Thursday, March 20, 2014

Another $60 Million Discovered

More money for pet projects, but not for statutorily required pensions:
  • A notorious bottleneck along the lakefront path near Navy Pier that has created a dangerous free-for-all between cyclists, joggers, skaters, pedestrians and motorists is about to be eliminated — finally.

    Construction on the 1.5-mile, $60 million “Navy Pier Flyover” will begin Monday, triggering the temporary closure of the right lane and shoulder of northbound Lake Shore Drive between Illinois and Grand. The exit ramp at Illinois will be reduced to one lane.
That's $40 million per mile. It's also 50% more than the estimated cost from just a few years ago:
  • It was publicly unveiled in 1999 and incorporated the following year into then-Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Bike 2000 Plan.

    In 2011, it was finally approved by the Chicago Plan Commission. At the time, the price tag was $40 million -- $20 million less than it costs today.
All this spending just makes us feel warm and fuzzy and near-homicidal with rage.

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21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Seems like a lot, but than there are a lot of pay offs to cronies and contributors to be made in order to get it built.

3/20/2014 12:18:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And with all the over-runs, the cost will probably be more like $120,000,000.

3/20/2014 12:58:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just wish there could be some sort of federal oversight (or better, federal prosecution) of local politicians who fail to pay the government's financial obligations to its employees and creditors.

3/20/2014 01:54:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is there anyone keeping a running tab of Rahm's bullshit?

This little wet-eyed punk has announced by our reckoning, over $2 Billion in spending initiatives since he landed here...

Hey local media!

Hey FOP!

Hey any motherfucking body!

>Pffft!<

It looks like The Police are all alone eh?

Viva Hate...

3/20/2014 02:10:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good for the midget, he is a magic ballerina too you see. He just produces money when he needs it (Pricks Her) and now he can give me back part of my three hundred per cent property tax increase. I will tell him its for the kids so they dont have to go to his shitty schools and turn out like most CPS Students today. Can CPS students read and spell correctly before they enter the system at the Cook Coonty Holding Center? Fuck him and his one per centers. I have to leave and he sucks

3/20/2014 03:27:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Rahm should be put in jail for Theft of Pensions! At the very least, shown the door like Incumbent State Rep. Berrios was shown the door this past election!

3/20/2014 04:49:00 AM  
Blogger The Keesing Bandit said...

Shameless. Leave the taxpayers to foot the bill for judicial ordered pension payments but relieve a bottleneck for walkers and joggers on a path?

3/20/2014 07:10:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Boy, our union should sue or something...

3/20/2014 07:46:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fuck the Police pensions, we need to take care of bike paths that is more important.

3/20/2014 08:27:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

this will be like the skyway--- you will have to shell out 5 bucks to cross and rahm will have his little speed camera up there to catch any renegade bikers and skateboarders....

3/20/2014 09:00:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If Rahm ever tries to declare Bankruptcy to avoid pension OBLIGATIONS, this reckless spending should work against him.

3/20/2014 09:02:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

http://topconservativenews.com/2014/03/here-is-fdny-service-test-that-deblasio-says-is-racist/
Another racist test is revealed. NYC mayor to give 98 million to unqualified Black and Hispanic people who couldn't pass what amounts to a 4th grade aptitude test.

3/20/2014 09:22:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

crybaby rahm has been begging springfield to delay the 600 million dollar balloon payment into police/fire pension fund--- also crying about the 400 million dollar teacher pension fund payment coming up--- BUT we got 60 million laying around to build one of shortshanks screwball projects he thought up while dining at tuscany with all the heavy hitters--- rahm is going to turn this place into a ghost town and if his buddy rauner gets in I might move to canada....

3/20/2014 09:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

But he needs to double my property taxes to pay the pension fund him and Daley have been robbing all these years....

3/20/2014 10:20:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Silly SCC. Don't you know that big public works projects means big contractors, which means big kickbacks in the form of big campaign contributions.

But actually paying the pension money that was contractually promised, statutorily required, and constitutionally guaranteed?

As Clyde Barrow once said, there just aint no percentage in that.

3/20/2014 10:20:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I use the lakefront path frequently. The bottleneck has been a bad annoyance for years. I would really love this "flyover".

But no way in hell is it worth $60 million. Would any sane person pay thousands of dollars to fix a squeaky door? The cost far exceeds the benefits. This city is insane.

3/20/2014 11:31:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I use the lakefront path frequently. The bottleneck has been a bad annoyance for years. I would really love this "flyover".

But no way in hell is it worth $60 million. Would any sane person pay thousands of dollars to fix a squeaky door? The cost far exceeds the benefits. This city is insane.

3/20/2014 11:31:00 AM

And the mayor is even MORE insane.

3/20/2014 06:58:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A "fly-over" ? If this is the area I think it is, where masses of people that are so inclined to use the path to get some exercise, they should have no problem with a walk, run, bike another mile east where the sidewalk extends and wraps around, what they've been doing for decades, build them a new sidwalk, with flowers, trees & maybe another water fountain. Spending $60m to shorten an exercise venue, to save a mile and 2mins...huh-wuh??? City planners are not idiots, neither are the engineers. This area was planned in the 80's when the Pier was rebuilt. It's a bullshit project that the thieving Shortshanks promised to his pals before he fled deliriously into hiding. Citizens need to hold their aldermen accountable for this spending. But for now Rahm has to fulfill these IOU's if he wants to further his national bid. After all said and done will Rahm skedaddle (back) to WDC, give the Fifth Floor and a defunct problematic city to Preckwrinkle or maybe Mosely Braun.

3/20/2014 07:28:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
And with all the over-runs, the cost will probably be more like $120,000,000.

3/20/2014 12:58:00 AM


They are going to name it after some relative of the Daley family. To honor them for they deserve honor.

3/20/2014 08:17:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Have you seen this goofy thing?

Looks like they bought it used from the Berlin Wall or something.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-navy-pier-flyover-project-photos-20140318,0,3757285.photogallery

3/21/2014 12:54:00 AM  
Blogger SCC said...

To the unpublished "bad doughnut" idiot:

You did read the article, yes? And you did see the part where the feds are supplying only $18 million? That leaves $42 million still coming from Rahm's bottomless pot of gold. And all of this is before counting the inevitable cost overruns - or aren't you from around here?

Dope.

3/21/2014 03:31:00 PM  

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