I would agree with that. Thanks. For the sake of the people of Illinois, let's not do that. I'd be happy to run for president of the FIA though. In an election I think I could give Max Mosley a good spanking...
I didn't connect the dots. Here an example you might have come across yourself: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9905E2D7163FF93BA25751C1A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all "A crucial development in what proved to be a mounting scandal in the office occurred in 1994, when six children died in a fiery crash involving a truck driven by a man who turned out to be unqualified, having received his license illegally." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ryan "The corruption scandal that led to Ryan's downfall began over a decade earlier as a federal investigation into a deadly crash in Wisconsin that killed six children. The investigation revealed a scheme inside Ryan's secretary of state's office in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes. As the AP wrote: "The probe expanded over the next eight years into a wide-ranging corruption investigation that eventually reached Ryan in the governor's office.""
Ryan is in jail. Why are we still talking about him? Are you trying to deflect attention from Illinois Democrats? Image Unavailable, Please Login
No, Blago is a scumbag and deserves to go to jail. There just isn't much to say about him: We're all in wild agreement to get rid of him. The only one who doesn't get the message is him, but I'm sure that'll be taken care of soon enough. The reason I'm bringing Ryan up should be pretty obvious, particularly if you watched last night's news: Just yesterday he made a public statement apologizing for the death of the family because he wants to get pardoned by Bush (very interesting, because he never ever apologized for the accident before). He has only a few weeks left to get that pardon. The one redeeming factor for Ryan, which actually would be deserving of clemency is that he put a moratorium on the death penalty and thereby saved a lot of innocent inmates. PS: Please stop using this animated picture as it violates FChat TOS.
I am frequently asked by international business clients to escort them into the city for some site-seeing. The most frequent request is "Where did Al Capone and other corrupt Chicago thugs hang out?" My general response is to steer them clear of Chicago's dark past and leave them with positive images of our city. Getting ready for new requests from international clients, no doubt I'll be asked: "Can you show us where the corrupt Politian's hang out?" My general response will be... "We have many to choose from..... State? City? County? Convicted? Can you be more specific?" Dave
WOW Dave, you've hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, corruption in government is multilevel, which gives me mistrust even on a local level.
Did anybody catch the opening sketch from SNL last night? It was a fictitious hearing of Blago in front of members of Congress and Senate in Washington. Some of it was hilarious (as was the segment "Really" in the fictitious news), but they portrayed Blago with the heavy fake Ditka "Da Bears" accent. He doesn't talk like that at all. I don't have a problem with Blago getting a grilling, but the sketch underlined the stereotypes people have about us Chicagoans. And therein lies the bigger damage of this scandal. I don't even dare thinking what this might do to our 2016 bid. But then again the IOC is an organization with some corruption in its own history, they might understand...
Yeah, it was pretty funny but your right about how he talked. Did you catch the SNL weekend update? I thought the "REALLY!?" segment was hilarious!
Yes (as I indicated...). "Did you grow your eyebrows to the top of your head?" "Did you put the hairpiece on backwards?" I read a comment in the WSJ from a New Yorker: They actually thought that Blago is wearing a hair piece. In general it seems the New Yorkers are more stunned over his hairdo than his actions.
It's not that long ago when Chicago was synonymous with Capone and mafia wars,the image has improved significantly in the last 15 years or so and now we are back to square one....
Exactly. Which is why it is important to quickly remove Blago from office and get this over with. How about those voters who now ask Jesse Jackson Jr. to resign? He was client #5. Hmm, that reminds me of something? Ah yes, client #9. Right back at ya NY!
Kind of how I felt. Jason Sudeikas is "OK" at impersonations, and it seemed like he kept drifting in and out of that Chicago dialect you're talking about. And the material was lame--mobster-type gags. As far as the Games, I wonder if anyone will pull their bid? Sounds like Chicago is the healthiest financially at the moment, which says a lot.
Nah, the games are secure. In our hemisphere there is only Rio and they had worse scandals recently with the drug wars and airline disasters. Plus they have World Cup Soccer in 2014, very unlikely they get the games. I'd say the only thing that could prevent the games from coming is if Chicago doesn't have its act together regarding the buildings that are still needed to be built. With the announcement of the Olympic Village coming to South LSD, part of that gets already addressed.
Who is we? Over a million folks support the bid and the organization has already about 7,000 volunteers. Image Unavailable, Please Login
And out of a population of people that live in the Chicagoland area, what percentage does that figure represent?
Grand Poobah, you're grasping-at-straws.! Tell me, which city/country continued to reap rewards after the Olympics were held there. Better yet, tell me who made a profit after the Olympic Games were held in their city!
Why do you say I'm grasping at straws? 16% is a darn good rating on anything like the Nielsen scale. Particularly for an event that is not in the media and about 8 years out. I still think Chicago is one of the best kept secrets of the (European and other) tourism industry and global exposure can only be beneficial. Or to look at it from the other angle: I was in Beijing 30 years ago and stunned when watching the Games last summer and decided to return one day because it looked so radically different and pretty. Why is making a profit after the Games are over even a goal? Who said that was the objectif? Are any of the other events Chicago hosts throughout the summer making a profit for the city? Isn't the real goal to offer entertainment to the people at cost or <heaven forbid> even at a loss? Are all the museums and parks making a profit? Are all the street fares and parades making a profit for the city?
