Author: Newsdesk

Posted by John Byrne at 8:53 p.m.



A hearing will be delayed until next month on the controversial plan for a Wal-Mart store on the Far South Side, the chairman of the City Council’s Zoning Committee said today.



Ald. Daniel Solis, 25th, said he will hold a special meeting on the Wal-Mart proposed for the Pullman neighborhood in time for it to be included on the City Council’s May 12 agenda if it receives enough votes in the committee.

But Solis decided not to consider the issue at Thursday’s Zoning Committee meeting in large part because he predicts a big crowd to turn out to testify both for and against allowing the second Wal-Mart inside Chicago city limits.

"We expect it could take some time, and I wanted to make sure to give ample time to hear from everyone involved," he said. "It’s about the logistics."



A handful of aldermen also asked him to reschedule because they won’t be able to make it to Thursday’s meeting, yet want to cast votes on the contentious issue.



"We’re polling aldermen now to see if May 5 or May 7 works better" as a new date for the Wal-Mart hearing, Solis said.



Some local labor unions have pushed hard against Wal-Mart, arguing the giant retailer should provide “meaningful employment,” including higher wages.



Aldermen allied with the unions recently introduced an ordinance mandating any large retailer that receives direct or indirect city financial aid pay employees more than $11 an hour.



Wal-Mart has not sought a subsidy, but other parts of the mixed-use Pullman project have.



Solis said labor leaders urged him not to hold a hearing before May 12 on the proposed development, which was recently approved by the city Plan Commission.



"I think they feel like they need more time to get Wal-Mart to the negotiating table," Solis said. "But from my perspective, the important thing is to give the plan a proper hearing as promptly as we can."



Jorge Ramirez, secretary treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor, confirmed that he asked Solis to hold off until Wal-Mart representatives agreed to sit down and discuss the issue.

Posted by Michelle Manchir and Monique Garcia at 7:57 p.m.



SPRINGFIELD — Thousands of protesters are scheduled to descend on the Capitol Wednesday, potentially shutting the building down for a while as they press for a tax increase to stave off major budget cuts.



The protest will unfold against a backdrop in which Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing an income tax increase that lawmakers are reluctant to vote for ahead of the November election.



On Tuesday, Republicans emerged from a budget meeting with Quinn and other top Democrats charging the governor wants more borrowing and more taxes.

Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, charged that Quinn’s latest proposed budget solution would increase taxing and borrowing to $9 billion.



“It’s exactly the wrong direction,” Radogno said.



The governor stood by his proposed 33 percent income tax rate hike, which would raise about $2.8 billion and also handed out to leaders a list of options for higher taxes on businesses that could raise $500 million a year, Republicans said.



Still far from being approved, the additional taxes being discussed range from raising the $50 million a year tax on canned computer software, a proposal ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to pass but failed, to a sales tax on downloaded music and videos, according to Republicans who distributed the list of potential tax revenues.

Other proposals on the list would tax plastic grocery bags a nickel a piece and little cigars at the higher rate of cigarettes. A nickel-a-bottle deposit fee is another idea on the table. But Quinn’s budget director, David Vaught, said late Tuesday that the grocery bag and bottle deposit fees were part of a draft list, but did not make the final cut and are not being considered.

The governor’s proposal also proposed the option of eliminating a business tax credit for research and development.

Quinn’s office said the governor told legislative leaders on Tuesday that he wants to cut next year’s budget by an extra $400 million and borrow money from other state funds in order to pay down the state’s growing backlog of bills.



Quinn’s office did not specify where the additional cuts would be made, but the extra belt-tightening would come on top of $2.2 billion in cuts the governor has already proposed, spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said.

Quinn also proposed selling off a portion of the revenue from a years-old tobacco lawsuit settlement, which his office estimates will generate approximately $2 billion to help pay down the estimated $6 billion backlog. The governor is also asking lawmakers to extend the time the state has to pay overdue bills in the hopes they will approve an income tax increase to help plug budget holes.

The protesters, who will head down to Springfield by the busload, are from labor unions and social service groups. Organizers say they’ll march around the Capitol behind the Springfield High School band.

Posted by Michelle Manchir at 7:48 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD – Forget the three-day weekend, school kids.

An Illinois Senate panel today killed a measure that would have given local school boards the option of setting four-day school weeks. The House approved the measure last month to try to help financially strapped school districts save money. Lawmakers said the move could save on fuel for buses, particularly in large rural districts, and scale back their electric bills for school buildings.



“Kids in Chicago need to go to school eight days a week,” joked Sen. James Meeks, D-Chicago, head of the Senate Education Committee.

Under the proposal, students in school four days a week still would have been required to go to school the same amount of hours every year as children in school five days a week. That could have meant longer school days could or shorter summer vacations.



Major education groups, including the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union, opposed the measure. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley also turned thumbs down.



Sponsoring Sen. Michael Frerichs, D-Champaign, said he took up the issue when a school superintendent back home approached him about ever-increasing fuel costs. Large rural districts tend to have longer bus routes with students who live in farms miles away from their schools.



“This is something they’re being pushed into,” Frerichs said. “We ought to have the local school districts have a little flexibility.”



Opponents fought back, saying it would minimize the hours students spend in schools.



“I think kids belong in school,” said Sen. Maggie Crotty, D-Oak Forest. “I’ve had one policeman call and say that you’d have kids on the street and most likely unsupervised.”

Posted by Monique Garcia at 1:55 p.m.

Gov. Pat Quinn today called for a review of the use of state-owned vehicles following the weekend drunk driving arrest arrest of Senate President John Cullerton’s son while behind the wheel of a taxpayer-funded SUV.

“This is an alarm bell that we need to pay attention to,” Quinn said. “Especially in these times of austerity, we need to look at where all state vehicles are, how they are used, where they’re assigned, and I intend to pursue that.”



Garritt Cullerton, 26, was driving a state-owned Ford Escape SUV when he was pulled over by Chicago police early Sunday. Police said he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.188, more than twice the legal limit.



The 2009 SUV was used by John Cullerton and kept primarily at his Chicago home, where Garritt Cullerton lives. The Senate president told the Tribune that as a result of his son’s "unauthorized" use of the vehicle, he would now keep it parked at his downtown state office in the Thompson Center.

Cullerton also told the Tribune he would examine “limiting the fleet” of taxpayer-funded cars purchased by the General Assembly, a little-known perk the arrest brought to light. The General Assembly currently owns 14 vehicles, including six vehicles assigned to the Senate, and eight assigned to the House.



Quinn said it is “absolutely wrong” for state-owned vehicles to ever be used by family members or anyone not working for the state, but he stopped short of saying top lawmakers should be stripped of the perk saying he planned to meet with legislative leaders and discuss the issue this afternoon.



The governor did suggest the legislative branch could face budget cuts that would force the General Assembly to reconsider some purchases.



“It bears inspection, and this is a good time to do the inspecting,” Quinn said. “We have a tough budget, we have to tighten the budget. Any information that we have that indicates that a vehicle is not necessary, then we will act appropriately.”



“All branches of government have to be united in being thrifty and frugal," Quinn said. "I think it’s important for the governor, whose responsible for the whole state, to make it clear to the legislative leaders in both houses in both parties that this is an area that needs oversight and reform."

Posted by Monique Garcia at 12:15 p.m.

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn released his tax returns today and turned his disclosure into a campaign issue by calling on Republican rival Sen. Bill Brady to do the same or drop out.

The governor said there is “something not right” about Brady’s refusal to release his tax information, suggesting Brady is trying to hide business interests that could conflict with holding the state’s top office.

Asked to offer up proof, Quinn acknowledged he had none, but said the situation sets itself up for a conflict of interest. Brady is the oldest of three brothers in a family real estate, development and construction business.

Seeking to sway voters before the November election, Quinn said the tradition of politicians releasing tax information is about transparency, and added taxpayers deserve to know the financial situation of those running for office, particularly given’s Illinois’ political history and the public’s lack of faith in elected officials.



“As everyone knows we’ve had two governors preceding me that got into a lot of trouble, one’s in jail, one’s under indictment,” Quinn said, referring to predecessors George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. “ Illinois doesn’t need a shady governor. I think it’s very important we have a governor that’s open, direct, and accessible.”



“I think anybody who wants to aspire to this office and doesn’t want to disclose their tax return really should re-think their candidacy, because I think this is fundamental to making sure the governor of our state does not have any conflicts of interest that would in any way harm the people of Illinois.”

Brady said last week that he didn’t think there was a reason to release his tax forms. Brady’s campaign could not immediately be reached for comment.

Brady won’t release his income tax returns or reveal his net worth.
The Tribune reported earlier this year that state economic interest
statements outline holdings that include property management, an Amish
furniture store, a Days Inn in Danville and an interest in the
Bloomington indoor football team. Florida records showed he owns a Fort
Lauderdale condominium that he said he bought in recent years for
$380,000.

Quinn reported an adjusted gross income of $157,122 in 2009, including his salary as governor, interest income and withdrawal from his pension account. He paid $27,547 in federal income tax and $4,468 in state income tax. Quinn became governor in late January after Blagojevich was impeached and removed by the General Assembly.



Running mate Sheila Simon, a Carbondale law instructor, filed jointly with husband Perry Knop. They reported an adjusted gross income of $152,507, including $13,121 in business income from musical performances and consultation work. The couple pain $22,894 in federal income tax and $4,117 in state income tax.

 

Simon, who was not at Quinn’s Chicago news conference, plays banjo and bassoon in a band.

From today’s print edition:

DUI arrest of Senate leader’s son highlights state vehicle perk

Cullerton says he’ll look into ‘limiting the fleet’

By Monique Garcia, Jeremy Gorner and Ray Long, Tribune reporters

The latest drunken driving arrest for Illinois Senate President John
Cullerton’s son has exposed a little-known perk of taxpayer-funded
vehicles for top state lawmakers, a benefit to those in charge of
fixing a government that is billions of dollars in the red.

Garritt
Cullerton, 26, who has a nine-year trail of traffic citations from
Chicago to Springfield, was driving a state-owned Ford Escape SUV when
he was pulled over by Chicago police early Sunday. He had a
blood-alcohol level of 0.188, more than twice the legal limit,
according to police.

The 2009 SUV was used by John Cullerton and
kept primarily at his Chicago home, where Garritt Cullerton lives. The
Senate president said Monday that as a result of his son’s
"unauthorized" use of the vehicle, he would now keep it parked at his
downtown state office in the Thompson Center.

"My wife and I and
family are very concerned about our son," John Cullerton said. "We want
to make sure that we help him in any way we can. So it’s a close
family, and we’re going to try to do anything we can to help him."

The
elder Cullerton declined to discuss details of his son’s driving
history, and his office referred such questions to his son’s attorney,
George Livas, who said he will have "no comment on any matters."

Garritt
Cullerton has been pulled over eight times on Illinois roads since July
2001 for citations that included following too closely, speeding 115
mph in a 65 mph zone and twice previously for driving under the
influence of alcohol, according to court records. In some of those
cases, according to court records and interviews, he was driving his
father’s car displaying the official Senate license plate "6" that
denotes John Cullerton’s North Side legislative district.

The
legislator’s son was not convicted in the previous DUI cases, in 2004
and 2008, but was fined for lesser traffic offenses in both instances.
John Cullerton, an attorney, said he "never, ever intervened in any
court cases affecting any of my children. And nor would I."

The
Senate leader has long been a transportation safety advocate and
sponsored legislation requiring motorists convicted of drunken driving
to blow into an ignition-locking device to prove their sobriety.

"I’m
very proud of my record with regard to anti-drunk driving measures.
They apply to everybody in the state," Cullerton said in an interview
at his Statehouse office before hosting a Springfield fundraiser for
the Senate Democrats he leads.

Cullerton said he would look into
"limiting the fleet" of cars purchased by the General Assembly for use
by its leaders and their staff members.

"We’re interested in
cutting the cost of government," Cullerton said. "So we could certainly
examine the need to have the number of vehicles that we have across the
board."

At a time when the state is facing immense budget
pressures, the use of taxpayer-funded vehicles by top lawmakers could
face more intense scrutiny.

"In this budget environment, I think
all of this is fair game," said Cynthia Canary, director of the
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

"I can understand that
the state has a fleet of cars, but it seems to me they need to be
governed by rules and not brought to somebody’s house," she said. "It’s
one thing for expedience and scheduling and cars driving people to
government appearances or to the airport. But they certainly shouldn’t
supplant the family car."

The assignment of state vehicles to the
four partisan leaders of the state Senate and House was part of a
little-known provision of a law passed in 1984 that eliminated
controversial legislative commissions that had become bloated by the
salaries of lackeys and relatives. One panel that was eliminated had a
dozen vehicles, and the four legislative leaders divvied them up. The
legislature has bought new vehicles since that time through its
operations account.

Cullerton’s office said the Senate currently
owns six vehicles, three used by Democrats and three by Republicans.
The fleet includes three late-model Ford Escape hybrids, two Tauruses
and a 2005 Dodge Caravan.

The House clerk’s office under veteran
Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago said the House has eight
vehicles. A spokeswoman for House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego
said Cross primarily uses a 2007 GMC Yukon, but Republicans also use a
2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer and a 2005 Chrysler 300 C. The five other
House vehicles include 2007 Ford and Chrysler vans, a 2004 Chrysler
Concorde, a 2006 Chrysler 300 and the newest vehicle, a 2010 Mercury
Milan hybrid.

The House Democrats’ vehicles are not assigned to
any one person on a permanent basis, Madigan spokesman Steve Brown
said. Madigan uses a car occasionally but does not keep one at his
home, Brown said.

Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of
Lemont uses one of the SUVs to drive while in Springfield, spokeswoman
Patty Schuh said. She said another car is kept at the Chicago office
for the use of staff and other lawmakers, and the van is used by staff
for deliveries to district offices.

Cullerton said he used the
car on his way to give speeches as well as "going back and forth to
downtown to the office or the airport on the way to Springfield."

The
vehicles represent one more perk awarded to the four partisan leaders
of the Senate and House, who earn $95,313 a year. In addition, all 177
state lawmakers get office allowances of more than $83,000 a year,
reimbursed round trips to Springfield when the legislature meets at 50
cents a mile in their private vehicle, a payment of $139 a day when
they’re in session and free taxpayer-provided letterhead and envelopes.

Tribune reporters Rick Pearson and Michelle Manchir contributed to this report.

Posted by Rick Pearson at 10:30 p.m.

U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House GOP whip, said today Republicans are poised to make strong gains in this year’s mid-term elections but they must find ways to combat a “very cynical electorate” unhappy with Democratic control of Congress today and transgressions that cost Republicans their majority in 2006.

Cantor, who met with the Tribune’s editorial board along with west suburban GOP Rep. Peter Roskam, maintained Republicans have straightened themselves out after losing a congressional majority. But, he said, voters are primarily interested in which party will do more to improve the economy and “get people back to work.”

“We as Republicans looking toward the November election are…presenting ourselves, I would say a counterbalance, if you will, to one-party rule that seems to be unfettered in Washington,” the five-term congressman said.



But Cantor said Republicans also have learned from their mistakes.



“Underlying all of this is a very cynical electorate because they feel that they’ve been duped by the current majority and they have memories now of what went on when we were fired,” Cantor said, citing the overspending and corruption problems under the GOP as well as “the lack of ability to execute perhaps in the way the public felt needed to be with the war, Katrina.”



Cantor said the “first and foremost priority right now is jobs in the minds of the public” and the “most compelling argument” that incumbent Republicans and GOP challengers to Democrats will try to make to voters is that an unpopular “Washington has grown too much.”

Posted by Rick Pearson at 7:15 p.m.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk’s campaign said today it will voluntarily return donations from employees of commodities and investment firm Goldman Sachs after the decision Friday by securities regulators to charge the firm with fraud.

Kirsten Kukowski, a Kirk spokeswoman, said the five-term North Shore Republican congressman’s Senate campaign did not receive donations from the firm’s political action committee or any Goldman executives accused of wrongdoing. Instead, she said, Kirk made a “personal decision to go above and beyond the reasonable ethics standard and err on the side of caution.”

Kukowski said donations from Goldman Sachs employees made in the current cycle would be returned, though no figure was quickly available. Kirk’s Democratic opponent, state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, maintained the Republican had received $21,600 from Goldman Sachs employees this cycle out of more than $54,000 in his career.



As Democrats in Congress push financial regulatory reform legislation against GOP opposition, Giannoulias’ campaign has increasingly sought to label Kirk a puppet of Wall Street. Kirk, meanwhile, has hammered at problems with the Giannoulias’ family bank, Broadway Bank, which is in danger of being taken over by federal regulators.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 5:05 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley’s wife has a leg fracture, an anticipated side effect of her cancer treatment, but still plans to speak at tonight’s dedication of a cancer care center at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, her doctor said.

The leg had been weakened by treatment for metastatic breast cancer, which Maggie Daley has been battling since 2002. In December, Mayor Richard Daley announced his wife would be using a wheelchair to get around as she was undergoing radiation treatment for a cancerous bone tumor in the leg.

The first lady felt pain in her right leg when she got up this morning, more than a month after she had a titanium rod placed in it just in case a fracture occurred, said Dr. Steven Rosen, director of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.



“That’s not to prevent the fracture,” Rosen said, explaining that it’s put there to maintain the bone’s stability in the case of a fracture, which sometimes occurs under such conditions. The fracture does not indicate a worsening of her condition, Rosen said.



She had been getting around more recently with a walker or on crutches until this morning, but will be in the wheelchair and on pain medication until the pain subsides, Rosen said.



But she still plans to make remarks at the unveiling tonight of the Maggie Daley Center for Women’s Cancer Care, he said. That’s in the Lurie facility, housed in Northwestern Memorial’s Prentice Women’s Hospital.



“She’s going to be there, but she’ll be in the wheelchair,” he said.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 1:07 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today said he will ask city vendors to renegotiate their contracts, with a goal of cutting Chicago’s costs by 10 percent.

Daley said the move is just the latest of the city’s cost-cutting moves, including unpaid furlough days for employees, to cope with a tough economy that has slowed down revenue. He also said he understood the frustration expressed last week by tea party activists who rallied at Daley Plaza, saying other governments haven’t made the sacrifices that Chicago has.



“We’re doing everything here, and the state and federal government are not doing that,” Daley said, adding he wasn’t pointing fingers at specific politicians. “It does get you upset. You figure why are they immune from the economy — that people are suffering. And I’m not talking about any individual. I’m not talking specifically about (President Barack) Obama or (Gov. Pat) Quinn.”

He added: “There isn’t one state or federal employee taking any time off. You wonder why. Why not? Don’t they realize that this is a national recession. Don’t they realize that people are suffering. And that’s where the disgruntled attitude is, that they don’t get it.



"They don’t understand that this is a national recession. They are living in — they call it the Washington or Springfield bubble.”



That, he said, is what tea party members are upset about. “It has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans,” he said. “If they had a Republican administration in Washington, it would be the same thing.”



Daley said that last year he asked vendors to cut costs by 2 percent. About 30 percent took him up on the offer, saving nearly $4 million, he said.



“You’re not going to threaten them,” Daley said when asked how he would get the vendors to come to the renegotiating table. “This is a good thing. This is a good concept. We’re trying to keep government going.”



Daley said revenues so far are meeting projections in this year’s budget plan, but he’s nevertheless taking additional steps to save money.



That includes locking in natural gas cost savings of $8 million, issuing low cost Build America Bonds and Recovery Zone Bonds that reduced city debt-service costs by more than $2.8 million and the return of 32 rented vehicles that would have cost $1.7 million through the rest of the year.



Daley last week announced that an audit would be conducted of the city’s health benefit records to purge ineligible employees and dependents.

Posted by John Byrne at 2:35 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today brushed off attempts by police union leaders to blame his administration for officers not getting better raises in a new five-year contract.

And the mayor also said the city can handle the $160 million in back pay now owed to police under terms of the deal.

"Better than 16 percent or twenty," Daley said of the 10 percent raise over five years that the city owes rank-and-file officers following an arbitrator’s decision Friday. The mayor insists police could have had a 16 percent raise, but Fraternal Order of Police officials didn’t accept the offer he made in 2008. An independent arbitrator awarded the lower amount.
 

"We’re going to bond it out, and we knew we had to do that, and that’s what we’ll do," Daley said, promising the cash-strapped city is ready to find the money to pay police officers.

 

FOP President Mark Donahue labeled Daley’s perspective "a lie." Donahue said at a Friday news conference that the city pulled the 16 percent proposal off the table before the two sides had a chance to discuss it during the protracted negotiations that began in 2007. The city yanked the offer in March 2009 after it had been on the table for more than a year.

 

It’s no surprise the union is trying to make him the scapegoat, Daley said.

 

"No kidding," Daley said while speaking to reporters at a neighborhood clean-up event in the East Chatham neighborhood. "They’re gonna say ‘Mayor Daley’s a bad guy,’ this and that."

 

Donahue also said he was "perplexed" by a contract provision for random alcohol testing of on-duty officers, saying the city had failed to prove there is a problem with officers drinking on the job. But the mayor said it’s important to hold officers accountable for their actions on duty.

 

"If a police officer’s driving a car and runs into that pillar there that says ‘Keep Right,’ don’t you think we should legally test for alcohol?" he asked.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 7:05 p.m.

A contractor sold medical test kits paid for with city money, and city workers failed to disclose a free trip and rigged hiring, according to a report by Chicago’s new internal watchdog released at a time when aldermen are balking at being placed under his oversight.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s quarterly report is more detailed than its predecessors, in keeping with Mayor Richard Daley’s request for more transparency in the office. (You can read the report by clicking here.)



“The enclosed report is the (Office of Inspector General’s) foray into a more detailed reporting regimen,” Ferguson wrote in a cover letter. The goal is to give city employees a fuller understanding of appropriate conduct, he said.



The 14-page report includes specifics of alleged wrongdoing by city employees, except for their names. Previous reports were comprised mostly of statistics.

Between Jan. 1 and March 31, the office received 431 complaints, opened 80 new investigations and referred 43 to other agencies. Meanwhile, the office resolved dozens of other pending cases dating back to 2005.



In one case, it was determined that a not-for-profit agency was submitting false documents to the Public Health Department to get funding and selling HIV test kits that the department gave to it at no cost. The agency was barred from doing business with the city, and an employee involved was suspended for three days.



In another, a city Workforce Development Office employee accepted $2,200 for an international trip and failed to disclose it as required on a statement of financial interest. The employee later resigned.



At the Water Management Department, two supervisors were involved in “a broad and sustained effort to” hire people in exchange for political favors in violation of a federal court order, according to the report. One employee resigned, and the other retired, after Ferguson’s office recommended both be fired.

In other cases, employees fraudulently altered audits, improperly accepted meals and gifts from prospective vendors and changed computerized employee time records.

Daley has suggested that aldermen be subject to investigation by Ferguson’s office, but they’ve balked at that request, saying the power could be used for political witch hunts. Some aldermen crafted a plan to hire their own inspector general, but postponed a vote earlier this week after it was criticized as weak. Among other things, the council watchdog would have had to ask permission before launching investigations.

Posted by John Byrne and Hal Dardick at 2:28 p.m.



 A year after Cook County Board President Todd Stroger’s cousin was forced out as his top financial official amid a hiring scandal, she’s landed a job with the Cook County assessor’s office — at half the salary.

Donna Dunnings will be paid $79,000 a year to run the Cook County Stimulus and Revitalization Project, which provides funds to help developers return to the tax rolls properties they buy with large delinquent property tax bills, said Eric Herman, spokesman for Assessor James Houlihan. She starts in 10 days, he added.

As the county’s chief financial officer, Dunnings was paid nearly $176,000. Stroger forced Dunnings’ retirement in April 2009, after she was caught up in the controversy of former steakhouse busboy Tony Cole, who Stroger hired for an executive post even though he didn’t have a college degree. She bailed Cole out of jail while he was employed for the county.



Cole eventually was fired for allegedly lying about his criminal history when he filled out a county application. The scandal contributed to Stroger’s loss in the February primary.



Dunnings was a strong employee at the assessor’s office between 1987 and 1999, performing various assessing and evaluation duties, Herman said. Houlihan is not concerned about the troubles Dunnings had in Stroger’s office, he said.

 

"We’re really not, because she has had a successful history in this office," Herman said. "She has a good feel for real estate and development. She’s a very intelligent woman."

"This is clearly a good fit for her," Herman added.

Houlihan is retiring and did not seek re-election.

From the Breaking Business News Center:

Taste of Chicago, the city’s annual chowfest in Grant Park, is returning
to its original mission of promoting only the city’s restaurants.





A handful of suburban-based vendors without restaurants in the city are
being asked to exit this year, Megan McDonald, executive director of
Chicago’s Office of Special Events, confirmed Friday.

Mayor Richard Daley defended the move.



"It’s called Taste of Chicago," Daley said during a press conference. "Not Morton Grove, simple as that.



"A
lot of vendors in Chicago are suffering, so like anything else, you
have to take priorities," he said. "So we’ve taken priorities and say
‘Here, those are businesses in Chicago, they pay real estate taxes,
sales tax and everything else, and it’s (funded) by city money, so
that’s how it is.’ "

The mayor said he doesn’t fear a suburban backlash. "No, I don’t think so," he said. "Food is food.

For more, please click here.

Posted by Hal Dardick and John Byrne at 10:17 a.m.; last updated at 11:18 a.m. with Mayor Daley quotes

Rank-and-file Chicago police officers will get a raise that is significantly less than the one Mayor Richard Daley pulled off the negotiating table last year under an arbitrator’s decision released this morning, a source familiar with the decision said.

The raises average 2 percent a year
for five years. That’s less than the 3.2 percent a year for five years that Mayor Richard Daley pulled off the negotiating table in March 2009. That offer had been on the table for a year, but the
Fraternal Order of Police was trying to get more. FOP President Mark Donahue declined to comment, saying he would speak at a 3 p.m. news conference.

Paying police less will save city taxpayers money during a recession-driven budget crunch, so the arbitrator’s ruling represents a win for City Hall.

Today, Daley told police officers to blame their union representatives.

"I ask all the police officials, all their families, ‘Don’t blame me,’ " Daley said, turning toward the police on duty at O’Hare International Airport, where the mayor spoke at an unrelated event. "It was not me. It was your union officials that decided that. Because like anything else, I have to be the whipping boy on a lot of issues. But I stood tall, 16 percent, and if I agreed I would have to pay 16 percent. I would have to find that. I would have to find that. That’s my responsibility. That’s not them."



Police
have been working without a contract since the end of June 2007. The
matter went to an independent arbitrator last year after negotiations
broke down.

Under the new deal, officers will get retroactive raises of 6.5 percent, and the rest will be paid going forward.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 6:11 p.m.



After going nearly three years without a contract, Chicago police officers expect to learn Friday how much of a raise they’ll get when an arbitrator releases his decision.



Officials with both Mayor Richard Daley’s administration and the Fraternal Order of Police said they expect to receive the decision by 8 a.m. Friday. Both sides said they plan to brief reporters later in the day.



Police have been working without a contract since the end of June 2007. The matter went to an independent arbitrator last year after negotiations broke down.

Although the arbitration technically only applies to rank-and-file officers, lieutenants and captains will get the same raise because of clauses in their recently-approved contracts.



Police also are expected to get back pay as part of the decision. City Hall has set aside $70 million to cover the costs of the decision and a similar one expected for the city’s firefighters, said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, a government budget watchdog.

“There’s no guarantee that there’s enough,” Msall said. “We don’t know what the arbitration decision will be.”

Police got raises of about 4 percent a year as a result of an arbitration announced in late February 2005. The four-year contract stretched back to July 2003 and saw police union members chip in more to cover health care.

Posted by John Byrne at 5:30 p.m.



A long-delayed project to build lakefront homes and businesses on a 400-acre former steel mill on the South Side got a favorable recommendation from the city Plan Commission today.

 

The former U.S. Steel South Mill Works site – located between 79th and 87th streets, east of U.S. Highway 41 – has been empty since the plant closed in 1992.


A development group including Chicago-based McCaffery Interests first proposed the major project on the parcel in 2004, but work stalled as the economy tanked.

 

Today, the commission endorsed a plan for 3,000 homes and a million square feet of retail space on 68 acres of the site, but that part of the development still needs City Council approval. The commission also signed off on an overall plan for the entire development.

 

The meeting was not without contention, however. Erma Tranter, executive director of Friends of the Parks, criticized the developers for not turning over the lakefront portion of the property to the Chicago Park District now. She also said the plans do not include easy public access to the lake itself.

 

"The plan includes only a narrow strip, 300 feet in width, designed 12 feet above Lake Michigan – this is high, the slag (leftover on the ground from the steel mill) is very high there – with a fence to prevent users from actually falling in," Tranter said. She called on the park district to instead terrace the land so residents can get in the water.

 

Tranter also looked askance at plans for a 1,000-slip boat harbor, which she said would require a lot of lakefront parking for boat owners and limit the amount of public park land along the water.

 

But Alds. John Pope, 10th, and Sandi Jackson, 7th, whose wards straddle the property, both spoke enthusiastically about the potential for the development to revitalize their neighborhoods.

Posted by Ray Long and Michelle Manchir at 4:41 p.m.; updated at 5:14 p.m.

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. Pat Quinn defended his proposed income tax hike today, even as Repbulican governor challenger Bill Brady launched a Web site attempting to rally political anger against the idea.

The contrast on taxes unfolded on April 15, the deadline to file income tax returns and get squared up with the government.

Brady, a state senator from Bloomington, unveiled StopThePatQuinnTax.com, his latest maneuver to highlight the
contrast between Quinn’s quest for an income tax increase to help
balance the state’s out-of-whack books and Brady’s outright
opposition to the governor’s proposal.

“The purpose of this endeavor is to help Gov. Quinn understand that the citizens of Illinois are sick and tired of politicians who continue to dip into their pockets,” Brady said.



At a separate event, Quinn defended his tax plan, saying it is “very important” to provide adequate money for education in budget year that begins July 1. Quinn has proposed a $1.3 billion cut in education if lawmakers don’t approve an income tax increase.



The Senate approved a 66 percent income tax rate increase last year, but the legislation is going nowhere in the House, where even a temporary 50 percent income tax rate hike proposal failed last year.



“It is something that I‘ve spoken to legislators individually about as well as their leaders,” Quinn said. “And we’re going to work hard on that in the next seven weeks.”



The “seven weeks” comment suggests Quinn is prepared to press the legislature for the tax hike through the end of May even though Democratic leaders, Speaker Michael Madigan and President John Cullerton, both of Chicago, have plans to leave the Capitol by May 7.

Any roll call on a tax hike after May 31 would require a three-fifths vote to pass, a level that’s virtually impossible to reach in an election year.

Brady’s appearance on the deadline day for filing state and federal taxes also put him in the awkward position of defending his decision to keep his income tax return private. Releasing tax returns is not required of governors or their challengers, but many candidates do in the interest of transparency.



A businessman and developer, Brady said he would not release his returns even though he did that in a prior bid for office.  He maintained the state’s legally required but less-detailed economic interest statements give citizens “full disclosure of all my business interests.”



Quinn’s campaign seized on Brady’s reluctance to give the public a glimpse of personal tax information, but would not release the governor’s tax returns today. Quinn spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said the governor would make his returns public and said citizens deserve to see Brady’s tax information too. Quinn did release his tax returns last year nearly a week after the April 15 filing deadline.



One thing Brady and Quinn appeared to agree on was praise for the Tea Party movement for its grass-roots appeal, though Quinn was more tepid. Rallies were held in Chicago and the suburbs today.



Brady said tea party supporters are more likely to support his views, noting they are looking for the “same clean break from the politics of the past.”



“They’re looking for a citizen democracy government,” Brady said. “That’s what I stand for. So I think we’re well aligned.”



In between the Brady-Quinn tax squabble, Cullerton called on the House to approve a dollar-a-pack hike on the state cigarette tax that the Senate already has approved.



Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston, said the $279 million in new revenue that could be generated by the tax hike could be turned into nearly a billion dollars for health care if Illinois took advantage of federal Medicaid reimbursement rates now in place.



Even though the state could get a great return from the federal government, Cullerton said, many lawmakers are wary of voting for any new tax in an election year.



Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Chicago, the House sponsor, said she needs to sway about 10 votes to pass the bill.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 1:55 p.m.; last updated at 3:36 p.m.

The city’s Plan Commission today recommended approval for a new Wal-Mart on Chicago’s Far South Side, but the plan still faces major hurdles at the City Council.

There’s only one Wal-Mart within city limits following a years-long stalemate between pro-union aldermen, Mayor Richard Daley and the giant retailer. Unions oppose allowing more Wal-Marts in Chicago without the city
enacting a so-called living wage ordinance for larger retailers. In the last council election in 2007, the unions backed several pro-labor aldermanic candidates.

The issue got renewed life today as planning commissioners unanimously recommended approval for a second Wal-Mart to anchor a 270-acre parcel in Pullman Park for a
development that would include hundreds of homes and a shopping
district.

The development next must go before the City Council’s Zoning Committee for a zoning change, which also must be approved by the full council.

Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, testified he tried to get other retailers — including Dominick’s, Jewel and Costco — to build at the Pullman site, to no avail. "Wal-Mart wasn’t our first choice. I worked with the unions to try to get someone else to come in," Beale said.

"Nobody else is coming to the area," he said. "If a Wal-Mart doesn’t anchor my site, this site is going nowhere," Beale said.

The property tax revenue generated by a shopping center on the site will help raise millions of dollars for the city, he said.



Beale’s testimony was met with applause from the gallery, where he said his constituents were sitting to support the plan.

Merlon Jackson, pastor of Christ Community Church on 103rd Street, said the development would help bring some optimism to residents of an often overlooked area of the city.

 

"This will give people in that community… some hope," Jackson said.

 

Ald. Mary Ann Smith, 48th, said she hadn’t expected to favor the project, but applauded its "holistic approach" to providing open outdoor space and other amenities in addition to the Wal-Mart. "I’m so happy to be able to support this project in your community," Smith told Beale.

Today’s hearing comes after Ald. Freddrenna Lyle, 6th, proposed an ordinance Wednesday that would require many large retailers to pay a “living wage” of $11.03-an-hour — the measure backed by the unions.



The other side of that debate comes from Beale who says his ward — and the entire South Side — needs the development for the thousands of jobs it will create, including well-paying union construction jobs for the 12-year project. He also says it will bring a full-scale grocery store and restaurants, which are sorely lacking in the area, to one of the city’s so-called food deserts.



The jousting over the so-called living wage and whether to allow the Wal-Mart resurrects a political battle that took place four years ago, leaving the city with just one Wal-Mart in the Austin Neighborhood on the far West Side.



In 2006, pro-union aldermen passed a living-wage ordinance affecting so-called big-box stores, including Wal-Mart. Daley vetoed the ordinance, setting up an electoral battle in 2007, when unions successfully backed several aldermanic candidates.



Although Daley’s administration has the right to sanction new Wal-Marts in some areas, it has refrained from doing so. The mayor has said he wants a majority of aldermen to sign off on the stores. But unions say they do not pay enough, and aldermen haven’t approved new ones.



The new proposal, so far backed by Lyle and 17 of her colleagues, would require businesses with 50 or more employees that receive $250,000 or more in direct or indirect city financial assistance to pay wages of at least $11.03-an-hour.



"That is what we have calculated to be a reasonable wage for a person’s labor, and we’re saying if you get a city benefit — if you get TIF funding, if you get land write downs — if you get anything from the city to bring your development in, then your response should be to pay the residents of the city of Chicago a living wage," Lyle said yesterday.



Beale, meanwhile, says he believes he has sufficient backing to win approval for the project.

Posted by Hal Dardick at 5:55 p.m.

The long-running Wal-Mart issue is resurfacing this week in Chicago, with an alderman once again pushing a living wage ordinance and a city panel set to consider a new store on the Far South Side.

Ald. Freddrenna Lyle, 6th, today proposed an ordinance that would require many large retailers to pay a “living wage” of $11.03-an-hour — a measure supported by unions who oppose more Wal-Marts within city limits.

On Thursday, the Chicago Plan Commission is slated to consider a large-scale development on the far South Side that includes homes and stores, anchored by Wal-Mart. That project is backed by Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th.



The jousting over the so-called living wage and whether to allow the Wal-Mart resurrects a political battle that took place four years ago, leaving the city with just one Wal-Mart in the Austin Neighborhood on the far West Side.



In 2006, pro-union aldermen passed a living-wage ordinance affecting so-called big-box stores, including Wal-Mart. Mayor Richard Daley vetoed the ordinance, setting up an electoral battle in 2007, when unions successfully backed several aldermanic candidates.



Although Daley’s administration has the right to sanction new Wal-Marts in some areas, it has refrained from doing so. The mayor has said he wants a majority of aldermen to sign off on the stores. But unions say they do not pay enough, and aldermen haven’t approved new ones.



The new proposal, so far backed by Lyle and 17 of her colleagues, would require businesses with 50 or more employees that receive $250,000 or more in direct or indirect city financial assistance to pay wages of at least $11.03-an-hour.



"That is what we have calculated to be a reasonable wage for a person’s labor, and we’re saying if you get a city benefit — if you get TIF funding, if you get land write downs — if you get anything from the city to bring your development in, then your response should be to pay the residents of the city of Chicago a living wage," Lyle said.



Beale, meanwhile, says he believes he has sufficient backing to win approval for a 270-acre project in the Pullman Park neighborhood that includes the Wal-Mart and other large stores.

 

“It’s a solid plan that’s going to bring jobs and revenue to the city of Chicago,” he said. “This is badly needed for the city of Chicago. More than anything, it’s needed for the South Side, to address the food dessert.



“You know, we still don’t have access to fresh produce. We still don’t have access to quality groceries, so that will address all these issues, and it will bring jobs into the community.”



The project would create nearly 4,000 jobs once it’s complete in 12 years, including nearly 700 at Wal-Mart, Beale said. Meanwhile, all of the construction jobs would be given to union members, he said.

The development also would include restaurants and 800 homes, he said. “We’re not just talking about Wal-Mart,” he added. “We’re talking about a large development.”

Even if the plan commission recommends approval of the Wal-Mart development, both the council’s Zoning Committee and the council itself would have to sign off. And it’s unclear whether aldermen want to run for re-election in February with the Wal-Mart issue as a major backdrop. In 2007, the unions helped several challengers defeat or mount tough campaigns against sitting aldermen.