Chicago Daily Observer

Tony Peraica proposed rolling back the Cook County sales tax in a July 22 meeting. The vote came to a roll-call and the Cook County board voted 10–7 to maintain the current sales tax, which is the highest sales tax in the United States.

The results are here:

Voting For Sales Tax Reduction

Claypool (D-12th)
Quigley (D-10th)
Peraica (R-16th)
Gorman (R-17th)
Silvestri(R-9th)
Goslin, (R-14th)
Schneider (R-15th)

Voting to Maintain Sales Tax Hike

Collins, (D-1st)
Steele, (D-2nd)
Butler, (D-3rd)
Beavers, (D-4th)
Sims, (D-5th)
Murphy, (D-6th)
Moreno, (D-7th)
Maldonado, (D-8th)
Daley, (D-11th)
Suffredin, (D-13th)

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There does seem to be a pattern of distraught companies under the influence of politicians, and successful politicians in Washington DC.

Perhaps the politicians are also under the influence of the distraught companies, or previously on the Board of Directors of a very distressed bank, as in the case of Rahm Emanuel at Freddie Mac.

Here’s a $1000 for Rahm ‘02
from a Freddie Mac/Senior Vice President $1,000…and another $1000 from Freddie Mac/Senior VP Capital…just going through the A’s and B’s in a 6 year old list of campaign contributors.

My guess is that there is more money that came into the Emanuel campaign from Freddie Mac from other letters of the alphabet.

Perhaps ther could be some explanation from a former board member and “financial wiz” on how Freddie Mac has become one of the biggest banking problems in the United Sates.

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The Chicago Tribune’s Steve Chapman cheers Sen. Obama for holding to withdrawing troops regardless of the circumstances in Iraq and the MidEast. I actually believe that one can mature while not wavering (flip-flopping) in their political campaigns, yet I agree with Chapman’s observation that Sen. Obama is not straying substantially from his left-wing voting record, regardless of how the rest of the media potrays him.

Syria will open an embassy in Lebanon. Lebanon may also opened an embassy in Syria. Syria has pretty much stopped sending fighters into Iraq to battle with the Coalition forces and Iraqi civilians. Israel has sent a peace offer to Syria via Turkey. France is stepping up diplomatic efforts inviting both Israel and Syrian leaders to a Bastille Day celebration. Al-Qaeda may be defeated in Iraq or close to it, with 70 more militants surrendering yesterday. President Bush ... Read More...

Lets see, the price of oil has dropped nearly $14/barrel in the last two days. Perhaps the Feds should rescue the oil speculation industry before losses are too high for oil traders.

The New York Times says the Economic Slowdown has pushed oil prices down, which is hard to swallow given that the economy is still growing, manufacturing is still booming, consumer spending rose in May at a record rate, and the Dow Jones was up over 200 points, none of which are signs of a slowing economy. Perhaps people are using less gasoline, because they don’t want to pay so much for fuel, a possiblity that the Times ignores.

And perhaps we should all read the Waco Tribune, for some buried news, and a quote from a Chicago man, that didn’t make the New York Times:

Light, sweet crude fell $6.35 to $138.83 a barrel in electronic ... Read More...

If Phil Gramm can upset both Sen. Obama and John McCain, he must be doing something right.

Seven consecutive years of quarterly economic growth is not a recession;it is an near miracle given the rising cost of commodities and an expensive war in Iraq. Yet for having the audacity to point out something that has been pointed out here in the Chicago Daily Observer numerous times (The United States is not in a recession), Phil Gramm is taunted by the most economically backwards candidate since William Jennings Bryan (Sen. Obama) and chastised by Gramm’s theoretically free-market boss, Sen. McCain.

Yet the media whines daily about economic doom and gloom, and certainly on an individual level, there are always some problems with the economy. However the severity of these problem is minor when compared with the tanking after 9/11 or the downturn in the early 1990’s. Historically low unemployment, low inflation, ... Read More...

In case you missed it, the London Times reports Al Qaeda is being defeated in Iraq, with 1/10 of their forces remaining, leading Major-General Mark Hertling, American commander in the north, to say: “I think we’re at the irreversible point.”

The New York Times discovers that 550 Metric Tons of Uranium ,“yellowcake uranium”-a popular term in the Valerie Plame era, has been removed from the main nuclear site in Iraq.

As we have previously noted here at the Chicago Daily Observer, President Bush and Prime Minister Brown announced a drawdown of 30,000 US Surge Troops scheduled for next July. Even John Murtha has acknowledged that progress has been made in Iraq, though only on local Pittsburgh CBS affiliate, and only after hurling a few insults at U.S. Troops.

Paraphrasing a commenter on the London Times site..If America had a Democrat president, he would he ... Read More...

It’s a fact: President Bush stated that the US will pull 30,000 surge troops out of Iraq in a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown and President Bush at Foreign & Commonwealth Office Building at the Lacarno Treaty Room London, England on June 16, 2008.

Seems sort of newsworthy to me. I am in favor of the troops coming home, when their job is reasonably complete, and have relatives and an old roomate over there who I take a personal interest in coming home safely. So, I sort of follow such things as leaders of the free world mentioning that troops are coming home.

Yet, outside of the Chicago Daily Observer (and our ever faithful reader/contributor Bill Baar), and a few Iraqi newsites, this seems to be of little interest to the press. There is quite a bit at stake here; the allies have spent a great ... Read More...

The Axelrod narrative for the week ending June 19th had it that Sen. Obama was part of a movement that ”tacks him back to the center”, in a world crafted by New York Times, the spokespaper for Mr. Axelrod, where Sen. Obama was a centrist at one time. The Economist has it that Sen Obama has “recently started to sound less protectionist” , and “has appointed a team of impeccably centrist economic advisers” to somehow defy Sen. Obama’s voting record and policies du jour.

Pleasantly, Fortune questioned Sen. Obama about his campaign rhetoric being “overheated and amplified? ” To which Sen. Obama fessed up with “Politicians are always guilty of that, and I don’t exempt myself”. So , saying anything to get elected is all part of the game, regardless of the policy implication and deception of the voters.

Naomi Klein of The Nation is a ... Read More...

In response to various rumors of the Chicago Tribune using Obama T-Shirts as a premium for new subscribers, I made the short trip over to the Walgreens at Clark and Lake today to verify the claims.

Sure enough, you can get an Obama T-shirt for signing up for a 4 week trial of the Trib (seems like an apt punishment enough for taking the subscription), or a Cubs/Sox hat.

The vendor did not want to be photographed, and noted that these promo’s are via an agent of the Tribune, not the Chicago Tribune itself. He also mentioned that he keeps the Obama shirts under the counter, as he thinks giving them away is “preferential to one candidate over another”, as there was no McCain shirt to be had.

So much for the Republican Newspaper of Record.

Pictures are over at the Captital Fax Blog:

http://thecapitolfaxblog.com/2008/06/19/a-sticky-wicket/

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Occasionally, I think it is bats to have maps associated with stories, some of which have nearly no geographic significance (those show up at 307 N. Michigan, the host of the Chicago Daily Observer, by the way). However, there are many stories where the location is a key to the story, such as this one from the Washington Post announcing that the Democratic National Committee Headquarters is moving to Chicago. Chicago is a big place, so drilling down a bit we find that the DNC Headquarters will be somewhere in the Loop.

Politico thinks the headquarters will be somewhere ”near Barack Obama’s Headquarters”. I just called the DNC in Washington DC, where a bored (and boring) phone answerer told me that they only had a P.O. Box, no street address for the DNC Headquarters. Our pals over at Everyblock have 50 Restaurant inspections near ... Read More...

I took a pleasant drive up to Winnetka with my family yesterday afternoon, stopping by one of my favorite houses, the Harold Ickes Estate, which has been on the market for well over a year now. No open house yesterday, but still a commanding property held long ago by FDR‘s (somewhat power-mad) Secretary of the Interior.

The property is listed for $6 Million, which prompted me to think of the tax implications of high priced real estate vs. the number of Obama signs in the neighboring yards in Winnetka.

Sen. Obama has proposed thwarting some class-angst demon by re-instating the 55% tax on estates valued at $1 Million or over at the time of the owners death. He has voted for the estate tax 3 times, and campaigned against relief calling estate tax relief the “Paris Hilton Tax Break”.

$1 Million does not get you that far in Winnetka, ... Read More...

Carol Marin weepily tells us in the Sun-Times that the worst part of Fr. Pfleger’s spiteful rant at Trinity United Church was that it might hurt Obama’s campaign. Not that he is generally wrong, or vile, or speaks hatefully from the Pulpit. The real problem is that people may not vote for Obama.

Mark Brown, also in the Sun-Times, makes a more valid point stating that:

"Wright and Pfleger situations is that both of them pretty much got in trouble for talking the way they usually talk. That's why both of them seem to have been caught by surprise to have their words thrown back at them in a negative light after being shown to a national audience"



But then Brown absolves the miserable Chicago Press stating "we usually shrug this stuff off, or never hear about it in the first place", which is true, but ... Read More...

Sen. Obama has sent out a snippy statement via ABC‘S Good Morning America warning his opponents they should “be careful” in making his wife an issue “because that I find unacceptable.”

The Chicago Daily Observer has been a critic of Sen. and Mrs. Obama since starting publication 9 months ago, so we flatter ourselves to think that Sen. Obama may be distressed by any scrutiny or criticism of his full time campaigning wife in our newspaper. The thought of a man trying to gain trust as the Chief Executive of the United States threatening his political opponents with retribution for daring to speak out against his political campaign is truly stifling to democracy. Michelle Obama is campaigning for a man promising to raise our taxes, tear up trade agreements with Canadians, and establish gender based wage equity across industries enforced by the Federal Government. Isn’t it punishment enough to ... Read More...

Occasionally, Maya Brachear actually writes about religion as the Chicago Tribune’s Religion Reporter. Many of her columns are tolerable enough as sort of statistical analysis and trendwatch for a secular newspaper.

However, in her blog post yesterday she veered into journalistic trick/rant more suited to her rival at the Sun-Times than someone who observes and analyzes religion, rather than practicing partisan politics. Maya tells us (accurately):

It’s true that McCain did not attend Parsley or Hagee’s churches for more than 20 years just as Obama attended Wright's church for more than two decades.

Then Brachear questions:

But what makes their remarks any more palatable than Wright’s? Why shouldn’t voters hold McCain’s connection to Hagee and Parsley against him? If McCain and Obama face off in November, should they call for respect among religious traditions or just call it even and move on to other topics?


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A bit of pleasant news was buried in the Business Section of the Sun-Times yesterday. St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island was sold to an investor group who promise to keep the troubled hospital open and invest $30 Million in improvements to the facility.

Contrast this to the Front Page howls in the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times a month ago claiming that St. Francis could not be sold at any price. Apparently it could be sold, and even attract a sizable investor. Incidentally, this is the same investor who had been negotiating with St. Francis for over a year, apparently unknown to The Tribune and Sun-Times.

There still is a major hurdle to providing healthcare in Blue Island. The Illinois Healthcare Facilities Planning Board has yet to approve the sale of the hospital. Yes, this is the same Board once graced by Stuart Levine, brokered by Tony Rezko, and ... Read More...

Northwestern has asked the Evanston Historical Society to vacate the Dawes Mansion, the residence of the historical society since 1960. Citing concerns that Northwestern was not able to support a public museum in the home of former US Vice President Charles Dawes, Northwestern closed the massive Victorian structure to the public May 1.

Building engineers are claiming that $4 Million would be required to bring the mansion up to current codes for publicly accessible buildings, leading university spokesman Eugene Sunshine to dismiss the upgrades, stating Northwestern has “other priorities” than supporting a historic education center.

Per the Evnaston RoundTable, the Evanston Historic Society was offered the building by General Dawes in 1939, but rejected the offer as the society did not have funds for upkeep of the grounds and buildling. Subsequently, Northwestern was deeded the property, which was then leased for a nominal fee the the Historic Society for 48 ... Read More...

“Grassroots” campainging reached a new landmark in the Indiana and North Carolina primaries this week. Combined spending by Sens. Obama and Clinton topped $9.5 Million, making the amount spent on the two mid sized state greater than the entire amount spent by the Kerry Campaign in the 2004 primary.

Combining the available spending by 527 Funding organizations (not Lobbyists mind you) with the candidates own treasure, gets the party of the working man up to $10.6 Million mostly in the last week or so in the two states.

Spending per vote by Sen. Obama came in at $4.92 dwarfing the $2.47 per vote that Sen. Clinton was able to shell out. Yet, Sen. Obama got something of a bargain compared to the nearly $10 per vote he spent in Pennsylvania, only to get trounced by a 10% margin by Sen. Clinton (coming in at $2.64 per vote).

It does not ... Read More...

In what would have been a major violation of the law of supply and demand, Costco and Sam’s Club were reported to be limiting the quantity of rice that customers could buy.

The New York Times puts it dryly via the AP. The Chicago Tribune conjures up a WW2 era ration though the story notes that no store has actually run out of rice. The Wall Street Journal worries about rice hoarding. Reuter's headline is more frightening than the details where Costco's CEO explains that demand at Costco might be driven by the media reports of shortages.

So to clear this up, I made the bold step, apparently unknown to our media incumbents, of actually going to a Costco and observing the “rationing” first hand on Saturday, and buying some groceries in the meantime. Browsing down the bulk rice aisle, there were plenty of pallets ... Read More...

Bill Moyers lead off his self titled Journal last night on PBS with a lecture on his conversation with Rev. Wright last week. Moyers, ever the partisan scold, failed to see how anyone could question his judgment in giving a platform to Rev. Wright to do some damage control to his (and by proxy Sen. Obama’s) image. As is clear, Moyers failed last week, coming across like an infomercial rather than a reporter, and Rev. Wright only succeeded in appearing more radical, and more asleep through the last 20 years than his forgetful flock in the pews must have been.

Moyers solidified his position as the leader of the soft-spoken partisan hacks with this solemn attack on a broad swath of the population:

“Behold the double standard: John McCain sought out the endorsement of John Hagee, the war-mongering Catholic-bashing Texas preacher, who said the people of New Orleans got ... Read More...

The Seyfarth Country Residence, one of the most beautiful homes in Glencoe was featured on Chicago Tonight, in a story about “The Growing Gap” (WTTW video here) in income in the Chicago Area. The Arts and Crafts Style home, on the market for $4.75 Million, was touted by a real estate broker interviewed by Chicago Tonight’s Elizabeth Brackett, as “sure to sell in the next few months”, and trumpeted as evidence as stated by Phil Ponce that the “Super rich doing better than ever”.

Working with the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois, I had evaluated the Seyfarth House, and for what my architectural opinion is worth, declared it a very good building, but hard to economically justify in the battered housing market. The Seyfarth House has been on the market for around 4 years now, with no takers. There has been debate in Glencoe about making it into ... Read More...

David Axelrod’s “grassroots” strategy for Sen. Obama has generally consisted placing favorable stories in the press and gathering huge amounts of money, then buying airtime to polish his candidates image.

However, the Pennsylvania Primary has shown the law of diminishing returns has long since kicked in to Axelrod’s investment plan, with the Obama campaign coughing up over $10 Million to get very mediocre results.

Sen. Obama pulled in approximately 1 Million votes, while Sen. Clinton received approximately 1,250,000 votes. The big difference is on spending per vote, where Sen. Obama comes in at $10/vote delivered vs. Sen. Clinton at $2.64/vote delivered. At a ratio, Sen. Obama is paying 400% more per vote than Sen. Clinton, and still losing by a 10% margin.

The Axelrod crafted story has Sen. Obama running a masterfully crafted campaign, brining new voters into the electoral process and a bipartisan tidal wave for the Junion Illinois ... Read More...

Chicago did what it does best on last Monday, with the City Club of Chicago holding the city accountable to being the host to visitors from all over the world for the upcoming Art Chicago international fair of contemporary and modern art.

Imagine this: you put 150 politicians, businessmen, journalists, and artistic types (with very little overlap) in one room, call on Chris Kennedy from the Merchandise Mart to give an e