Rahm Turns Down Windfall
One of those stories that pops up in the comment section from time to time that catches our interest, especially where city dollars are concerned:
- The next time you hear Mayor Rahm Emanuel talk about the city’s financial problems, remember the deal he just turned down.
In response to a suggestion here Thursday that could have netted City Colleges of Chicago a cool $474 million by auctioning off the license of its little-watched public television station, the mayor flatly rejected the idea — for all the wrong reasons.
The potential windfall is being dangled by the Federal Communications Commission, which seeks to entice broadcasters to turn over spectrum space to mobile wireless providers through a voluntary “reverse auction” early next year. According to the FCC, opening bid price for City Colleges of Chicago’s WYCC-Channel 20 would be $474,185,700.
Even if the actual sale price were a fraction of that, the result would still be a massive infusion of cash for the city’s financially-strapped public college system. There’s no telling whether such an offer will ever come along again.
And as Feder points out, Rahm is turning down nearly half-a-billion for all the wrong reasons:
- Emanuel seems to think that City Colleges students who work in the Englewood studios and control rooms of WYCC wouldn’t get that hands-on experience if the station didn’t own a broadcast transmitter.
That’s simply not true.
The same programming produced by the station’s full-time staff of 37 (with an annual budget of $5.2 million) could be shifted to online streaming or moved to a public-access cable channel controlled by the city. What the mayor calls the “tremendous educational opportunity” would remain intact without using a broadcast signal that reaches a pitifully tiny audience anyway (2,200 viewers in an average quarter-hour, according to Nielsen).
That half-a-billion could fund almost two additional Malcolm Ten colleges....or make a significant dent in some outstanding pension payments coming due. And Rahm could use some of his business contacts and have the "communications majors" intern for free at any one of the media outlets around town.
Labels: money questions
posted by SCC at 12:11 AM
43 Comments:
Last bulls__t I remember seeing on WYCC was a propaganda film showing a bunch of guys running an 80-year-old Goss rotary newspaper press -- built here in Chicago, used to death, and finally sold South for scrap.
The narrator described the ancient American machine as being "Mexican technology."
That was enough. >click< And that was like 20 years ago.
Don't forget, Rahm's an asshole but he's not stupid. He knows that if he reaps that windfall, his chances of get relief from required pension payment will be diminished. He'd rather claim broke and get help from Sprignfield, THEN cash in. That way, he'll have the money and be able to spend how HE wants.
I actually do watch WYCC occasionally. They put on some great old movies.
Also many years go I turned down a job from them as an Broadcasting Engineer. At the time I was a recruit in the Academy.
What ever happens I hope it does not become another 24/7 home shopping channel or a Al Jazeera outlet.
I say keep free educational television.
Malcolm Ten - I like that.
As far as the broadcast transmitter - come on, SCC.
They need Radio Free Englewood. How are they going to get the News?
He's not going to sell till he can find a way to make money off it. Keep an eye on that deal. It's going to happen and news of it will be buried.
Rather sell the Skyway to Australia, or whoever it was this time.
What an idiot.
Lost another finger here, that's for sure.
Where are all the joyous shit-talkers who touted and acclaimed
Rahm for his alleged business savvy just because he was slid
in place for a few years and hit a Wall Street lick for about
$18 Million dollars?
"Rahm has a plan.
That other guy doesn't."
It's wonderful when a smart m/fer
outsmarts himself.
Provided it's only the smart m/fer
who ends up getting hurt.
Rahm nixed the deal because there was no
personal financial benefit to him.
Period.
Wow....what a fool. Always crying broke. Raising taxes and everything else and missing a great chance to strengthen Chicago's financial stability.
It's federal money so not enough "incentive" for the politicians. No back door greasing so the answer is no. Too much money to be made to give it up in a legitimate transaction. The Chicago Way.
Rahm knows money isn't everything, and to beware of Federal money. It has many long strings attached.
Wow. Once again Englewood is killing.
2200 viewers every quarter hour? SCC, you know how many hits you get, don't you beat that?
And why does Disability Dean & his munchkin minions remain silent on a potential remedy for the pension fund? They're too busy waiting for Springfield to pass a casino bill. But Deano did get off his ass and say me too on the National FOP's call to boycott Taratino
Deano -'resign now before we demand your resignation! Your timid attempt at leadership is disgusting to working cops as well as truly disabled officers.
He is a financial genius. Just ask him.
Rahm master at diversion, mayb the payoff was not enough, maybe they wanted all the money to fund things for the taxpayers, no "back door deals!" This money could of averted the huge tax hike, btw that money better fund police pensions directly (you watching,following the money Deano?) another way to hurt the tax paying public!
Even the woman who founded the station wrote a letter to the editor saying there is no longer the need for the city to keep the station going.
Follow the 5 million! If the station is auctioned nobody gets a kickback from a FED auction.
But a station that reaps in 5 million a year in englewood would probably have some REV-RUNS hands near it!
Media again plain as day yet you refuse to look. Who are the brilliant person managing a station nobody watches? Any one ever heard of streaming a show or a podcast???
Nobody ever said Rham was smart.
Can't touch anything that has anything to do with englehood, lest you lose black votes.
does anybody even watch WYCC?
What ever happened to the television studio they had at the police academy??
But I like channel 20...
The plan comes from Greg Goldner, a former campaign manager for ex-Mayor Richard M. Daley and then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel whom some in Springfield nonetheless consider a front for GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner, even though he now runs the well-funded Democratic group Illinoisans for Growth and Opportunity.
The proposal, quietly discussed with political leaders in recent days, calls for an increase in the state income tax, extension of the sales tax to cover more services and a tax on some form of retirement income.
It also includes some things of special interest to Democrats, such as a higher minimum wage and a big boost in school funding.
But Rauner and Republicans would get a few of the “structural” reforms he's been demanding, such as giving local governments power to limit collective bargaining on health benefits and work rules. Conservatives also would get a 2 percent cap on annual growth in discretionary spending And the plan would take another whack at pension reform, along the lines of a proposal pushed by Illinois Senate President John Cullerton.
Meanwhile, Mayor Rahm Emanuel would get the $200 million a year extra for Chicago Public Schools that he's been seeking, plus a casino to help pay off city pension debt.
In a phone interview, Goldner—whose group has $14 million stashed away—said he's offering the plan because Springfield seems stuck, with the state nearly five months into its fiscal year without a new budget.
"No one now is wearing a white hat," Goldner said. "I want to get Democrats and Republicans back to fighting about the things they care about, without having the apocalypse around the corner."
The proposal is emerging at an interesting time, after a week in which officials seemed to make a bit of progress on some issues and a few days before Rauner and legislative leaders may hold an unprecedented bargaining session in front of TV cameras.
It is deliberately "a bigger deal" because that's what the state needs right now if it is to pay $7 billion in unpaid bills and meet its obligations in the future, Goldner said. But despite its somewhat tilt to the political left—the plan calls for $9 billion a year in new revenue—it's by no means clear that House Speaker Michael Madigan will go along.
Goldner said only that the plan has been reviewed at least in concept with the appropriate leaders, and that the response “has run from significant interest to suspicion."
Here are some of the key items in the proposal, starting with revenue:
• The individual and corporate income taxes would go back up, but not as high as they were in January. The individual rate would go from 3.75 percent to 4.75 percent, netting an additional $3.3 billion a year, and the corporate rate from 8 percent to 9.14 percent, garnering $296 million a year.
• "Corporate loopholes" would be closed, including breaks for companies that invest out of state and hold income offshore, producing $400 million a year in revenue.
• The state's sales tax would be extended to more services, but which ones is being kept vague or, as Goldner put it, "left for negotiation." That would pull in $2.1 billion a year.
• Retirement income of over $50,000 a year would be taxed for the first time, at a 4.75 percent rate. The entire $1.1 billion a year in proceeds would go to expanded aid for elementary and secondary schools, with CPS receiving an additional $200 million a year for two years while a revamped school aid formula is negotiated.
Yall should have had Daley stay he would sell anything....
Anonymous said...
Deano -'resign now before we demand your resignation! Your timid attempt at leadership is disgusting to working cops as well as truly disabled officers.
11/16/2015 05:40:00 AM
****
Go up to the mic at the next general meeting and state your name and demand the president step down. No? Coward.
Your the guy in your mind who would be the best president FOP ever had!!
Let's be honest an tell everyone here who you are. Which goof are you? The one who wants all retirees gone? The one who couldn't win his unit election? Which one of three writers who wants fop to pay to reprint his book? The goof who wants the camera turned off at the general meeting every time he asks a question? Are you the goof who wants to beat everyone up who disagrees with him? Are you the goof who has to ask a question at every meeting now that you took the pledge? Or are you the goof who is in the top ten on the list of CR's that fop told no more off duty beefs on non police related incidents?
Time to get out of your momma's basement. Announce your candidacy now!
The Mayor is setting the City up to fail!
Why would you not sell a liability that the city does not use??
Selling that would raise the bond rating and pay down the pension liability.
It's a no brainer...
Rahm has alterior motives and they are evil..
$474,185,700 to watch someone from the early 70's describe the colon.
He's not going to sell till he can find a way to make money off it. Keep an eye on that deal. It's going to happen and news of it will be buried
Or might he be waiting for the consortium headed by his brother to slip in and "steal" the deal!!
Ahh. Yes BUT!!
How could the banks demand a higher interest rate on their loans to Chicago (i.e city bond sales) if Chicago's credit ratings were to get upgraded instead of being downgraded eh?
Think about that!
Chicago doesn't want to pay it's bills.
If Chicago pays it's bills the banks lose money and the banks are the ones funding the campaign contributions. Plus the banks and the debt are the tools for more tax increases
By the way. Oh those poor boomers in retirement getting shafted from both ends in Illinois.
First off there's no COLA cost of living increase this year for social security.
Second there has been no COLA increase for the SNAP food stamp program for about 15 years!! Y'all gonna tell me food prices, haven't gone up over the last 15 years!?!?
Meanwhile, guess what? Illinois is planning to tax retirement benefits and increase the state income tax retroactive to July 2015! Then there's Chicago's property tax increase, entertainment tax increase, and a score of other tax increases.
So, retirees are getting it from both ends.
Watch as the Chicago economy crashes and with each new tax, fine and fee the black market and crime becomes more attractive to the common taxpayer.
People do desperate things in desperate times and things are not getting any better.
I am hoping no broadcasters participate in the FCC reverse auction sell out. The spectrum mobile phone companies seek is the same airspace used by wireless microphones for TV News, TV and Film production, Theater, Musicians, Churches... As well as Broadcasters (Real TV. With the advent of HDTV this space is vastly overcrowded.
The phone companies have deep pockets and could actually afford to pay for new technology to operate at higher frequencies. The rest of us don't have that kind of cash and don't really have the $20k or so (in my case) just to buy new gear when the phone companies kick us out a few years after a spectrum purchase... Again. We have been using this spectrum forever, in the space between TV and Radio Stations. To sell this space out from under us so you can have a super WiFi connected toaster seems horribly wrong.
Licensed Low Power Radio Station Operator
Don O'Neill never turns down a windfall!!!! Take a note, Rahm!!
Englewood would be pissed if they no longer had access to WYCC. I'm sure they watch nothing else on their 70" 4K HDTVs with free cable service.
Remember how Russia's Socialist/Marxist Mensheviks were able to defeat the Bolsheviks via a control over Iskra which was the political paper of the Russian socialists. This divide in the socialist movement for acquisition of power and control occurred on November 16, 1903. Interestingly, one of the leaders of the Mensheviks was a guy by the name of Pavel Axelrod.
Axelrod, I think I heard that name before. This same last name showed up as a modern day campaign strategist orchestrating the largest hoax on the American voter seating a modern day socialist disguised under a different political party name. The modern day guy named Axelrod has a first name of David. Moral of the story. Control the press and you too can seize enormous political power. Kind of like history repeating itself once again.
The upcoming spectrum auction is first conducted in a "reverse" auction.
The 400+M for WYCC is the initial bid.
If WYCC accepts it, then the FCC will offer less the next time around, oh, you were ok with 400.... how about 300.
Oh, you were ok with 300 how about 100?
(Insert joke here)
After the reverse auction is completed, then the FCC has to get bids from interested parties ( Verzion, AT&T, Sprint, T-mobile, Dish, Comcast....) and that part of the auction is a "forward" auction.
(not an LEO)
Do not forget that the City Colleges of Chicago had to settle a major lawsuit for the wrongful termination of the former station manager of WYCC Channel 20. The former Chancellor of the City Colleges, a veteran race hustler by the name of Wayne Watson, who is presently ripping off the taxpayers while ruining Chicago State University (charges of nepotism, cronyism, ghost pay rolling and the like are constants at CSU which has a declining enrollment)used the public television station to publicize himself and his political allies. The whistleblower received a large settlement funded by the taxpayers due to the actions of this incompetent political hack who is laughing all of the way to the bank. His fat pension is fully funded.
Uh...Rahm?
"GAAA!
"They cut off my thumb!
"Eddie! They cut off my...my...thu-u-umb!"
>collapses<
-- "The Pope Of Greenwich Village"
Descending spiral...
And why does Disability Dean & his munchkin minions remain silent on a potential remedy for the pension fund? They're too busy waiting for Springfield to pass a casino bill. But Deano did get off his ass and say me too on the National FOP's call to boycott Taratino
Deano -'resign now before we demand your resignation! Your timid attempt at leadership is disgusting to working cops as well as truly disabled officers.
11/16/2015 05:40:00 AM
You got it all wrong. Disability Dean IS Rahm's "munchkin minion!" Or is he Don O'Neill's oompa loompa? Whatever. Nobody is teenier than Dean!
He has something else in mind for sure. One of Ari's buddies might have his sights set on it ?
"$474,185,700 to watch someone from the early 70's describe the colon."
11/16/2015 03:19:00 PM
Tapping his pointer at a garishly-colored cutaway plaster MODEL of the colon, you mean.
>ka-ching<
$$$
"Colon. The colon. The co-lon," with various subtitles appearing at the bottom of the screen.
"Esta Norwegican, or Hispanico, say aco-lonskatska, or, say, ees Cristobal Colon."
*
Talk about falling asleep in front of the TV with a sixer...
...except that their "engineers" never figured out what "AVC" meant on the audio board, and it'd alternately become either imperceptible or blow you out of your La-Z-Boy.
...and Rahm is clinging to this mess. Typical.
Bring back the old Victory Auto Wreckers commercial. That's all I ask.
"People do desperate things in desperate times and things are not getting any better."
11/16/2015 05:24:00 PM
Running-for-the-doors panic down at Loevy and Loevy, is there?
How about leasing it to Amazon.com. Now that it has a Chicago store and collects the highest sales taxes in the country and could do same day delivery by drones.
This is from someone who worked at the City Colleges for 20 yrs: The City Colleges has flown under the radar for YEARS. It was home to the Democratic Party Incompetent Hacks for decades. It didn't matter if you were black, white,brown or yellow. It didn't matter if you were in administrations or instructional, a phone call from someone in the Democratic party assured a job. The only job that wasn't political was in the security department, and even that the job of security director of each college was a politically sponsored position. The television station's director was Watson's girlfriend when he was the Chancellor. Before that Herminnie Hartman got a job as a public relations specialist a week after Harold Washington was elected major. She was the most Rev.Jessie Jackson's lady. (Hartman is the editor of D'Nigro magazine and was one of Ronner's first black endorsers) If you looks at the present and former board members you can see the Democratic Party loyalists were and are assigned. One reason why Rahm is not letting go is if the Fed's buy it, they might look into the past employment and funding. There were many no show jobs. I am talking very big Democrats Politicians that were sponsor's.
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