Illinois Crime & Politics

Hey William J. Kelly - why don't you SHUT UP?

2010-01-27T18:21:00.001-06:00

Now Kelly is calling for "Chairman Brady" to "disavow" the "Dodge/Topinka smear campaign"....why Brady should disavow something that doesn't exist is beyond me...the "smear campaign" is something -like his popularity and fabricated polling numbers-that Kelly has manufactured...much like Axelrod's PK and Media manufactures news. Martin Janis is the Topinka equivalent of AKP&D Message and Media. How can you "smear someone with the truth? How can someone be smeared with information they themselves put out on the internet?

Here's a question for you - where do you suppose "Low Blow Joe" came from?

It came from Nancy Kimme...and there is your Topinka connection...it goes right back to Kelly. BINGO.

Bill can call and cry to whoever he wants at this point...the more he blabbers, the more he is revealing.
If Kelly does something stupid, I'm going to call attention to it. He wants people that criticize him to shut up...which is all the more reason to raise objections to the schtick.

Nice job, Bill, say hi to Nancy from the REAL conservatives that Judy hates!!!

Todd Stroger vetoes Cook County sales tax ROLL BACK

2009-11-24T05:14:00.000-06:00

Surrounded by union members, Stroger said, "I refuse to stand idle while opposition commissioners continue to decimate the health care system."

In 2008, Stroger championed the penny-on-the-dollar increase in Cook County's sales tax. But last week, the Cook County Board voted overwhelmingly, 12-5, to reduce the sales tax from 1.75% to 1.25%.

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica said the 2010 budget passed last week already includes the half-penny rollback and there are no shortfalls.

Todd Stroger's bullying people with threats regarding backlash at the polls; his dire predictions about how the health care system is on the verge of collapse; and his using lawyers to investigate the constitutionality of the new law that restricts his veto power; merely demonstrate Stroger's desperation.

Todd Stroger vetoes roll back in Cook County sales tax

what a weird ad - Andy McKenna's "hair today gone tomorrow"

2009-10-28T20:45:00.002-05:00

The fixation with hair is rather weird, although Blago was famous for his. Quite a few of the others are either bald or have consistently bad hair days...but what does that have to do with the problems we're having?

The focus here is off the mark.

Cops Investigate Break In At North Side Campaign Office

2009-10-11T22:08:00.002-05:00

Just received a message from Steve Ruggiero, William J. Kelly’s campaign manager.

Police investigate scene at GOP candidate for comptroller’s office

At 3:30PM William J. Kelly, candidate for Illinois comptroller, and his campaign manager, Steve Ruggiero, arrived at their campaign office at 1000 N. Milwaukee (Wheeling) to discover it had been forcibly broken into. Missing items of political relevance include ward maps with campaign information and a list of volunteers. Other missing items include some equipment, champagne and cigars. Kelly has filed a police report and the police have dusted for fingerprints and are searching for possible suspects.

“The police are conducting an investigation; we don’t know if the break-in was politically motivated, however, politically sensitive items were removed from our office. Regardless, this campaign is and always has been a campaign of reform vs. corruption. If anyone thinks that this break-in will intimidate me, they don’t know me very well - it will only make me campaign harder,” said Kelly.

More information about William J. Kelly’s campaign can be found here.

Update: ABC Local's short blurb on it is here.

Hinsdale's Land Grab for Soccer Fields; Destroying Forest Preserve Land

2009-10-10T14:49:00.003-05:00

It's not really "destroying" forest preserve land, but in the end, it has that effect. Clout Street - Cook County Forest Preserve Board continuing negotiating controversial land lease

It's a proposal for Hinsdale to enter a 30-year lease and invest a whopping $2 million of taxpayer dollars in the land, which was split off from the rest of Bemis Woods when the tollway was built. Hinsdale would then join them with walking and biking paths.

An excerpt:

allowing Hinsdale to add the soccer fields to the forest preserve land would violate the district’s policy. District staff had come to the same conclusion.

But commissioners voted 9-4 to continue the negotiations, saying the final plan could be devised in a way that's in keeping with the district’s mission of preserving natural lands for recreational use.

Sure it could. In Elgin, they're looking to do away with the Lord's Park Zoo - even though the Zoo had withstood more hard times than these. It's difficult to imagine why certain individuals can't just leave our parks alone and deal with what we have. Forest Preserve land doesn't need bureaucratic "improvements"; we should stop inventing ways to squander taxpayer money and deal with the problems that we have full-on. Somebody stands to make money off of this, you can be sure - at the expense of taxpayers.

What Are Visitors from Rogers Park News Bench Coming Here Searching for Peraica For?

2009-10-10T14:39:00.001-05:00

I don't have anything up on Peraica yet, but if you wait a little bit, I just might.

Thanks to the visitors of Rogers Park News Bench for stopping by, and thanks to Rogers Park News Bench for adding this blog to the blog roll.

Cook County Clerk charged with Bribe, Theft and Corruption

2009-10-10T05:05:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the Examiner, we learn that

Angelo Colon, 47, serving in the capacity of Assistant Cook County Circuit Court Clerk, was arrested by the Cook County State's Attorney Investigators October 6th for solicitiation of a bribe, theft, and official corruption. The charges stem from his allegedly promising a Texas woman that if she paid $13,000, he would bribe a judge to get her husband, charged with drug trafficking, released.

You'd think he was working for ACORN.

Her husband is charged with drug trafficking. This alleged crime was part of an ongoing criminal enterprise conducted between September 2008 and January 2009. He is at Cook County's Department of Corrections, and bail was set at $150,000.

Colon has been a clerk at the Circuit Court for 10 years and is assigned to the criminal clerk's office at the criminal court complex, 26th and California.

Clerk of the Court, Dorothy Brown, at a press conference on other matters, stated that his behavior was unacceptable and she is working within the union contract for employees to suspend Colon.

So Colon IS a union worker!

See more at the Chicago Trib

Madigan's Reform is a Naked Grab for More Power

2009-10-09T10:26:00.001-05:00

Madigan's financing 'reform' needs reform

House Speaker Mike Madigan, with his usual stern look, doesn't come across as a laugh-a-minute guy.

But when you scrutinize his latest attempts at state campaign finance reform, you come to understand Madigan's got quite a sense of humor.

Here's his idea of reform:

Limit what can be given in contributions to political candidates across the state, to diminish the corrosive influence of money in politics.

Make sure those limits apply to pretty much everyone -- except Madigan and other state political leaders and political parties.

So something publicly called reform becomes, behind the curtain, a naked grab for more political power.

Now that's funny -- if you like your comedy with a dash of bitters.

As Andy Shaw, executive director of the Better Government Association, put it Thursday, "Whoever controls the cash, calls the shots."

And under this so-called reform, Madigan would control even more of the cash and if possible, call even more of the shots.

We say "if possible" because Madigan already wields so much power, we're unsure if he could amass much more.

Coalition challenges Madigan to accept reform himself

How odd. "Change Illinois!" co-chair is Deborah Harrington, President of the Woods Fund of Chicago. I wonder if she worked with Barack Obama and Billy Ayers at some point.

oh happy day

2009-10-09T10:17:00.002-05:00

Kudos to William J. Kelly for taking the fight right into the faces of the Chicago Crime Syndicate.

I hope he's able to get down into the Comptroller's records and find out what happened to the millions of dollars that have been funneled down Chicago's ACORN-way.

Food Fight between Adam Andrzejewski and Dan Proft at Cao's blog

2009-10-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

Dan Proft slaps Adam Andrzejewski with a cluebat

Adam Andrzejewski fires back at Dan Proft

Illinois AG Lisa Madigan Sues Roofing Contractor

2009-10-06T18:44:00.000-05:00

Daily Herald:

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a lawsuit today against a Westmont roofing contractor who lives in Mount Prospect.

The suit claims that Gary Phillips, owner of based Best Roofing, formerly Roof Medics, took on roofing contracts without being properly licensed and then failed to do some jobs and completed others in a substandard fashion.

When consumers complained that their roofs were still leaking, Phillips often failed to return their calls, the suit says.

This is Lisa Madigan in attack dog mode.

Reached by phone, Phillips said he was unaware of the lawsuit and surprised by its claims because he believes the company's standard of work is very high.

He said his company offered a "roof tuneup" for $295. He said that covers patching for the roof and includes company making two visits, if needed. If the problem can't be fixed in those two trips, that money will be applied toward more comprehensive repairs.

"We've got a lot of happy customers," Phillips said. "I've got a lot more happy customers than unhappy customers."

He said the unreturned phone calls may have resulted from the company being short-staffed and very busy, but he said all calls are returned.

I'm getting the impression that government lackeys like Madigan are not in any way shape or fashion "pro business" or "pro entrepreneur". Instead, they are about squeezing businesses for anything they can get.

Madigan spokeswoman Natalie Bauer said the suit cites eight complaints since 2008. She said the suit was filed this morning in Cook County Circuit Court, and Phillips now has 30 days to file a response.

In the suit, Madigan asks the court to prohibit Phillips from engaging in the home repair trade. The suit also seeks restitution for consumers, a civil penalty of $50,000, additional penalties of $50,000 for each violation found to have been committed with the intent to defraud and $10,000 per violation found to have been committed against a consumer who is 65 years or older.

The lawsuit further asks the court to require Phillips to pay the costs of the prosecution and investigation of the case.

Good God, that's a lot they're expecting to squeeze out of this poor guy.

"It's inexcusable for a contractor to accept down payments but then fail to perform the work or handle it in an unprofessional manner," Madigan said in a news release. "I urge consumers to make sure they're informed and ask detailed questions before they hire a contractor in an effort to avoid this type of fraud."

Consumers who believe they're victims of consumer fraud can download a complaint form at IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers or call the Attorney General's Consumer Fraud Hotline at (800) 386-5438 or the Spanish-language hotline at (866) 310-8398.

So now we need a go-between between the evil capitalist and the consumer? There was once a time that reputation would bury you, which is why it's interesting that this fellow says he has a lot of happy customers. The Capitalist system has its own checks and balances; if you're found out to be a crook, the word gets around and you get no business. Most businesses rely on word-of-mouth to stay in business, anyway.

We should take some of these complaints and reports about Lisa Madigan's suit with a block of salt, considering how Illinois is virtually chasing the small businessman out of the state with a lot of measures that are definitely not to the benefit of the business owner who, in the end, provides jobs. The paradigm shift now is to government which provides jobs, while government goes after the small business owner.

I'd like to see more details surrounding the attack and just what precisely those 8 people are expecting to get out of this.

Our society is too litigious. We need tort reform.

Proft: A Republican in Illinois owes a Republican in New Jersey An Apology

2009-10-06T17:54:00.007-05:00

From Dan's campaign website:

Adam Andrzejewski owes the Republican gubernatorial nominee in New Jersey an apology. In an utterly bizarre email to his supporters yesterday, Adam criticizes so-called “New Jersey Republicans” for discounting his unoriginal demand that candidates release their personal financial information.

Specifically, Adam is angry at State Sen. Bill Brady for calling Adam’s mundane challenge for candidates to release their incomes tax returns a “gimmick."

Adam’s email then takes a weird and wholly unnecessary detour to insult and undermine Chris Christie, a reform Republican who is fighting the good fight to take the governor’s mansion back from a toxic Democrat political machine led by one of the most partisan, disreputable and well-financed Democrats in the country: Jon Corzine.

From Adam’s email:
As for today's message, we'd like to share with you the dangers of nominating a "New Jersey Republican." Recent news from New Jersey - a state ravaged by the same bad policies put forth by Illinois Democrat political class over the last 10-15 years - illustrates what happens when the Republican candidate runs a content-free campaign of platitudes and warmed-over sound bites. A 14 point lead evaporates. … Nominating an Illinois version of a New Jersey-style "Christie" candidacy isn't going to cut it.
What is the point of this outburst? How does this help our party?

The most peculiar aspect of his email is that Adam criticizes Christie for not proposing tax relief. Guess what? Neither does Adam. In fact, Adam recently said during a joint appearance that we shouldn’t cut taxes.

I am the only candidate, of either party, in this race who has proposed specific tax cuts (and permanent spending caps). So while I agree with the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board that Chris Christie would help himself by offering specific tax relief proposals, I am more concerned with the lack of similar proposals from my opponents in the Illinois governor’s race.

Proft makes some strong points in that alert, so I urge you to please go read the rest.

Adam had better get his act together, or Proft is going to steamroll right over him with common sense. When that happens, I hope voters are paying attention.

while Illinois government and Unions promise goodies (and more socialism), good hard working Illinoisans are under siege

2009-10-06T17:36:00.003-05:00

Michelle Malkin covered it well and summed it up here Special report: A parental revolt against the SEIU’s home invasion robbery"

Governor Quinn signed his Executive Order 2009-015, which compels people who are caring for disabled relatives to join the home healthcare unions. What this in effect accomplishes, is pouring more union dues into the pockets of the thuggish ACORN/SEIU/AFSCME Unions and takes away the voices of regular people; while transferring more political power to the unions.

As Michelle explains:

Roughly 3,500 people in Illinois receive state funding to assist someone, usually a family member, at home with a developmental disability. In June, Democrat Gov. Pat Quinn signed an executive order approving collective bargaining by “individual providers of home-based support services” — effectively busting open the doors of private homes for the Purple Shirts of the SEIU and other union competitors hungry for new dues-paying members.

The home-based workers weren’t seeking a collective bargaining agent.

But unions were targeting them.

She shows copies of thinly veiled threatening letters to these families and a video of the SEIU's endorsement of Pat Quinn. The unions, although not a part of government, are threatening that if these families don't "go along", they will get their government benefits revoked. And if they speak out against this outlandish maneuver they're pulling, there will be repurcussions.

Home-based providers have been targeted by Access Living, a left-wing advocacy group that is partners with SEIU Local 880 and ACORN. Access Living’s letter to Illinois home-based providers, signed by the President/CEO Marca Bristo, brags that since they “united with SEIU, we have worked closely with them to win expanded services, better funding and healthcare benefits for providers.”

Despite the state’s gag order on politicking, the SEIU-tied Access Living advocacy letter was exempted from the gag order.

Dan Proft, Gubernatorial Candidate in the upcoming primary, is also quoted there.

It's a lot of information to take in - in addition to the knowledge that they're pulling these underhanded types of maneuvers in other states, targetting babysitters.

Both the democrats and republians have been on the take in Illinois where the unions are concerned. Say No to ACORN and sign the petition. Send a letter to urge Pat Quinn to rescind Executive Order 0915.

Union Thugs Protest Outside As Cook County Board Debates Video Gambling

2009-10-06T17:00:00.001-05:00

From the Cook County Blog again-Union Thugs Gather As Cook County Debates Video Gambling

Chicago Breaking News

Scores of people are at today's Cook County Board meeting to protest the expected passage of a measure that tweaks the county's already existing video-gambling ban in unincorporated areas.

The protesters, not all of whom could get into the meeting because of fire-code occupancy limits, were organized by the 130-member Illinois Coin Machine Operators Association, said Tom Fiedler, the group's president.

The protesters, who are unlikely to get a chance to speak because a public hearing on the issue was held last week, are wearing white T-shirts that say "JOBS, JOBS, JOBS" on the front, and "DON'T OPT OUT" on the back.

Fiedler said the protesters include his members, restaurant and bar owners that would benefit from video gambling, as well as union representatives.

This short article refers to Clout Street for more so let's go over there for a moment.

By passing the measure, Cook County joined scores of municipalities and counties across Illinois that have banned the machines. Opponents contend they are “the crack cocaine” of gambling, have been linked to the Chicago Outfit and would be difficult and expensive to regulate.

But regulating is what they're doing with it, isn't it?

The Cook County Board today tweaked its ban on video gambling to ensure the betting machines won’t be allowed in unincorporated areas under Gov. Pat Quinn’s statewide construction plan.

But as mentioned before, it's the Casinos that are behind this because video gambling would take a bite out of their "take". This is a fight for a cut of the "take".

Previous (at the Cook County Blog):

Cook County Commissioners to vote on overriding Cook County President's veto requirements; Video Poker

Casino donations tied to sponsor of video gaming machine ban

Counterfeit Currency Surfaces in Elgin, Algonquin, West Dundee and Lake-In-The-Hills

2009-10-06T16:48:00.000-05:00

But don't be alarmed about it. Here's the article-Counterfeit currency surfacing in area (Suburban Chicago news)

A rash of counterfeit money has hit the area in recent weeks, with police departments in Elgin, Algonquin, West Dundee and Lake in the Hills have all handling reports of the bogus bills.

All four area departments say they recovered the funny money -- including $5 and $100 bills -- during the month of September.

I'm not sure why this even hit the news. Every month, about $20,000 in counterfeit money is passed in the Chicago metro area--authorities aren't seeing, as pointed out in the article, any unusual pattern here - it's the amount they usually see. But when you buy gas or groceries and get cash back, make sure you take a close look at the bills before you put them back in your wallet. And for what it's worth, the secret service isn't involved in this yet. The Elgin police are doing a preliminary investigation hoping to nab the source of some of these bills, which reportedly are poor quality fakes.-Cook County Blog

Anne bumps into Billy Ayers at Reagan National in DC, he admits he wrote "Dreams"

2009-10-06T16:43:00.002-05:00

BackyardConservative: Bill Ayers No Dream

Scruffy, thinning beard, dippy earring, and the wirerims, heading to order. I gathered my things, got my camera ready, and snapped a shot right when he got his coffee.

I asked--what are you doing in D.C. Mr. Ayers?

Check out her post and the picture of the aging communist hippie calmly getting a Starbucks at the airport.

The Weather Undergound's Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn were responsible for the vicious domestic terrorist attack comprised of setting off a bomb filled with heavy metal staples- which killed Sgt. Brian V. McDonnell and injured others at the Park Police Station in San Francisco in 1970. Larry Grathwohl, who infiltrated the Weather Underground for the FBI says that Bill Ayers personally told him that his wife, Bernadine Dohrn, planted the bomb. Details here.

To imagine that he and his wife are both running around free--and influencing young college students with their communist utopian dreams-- makes my skin crawl.

who said there's no free lunch?

2009-10-05T11:14:00.004-05:00

In Illinois there certainly is! Lunch waivers on the rise in schools across Illinois
Last fall, 922,984 students had fee waiver through lunch program (Tribune)

Lunch waivers on the rise in schools across Illinois Last fall, 922,984 students (including 19,693 in Elgin, 8,291 in Romeoville, 6,251 in West Aurora, and 3,464 in Plainfield) had fee waiver through lunch program - Tara Malone

That's just the tip of the iceberg - because there are even MORE FREEBIES that go along with the lunches! State Law exempts students who qualify for free lunches from paying other school fees - from textbooks to transporatation. And where does that money come from?

You guessed it; from the already exhausted taxpayer funds that the government is squandering.

Stroger in hot water; subpoena, grand jury, audit

2009-10-05T10:44:00.002-05:00

Cook County Board president Todd Stroger is in a world of trouble. But maybe not, if you know Chicago politics. In the fall of 2008, Stroger hired Tony Cole, a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse busboy with a lengthy criminal record. So much for the "vetting" process. Somehow Stroger's cousin, Donna Dunnings is involved in this, as I keep seeing reports that she has bailed Tony Cole out of jail on a few occasions. Donna Dunnings was Cook County's Chief Financial Officer.

Originally from Baton Rouge, La., Cole came to authorities' attention when he was an aspiring basketball player at a Rhode Island community college. He was accused of misconduct by three women. The university barred him from the campus, and he was twice arrested on charges of trespassing, according to court records. In March 2000, he was expelled after two female employees of the athletic department accused him of groping them.

A year later, Cole was recruited to the University of Georgia by coach Jim Harrick, according to court records.

In January 2002 Cole's girlfriend at Georgia accused him of being involved in gang-raping her.

Cole and two friends were indicted on sexual assault charges, but after one was acquitted, the charges against Cole and the other defendant were dropped. Nonetheless, school officials kicked him off the team, and he dropped out of Georgia in early 2003, according to court records.

After he left the university, Cole leveled allegations of NCAA rules violations including grade-fixing against Harrick that led to the coach's resignation.

After returning to Baton Rouge, Cole was charged with aggravated assault after being accused of threatening a former girlfriend with an assault rifle. The assault charge was dropped, but he was convicted of bouncing a $578 rent check in Georgia—a felony conviction Stroger said was never disclosed. (Chicago Tribune Stroger hires wayward ex-busboy for county job, cousin takes fall)

And this was supposedly the reasoning for his firing Cole?-Cole's undisclosed felony conviction for bounding a $578 rent check in Georgia?

In June 2008 he (Cole) was charged with domestic battery for allegedly striking his girlfriend, according to court records. He allegedly violated an order of protection twice by harassing her at her home, according to court records. He was released after a November arrest once Dunnings posted bail for him of $1,000, court records show. (Chicago Tribune Stroger hires wayward ex-busboy for county job, cousin takes fall)

On October 14, 2008-Tony Cole was hired as an administrative assistant with an annual salary of $48,289. Magically, within a short period of time, Cole's salary jumped to $61,189 as a human resources assistant in the Cook County Highway Department.

In January 2009, prosecutors increased Cole's bail to $40,000 after he allegedly made threatening telephone calls to his accuser at her work over several days. Dunnings (Stroger's cousin) posted $3,000 to have him released, according to the records. This month, Cole was not home as required when authorities made an unannounced visit. He was arrested Tuesday and his bail was raised to $200,000.

It was the latest episode in a years-long pattern of allegations involving violence against women. (ibid)

In April, 2009, Donna Dunnings, Stroger's cousin and Cook County's Chief Financial Officer, resigned. Cole was fired some time beforehand. There is a grand jury investigation regarding Stroger's reckless hiring decisions.

Huffington Post from April 21, 2009:

Three suburban townships, frustrated with the county's high sales tax, voted to secede from Cook County earlier this month. And Stroger's support among Chicago's African American voters, which was a rock-solid 90 percent in the 2006 primary, is also wavering.

"People are not going to just vote for you 'cause you're black anymore," Ald. Ed Smith (28th) told CBS 2. "People are looking at quality, integrity, character."

Drew Peterson Loses Round 2 in Court; Hearsay Law Upheld

2009-10-04T15:13:00.003-05:00

Via CLTV:

CHICAGO - Friday a Will County judge upheld the state's new hearsay law, which prosecutors plan to use in their murder trial against Drew Peterson.

Under the law, which took affect in December, prosecutors plans to submit as evidence letters and statements by Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio, to friends and family before she was killed in 2004.

Peterson's attorneys have argued that the so-called "Drew's law" violates a defendant's 6th Amendment right to cross-examine witnesses; goes against state and federal constitutional provisions against retroactively applied laws; and "erodes the presumption of innocence" by asking a judge before the trial even starts to find that Peterson murdered Savio to silence her.

But Judge Stephen White sided with prosecutors and allowed the law to stand.

Peterson's attorneys said they would notify prosecutors whether they intend to introduce their own hearsay evidence by Oct. 29, their client's next court date.

Peterson, in custody at the Will County Jail in Joliet, is also considered a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson.

Earlier, Peterson lost his bid to move his murder trial outside of Will County.

Peterson's attorney, Joel Brodsky, has argued that widespread publicity would make it difficult for the former Bolingbrook police sergeant to get a fair trial in Will County.

The motion cited stories about Peterson that ran in the Chicago Tribune, CNN, Huffington Post and local television stations.

Some of the stories detailed the order of protection Savio took out against Peterson and the letters she mailed out before her death. The motion argued that they exposed jurors to "highly significant information which may not be admissible at trial."

Peterson's attorneys also objected to a 2008 press release from the Will County state's attorney's office that announced that results of an autopsy on Savio's exhumed remains concluding her death was a homicide.

The complete autopsy was not released, only the manner of death, which his attorneys said "prejudiced the jury pool in regards to the most contested fact of the entire case -- namely the manner of death."

Drew is a former Bolingbrook cop and there are some very interesting details surrounding Savio's death. It is good to see he is still in jail; and I hope one day they find out what happened to Stacy Peterson. Despite everyone's concern for Stacy Peterson --Peterson is in jail pending the trial for the murder of Kathleen Savio, his third wife.

the 1993 Brown's Fried Chicken Massacre: new conviction

2009-10-04T14:54:00.005-05:00

From the Cook County Blog:

What happened

On January 8, 1993, the event that would become infamous as the Brown's Chicken Massacre occurred at a Palatine, Illinois branch. Seven people were murdered, including both owners and 5 employees, all of whom were found bound in the walk-in freezer. In 2002, James Degorski and Juan Luna were arrested for the murders.[1] In May 2007, Luna was convicted of his part in the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment.[1] (Wikipedia on the Brown's Chicken and Pasta entry)

Actually, 5 were in the freezer, 2 were in the cooler, an example of why you can't rely very heavily on the accuracy of Wikipedia. But it's a nice place to start.

Also see the Wikipedia entry on the Brown's Chicken Massacre.

On neither entry do they mention Paul Modrowski - who, for quite some time, was the main suspect in the Brown's Chicken Massacre.

On September 28, 2009, James Degorski was found guilty of the Browns Chicken murders. Interestingly enough, you really have to search around to find information about what happened, the trials, etc.

There is another murder case that is related to the Brown's Chicken Massacre-and you can find out about it by finding information about Dean Fawcett's murder. The two cases seem to overlap in some ways.

See the blog Paul Modrowski - On the Inside - which is where Paul Modrowski's story is being told. Paul does not have access to the internet - and has never seen the blog. He writes his blog with a paper and pencil from his prison cell. Paul Modrowski was only 18 when he was charged in 1993 with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Dean C. Fawcett, 22, of La Grange Park, whose headless torso was found along railroad tracks in Barrington, officials said. Modrowski was also under suspicion and questioned in the Jan. 8 murders of seven people at the Brown's Chicken & Pasta restaurant in Palatine. (Sun Time-April 30, 1993-Rebecca Carr; Tom McNamee)

On February 17, 1995, a Rolling Meadows jury

"decided Paul Modrowski was a cold-blooded killer, guilty of fatally shooting an acquaintance and then sawing off his head and hands.

The jury reached its verdict this morning after deliberating 18 hours in the case against the 20-year-old Mokena man.

"Justice has been done and the community is safer," said Charles Fawcett, the father of the victim, Dean Fawcett.

Dean Fawcett's torso was found two years ago along railroad tracks in northwest suburban Barrington.

Two men were accused of the murder. Robert Faraci, 27, of Schiller Park, was acquitted of first-degree murder charges Wednesday by a separate jury. Prosecutors argued that both men killed Fawcett..." Chicago Sun-Times -February 17, 1995 by Sharon Cotliar

That's pretty brutal reporting, considering what I've read on the other side of it.

Robert Faraci was acquitted - and he supposedly was the individual who borrowed Modrowski's car and did the deed. This story hardly makes any sense; which is probably one of the reasons it's so hard to find any evidence that it even took place. I can't find much in news reports on it, either. I find it incredibly odd that Modrowski- who lent his car to Feraci who was acquitted of Fawcett's murder - would be put in jail when he wasn't even there when the murder took place, according to his blog entries; and no evidence was found in his vehicle. With the conviction of Juan Luna and James Degorski, it would seem that the cloud over Modrowski's head should have cleared regarding the Brown's Fried Chicken Massacre, too; but he's stuck in prison and has been there for over 16 years.

Interestingly, there is little to be found about the Brown's Fried Chicken murders on the internet now. At the Daily Herald, however, a new story emerged about one of the alleged perps having been exonerated -Celso Morales - with the conviction of James Degorski at the end of September.

Dark clouds lifts for innocent man eyed in Brown's Chicken killings

With the conviction of James Degorski on Tuesday - the second after the 2007 conviction of accomplice Juan Luna, those long wrongly under scrutiny are finally, truly free.

Not all of them have been 'truly set free' as it turns out; but at least the ones you might suspect as hispanic gang members have been 'truly set free'. That's an indictment against our court system if you asked me. Where is the justice for Paul Modrowski?

No official number of suspects has been made public. But the trail left by investigators in more than a decade of searching for the killers ranges from some of the restaurant's employees to Chicago gang members and suspects in similar fast food killings across the nation.

See NBC coverage of the Degorski trial here.

Restaurant owners Lynn and Richard Ehlenfeldt, Michael Castro, Rico Solis, Guadalupe Maldonado, Marcus Nellsen and Thomas Mennes all died in this execution style killing - God bless them and may they RIP.

See 44 Minutes in January - The Daily Herald - read the entire tale with some of the facts glossed over by journalists.

Palatine councilman wants to meet about Brown's Chicken reward money
More than $100,000 collected following 1993 slayings at restaurant, Wagner says

the strange death of Christopher Kelly

2009-10-04T14:18:00.001-05:00

Also at Cook County blog.

Fmr. Blagojevich adviser Kelly dies; death probe looks at drugs

This is a very strange case and connected to Blagojevich. Christopher Kelly was found slumped over in his car in a lumberyard which is reportedly near a storage space he rents. His girlfriend found him after he text messaged her to meet her there. He was apparently not in a very good shape and she drove him to the hospital, where he later died on Saturday, September 12.

Kelly had run up thousands of dollars in personal debts was believed to be strapped for cash.

He was facing three years in prison for hiding $1.3 million in income, including company money he used to pay gambling debts that he wrote off as business expenses. He was facing five additional years for taking part in an $8.5 million fraud involving roofing work on United Air Lines and American Airlines hangars at O'Hare International Airport.

And still to come was a trial in a sweeping indictment that charged Blagojevich, Kelly and four other men with planning several fraudulent deals involving state government and millions of dollars in kickbacks.

It's being treated as a homicide even though the official line is -suicide.

Kelly Talked to Police Officer Before He Died

Kelly told police he'd recently had surgery on his private parts. When Kelly's girlfriend reached the scene at the lumberyard, she saw vomit inside and outside his Escalade, then pushed Kelly over to the passenger side of the vehicle and drove him to Oak Forest Hospital. He was laying on a gurney when he was questioned by police.

Here's the fishy part from the same suntimes article:

The police officer also interviewed an unidentified “male white with grey hair” who claimed to be Kelly’s friend. He told the officer who Kelly was, Welch said.

Later Saturday morning, a white man with grey hair — police are unsure if it was the same man interviewed at the hospital earlier — came to the hospital with keys to the Escalade and tried to remove it from the parking lot but was turned away by police, Welch said.

Kelly was Blagojevich's 'go-to' man and after Blago was under indictment, Kelly refused to flip for the prosecution and stayed loyal to Blagojevich.

His death came four days after pleading guilty to the $8.5 million fraud at O'hare airport and would have been part of the proceedings regarding Blagojevich's case next June.

Illinois needs to find its battle of Concord

2009-10-03T18:34:00.006-05:00

And I think it may have arrived. People are paying closer attention to Obama's old Congressional seat - which Mark Kirk is bidding for. People are paying more attention to Mark Kirk's old seat in the 10th District, which a number of candidates are vying for at this point - for the nomination, at any rate.

People are taking a closer look at the candidates and what they represent - and if they are truly representing the views of their constituents. With ACORN, SEIU and AFSCME unveiled in Illinois' political landscape and how these organizations are showing undue influence; it should come as little surprise that the people of Illinois are waking up.

Peter Roskam has not been as big of a disappointment as have Roland Burris and Dick Durbin. Roland Burris' comments about Obama and Daley's failure in Copenhagen over the Chicago bid for the Olympics were, in sum; Bush's fault; and part of how democrats will use any excuse not to fault Obama for his own shortcomings and failings as President. The failings of the Democratic party across the nation are painfully clear. It's time for the voters to get busy; get educated; get active; get vocal; before we completely lose our voices.

In Illinois, I am deeply concerned. Cook County is driving business out with higher and higher taxes, and still complaining about a budget shortfall and looking for other ways to drum up revenue.

As far as corruption, it is neverending. Burris was in bed with disgraced Blagojevich and reportedly paid Blago in some way for the privilege of being a Senator. Burris will not be running in the election that is coming up to keep that seat - he must see the writing on the wall or have aspirations for some other position. It is no secret that Burris has consistently moved to get his relatives gubmint jobs, so I expect he will continue his career of expecting government handouts. Burris donated over $20k to Blago's campaign (Illinois State Board of Elections) and his lobbying clients donated over $100,000 to Blago. ($107,690 - Chicago Sun Times, Gov's pick faces a fight; Obama against Blagojevich surprise decision, Senate Democrats say they won't seat Burris, December 31, 2008) Burris' consulting firm and clients got a lot of sweet Blagojevich-style paybacks along the way, too...so we will not be sorry to see Burris go.

Dick Durbin's shameful behavior regarding the Iraq war and comparing Gitmo to Soviet Gulags also gives a person pause; those sentiments in no way represent constituents who have loved ones serving in our military and he should be ashamed of himself. When Durbin first came into office, he was a pro life candidate - but - just like many career politicians, switched to pro baby killing when the likes of Planned Parenthood came calling. Durbin was also not all that concerned about Blagojevich even though he admitted an uneasiness about him - Durbin served as the go-between between Mike Madigan and Blagojevich when they clashed in 2002, and after Blago was thrown out of office, Durbin welcomed Burris with open arms; when Burris' Blagojevich appointment came during some shady circumstances. For a "senior senator" from Illinois, Durbin's record isn't all that admirable; rather he has ditched his constituents for special interests and refused to do anything about problems in his own party.

And like dutiful comrades, both Burris and Durbin voted to continue ACORN funding.

We desperately need - not lawyers - but businessmen, who understand how the economy works - in elected office. This is in order to restore balance and some semblance of sanity to our legislatures; both in Springfield and in Washington. Lawyers legislate; businessmen would have other concerns - concerns more in line with their constituents; and they would have an idea of the free market; how supply and demand works; and why a soviet central planning style model is not desirable "change".

Mark Kirk will be leaving his 10th District House of Representatives Seat in order to compete for the seat of a bonafide US Senator in the 6th District; for Burris's illgotten Obama Senate Seat.

Now, it should be noted that no matter what side of the aisle Illinois politicians sit on, there seem to be connections to votes that Illinoisans would be disappointed in.

Kirk has an extremely unpopular voting record: "Hate Crimes", "Cap and Trade," "Embryonic Stem Cell" research, 100% voting record from NARL, Gun rights and Veterans affairs--in short, Kirk is a nightmare if you're looking for someone who would represent republican interests. He might be on the republican ticket, but he's a RINO in every sense of the word.

Yesterday, Nancy Thorner reported on an intimate gathering where Mark Kirk tried to convince republican voters that he was their man. Read the whole thing. What is telling is that in the end, she remained unconvinced that he would represent his constituents and change anything that he's already done which makes him no different than a democrat.

As one who attended the event, I found Mark Kirk's responses lacking in credibility and truthfulness. Kirk sounded good and did make some sense as he is well-verses on many topics. There is, however, a difference in what politicians promise when running for office and how they perform once elected.

We need someone who is honest; and I know there are candidates out there who might not be as popular with the Republican Machine - but who should be the people we seek out to represent us and will turn things around.

Kirk is not that man....but there are a number of democrats running for the seat...so this is unnerving. Alexi Giannoulias - who shouldn't get a job as dog catcher after losing thousands of dollars as Treasurer for Illinois families-David Hoffman and Cheryle Jackson.

See also "When Did Illinois Stop being America?"

The injustice to the common Illinois citizen is complete. The rapacity of her "officials" is such that to be sated their wide-wasting prodigality and profusion has become a gulf that will swallow the whole state. In Illinois, numberless and needless state jobs abound, enormous salaries, pensions and benefits that far outpace the private sector are commonplace, bribes, under-the-table payoffs and back-room deals are de rigueur so much so that government from the smallest village to the biggest cities and thence to the state government itself will find in this land of plenty that they are forever in continual necessity of more.

These facts relayed above are merely confirmed by the last two governors, one that sold licenses to murderers on our highways and the other that trades the highest offices in the land for his own benefit.

There was a time when Americans would rise up and defeat such a tyranny. There was a time when men would band together and perhaps toss the object of hated taxation in a harbor or two. There was even a time when taxmen were afraid to leave their homes. But that was a time when men were not so bowed by an oppressive state that even the local police were more interested in filling their coffers with money than in even worrying about the safety of their constituents.

When will the enslaved people of Illinois wake up and realize that they are but one step removed from being in a state like that of a far flung Soviet satellite state of decades past? When will the people of Illinois wake up and realize that no politician cares at all about them and is only interested in filling their pockets and that of their cronies? When will the people of Illinois rise up and say that enough is enough?

When will Illinois come upon its battle of Concord?

We had better come upon it soon before the socialists completely run over us - with the help of RINOs like Mark Kirk. Where is the viable conservative candidate in the Senate race? I would really like to see one...

Andy McKenna is the bipartisan kumbaya candidate that deserves to lose

2009-10-03T09:37:00.002-05:00

The McKenna family has donated thousands of dollars to the Chicago Democrats, among them- Mike Madigan, Lisa Madigan, Dan Hynes, and Dick Durbin. The McKenna family has also donated thousands of dollars to Republicans and the Illinois Republican Party - points out Dan Proft, Illinois gubernatorial candidate.

Dan Proft, Illinois candidate for governor calls the entire McKenna family out on his website here-

"They hedge their bets, because they are interested in self-preservation. Mr. McKenna has taken indicted Springfield powerbroker Bill Cellini’s infamous ethos to heart, ‘When we're in, we're in, and when you're in, we're in. We're always in.’

"Who’s the ‘we’? I suggest you ask Andy McKenna. But the ‘we’ sure doesn’t include rank-and-file Republican primary voters.

"We have been down this road so many times as a party. Every time we allow the bipartisan combine to select our candidates, we run into a dead end. We cannot make the same mistake again if we want to not only win elections, but also bring about the system-change reform required to make Illinois economically viable. We cannot hope to un-fix Illinois before we un-fix our own party.

"As State Senator Matt Murphy, the other half of ‘Team Status Quo,’ said just a few weeks ago, ‘People are looking for a new face to take us in a new direction, especially on the Republican side…They want to see somebody who can represent a clean break from the past.’

"Sen. Murphy is right. And that is why Andy McKenna is absolutely the wrong candidate to lead our party and lead this state."

Can't argue with THAT! It's time to get rid of the two-faced corruption and democrat/socialist policies of status quo Illinois Republicans. The democrats have been bad enough; we don't need republicans to take the position of democrat-lite.

what was Obama's motivation to put the Chicago Olympics ahead of our troops in Afghanistan & Iraq?

2009-10-02T21:22:00.002-05:00

Pure cronyism; to build his supporter base; and pay off supporters.

oh darn, Obama ate dirt in Copenhagen; blame Bush!

2009-10-02T20:58:00.010-05:00

Isn't that blame Bush meme getting a little old after 9 months into the Messiah's Kingdom of Change, failed policies, European apology tour, failure stopping Iran's nukes, millions protesting his socialist healthcare scam in DC, Pelosi crying about violence and swastikas-etc.? You can only get away with sleight of hand for so long before the audience starts to catch on.

It doesn't look like the 'world' that supported Obama or - I should say - according to liberals supported Obama - was much in the mood for Obama's snakeoil this time around.

Chicago will not host the Olympics after all.

Thank God.

I wonder how much taxpayer money was spent on that star studded event? I gather Oprah flew there along with them.

So now we have Think Progress, Roland Burris, Rowdy Gaines ignoring Obama's failed pitch and instead blaming it on Bush. I think I'm going to keep a list.

ABC7

Meanwhile, conservative critics say Pres. Barack Obama joins Daley as a political loser in the wake of Copenhagen. Commentator Tom Roeser says Obama had more important things to do and wrongly put the prestige of the presidency on the line for his hometown Chicago machine boss. "Going to Copenhagen for Chicago, Illinois just shows you that he's really a creature of the machine, no matter how big you are," Roeser said.

The Agony of Obama's Defeat - Josh Gerstein

CBS2-- Loss Of Olympics A Crushing Defeat For Daley Levine: Daley's Political Future May Be In Question

Chicago 2016: Bid loss leaves political sting Barack Obama already criticized by GOP, while Richard Daley left to confront realities of games-free city - Rick Pearson and Katherine Skiba

Politics fix: Can we pin this loss on Daley? Obama? - Eric Zorn

Democrats control Chicago, control Cook County, control Illinois, and control America, Democrats nevertheless blame Republicans for the Olympics loss. Is there anything negative that Democrats do not blame on Republicans? Didn't Hitler blame all Germany's negatives on the Jews? - David Diersen

Suntimes: Did anti-American resentments play role in Chicago's bid losing?

Suntimes: Chicago torpedoed by anti-U.S. sentiment?

A resounding rejection of America's arrogance Parade of stars, Chicago's clout cut no ice with Olympic committee - Rick Telander

Olympics: Did the Chicago suburbs miss an opportunity or dodge a bullet? - Brian Hudson

Olympics: Yes we can? No you can't - Doug Ibendahl

Top 10 Reasons Why Chicago Lost 2016 Olympics Bid - Mark Rhoads

Politico: Glenn Thrush blames Republicans for the Olympics loss

American Thinker: The Sullied Savior Blames Bush - Jeannie DeAngelis

In his first speech before the UN General Assembly, Obama self-righteously preached, "Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that. Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demands more." When away from the podium, however, Obama is the embodiment of hypocritical disappointment, never failing to shift blame for his lack of ability to an undeserving predecessor. It appears the more he talks the more it is apparent that, unlike George W. Bush, there is a glaring disconnect between what the President says and what he does.

Proft Stands With Families to Protect the Disabled from Union Thugs

2009-10-02T19:23:00.005-05:00

SEIU dares to come between disabled children and parents (Chicago Daily Observer) and Illinois Review

Would You Let SEIU Come Between You and Your Child?

Dear Conservatives, Republicans and Independents Looking for Reform,

Can you imagine a public sector union coming between you and your child?

Well, that’s precisely what families with disabled children in Illinois are facing if Gov. Quinn does not rescind an executive order he issued which would unionize personal support workers of disabled children in Illinois. Often these personal support workers are the parents themselves!

Prior to Gov. Quinn’s intrusion, the program in question was a rare state program that actually worked. Currently, money flows to the families and the families control how the money is spent to best serve the individual needs of their child. This program saved taxpayer dollars and kept children with challenges closer to their families while enhancing their quality of life.

Yesterday, several courageous families stood with me to stand against the bullies in SEIU and AFSCME, the intended beneficiaries of Gov. Quinn’s Executive Order.

Please watch this video (above). The first speaker on this video is Ellen Bronfeld. The second speaker is Gordon Stiefel. Both are parents of disabled children who fear the deterioration of services for their children if Gov. Quinn’s Executive Order is not rescinded.

This cynical move by Gov. Quinn is nothing more than a payoff to the public sector unions that finance his campaign. Quinn has taken more than $140,000 in campaign cash from SEIU and AFSCME.

I joined these families in calling on Gov. Quinn to rescind this blatant power grab on behalf of his financers. It is time someone stood up to politicians like Quinn and the union bullies. The families of disabled children in Illinois should be especially thankful for the courage shown by the Bronfeld, Stiefel, Schwartz, and Withers families who stepped forward to bring this issue to light.

We, as Republicans, need to take the fight to the public sector unions on behalf of the most vulnerable. For too long, Republicans in Illinois have gone along to get along. They have been complicit with public sector unions that have had the run of this state at taxpayer expense while people who play by the rules have been fleeced to finance the status quo.

If we’re going to call on others to cut ties from SEIU, then we should begin by doing so ourselves. Which is why I have called on my Republican primary opponents and all Republican party organizations to stop accepting campaign cash from SEIU and AFSCME. If we want to present a comprehensive, conservative reform agenda to Illinois voters, we need to do so with clean hands. We cannot do that if we are on the dole of SEIU and AFSCME.

If we are serious about protecting and providing for the most vulnerable in our society, then we define and defend our constituency. We must stand with families of disabled children playing by the rules to provide for their children and against the cynical ploys of Chicago Democrats to rig the system for the benefit of SEIU and AFSCME union bosses.

Sincerely,

Dan Proft
Republican Candidate for Governor

P.S. - If we want better for Illinois, people who know better must stand up and work for better. That’s what the families I have referred to have done. What will you do? Please consider joining our campaign today or making a contribution in furtherance of the delivering of our message to people who play the rules across our state.

No Chicago Olympics? BLAME BUSH!

2009-10-02T17:35:00.000-05:00

No Chicago Olympics for Obama; Packs up Snake Oil and Heads Home; Congrats Rio!

Why the Olympics was a bad idea for Chicago:

No Chicago Olympics? Bush's fault

"Maybe there is some hangover from politics, from the last eight years," Gaines said.

Oh Brother... Chicago Snubbed By IOC-- Libs Blame Bush (Gateway Pundit)

Roland Burris gets his dig in with the blame Bush meme as you can see here at CMR:

Senator Rowland [sic] Burris of Illinois, the Senator who was appointed to fill President Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, blames George Bush for Chicago not getting the Olympics in 2016. Burris stated in an interview, shortly after the announcement, that the image of the U. S. has been so tarnished in the last 8 years that, even Barack Obama making an unprecedented pitch for the games could not overcome the hatred the world has for us as a result of George Bush. Wow! When will the Democrats in Congress ever get off this “Blame Bush” syndrome. Burris even went on to say that this is just another way Bush is now hurting Chicago. Yes blame Bush, don’t mind all the crime and corruption that has come out of Illinois over the last year. This “Blame Bush” strategy is getting pretty old.

Burris and others seem to think it's entirely reasonable to blame Bush after Obama and the rest of the star studded cast that accompanied him to Copenhagen flubbed the sales pitch to have the Olympics in Chicago.

Legal Insurrection blog points out that the Blame Bush meme is getting really old - and inserts some reason into the accusation that Bush made Obama's snakeoil pitch fail:

Think Progress, the Democratic media-watch and policy group, always tries to blame conservatives for everything, including now the loss of the Olympics for Chicago: Mission Accomplished For Conservatives Who Rooted Against America.

I doubt that the Olympic committee listened to any conservative U.S. voices. And talking honestly about the political corruption in Chicago and Illinois, and worrying about how Obama's friends would spend tens of billions of dollars, is not "rooting against America." Rooting against America would be something along the lines of hoping that the Iraq surge failed and our troops came home in disgrace and failure, which was a uniquely Democratic and liberal phenomenon egged on by groups like Think Progress.

Illinois -Say No To Acorn-!!

2009-10-01T05:17:00.001-05:00

A message from Americans For Prosperity Illinois

Despite what the left-wing media has claimed, the state of Illinois does have official relationships with scandal-plagued ACORN; A 2008 report from the Illinois Housing Development Authority showed that ACORN's housing subsidiary received a $100,000 grant from the agency to build its Predatory Lending Database Program. Somehow, this grant just happens to not appear in the Illinois Comptroller's database. Illinois has an ACORN problem and it's time to call for a real investigation, immediately.

The housing grant could be just the tip of a huge iceberg. Right now, there's just no way to know because our leaders in Illinois like Governor Pat Quinn have strong ties to ACORN. You can urge Governor Quinn to cut ties and put an end to ACORN right now.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has called for an investigation into the organization's activities. In Georgia, Governor Sonny Perdue told the state government to cut contracts to ACORN. Similar efforts are ongoing in Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, and Florida. Tell Governor Quinn that it's time Illinois gets serious about stopping corruption.

Through its numerous shell groups and affiliates such as SEIU Local 880, ACORN has been mixed up in corruption in Illinois politics for decades. Illinois State Board of Elections records shows since it began tracking contributions, SEIU has given over $12 million to Illinois political campaigns, both Republicans and Democrats. This includes $538,963 to disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, and $30,750 to current Governor Patrick Quinn. Tell Governor Quinn that this corruption has to stop.

Recently, Congress has voted to defund ACORN but despite these necessary efforts in Washington, our Senators Durbin and Burris, as well as Representatives Davis, Jackson, Rush, and Schakowsky voted for ACORN to keep its federal funding, which suggests there may be more to the story here in Illinois.

This should not be a partisan issue. It is a basic responsibility of government to investigate and prevent taxpayer dollars from going to corrupt and unethical organizations. Join us and Say NO to ACORN.

Sign the petition and tell Governor Quinn that you want a real investigation to end corruption for good.

Sincerely,
Joe Calomino, State Director
Americans for Prosperity-Illinois

still not happy with the design

2009-09-30T17:57:00.001-05:00

I will be tweaking this design as time permits - I'm still not happy with it - so I'm not going to finish it up and install disqus comments until I'm finished.

Well, I tweaked it some more and uploaded it again...it might take me a few days before I get back to it so this will have to do for now.

Daley's push for the Olympics that will bankrupt the state

2009-09-30T17:47:00.000-05:00

But who really cares? Chicagoans and suburbanites of Chicago have been watching this sort of thing in Chicago politics for a really long time.

There are a lot of articles out on the net about this Olympics fiasco Daley is pushing; Chicagoans in general - other than the businesses that are in bed with Daley machine and stand to make money of of this ridiculous plan - ARE AGAINST IT. Of all people - Barack Obama -who is faced with devastating problems nationally that he can't be bothered to deal with...is helping Daley pitch the idea - and went to Copenhagen to do so. On the taxpayers' dime, of course.

Take for example -

The Top Ten Reasons Why Chicago Should Not Host the Olympics

Olympics Crony Watch: Protest in Chicago today; Daley mouths off in Copenhagen

I think Malkin hit it out of the park with her article "All the President's Olympic Cronies". It appeared at Townhall, OneNewsNow, Human Events, and other places - including many of the blogs. I noticed some leftists have infiltrated Free Republic complaining about how she starts with the premise that Obama is corrupt and moves backward.

It's odd that they would complain about Malkin doing what old media does. At least she reports it from a different perspective -than Obama is God, Barack Hussein Obama- mmmm mmmm mmm.

She captures the essence of why this is a disastrous move for Chicago, Cook County and Illinois-but at the same time, points out that Barack Obama has a big mess at home that he's dodging in the process of pitching this in Copenhagen.

Pay to play, corruption and you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours - this goes back to the days of Daley's father and before that -during the days of Al Capone and the democratic party-and the mob.

I'm going to make an attempt redesigning this blog

2009-09-27T16:40:00.001-05:00

I now have the paid version of Artisteer so I'm going to make an attempt at redesigning this blog...when I get the opportunity.

Update: okay, the design is done, now we need to tweak it and customize it a little more.

Kenders' Musings: A Request For Those Who Support Obama

2009-09-26T18:56:00.000-05:00

Kenders' Musings: A Request For Those Who Support Obama

This strikes me as a very reasonable request that Kender is putting forth to Obama supporters. Being that they believe in redistribution of the wealth and that people are "selfish" if they don't help the downtrodden and give into theft by government, it seems to be reasonable to assume they'd dig in their own pockets to do the same thing. Right?

Durbin: why is the "right" hanging ACORN without a trial?

2009-09-21T18:58:00.000-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Swamp

Durbin and Burris were two out of seven guys that opposed the vote to block federal funding for Acorn.

And they're both representatives in my district.

Ugh. Read the whole article I linked at the Swamp, but...take this one away and chew on it for a while.

REP. DARRELL ISSA (R-CA): "I don't know of another organization structured the way you are where they're both a political wing, if you will, of the Democratic Party, and has close relations with the unions, and takes federal dollars, and takes charity money, and does not disclose in a way in which anybody -- your donors, the government when they provide money -- can actually get transparency."

They hung themselves; nobody else had anything to do with it except to shine a light on it.

Speaking of Acorn getting government money...Why Does NYC Fund 3 Acorn Schools?

Okay it's time to update my blogroll...

Dump Dick Durbin, PLEASE!

http://dumpturbandurbin.com/

http://dumpdickdurbin.blogspot.com/

http://www.moveondickdurbin.org/compare.asp

Interesting...those websites no longer exist.

Tom Morrison walks the walk

2009-09-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

Illinois Review has a youtube video up, but doesn't really frame it very well for the reader. But Illinois Review has a separate article they could have linked to in that post-Morrison is running for Illinois State Representative in the 54th District.

Morrison is the handsome rat-pack looking guy I've seen at gatherings. He spoke at the Palatine Tea Party, and he was at the Activist/Candidate Educational session that was held at the Rosemont Holiday Inn last Saturday.

See more at Morrison2010.com

X posted at Cao's blog and Illinois Chronicle

Streamwood has red light cameras

2009-09-20T17:04:00.000-05:00

I'm glad I saw this.

They have cameras watching the intersection of Route 59 and Irving Park Road.

Press Release

July 6, 2009

Red Light Cameras Active in Streamwood

For the past two weeks, red light traffic safety cameras at the intersection of Route 59 and Route 19 have been issuing warning citations to violators caught driving through red lights. The location of these cameras was determined after extensive traffic studies were conducted by the Streamwood Police Department and GATSO USA, the company operating this program.

In an effort to reduce vehicle collisions and make the Village of Streamwood safer, Red Light Running Cameras will begin issuing tickets on July 9, 2009.

The entire process, from installation to operation will be funded by the fines that violators pay to the village. The system captures violations, matches license plates to the Department of Motor Vehicles records, issues citations and collects fines. All captured violations are reviewed and approved by Streamwood Police Supervisors before any citations are mailed to the vehicle’s registered owner.

I wonder if that is a money making enterprise and how much Streamwood had to invest in it.

Supporters March In Support of Rockford Police Officers

2009-09-20T16:41:00.000-05:00

And guess why it was necessary. You can depend on the Associated Press to spread that charge of RACISM...

Cops' rally comes after racially charged killing

There are conflicting accounts of what happened. Police say there was a struggle over an officer's weapon, requiring the use of deadly force. Meanwhile, witnesses at the day care say Barmore surrendered, but police shot him anyway.

WIFR.com-Supporters March for Rockford Police Officers

The wives of the two Rockford police officers involved in last month's fatal shooting are breaking their silence during a march with nearly one thousand people.

It's something we're seeing consistently across the country: lawbreakers who defy the law; witnesses who lie to cover for them; and attacks on police who try very hard to keep law and order.

1,000 join in march to support local police (Rockford Register)

The NAACP plans to march in support of the family of the man who was killed, next month.

The supporters of the police officers have a facebook group set up, here.

This template was created with a trial version of Artisteer

2009-09-20T13:25:00.000-05:00

The PC version of this includes a beta blogger version and I find that it is very easy and exciting to use. The only problem with the trial version of Artisteer is that you can't save your work; which is a motivation to buy the paid version. I'm going to continue playing around with it to see if I can get out of it - my original intent - which is to create patriotic themes. If I'm able to do that, I will probably spring for the paid version and then update this template so that it is the clean and crisp version I'm seeing in the software.

It's very slick and will upload images directly to image shack for you without your even having an account at image shack. In the instructions it suggests that you have an account so that the theme you create is stable when uploaded to blogger.

I tried uploading this and it all happened in just a few seconds, and I was able to immediately view the finished theme as it is right now with the trial watermark.

Very cool software.

Alsip Grave Robbers

2009-09-20T12:49:00.000-05:00

The Alsip Grave Robbers at Burr Oak Cemetery story is about the sickest story in Illinois in recent memory. Back in July, some exposed bones and broken caskets were found in an overgrown area of the cemetery. It was discovered that a small band of employees had been digging up the graves, somehow disposing of the corpses, and re-selling the plots. In some instances, they pounded down the caskets so that plots could be used again. In some instances, bodies were put together - and in other instances, they were just thrown into the overgrown unused portion of the cemetery - an area about 4 blocks long.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. For example, was the health department called in when there were exposed corpses and/or human remains in a section of the cemetery?

And why on earth would all 4 of the perps declare themselves 'not guilty' of this terrible crime?

Three of the perps are out on bond, the ringleader is still in jail. They are scheduled to appear in court on September 25.

Burr Oak Cemetery Nightmare

Burr Oak Cemetery Alsip Illinois