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Rudy Clay to discontinue run for mayoral seat

kevin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:07:32 +0000

Rudy Clay, the current mayor of Gary, revealed on Friday that he would not be seeking re-election due to his prolonged treatments for prostate cancer. Surrounded by his wife and city leaders, the 75 year old admitted that his doctors at the Cancer Research Center at the University of Chicago have advised him to pursue a less demanding routine “to avoid any potential reversal or harmful setback.”

“I owe it to my family, myself and the great people of Gary to suspend this campaign for another term as mayor,” Clay said. The normally lively mayor added that having to make this decision was frustrating and difficult, but that he hopes his supporters “will understand this decision and recognize there is no other option for me at this time.”

Clay has had a distinguished political career, with roles including State Senator, County Commissioner, and the head of the Democratic Party of Lake County. He first took the mayoral seat in early 2006 after then-mayor Scott King left office to return to his law practice. Clay then won his first election in 2007.

Clay’s decision comes while the city is approaching a crossroads in its financial dealings. After seeing a departure of residents from the city, a major drop in property tax collections, and a property tax cap of 1%, Gary hopes to acquire $11.1 million through Indiana’s Distressed Unit Appeals Board. The tax relief would hopefully stop the city’s need to cut its public services, including closing a U.S. Postal Service facility with hundreds of employees and laying off the city’s firefighters.

Information recently revealed by the U.S. Census reveals that Gary has lost over 20,000 residents in the past decade and has lost its status as the region’s most populous city. Clay has asserted that he will appeal to the U.S. Census for a recount.

Rudy Clay to discontinue run for mayoral seat | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Member of Chicago Mayor-elect Emanuel’s transition team resigns over previous ethics violation

news staff — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:35:26 +0000

CHICAGO (CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM) — A member of Chicago Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel‘s transition team has resigned over an ethics violation at a previous job.

Emanuel spokesman Ben LaBolt confirmed Saturday that Judy Erwin has stepped down.

Erwin told the Chicago Tribune Friday that she planned to resign to avoid any “distractions” for Emanuel.

Erwin was executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. She’s admitted using her office phone and e-mail while working for President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008.

The state’s Executive Ethics Commission says in a report filed Feb. 16 that Erwin cooperated with investigators, paid a $4,000 fine and promised never to work for the state again. She resigned in August.

Erwin says she never told Emanuel about the violation.

LaBolt says the campaign didn’t know about the ethics report.

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

Member of Chicago Mayor-elect Emanuel’s transition team resigns over previous ethics violation | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Rahm Emanuel is Next Chicago Mayor

news staff — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:26:11 +0000

CHICAGO / CHICAGOPRESSRELEASE.COM / Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago on Tuesday, easily overwhelming five rivals to take the helm of the nation’s third-largest city as it prepares to chart a new course without the retiring Richard M. Daley.

Emanuel trounced all opponents with 55 percent of the vote – a margin that allowed him to avoid an April runoff. He needed more than 50 percent to win outright.

It was the city’s first mayoral race in more than 60 years without an incumbent on the ballot and the first in more than two decades without Daley among the candidates. Daley and his father have led Chicago for more than 43 out of the last 56 years.

Emanuel called the victory “humbling” and said the outgoing mayor had “earned a special place in our hearts and our history.”

But he added: “We have not won anything until a kid can go to school thinking of their studies and not their safety. Until the parent of that child is thinking about their work and not where they are going to find work, we have not won anything.”

Reginald Bachus, the 51-year-old pastor of a West Side church who voted for Emanuel, said the next four years will be “a very critical time for Chicago.

“We really need a mayor who has vision. It’s my personal opinion everyone else would have been a manager, and I think Rahm has vision,” Bachus said.

Rahm Emanuel is Next Chicago Mayor | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Long Goodbye For Infamous Public Housing Complex

news staff — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:37:44 +0000

The Chicago Housing Authority has been gradually moving residents out and tearing down the high rises at Cabrini-Green, seen here in 2005, and other public housing developments in the city.

The move ends what many call a troubled era of public housing policy.

Only two families remain in the last standing high rise in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green public housing complex and they could move out as soon as Tuesday.

The move marks the end of an era in Chicago’s troubled public housing history, as the Chicago Housing Authority has been gradually moving residents out and tearing down the high rises at Cabrini and other public housing developments in the city.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley praised the end of what he called a troubled era of public housing policy that warehoused large concentrations of poor people.

“It destroyed families,” he said. “It moved people from rural communities into high rises. They had no supportive services and it completely failed.”

D. Bradford Hunt, professor of social science at Roosevelt University in Chicago and author of, “Blueprint for Disaster; the unraveling of Chicago’s Public Housing,” says Cabrini has symbolized the failures of public housing.

David Schaper/NPRAnnie Ricks, 54, has lived in a Cabrini-Green for the last 21 years, raising 12 of her 13 children there. Hers is one of just two families who have not yet moved out. She has until Friday to find a new place to live.

“Because of its proximity to the Gold Coast in Chicago, because it’s right down the street from some of the wealthiest communities in the city, it has been a magnet for the media, a magnet for police attention, a magnet for politicians,” he said.

Then Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne drew worldwide attention to the housing projects in 1981 when she moved into one of Cabrini’s high rises after nearly a dozen fatal shootings over the span of several weeks.

In 1992, 7-year old Dantrell Davis was shot and killed by a gang sniper as his mother held his hand and walked him to school between Cabrini high rises, one of several infamous incidents of violence over decades that garnered Cabrini-Green a reputation as one of the nation’s worst public housing complexes.

But some residents say Cabrini-Green is not as horrible as the media makes it out to be, and they worry about their future as they lose their homes. Among them is 54-year old Annie Ricks, whose family is one of the final two still living here. A federal judge has given them until Friday to move out.

‘It’s Been Good To Me’

Ricks, 54, stands in the icy parking lot outside 1230 N. Burling, the last high rise still standing in long-troubled Cabrini-Green. She points to her apartment on the 11th floor of the 15-story building, behind the fenced-in exterior corridor that gives the building its prison-like look. A few floors below, janitorial staff in white protective suits clean out her neighbors’ apartments.

Ricks thinks back to when she moved her family into Cabrini 21 years ago. She says that at first it was not the type of place she wanted to raise her family.

David Schaper/NPRChicago Housing Authority workers clean out the apartments of residents who have already moved out of Cabrini-Green, salvaging what they can before the last high rise is demolished sometime early next year.

“There was like shooting over here and everything, and I was even over here when Dantrell, you know, got shot, and I wasn’t used to, like the neighborhood and stuff like, because I never had to live, like in the projects,” she said.

At its peak, the dozens of white block and red brick high- and mid-rise buildings of Cabrini-Green were home to close to 15,000 people. Ricks, who moved into Cabrini in the late 1980s, says despite her initial reservations, things got better. Now, she says, she doesn’t want to leave.

“It’s good to me,” said Ricks, who raised 12 of her 13 children here. Though she and her neighbors know they have to move, they want to remain within the Cabrini neighborhood.

Residents Better Off?

Chicago Housing Authority officials say they are trying to do just that, providing relocation assistance to residents being moved out of this and other high rises around the city as part of its 10-year-old Plan for Transformation, which is replacing the densely populated, crime-ridden and sometimes squalid high- and mid-rise public housing units in Chicago with 25,000 new or renovated, mostly low-rise units. It’s the most ambitious effort to redevelop public housing in the country and its emphasis is on putting residents in mixed-income developments across the city, but not always in the developments in which they used to live.

Kris Warren, the CHA’s chief operating officer, says residents are better off.

“We know that the lifestyle of our families that have been able to move out of Cabrini-Green and our other high rises is 100 percent better,” he said. “We stay in touch with those families; they are happy when we talk with them about their move. They actually wish sometimes that they had done this sooner.”

Roosevelt University’s Hunt calls the change a “radical transformation,” but the results, he says, so far, are mixed.

Hunt says the high rises had to come down: They were too expensive to maintain. But, he says, it’s not yet clear if all residents are better off.

“I would say that some residents are better off,” he said. “They’ve moved into these new mixed-income communities. We know that they feel safer. We know that their housing conditions are better.”

But Hunt says some Chicago public housing residents are in new communities, just as high crime and high poverty as the one they left, and without the friends, family and community network of support they had in Cabrini.

“I love Cabrini; you know, we was like, we were like one big family,” said Kenneth Hammond, who has lived all of his 41 years here.

Hammond, who has worked for the Chicago Park District for the past 16 years in two of Cabrini’s parks, moved out of 1230 N. Burling last week and into a rehabbed row house nearby. He says it hurts to watch the buildings he grew up around being torn down and many friends pushed out.

“It’s really just a hurting feeling that you can kind of hear it in my throat that it’s a hurtin’ feeling among us,” he said.

Hammond says he hopes the redeveloped Cabrini-Green will eventually bring more residents back home. But he knows for better or for worse, it’ll never be the same.

Originally reported by National Public Radio. Read the original story here.

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Chicago Not Up To Speed On New Gun Law

news staff — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 03:44:00 +0000

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley railed against the U.S. Supreme Court last summer because he feared the court would find Chicago’s handgun ban unconstitutional.

“They’re barricading the doors but they’re saying everybody else should have guns. That’s the thing that bothers me in Washington. As you notice, all Washington is being barricaded, all federal buildings, but they’re saying everybody else should be able,” said Daley.

His fears were well founded.

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

Chicago Not Up To Speed On New Gun Law | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Illinois Pension Bill May Boost Chicago Taxes $500 Million, Daley Says

news staff — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 01:03:42 +0000

Chicago may face the biggest property
tax increase in its history, according to Mayor Richard M. Daley, under a bill passed by Illinois lawmakers requiring
greater contributions to police and firefighter pension systems.

The third most-populous U.S. city may need to boost real-
estates taxes by more than $500 million a year, Daley has said.
The plan, which the Democratic mayor opposed, would apply to all
new public safety hires in Illinois.

The bill approved today by the state Senate was sent to
Governor Pat Quinn for signature. Kelly Kraft, a spokeswoman for
Quinn, a Democrat, didn’t immediately return a phone call
seeking comment.

The longest recession since the 1930s reduced Chicago’s
revenue by more than $1 billion, forcing the city to dip into
reserves and cut spending on a 2011 budget of $6.15 billion.

Standard & Poor’s cut Chicago’s credit rating on Nov. 5 by
one level to A+, the fifth-highest investment grade, citing the
city’s reliance on cash reserves to balance its budget.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Tim Jones in Chicago at
tjones58@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Mark Tannenbaum at
mtannen@bloomberg.net

Originally reported by Yahoo. Read the original story here.

Illinois Pension Bill May Boost Chicago Taxes $500 Million, Daley Says | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

WATCH: Rahm Releases A New Ad On Jobs

news staff — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:09:54 +0000

Though it’s still early in the race for Chicago’s next mayor, Rahm Emanuel is already taking advantage of his massive war chest.

The former White House Chief of Staff had more than $1 million in his federal campaign fund at the end of September, and has been aggressively raising funds for his mayoral candidacy since then.

His advantage in cash over his opponents — Carol Moseley Braun, one of his chief rivals, began the race in over $250,000 of debt; Gery Chico, another leading competitor, had less than $20,000 on hand — has led to an early edge in media as well. Today, Emanuel released his second television ad. (Scroll down to watch.)

The new spot, “Tenacity,” is a minute-long ad highlighting Emanuel’s role in keeping the tiny Chicago Paper Tube & Can Company from moving to Wisconsin.

It follows his first ad, “Tough,” a 30-second spot introducing voters to Rahm and giving a broad-strokes outline of his vision for the city. That spot has gotten significant airtime on local stations; no word yet on the size of the buy for the new commercial.

None of his opponents have purchased airtime yet, likely because they can’t yet afford to. If they want to keep Emanuel from running away with this thing, as recent polls suggest he might, they’ll need to get on the air soon.

Watch Rahm’s new spot:

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

WATCH: Rahm Releases A New Ad On Jobs | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

PHOTOS: Meet The Candidates For Chicago Mayor

news staff — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 18:25:24 +0000

We knew there were a lot of people considering mayoral bids, but we did not expect 20 candidates. Well, hopefully Chicagoans like having many options.

Entrepreneurial journalist and Columbia College professor Dan Sinker has been staying on top of the ever-changing candidates list, and his Chicago Mayoral Scorecard is the most informative list we have seen so far.

Find the candidates’ websites, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and related news stories here.

While the Chicago Tribune‘s Eric Zorn has already placed his bets on how the election will turn out, we wanted you to learn about the candidates and make your own decisions.

Check out what the playing field looks like according to the Chicago Board of Elections, and tell us who has your vote:

No surprise here. Rahm is well-funded, well-connected and the most obvious frontrunner in the mayoral race. If his residency issues go away, Emanuel will be in a very good position.

Former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun is still quite respected in Chicago. She was the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate, and hopes to be the first black woman to be elected Mayor of Chicago.

Rep. Danny Davis is very well-known and well-liked in Chicago. Unfortunately, when the City Council's Black Caucus made him their "consensus candidate," Braun and Meeks had already thrown their hats in the ring. Davis has filed his petitions, but is late in the game compared to his fellow frontrunners--he still didn't have a website Tuesday morning.

Some say the conservative Sen. James Meeks is the closest thing to a Republican in the Chicago mayoral race. Meeks, pastor of the South Side’s 20,000-member Salem Baptist Church, has been criticized for making homophobic comments and comparing Mayor Daley to a slave master. In any case, anyone who can pack the massive Salem Baptist Church every week is bound to have some serious support in the city.

See more photos with link below.

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

PHOTOS: Meet The Candidates For Chicago Mayor | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

DuSable Museum Founder Dies, Leaving Lasting Impact On Black Culture

news staff — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 03:46:17 +0000

CHICAGO — A founder of one of the oldest African-American history museums in the country has died.

A spokesman for the DuSable Museum of African American History in Chicago, Raymond Ward, says Margaret Burroughs died in her sleep at her Chicago home Sunday morning.

Further details about her death were not immediately available.

President Barack Obama said in a statement that Burroughs was “widely admired for her contributions to American culture as an esteemed artist, historian, educator, and mentor.”

Burroughs founded the museum with her husband and others on Chicago’s South Side in 1961.

The museum has pieces of art, exhibits on civil rights and a display on Chicago’s first black mayor, Harold Washington. It was named after Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, widely regarded as Chicago’s first permanent resident.

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

DuSable Museum Founder Dies, Leaving Lasting Impact On Black Culture | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Carol Moseley Braun Launches Mayoral Campaign Saturday

news staff — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:15:27 +0000

CHICAGO — Carol Moseley Braun was the first black woman in history to win a seat in the U.S. Senate, and quickly won notice by standing up to a powerful senator in a fight over the Confederate flag.

But when she launches a campaign Saturday for Chicago mayor, she’ll have to reintroduce herself to many voters, some who weren’t even born the last time she won an election.

The 63-year-old Braun may try to recapture the breath-of-fresh-air enthusiasm that carried her to the Senate in 1992. She says her experience in all levels of politics make her uniquely qualified.

But if she hopes to succeed longtime Mayor Richard M. Daley, she’ll have to explain the miscues that limited her to a single Senate term, including a visit with a brutal Nigerian dictator.

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

Carol Moseley Braun Launches Mayoral Campaign Saturday | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Mayor Daley’s final budget passes

news staff — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 06:55:14 +0000

(WBEZ/Sam Hudzik)

At a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Daley held up a chart showing falling tax revenue.

The Chicago City Council Wednesday signed off on Mayor Richard Daley’s final city budget. The plan does not raise property taxes, but it does empty some of the city’s reserves.

Bob Fioretti of the 2nd Ward was one of just seven aldermen to vote against Mayor Daley’s spending plan. He criticized its reliance on money from the billion dollar parking meter lease fund.

“Only 6.6 percent will remain, and there still are 73 years left on the lease,” Fioretti said.

“Again this year, we came up with a few more rabbits to pull out of a hat,” said 49th Ward Ald. Joe Moore.

Moore and a handful of other aldermen voted “no” on parts of the mayor’s budget, but then “yes” on other parts. That led to a mocking reaction from Daley.

“Uh oh, Joe! You can’t. Please,” Daley said. The mayor then turned to the crowd of reporters in the room, who often quote Moore disagreeing with the mayor.

“You can’t interview him anymore. What’s going to happen?” Daley asked with a laugh.

Ald. Carrie Austin of the 34th Ward, the budget committee chair, says the parking meter funds were needed to prevent steep service cuts and tax increases. Austin ridiculed those who spoke against the budget.

“If you got suggestions, if you’ve got alternatives, if you’ve got revenue suggestions, bring them forth,” she challenged.

At a press conference after the vote, Daley dismissed criticism that his budget just kicks the city’s financial problems down the road.

“No, I don’t kick the can. I never kick the can in my life,” the mayor said.

Daley, who is not seeking re-election in next year’s city elections, insists Chicago is in better financial shape than when he took office in 1989.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Mayor Daley’s final budget passes | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Sam & Willy to Make a Run for Chicago Mayor

form — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:07:31 +0000

CHICAGO (Nov. 17, 2010) — Sam & Willy, mascots of the local pet boutique Sam & Willy’s, are officially announcing their interest in running for the Mayor of Chicago in February 2011.

Sensing the electorate is ready for a real change, the local business pets are jumping into the race with all eight paws.

“They will work for treats, saving the taxpayers a significant amount of overhead on day one,” said Tom Daniels, Campaign Manager.

“Even though they are a dog and cat, their instincts haven’t failed them yet. Additionally, they can probably accomplish seven years of work in one calendar year, expediting their plans & solutions for the city.”

Sam & Willy are the first serious candidates from the Flea Party, a grassroots organization that has emerged from the growth in the companion animal population.

“Even though the field of candidates is quickly growing, there is still room for Sam & Willy on the ballot to give the voters an alternative option to the human vote,” Daniels added. “We are circulating our pawtitions, collecting pawprints, and we are confident we can meet the deadline for filing with the board of elections.”

Proceeds from the Sam & Willy Mayoral campaign will be donated to the Friends of Chicago’s Animal Care and Control. T-shirts are available for purchase on their web site.

To find out more, please visit samandwillyforchicago.com.

Contact:

Tom Daniels, Campaign Manager
vote@samandwillyforchicago.com
(773) 404-0400

Sam & Willy to Make a Run for Chicago Mayor | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

NYC mayor’s ’09 tax forms show more offshore money (AP)

news staff — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:54:35 +0000

NEW YORK – Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s money managers invested more than $75 million of his money in offshore tax havens in 2009, according to his philanthropic foundation’s latest tax forms, continuing an activity seemingly at odds with his public statements about the economy.

The practice is not uncommon or illegal, but it clashes with Bloomberg’s oft-repeated message that New York City and the nation depend on tax revenue to keep government running.

The Bloomberg Family Foundation’s 2009 tax forms were filed to the state Monday after two extensions.

Bloomberg’s foundation, which gives away hundreds of millions of dollars, has maintained offshore investments for years — typically more than $100 million annually — but that only came to light earlier this year.

Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said the mayor “pays an enormous amount in taxes, but his foundation’s investment strategy, like those of many other large foundations, is designed to maximize the amount of money going to charity.”

When first confronted with questions about the investments last spring, Bloomberg defended the tactic but said he has no control over the money. His investments are maintained in a blind trust that prevents him from knowing his specific holdings to guard against conflicts of interest.

“As far as I know,” he said last spring, “the investments that my money managers make are perfectly legal, they’re fully disclosed and they’re appropriate to maximize the assets which I’m giving away to charities.”

The mayor signs his own tax forms, which clearly list the offshore investments.

The 2009 forms also show a change in the amount of time Bloomberg and his first deputy mayor, Patricia Harris, report handling foundation business.

On previous years’ tax forms, both have claimed 15 minutes a week; on the 2009 forms, Bloomberg said he spends 2 and 1/2 hours a week and Harris says five hours a week.

Harris obtained permission from the city’s conflicts of interest board in 2008 to handle Bloomberg’s philanthropic work, but the city has never disclosed how much time she spends on those pursuits.

Bloomberg, whose wealth is estimated at $18 billion by Forbes magazine, has aggressively ramped up his giving in recent years, establishing a foundation headquarters on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, with a full-time staff handling the giving.

The forms show the foundation’s assets at $2.2 billion in 2009, up from $1.8 billion in 2008.

The 2009 foreign investments include a $12 million transfer to an offshore fund in the Caymans, $15 million to another in Bermuda, $412,000 to a fund in Mauritius and $106,000 to a Cyprus-based fund.

There was also a transfer of $175,900 to a fund with an address at what is known as the Ugland House. The Cayman Islands building was singled out as a notorious offshore tax vehicle by the Government Accountability Office in a 2008 report.

The address is used by 18,000 companies, the Government Accountability Office said.

NYC mayor’s ’09 tax forms show more offshore money (AP) | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Daley names Mazany as interim CPS chief

news staff — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:22:17 +0000

Terry Mazany (Flickr/Jason Reblando)

Updated 6:30 p.m.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has picked an interim schools chief to serve until the next mayor takes over. Daley on Tuesday named Terry Mazany to the post. Mazany will be on loan to the city from his job as head of the Chicago Community Trust, a grant-making foundation. Mazany has education experience. He replaces outgoing Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman, who resigned and is leaving the job at the end of the month.

The city will pay Mazany a salary of $1. The trust will continue to pay his salary while he’s on assignment at the schools. A new mayor takes over in May for Daley, who didn’t run for re-election.

Mazany’s arrival comes as the district prepares to plug a $720 million deficit, and public education groups are already cozying up to the man who could hit them with budget cuts.

Andrew Broy is the president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. He wants Mazany to restore about $10 million to charter schools.

“We think that level funding is not only appropriate, but it’s the only fair thing to do given the current budget situation,” Broy said.

Jackson Potter, who is the chief of staff of the Chicago Teachers Union, understands Mazany has a mandate from Mayor Daley to support charter schools, but he says that’s not a deal breaker.

“He’s done a lot of good things for the public schools,” Potter said. “We don’t think that he’s a zealot on this question, and we’ll sit down and have a rational conversation about how to proceed.”

But education groups will have to do another round of cozying up. Mazany only expects to lead CPS on a temporary basis.

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Daley names Mazany as interim CPS chief | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

MAYORAL MADNESS: Rahm’s Pretty Polling Numbers, An Obscure Campaign Video

news staff — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 00:14:35 +0000

The petitions are in (for the most part) and many of us have already seen a campaign ad or two–the Chicago campaign season is in full swing.

Will we see the midterm-style mud slinging? Not so far. But, this is Chicago…and we still have time.

Ballot Taking Shape

On Monday, candidates in city races lined up to turn in their signatures. While 12,500 valid signatures are needed for a ballot spot, most candidates turned in many more. Rahm Emanuel turned in about 90,000 signatures, and Carol Moseley Braun topped him with about 93,000. As of Monday evening, the Chicago Board of Elections had received petitions from the following candidates:

CAROL MOSELEY BRAUN
DANNY K. DAVIS
GERY J. CHICO
M. TRICIA LEE
MIGUEL DEL VALLE
RAHM EMANUEL
WILFREDO DE JESUS

The list could grow, however. Candidates have until November 22 to turn in their signatures. Oh, and if you don’t know who M. Tricia Lee is, you can get to know her in this interesting campaign video:

LaHood (And Pollster): Things Look Good For Emanuel

After Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart announced that he would not be running for mayor, many said ‘Why even hold an election, Rahm is going to win!” These sentiments continued when the Chicago Coalition for Mayor, a group of African American leaders, chose Rep. Danny Davis as their “consensus candidate”–after Moseley Braun and Sen. James Meeks already decided to run. With the African American vote split between three well-known black leaders, the Emanuel predictions continued, and it looks like U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is willing to place some bets.

When asked if the future mayor of Chicago would support O’Hare expansion, LaHood–standing in front of Mayor Daley–seemed to have his mind made up:

“Well, if it’s who I think it’s gonna be, I don’t think we’ll have to deliver any messages,” LaHood said. “I think he gets it when it comes to economic development and the fact that this airport is what we said it is: it’s an economic engine. It produces jobs.”

He may be right. The Chicago Teamsters Union commissioned a poll of likely Chicago voters Nov. 8 through 14, and found Emanuel with quite the lead. From the pollsters:

. . . Rahm Emanuel holds a clear lead over the field of likely mayoral candidates. Emanuel leads primary and run-off scenarios by more than twenty points, and leads across racial and geographic lines. Emanuel is well known, but so are his nearest competitors (Davis / Mosley Braun) – indicating Emanuel’s lead is not purely a function of high name recognition.

Chicago voters are aware of the residency issues raised in the campaign, but clearly believe Emanuel meets the necessary requirements. Voters also reject criticisms that Emanuel abandoned the President or does not have the appropriate temperament to be a successful mayor.

Rahm Emanuel holds a 22-point lead over his nearest rival, and leads across racial and geographic lines.

The pollsters go on to explain that Emanuel leads among whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics “in every one of the city’s seven congressional districts.”

Meeks Is Sorry (Sort Of)

In 2006, state Sen. James Meeks made national news for his use of the N-word to describe African Americans who support Mayor Daley. He also referred to Mayor Daley as a “slave master.” He defended his use of the word after the fact, but backed down to Carol Marin on “Chicago Tonight” Monday.

When asked if he regretted using the N-word and calling Daley a “slave master,” Meeks told Marin he was just fired up about the topic of education. (Hat Tip: Capitol Fax Blog)

“I am passionate about that issue of education,” Meeks said. “Sure, I regret using those words. But I don’t regret being passionate about the subject of education.”

Meeks has also been vocally anti-gay in the past, but has been working to repair his relationship with Chicago’s LGBT community.

WATCH Meeks discuss his controversial sermon and LGBT issues with Marin here:

WATCH the controversial sermon here:

If you have any juicy gossip about the race, or a story you think we should see, send us an email at chicago@huffingtonpost.com.

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

MAYORAL MADNESS: Rahm’s Pretty Polling Numbers, An Obscure Campaign Video | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Madigan says Cubs deal off, but Cubs say it’s still on

news staff — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:08:35 +0000

Tom Ricketts (WBEZ/Tony Arnold)

The owners of the Chicago Cubs are trying to gain public support for their plan to get government-issued bonds to renovate Wrigley Field.

Cubs’ Chairman Tom Ricketts addressed the media Tuesday morning in a room full of business and labor leaders.

Ricketts thanked a number of them that showed up at the media conference, including Teamsters Local, Chicago and Cook County Building Trade, Chicago Bricklayers Local 21, Plumber Local 130.

Ricketts wants to take $200 million in bonds from the state and repay the money over time with taxes on Cubs tickets.

He has so far failed to get support for his plan from Chicago Mayor Richard Daley or Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

“This public-private partnership would, in the long-run, create a significantly larger economic base in Wrigleyville and higher tax revenue for all levels of government,” Ricketts said.

Ricketts says he’s not certain what would happen structurally to the 96-year-old Wrigley Field if legislators don’t approve his bond plan. The framework has been patched over for years. Ricketts said one thing that’s not an option is moving the Cubs out of Wrigley Field.

Tuesday afternoon in Springfield, Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan told reporters the Chicago Cubs were pulling their financial plan. A Ricketts’ family spokesman responded by saying their plan stands and nothing has changed.

“As we discussed in our press conference this morning with the state’s labor leaders, creating jobs and economic development is a top priority and we are working with elected officials to draft legislation and determine the best way to move forward as expeditiously as possible,” Dennis Culloton, a spokesperson for the Ricketts family, said in a written statement. “Nothing has changed and we are hard at work.”

Originally reported by Chicago Public Radio. Read the original article here.

Madigan says Cubs deal off, but Cubs say it’s still on | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

Quinn, Daley nix Ricketts’ plan for Wrigley Field

news staff — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 01:51:02 +0000

CHICAGO — Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley are expressing skepticism about a plan by owners of the Chicago Cubs that seeks state help with the renovation of Wrigley Field.

Daley said Monday he likes the idea of keeping the Cubs at Wrigley Field for at least 35 years.

But he says he will not saddle his successor with a plan that hobbles amusement-tax growth.

The Ricketts family wants Illinois to float up to $300 million in bonds to finance renovations at the 96-year-old ball park.

The bonds would be paid off with the amusement tax currently paid by fans attending Cubs games.

Quinn says he is “very skeptical of the whole thing.”

Cubs owner Tom Ricketts tells the Chicago Tribune he doesn’t have a Plan B if the state rejects his proposal.

Originally reported by Yahoo. Read the original story here.

Quinn, Daley nix Ricketts’ plan for Wrigley Field | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

PHOTOS: Chicago’s Weekend Of Mayor’s Race Madness

news staff — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 17:02:59 +0000

This weekend, Rahm Emanuel, Danny Davis and James Meeks gathered supporters and made it official: they are running for mayor of Chicago.

So far, there are 12 people officially running for mayor.

Many began turning in their petitions to the Chicago Board of Elections today, and all must have their 12,500 signatures board-verified by November 22.

Check out some photos of campaign announcements that happened Saturday and Sunday:

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

PHOTOS: Chicago’s Weekend Of Mayor’s Race Madness | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

GAME ON: 1 In 16 Chicago Voters Signed Rahm Emanuel’s Mayoral Petitions

news staff — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:01:14 +0000

As early as 10 a.m. Sunday, candidates and campaign workers filing petitions for the City of Chicago elections began lining up at 69 W. Washington, hoping to make it onto the ballot.

The early start is a Chicago tradition, as those who file their 12,500 valid signatures by 9 a.m. Monday are entered in a lottery to win a top spot on the February ballot.

The Rahm Beat

According to Rahm Emanuel’s campaign, an aide turned in about 90,000 signatures Monday morning–which means one in 16 Chicago voters signed a petition for Emanuel.

Democratic Party lawyer Mike Kasper told Early and Often that Emanuel will have no problem with signatures, but if issues arise over the validity of Emanuel’s residency, Kasper said he would represent the former White House Chief of Staff.

Emanuel announced his bid for Chicago mayor on Saturday, and released his first campaign ad of the season this weekend as well.

Republicans For Meeks?

Following through in several public vows, state Sen. James Meeks announced Sunday that he would indeed run for Mayor of Chicago.

While no Republican candidates have publicly discussed running for mayor, Meeks has a conservative stance on most social issues–including opposition to abortion and gay rights.

When he announced his candidacy Sunday, former Illinois Republican Party chairman Andy McKenna introduced him.

“Sen. Meeks has one clear priority — it was there clear the first time he ran for office: children and education,” McKenna said Sunday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Davis, Chico, Del Valle Are In

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis announced his candidacy on Sunday, vowing to bridge the gap between the city’s richest and poorest residents. Early and Often reports that Davis will not turn in signatures until deadline day–November 22.

Gery Chico is also expected to file an excessive amount of signatures on Monday. The Chicago Tribune reports that Chico, who is expected to arrive at the Chicago Board of Elections by 9 a.m., will file 52,254 petition signatures.

The son of City Clerk Miguel del Valle Miguel Del Valle also camped out early Monday to file his father’s petitions, NBC Chicago reports. Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun is also expected to file before the Nov. 22 deadline.

Aside from the heated race to replace Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, the February 2011 ballot will also allow voters to pick a City Clerk, City Treasurer and 50 aldermen.

WATCH folks arrive at the Chicago Board of Elections here:

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video.

Originally reported by Huffington Post Chicago. Read the original story here.

GAME ON: 1 In 16 Chicago Voters Signed Rahm Emanuel’s Mayoral Petitions | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.

US Rep. Davis announces bid for Chicago mayor

news staff — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:10:24 +0000

CHICAGO—U.S. Rep. Danny Davis declared his candidacy for mayor of Chicago on Sunday, joining a growing field of candidates that includes former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

Emanuel formally announced his run Saturday to replace Mayor Richard Daley, who said in September he wouldn’t seek a seventh term. State Sen. James Meeks, the pastor of a megachurch on the city’s South Side, was expected to officially join the race later Sunday.

Davis, a Democrat who has been in Congress since 1997, was tapped earlier this month by a coalition of black leaders as their preferred candidate over other finalists, including Meeks and former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun.

Braun, the country’s first black woman senator, has already opened a campaign office and plans an official announcement soon.

The coalition, which included elected officials, business owners and activists, had hoped to avoid splitting the black vote by uniting behind one candidate. Members said they chose Davis, who previously served on the Cook County Board and the Chicago City Council, because of his broad government experience.

Davis was re-elected Nov. 2 with about 80 percent of the vote to another term representing a congressional district that spans economically and racially diverse areas from Chicago to the western suburbs.

The mayoral race also includes City Clerk Miguel del Valle and former Chicago school board president Gery Chico, who have already declared.

Originally reported by Yahoo. Read the original story here.

US Rep. Davis announces bid for Chicago mayor | Chicago Press Release Services - Chicago's leading press release newswire service; professional press release services, press release distribution and newswire services.