) Fritchey’s tweet about it being “not real fun to stand next to the Speaker on the floor and speak against his bill” sticks out in my mind.

AG: Have you seen an increase in legislators using Twitter since creating the site?

KR: It’s doubled, going from 10 legislators to 26! We held training in the Capitol rotunda on 5/19. We’re available to help teach legislators.

AG: How would you recommend legislators walk the personal/political line on Twitter?

KR: A good tweeter will tell us his or her policy positions and political perspectives, but they’ll remind us that they’re a human being, too!

This morning, we ran some stories concerning how the lack of a state budget would affect several non-profits across Illinois, but we focused on family service agencies, in particular. There are several around Chicago, and each one of them is in a different financial situation. Here, then, is some of the audio from the interviews reporter Susie An and I were able to reach as they prepare for layoffs and cutting programs.

Maria Whelan heads Illinois Action for Children. Like other organizations we talked with, Whelan says her organization can make it through July without a budget, but not much beyond that. Whelan supports Governor Pat Quinn’s proposed income tax increase, and puts the blame on state legislators for not stepping up.

Nancy Ronquillo is the president and CEO of Children’s Home and Aid.

And we briefly profiled Tony Kopera with the Community Counseling Centers of Chicago. He outlined some cuts and layoffs that went into effect today over email.

• Intact Family Recovery - This program offers care and support to substance impacted children and their parents. Parents affected by cutting this program: 133
  Staff laid off: 6

• Urban Systems of Care - This program offers outreach and engagement services to residents of poverty stricken areas of Chicago.
  Parents and children affected by cutting this program: 61
  Staff laid off: 4.5

• Mental Health Juvenile Justice - This program offers support to mentally ill youth as they deal with legal issues in Cook County Courts and with their probation officers
  Youth affected by cutting this program: 60
  Staff laid off: 4

I am confused. I thought last night was Doomsday and yet, when I visited both the Sun-Times and Trib sites this morning, neither had a front-page story. It begs the question, has Doomsday-talk jumped the shark? Are we so desensitized by budget fights and deadlines that we just don’t care and therefore, our media doesn’t report on it?

The word is that a budget was passed by the state legislation, but Governor Quinn has already said he will veto it. The budget does not include the tax increase and has several social service cuts. So here we go again.

Upon a deeper search, the Springfield Journal has a timeline of yesterday’s events. And the Daily Herald crew explains where we are at. And of course, if you want a feel-good story about budgets that pass and are approved, check out Indiana.

So let’s do a poll. I know it’s much more complicated than this, but if you were a state lawmaker…

 Loading ...

The ongoing Illinois budget saga continues today. If you didn’t hear it, NPR covered how it’s not just Illinois that’s in trouble. Anyway, we just got word that Governor Pat Quinn will hold a press conference at 1:30 this afternoon in Springfield to take veto action.

From here, we will be looking at the consequences from many angles. This morning, we covered how no state budget will hurt family service agencies around Chicago. That means the lines at Cook County Hospital could get even longer, which has a rocky history of its own.

In other news, new census data are out today. Apparently fewer people are leaving Chicago for the suburbs than in the past.

And Mayor Richard Daley is holding a news conference this morning finally addressing how negotiations with the unions are going.

WBEZ’s Jeff Dunlap works in the Institutional Advancement department. He spearheaded the “Five to Five Challenge” and has this update:

Thanks to everyone who added to the success of WBEZ’s Five to Five Challenge – especially those of you who came to The Bean on Friday for our Mass Dance!  We successfully completed all five tasks so our anonymous donor is coming through with $5,000.  Caption, Haiku, and Snap Spot photo winners will be announced soon.  Meantime, here are photos of Friday’s WBEZ dance team.  Thanks, everyone!

After I got over the initial shock of Michael Jackson’s death, I was amazed to see so many spontaneous displays of emotion from fans. Some members of our Flickr group have added photos of these outbursts to our pool (including some of his boyhood home in Gary, IN).