Please excuse the lapse dear readers, but I am busy coughing up a lung. However, I must mention a few things.

Usually cameras follow around celebrities or politicians or criminals on their way to court. In Chicago (where, incidentally, the last two are often one and the same), cameras follow around snow removal trucks. And the mayor yearns for global warming to finally start around here:

"I think everybody prays for a hot winter," Daley quipped

In other news, the CTA has been resurrected for a while longer, but Daley is concerned that this is a short-term fix and worries about where the money will come from in the future. In the process, he bestows upon us another classic moment of artful oratory:

They don't permanent fix too much in Washington, D.C. or Springfield. They don't permanent fix it," Daley said.

And no, it didn't escape my notice that the mayor is concerned about a band-aid solution that doesn't address the underlying issues. He would never condone anything like that.

Now a "graduate" of the school of hard knocks, with a degree in olympic kinesiology and international affairs, there's been a lot of speculation and perhaps, even, a bit of existential angst, recently about what, exactly, the future holds for our Mayor Daley...

DALEY NEWS

Wednesday edition, posted Thursday morning

Before we can look into Mayor Daley's future, however, let us first pay our due respects to those brave sacrifices made by U.S. service men and women past and present; just like Hizzoner did at the Veterans' Day ceremony at Soldier Field.

via Chicago Breaking News --

Mayor Richard Daley and other dignitaries stand as a wreath is presented at the Doughboy Statue during a Veterans Day Ceremony today at Soldier Field. (Tribune / Brian Cassella)

"Thousands of soldiers volunteer on a daily basis," said Mayor Richard Daley, who sponsored the event. "This day is a day that all Americans should take time out and reflect on what the military does for our country."

DALEY CHATTER

The unfortunate confluence of the tragic events at Fort Hood late last week and this Wednesday's national Veterans' Day holiday has spun the national conversation in several intriguing directions this latest news cycle, with partisan extremists picking fights across ideological lines regarding issues such as Islamic terrorism, the mental health of our military, political correctness and the effectiveness of domestic agencies in recognizing threats to our civilian and military population.  

Mayor Daley's long crusade for his anti-gun agenda entered the already complex enough debate when, on Monday, he spoke at a press conference to announce the expansion of Arabic language programs in Chicago city schools.

via Big Government --

“Unfortunately, America loves Guns. We love guns to a point where that uh we see devastation on a daily basis. You don’t blame a group.”

The firestorm of right wing backlash against the Mayor's comments came from all the expected blowhards, who, given President Obama's ties to Mayor Daley, made transparent attempts to tie Mayor Daley's vocal anti-gun sentiments to President Obama, though not always consistently.  Rush Limbaugh calls Mayor Daley "Obama's patron," while the aptly named Hot Air blog inverts the relationship and defines Hizzoner as "Obama's crony."

Did you know there was a Plastics Blog?  I sure didn't.  But there is.  It's featured content on the PlasticsNews.com website, part of the Plastics News Global Group.  No kidding. 

Why does this matter?

Well, the Plastics Blog reported in Wednesday's entry, A big trade show drops Chicago -- but not NPE, that the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society has opted to hold its 2012 expo in Las Vegas, rather than at the expansive McCormick Place venue in our own sweet home Chicago. The Tribune cites the high cost of local union labor as being the decisive issue.  It was a shocking move by the medical society that "comes less than a month after Mayor Richard Daley told the Tribune editorial board that he will seek a major overhaul in the way Chicago markets itself as a destination for tourism and conventions." 

The NPE trade show to which the Plastics Blog alludes is the International Plastics Showcase, held every three years in Chicago since 1971.  But it seems the powers that be in plastics have been reconsidering that nearly forty year tradition and are challenging "Chicago to put together a proposal to keep NPE in Chicago in 2012 and 2015."

Plastics Blog readers know SPI plans to choose between Chicago and Orlando, Fla., soon.

The Tribune says that the medical expo was "a choice piece of business for the city," drawing "24,000 delegates" and generating "about $52 million in spending locally."

But if Mayor Daley lets the NPE slip away, too, he'll be creating one more uncertainty for local businesses in these already uncertain economic times.

What can save Chicago's financial future?  One word: "plastics"

His Honor takes the day off and we here at the Daily Daley want to stop taking them

DALEY NEWS

First of all, the mayor had no scheduled events today which probably suited him just fine. When there are events, there are obnoxious reporters asking questions and that can get very tiresome. Aurely this is not an example of absenteeism on Daley's part?

But what's this? The Tribune apparently seems to have some conflicting information on Daley's whereabouts today.

Second, no, your eyes are not deceiving you. This is the first post here since last Thursday. Our staffing issues remain so once again, please contact us at dailydaley@gmail.com if you're interested in writing for us or know someone else who is.

DALEY CHATTER

• The aldermen are accusing Daley of endangering Chicago's future by depleting the city's cash reserves. Come again, aldermen? Where was this concern for Chicago's future when the mayor was leasing everything that's not nailed down?
• Bensenville gives in to Daley on the O'Hare expansion, but receives no information from the mayor on the details. Hey, get used to it. We receive no information all the time.
• State Senator (and Reverend) James Meeks unabashedly lets loose on the issue of youth violence in Chicago. In the process, he strongly questions whether the mayor should still be in charge of the city's school system. You've got us Reverend. It might indeed be a good idea for someone else to be at the helm. But we're betting that the mayor would sooner cheer for the Cubs or eat a hot dog with ketchup than give up control of that particular piece of local bureaucratic pie.

Photo via Andrew Collings Photography

In reality, Mayor Daley might very well be... disposed. The Thursday Daily Daley however is not.

So as not to leave you entirely empty-handed though, we've collected some news of the day to keep you entertained (or horrified, depending on how you look at it).

Hey look, we're national news!

Chicago's sterling reputation continues to besmirch the White House. President Obama must be ever so glad that he launched his political career on these shady streets.

Mayor Daley makes nice with a bank that won't give a developer any more money for Block 37. He isn't upset and hey, why should he be? Nothing will ever be built there.

Chicago:1968 webcomic miniposter - Mayor Daley said he woudn't raise taxes to refill the trough, so now it's time to slaughter the pig.

DALEY NEWS

Wednesday's edition, posted Thursday

10am, Wednesday, Oct. 21st, Mayor Daley delivered his 2010 budget address to a special session of the City Council.

DALEY CHATTER

There was plenty of 2010 budget chatter here on the Windy Citizen, where, despite some minor technical difficulties, we hosted our own live City Council viewing party thread, making use of City Clerk Miguel Del Valle's streaming video of the meeting and some brand new technological features that Windy Citizen CEO Brad Flora has assured will only improve for the next go around.

Not the only news outlet to embrace the cutting edge while Daley looked out over the fourth quarter '09 horizon, Chicago Public Radio's @WBEZpolitics tweeted --

9:31 AM Oct 21st from TinyTwitter
we'll be tweeting from mayor daley's budget address this AM. no tax or fee hikes expected but the mayor will dip into parking meter fund.

Indeed, expectations were met as even the Associated Press reported over the national wire --

During an address to the City Council, Daley said people have not suffered this much from a bad economy since the Great Depression and he won't propose any new taxes, fines or fees to help close an estimated $520 million budget deficit in the nation's third largest city.

Making up the $520 million difference between Chicago's income and expenses will cost residents a lot more than slimmed-down municipal services, but also, the Chicagoist laments, many of the city's famous seasonal diversions, as well --

We previously mentioned a few items -- Venetian Night, the lighted boat parade and fireworks display that attracts upwards of 500,000 each summer, is going bye-bye. There's also no money in the budget for the Outdoor Film Festival in Grant Park, nor for the Chicago Criterium. The Chicago JazzFest, which arguably features the most talented musicians of the city's music festivals, is being shortened once again.

But Mayor Daley's refusal to burden Chicagoans with higher taxes, fines and fees during these tough times was a clever route for Hizzoner to take.  Brilliant, too, was his attempt to spin the negativity associated with the parking meter lease deal into a political asset by tapping those funds directly to plug the city's budget holes.

And whenever there are holes to be plugged, or assets to be admired, Gapers Block is there --

Mayor Daley's Budget: One Fine Piece of Assets

Mayor Daley will be dipping into the city's reserves, specifically the $1bn+ fund created by the leasing of the city's parking meters to a private operator, to cover the enormous budget deficit of half a billion dollars that the city projects for next year.

As yet, not all of the city's aldermen are on board with the Daley plan.  Chicago Public Radio's City Room illuminates these signs of aldermanic discord: 'Some Aldermen Criticize Plan to Tap Reserves' --

Several alderman say they're worried about using long-term reserves to balance next year's budget. Alderman Tom Allen suggests instead skimming money off the top of all the city's TIF funds, which are earmarked for neighborhood development.

ALLEN: Why can't we take resources that are in the TIF districts, income, and use it to plug this hole. Why do we give this money to private developers? Let's give it to the citizens.

That can't be done, according to a city spokeswoman. She says state law does not permit Chicago to spend TIF money on general expenses

Ald. Allen raises an interesting question: why can't we take resources that are in TIF districts?

Official word is that it "can't be done."  Even so, the severity of the economic situation has shined a new light on these secret honey pots of stashed city money known TIF funds.  And though the Sun-Times reports that Mayor Daley defends decision to raid city's reserves, neither the Mayor nor the Sun-Times makes any mention of the reserves in the TIF funds.

Propting Progress Illinois to pose A Question For Mayor Daley: Why So Quiet About TIF?

"Mayor Daley stands mute" - my unofficial entry into the WBEZ Blog's caption contest

The silence from the 5th floor is deafening.

From Progress Illinois -- 

But as we listened to him address the City Council this morning, we wondered if he'd make mention of the city's other major reserve, the $1.4 billion that's squirreled away in off-the-books tax increment financing (TIF) accounts. After all, wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity for the mayor to make the case to skeptics -- Tribune columnists David Greising this week called the corporate TIF giveaways "a racket" -- that his economic development strategy is actually paying off?

Not surprisingly, Daley didn't deliver.

Photo via Chicago Tribune

EDITOR'S NOTE: You may have notices that we're going through some staffing shortages here at the Daily Daley. This has led to missing posts on some days, shorter than usual posts (like today), late posts, etc. We apologize for these bumps in the road and ask you once again to help out. If you think you're up to the task of writing for us, please send an e-mail to dailydaley@gmail.com.

DALEY NEWS

Today was the most packed day for the mayor that this writer can recall. In nearly 18 months covering His Honor, there has never been so much going on. The mayor was everywhere. There was a sustainability conference, a press conference about the 2010 city budget, a safety award, a reception to honor an international airline which now stops in Chicago and a Carl Sandburg event. Got all that? Whew!

DALEY CHATTER

• Read his lips: no new taxes.
• But here's the bad news.
• If this upsets you, have I got the t-shirt for you!

That's all for now. You may go back to watching Chicago Tonight.

pic pulled from the omnimagonline blog - Doesn't matter if he's in Bridgeport or Beijing, even Da Boss has to pay up for public transit. 

DALEY NEWS

Wednesday's edition, posted in the early AM hours of Thursday morning

Mayor Daley took hump day off - from the media, at least.  He had no public appearances scheduled this Wednesday.

DALEY CHATTER

"Mayor Daley has this one right," proclaims NBC5 Chicago.  "Hey, it happens," they reluctantly admitted.

When Steve Rhodes opined for the Peacock on their local beat this Wednesday, he supported statements Mayor Daley had made to end free rides for seniors.

Hizzoner looks to 2010 as he prepares to present next year's budget to a special session of the City Council next Wednesday.  He does so under the dark cloud of projections that put the CTA $300 million in the hole.  And with fare hikes and services cuts being the only solution thus far proffered by the transit authority, Mayor Daley winced at what he described as, "very, very ugly" state of affairs on Tuesday.

Perhaps he was struck by some midweek inspiration when Daley proposed on Wednesday that the State Legislature needs to end free rides for senior citizens:

"They have to revisit everything," Daley said. "And that is one of 'em they have to revisit. Definitely."

You may remember the free-ride program was added to the 2008 CTA bailout by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich shortly before he was arrested on federal corruption charges.  It was the first of many stunts he'd soon pull to gain public sympathy and a peice of the spotlight.  The final chapter of his epic downfall is yet to be written.

pic from Sun-Times - Blago dashes headlong into an uncertain future

Transit politics aside, Daley has a $520 million budget gap of his own to worry about.  But the Mayor has so far spoken out against raising city taxes:

"You can't [raise property taxes] ... That would hurt people tremendously," Daley said.

"You can only take so much. People are being laid off on a daily basis. People are getting cut back. They don't have the money anymore. Government has to look at itself and find out what they can live with and what are their priorities. Simple as that."

Some sources suggest rather than raise taxes, Daley will propose pulling cash from the city's long-term fund which holds money from the city's controversial parking meter and Skyway privatizations.

DALEY NEWS

Tuesday, the future loomed.  Its brightness depended on the answer given by Mayor Daley.

Today's schedule was morning heavy, beginning with a press conference to announce the mayor's new technologies initiative.  The biggest component of the plan is a $20-million "Tech Corps" that will both offer the unemployed technology training and provide temporary jobs "benefitting Chicago residents."

Guess which controversial billion-dollar lease will be helping to pay for this?  All kidding aside, this can be a good program and boost to a lot of people lacking these skills and the resources to go back to school to learn them.  My question is this: What are the specific technologies that will be taught?  Where are workers lacking the most?

The mayor's next and last public event of the day was the graduation ceremony for Chicago's newest firefighters, held at Navy Pier.

While at the new technologies initiative, Mayor Daley answered questions regarding the pleasant CTA budget recommendations.  Calling it what is (" very, very ugly"), the mayor saw no better alternative.

"When you raise fares, it drives people away. You know that. That's why they're coming up with every form of cost savings . . . to keep the CTA reasonable and fair to everyone....You have to analyze everything and try to come up with some new solutions, if it's possible."

Already going crazy -- but now given one more reason -- are Chicago-area college students, who would see a U-Pass fare increase of 25 percent in the fall of 2010.

How bad would it be?  No longer could we use the excuse, "Hey, imagine how it is in New York?"  Subway and bus rides in the Big Apple are $2.25, but if we can hang our hat on one thing, Chicago, it's this: the fare for an express bus ride is $5.50.  Good Lord, that's a lot of beer money.

Crain's Greg Hinz offers a suggestion that both falls in line with the mayor's request for more transit dollars from Springfield and gives us one more memory of Rod Blagojevich to wash away:

Repealing the seniors-ride-free policy that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich mandated. The CTA says that's costing them $60 million a year.

DALEY CHATTER

When the mayor moves one foot forward, here comes that bad foot to take him back.

Sun-Times investigator-extraordinaire Tim Novak wrote a piece today detailing another honey pot for the mayor and his associates.  This time, it is the South Side's Mercy Hospital.  Faced with hard times, a special TIF was created for the hospital and estimated to give it up to $60 million in property taxes.  In exchange, part of Mercy's campus was sold to developers to build a potentially lucrative housing development.

The developers were a who's who of powerful people unrecognizable to most on any express bus; they include two former aldermen, Ted Mazola (1^st ward) and Terry Gabinski (32^nd ward).  Mazola's real estate firm was the recipient of another pricey development deal: building 850 private residencies in the new-and-improved Maxwell Street.  Gabinski, meanwhile, was a protégé and loyal hand to convicted former congressman Dan Rostenkowski.  He also had a previous bit of real estate notoriety when he purchased a house below market value from a developer with a lot of business in the 32^nd ward.

But my favorite part of this Mercy story is the family affair it became for the Daley brothers.  While the mayor created the TIF, brother Michael's law firm does legal work for the hospital, brother John's insurance firm took it on as a client, and baby brother Bill's bank, JP Morgan Chase, financed one of the apartment buildings in the very same TIF district.

Bleepin' Chicago.

Photo via the AP

DALEY NEWS
The mayor spent his friday at the city council meeting. The Trib has the play-by-play, but let’s take a look at a few of the bigger items.

After gambling $86 million on the Michael Reese site and losing big, the mayor is no long in a gambling mood, shooting down an aldermanic request to build a casino on the site.

“I don’t know why…everybody is going around thinking casinos [are] the answer to all the problems of society….That whole re-development project was for both affordable housing and market-rate housing for the citizens in the long run. It was not to be used whatsoever for any type of gaming,” Daley said.

For once the mayor is talking some sense. 

The council passed the so-called abortion protest bubble law, which would grant those entering an abortion clinic an eight-foot buffer from crazy-ass protestors. Really? Only eight fucking feet? Their spittle can travel a full 10 yards.Their braying moans of righteousness can rupture eardrums at 100 paces. And thanks to modern photography, the radiation of their hatred can curdle blood at any distance.

I personally enforce a 50–yard buffer around myself, at minimum, for all such lunatic protestors.

Said the mayor: 

“There has to be some civility left in our society. Everybody has the
right to demonstrate and picket. But, to use words and other things to
frighten people going in to seek assistance — that is another question.”

Dammit! That's twice today that man has made sense. What's going on?

The mayor also said today that he will increase police presence in response to the beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert. However, many are criticizing the mayor and former CPS head Arne Duncan, blaming Duncan’s Renaissance 2010 program and the way it shifted neighborhood boundaries. Jesse Jackson called for the city to change school boundaries in order to stanch the gang violence that has claimed 57 kids so far this year.

DALEY CHATTER
The pointless speculation about Mayor Daley’s future in the wake of the Olympics defeat continue. Showing up late to the party is the Associated Press, which filed a particularly pointless and vapid article today. Their lede:

A Daley has run Chicago and its all-powerful Democratic political machine for 41 of the last 54 years, and despite a recent spate of bad publicity for the nation's third-largest city, Mayor Richard M. Daley shows no sign of relinquishing his throne.

So the big news is that … nothing has changed? Daley’s been doing whatever he wants and crushing his political opposition for 20 years now, what makes anyone think the loss of the Olympics will be enough to do him in for good?

That’s all, folks. Have a great weekend! 

pic from RushLimbaugh.com (of all places) - Mayor Daley glances over to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan nearby, his $500,000 benefactor, while U.S. Attourney General Eric Holder reads from his prepared statement.

DAILY NEWS

At 7:30 this morning, Mayor Daley met with visiting emissaries from the Obama cabinet, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Chicago Machine alum Arne Duncan, now the U.S. Secretary of Education, formerly the Daley appointed CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

Their meeting was held at the Four Seasons Hotel on E. Delaware, nestled in the Gold Coast high rises of Streeterville.  The press was permitted to take pictures, but not to ask questions at this time.

The Mayor met with the president's men to discuss the the long-standing problem of youth violence in Chicago, a problem just recently brought into the national spotlight by the cell phone video-gone-viral of Fenger High School Honor Student, Derrion Albert, being beaten to death by a mob of rival gangs who'd turned on the unaffiliated Albert.

The Duncan/Holder visit was both timely and appropriate. 

Timely, because the unfortunate story of Derrion Albert broke in the midst of Chicago's final Olympic push in Copenhagen last week, prompting CNN to make the issue the centerpiece of its news cycle today, with an online discussion on "Chicago Violence" supplementing its "News Day" program in which viewers were encouraged to participate: "Leave us a comment. We’ll read some of them on the air in the CNN Newsroom, 11am – 1pm ET." 

In prime time, Anderson Cooper broadcasted his program from the very corner where Derrion Albert was killed.  A seemingly inexhaustible well of hyperbole was brought to bear to shine a fleeting light upon the tragic complexity of Chicago's chronic social ills -- 

Is Chicago another Katrina?...

Now it’s Chicago. It’s not natural, but it’s a disaster by most standards. So far this year, 57 kids aged 18 and under were victims of homicide in Chicago, according to the Chicago Police Department. Last year, 100 kids were killed.

The visit is appropriate because Arne Duncan's own Renaissance 2010 program, a program he initiated before his White House promotion, is being blamed by community leaders for causing much of he friction in Chicago Public Schools responsible for Albert's death by inflaming cross-town rivalries between gangs when school closings force students to be sent to schools in faraway neighborhoods, a long way from the safety of their home turf --

At Fenger, a dozen parents from Altgeld Gardens arrived by school bus to blame Arne Duncan for the problems here, saying his Renaissance 2010 plan forced their kids to leave Carver.

The parents are demanding their kids be returned to the high school closer to their neighborhood.

DALEY CHATTER

11:00AM press conference with Daley, Duncan, and Holder - pic, yet again, from Rushlimbaugh.com

Comedian/pundit/clown Rush Limbaugh had some chatter to add to the conversation from his unceasing supply of it -- 

DALEY:... Among the things we talked about, how best to focus our resources on the young people and the families who need help the most.

RUSH: Resources. Anybody know what that means? Money, exactly right, resources equals money. So Daley is happy. Could I tell you why Daley is happy? Because he's now gonna get the money he was gonna get from the Olympics, only this time it's coming from Washington, ostensibly to deal with youth violence.

Indeed, the Associated Press confirms Limbaugh's supposed conclusions, if you're the type to believe the "conclusions" Rush reaches on his program are anything less than orchestrated -- 

Obama's administration has asked for $25 million in next year's budget for community-based crime prevention programs, Holder said. Duncan said an emergency grant of about $500,000 would go to Fenger for counselors or other programs.

Lest you find yourself agreeing too much with this Limbaugh character, be fully aware of the lot you throw yourself in with, dear reader --

Chicago is just a mess. It's run by Obama and his buddies and cronies. They've got this youth violence problem up there. And remember the latest incident involved a little kid getting killed trying to break up a fight. The participants were all black. Dare I say this? Dare I say that? We've got 40 seconds to delete that comment. I'm putting it up for a vote of the local staff here. Should I delete the comment? We've got 30 seconds now.

Should I bleep the comment that I pointed out that all of the participants in the most violent crime spree in Chicago were black?