Chicago Ald. Bernie Stone (50th Ward), at 82 years of age, has announced that he will be seeking an 11th term in the Chicago City Council. "It will be no time for amateurs," he said.
Two former election workers for Ald. Bernard Stone (50th Ward) have each been sentenced
to almost one year in jail for trying to manipulate absentee ballots in
2007. Stone faced three challengers during the 2007 election season and
held on to his seat after a tight runoff with Naisy Dolar.
Members of the Sweet Home Chicago coalition aren't resting until their affordable housing ordinance gets a vote in the City Council. We report on the latest TIF reform fight at City Hall.
During Wednesday's Chicago City Council meeting, almost every alderman expressed "reluctant" support for Walmart's plan to build a second store on the South Side. While backing the ordinance in question, many of the speakers also lamented the low wages paid by the mega-retailer and the stores' affect on local businesses. Almost entirely absent from the discussion, however, was the strong possibility that the new Walmart developments in Chicago will be partially subsidized by taxpayer dollars. The one exception came from a somewhat unlikely source: 50th Ward Ald. Bernie Stone, who gave an impassioned (if not particularly eloquent) plea in favor of a proposed ordinance that would require companies receiving financial assistance from the city to pay their workers a living wage. "If you take our money," he said, "you're eventually going to have to pay a living wage." Watch it:
In his indispensable new Reader interview, labor historian Nelson Lichtenstein noted that there are "hundreds and hundreds of examples" of Walmart using tax increment financing (TIF) and other forms of local public subsidies to gain further financial advantage. Aldermen should be prepared for them to do the same here in Chicago.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan is the latest Illinois Democrat to call on Scott Lee Cohen to abandon his bid for lieutenant governor. Meanwhile, Chicago Ald. Bernie Stone stood by his endorsement of Cohen.
