"Fetch" Me Circus Tickets
The late Mike Royko described a fairly common practice in Springfield when a legislator wished to receive a "gift" from a lobbyist. The legislator would draft a bill, something along the lines of "moving the railroad tracks 6 inches farther apart" across the state (this was Royko's example - as far as we can tell, track gauge is the purview of the Feds). This would, by design, "fetch" a lobbyist to Springfield bearing gifts like dinner, tickets, trips, etc. Today, we'd call these bribes. Hell, they called them bribes back then, too. Seems some aldercreatures have brought a new twist to the practice:
- The circus industry, its lobbyist and his associates have contributed more than $40,000 in cash and circus tickets to Chicago aldermen in recent years as they've worked to block a proposed elephant-cruelty ordinance championed by Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th), records show.
Feld Entertainment -- the producer of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus -- is represented by lobbyist Timothy Dart, the brother of Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart. Timothy Dart, his wife, Jennifer, his law partner John Nicolay and their law firm, Nicolay & Dart, have contributed $13,100 to aldermen and their ward organizations since 2004, $4,000 of that to Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th), Illinois State Board of Elections records show.
Sources said Burke played a behind-the-scenes role in engineering the City Council delay.
Connected Chicago lobbyists, lawyers, aldercreatures and "donations" to direct, delay or diffuse legislation. Who'd have thunk it?
Labels: city politics
posted by SCC at 12:02 AM
19 Comments:
oily eddie keeps turning up everywhere, how much more graft can he be involved in! Why does he have such a huge detail all at d-3 pay rate plus a great 2 on 3 off schedule! the greedy prick will not ever stop! How about his role in hired truck scandal? 20 trucks all swept under the rug why?
I have always liked the circus also. Maybe all the aldermen can come out of that little car instead of having the clowns do it.
The clowns scare me less.
Now, kees me you fool!!!
Alderman Smith's ward is a true circus complete with the freak show! Too bad most of the freaks work in her office!
Yay! I can finally help connect some dots for you guys and return the favor.
I know John Nicolay. Nice guy. He used to be an aide to Governor Thompson, and then went to the State's Attorney's office under O'Malley. He's from downstate originally. Republican as an Illinois Republican gets.
Guess between him and the brother of a Illinois democrat they've got the entire spectrum in Springfield covered for lobbying.
A book I recommend to every Chicagoan, "When Corruption Was King." Although the present and future tense would work too. This is still a very corrupt city/county/state.
Burke behind the scenes role, how much more money can he take? This guy like daley is a bandit without the mask!
A former high level City department head gave Burke the nickname, Lex Luther of Superman fame, which is better than oily eddie. How evil is this guy? How many strings to pull does this guy have access to?
Obviosuly, you would never want to rename Shortshanks as the Riddler or J-Fed to Two Face. Their nicknames are fixed.
I have an old friend who worked in the circus tending the elephants. He went all over the country with them. When I caught up with him the last time I asked him if he would ever retire and he told me no.
Well you must really love elephants I said.
"Hell, No!" he exclaimed, "they're disgusting, smelly, ornery beasts and I hate every last one of them. I have to feed each and every one of these damn things about a half ton of hay and water a day. And what goes in comes out, they get the runs and I gotta clean the mess. They get angry, they get stupid and try to kill me. I hate ‘em"
"Well why didn't you quit all these years?!?!", I asked.
“What! And leave show business!”
Providing bread and circuses at taxpayers expense for those who did not earn either...
....the cause of the...
The Fall of the Roman Empire,
The Fall of Chicago,
The Fall of the United States,
The Fall of Western Civilization.
From a Ghetto Gladiator...
...We who are about to die salute you!
Yay! I can finally help connect some dots for you guys and return the favor.
I know John Nicolay. Nice guy. He used to be an aide to Governor Thompson, and then went to the State's Attorney's office under O'Malley.
***
If by "aide" to Gov. Thompson you meant he drove him around and carried his briefcase (in other words was his "bag boy"), you would be correct.
Looney Rooney says:
Did you ever wonder why all of those aldercreatures get free circus tickets? Well thats because :"de de diddle de, di di diddle de" Shortshanks is the Master of decerimonies and he wants his alder creatures sitting in the front row so that he can keep an eye on them.....The first one to say something on camera without his approval will never head a special commitee. J-fed is the crossed eyed clown who got caught by the desk looking at hookers getting bonded outjust before shortshanks gave his speech at a very rare sighting in 25 two weeks ago.
J-fed was so busted....He tried to throw away his coffecup four times, just so he could get near the desk so that he could a closer look at the very tired, very worn out, very nasty looking working girls. We were betting that you might bond them out.....
Shortshanks directs the acts while his city managers train the animals, all of us city employees who he claims to personally feed with his gracious payroll checks, Has Heir Ubbbberman directing the circus trains, and J-Fed picking up the CRAP, WITH HIS FAILED tASK Force and rising homocide rate.....
What a circus....
I say don't even bother with the circus, especially if you care for animals. Those animals were "trained" to perform by prodding, electro-prodding, whipping, etc. Yea they're nice to see, but you can go to the zoo where they are treated and respected much better by humans who care for them.
WTF? that fucker says we can't eat fois gras cuz farmers are mean to the fowl!?!?! But he takes money from the circus to look the other way when it comes to the elephants?!?!
Lesson learned: Burke hates pachyderms. Burke loves geese. (He hates any old mammal with a brain)
"Alderman Smith's ward is a true circus complete with the freak show! Too bad most of the freaks work in her office!
11/17/2008 01:32:00 AM"
Same could be said for Ed Smiths Office as well. "Hey Office, I gots me some freelancers over there on Maypoles& Karlov"
I work a lot of special employment and saved up $20,000. Now I can get promoted.
--If by "aide" to Gov. Thompson you meant he drove him around and carried his briefcase (in other words was his "bag boy"), you would be correct.--
That is sorta what I mean.
John was tops in his undergrad class from one of the downstate little-known public schools, I think in the '80s. Thompson saw him giving a graduation speech and offered him a job.
He's a handsome guy, and the source of the southside rumors about Thompson being gay was that he had two handsome kids holding doors open for him in those days. Me and a few other southsiders who knew John fairly well were pretty much the only ones who knew John personally and knew better than the local Democrat rumors.
Subsequently John worked under O'Malley, and then at Winston & Strawn (I know, I know).
Thing is, John is actually a nice guy. Never met a person IRL who knew him and thought otherwise.
But this blog isn't really about John. I hope he's doing okay.
Gee, we have had only one complaint about abuse, and the elephant killed the handler who was abusing him.
Exeptional clear_up, Case Closed
This happened about 20 yrs ago in 018 at the old armory.
"Gee, we have had only one complaint about abuse, and the elephant killed the handler who was abusing him.
Exeptional clear_up, Case Closed
This happened about 20 yrs ago in 018 at the old armory.
11/17/2008 10:57:00 PM"
Did the elephant get probation?
"With All Our Rage; We Are Still
Just Rats In "Their" Cage" !!!
Everyone will stand in line, at their polling place, and vote for all these clowns again.
They will all justify it by thinking, well who else do I have to vote for anyway?
This is not funny anymore!!
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