As long as the McCaskey family owns the Bears, not one cent of taxpayer money should be used for their new stadium. They demonstrate that you can own a football team without knowing football. Given the lack of success, if they had any shame they would sell the team to someone else. I doubt that will happen anytime soon since the Bears are "Mother McCaskey's Employment Agency" for her family. They would be non-entities except for owning the Bears. They were fortunate to have won the genetic lottery and have been born a McCaskey.
Unfortunately, my representative in Congress is Mary E. Miller aka "Little Miss Maga" who never misses a beat when it comes to being a White Christian Nationalist and Trumper. She paradoxically reminds me a bit of my former congressman, Luis Gutierrez, who didn't give two cents for you if you weren't part of his posse. Miller won't even bother to send replies if you disagree with her.
When I see the protests on campus, it reminds me a lot of similar protests on colleges during the war in VietNam. Looking back, many of them were naive tools of the North Vietnamese and when people praise them, I think that the "boat people" might beg to differ. What do they think Hamas would do to the Jews there if Israel vanished?
Which is the worst move: Bears associating with Mayor Brandon; or Mayor supporting the Bears. Another bad choice by the Mayor - but overshadowed by a horrible presentation. 1) We have God on our side - although we question if he has ever played football; 2) All of the costs we not truly disclosed; 3) Then hearing the 'rush' is on to get under the wire on the legislation timeline. 4) No questions were asked - parking, true cost, infrastructure needs... I thought Bears were on a path to change and suddenly we have another "Dave McGinnus" debacle. Couldn't we have just gotten in our draft day joy to relish for a moment.
In regards to that Bears fiasco, forget the money, that thing is absolutely hideous. It looks like an super-sized illuminated turd on the lakefront. You won't see the skyline from the lake anymore. I can't believe they presented that with a straight face. It's a joke. That belongs buried in town like the United Center or put it in Arlington Heights. And mayor, how about the same enthusiasm for reducing crime and attracting business, oh wait, I forgot, this guys no too bright.
why the rush? the Bears contract with the city doesn't end until 2029(?) Surely even if they needed any extra year the parties could agree to a 1 year extension since that would benefit everyone.
Election fatigue is a thing. Every year there is some type of election somewhere. It gets old. We have been talking about the 2024 Presidential Election since the day Biden was inaugurated, if not before.
Almost every elected official, once elected, spends their time in office working on getting reelected. Sometimes it feels like they only do things meaningful when they are lame ducks or victims of term limits.
What people don't seem to understand is special elections and recalls cost money. I'm not talking about the campaigning, i'm talking about actually setting up a polling place. I would rather use that money to add a few more polling places to underprivileged communities during regular elections than have a special election for a seat that is gonna be open again in less than a year.
The whole idea of this build a stadium nonsense makes my blood boil. I read yesterday that NFL teams rake in on average close to a billion dollars per year. The bears are worth 6.3 billion. So here come the McCaskeys with their hands out and goofy Mayor numbskull (looking for something positive that he can call his own) falls all over them and can't wait to spend taxpayer dollars to have them eat up more of the lakefront. Yeah, I know the renderings show it would be built on current parking lots but where will the parking lots go? Also, the hideous mess they made of soldier field isn't going anywhere because it's a landmark, so with this new playpen we won't be able to see the lake from Solidarity drive to south of McCormick Place. And oh yeah, somehow the pier authority wants to re-do the White Sox deal as part of the package. And let's not forget that we taxpayers are still paying for the current White Sox park and soldier field renovation which everyone knew should have been domed. Let the Bears move to Arlington Heights or Timbuktu or wherever. They stink anyway. And I guarantee that if they did leave the NFL would put a new team here and that team would win a Superbowl before the Bears do.
In regard to the student protests at Columbia and other places: First, what is happening to innocent people due to the Israel-Hamas war is horrific. However, it seems to me that there are protesters with different motives all mixed together. Some may want just an end to this horrible war. Some may want an end to Israel, which is not realistic. Some who want an end to Israel say they are anti-Zionists but not anti-Semitic, and some are just intensely anti-Semitic. Personally, I can’t help wondering how informed many of the protesters are and I would like to see interviews to discover how much of the facts they know, plus how much of the facts they refuse to believe. But it is obvious that a significant number of the protesters see this conflict as totally one-sided.
I think that the Bears deftly crafted a strong negotiating lever. If they were to move to Arlington Heights, they would have no obligation to do anything with respect to the current stadium or parking lots. The necessary maintenance and improvements would fall to the Park District and the city. There would be little or no reason for the state to provide for those costs in any way. By including the Soldier Field renovation in the plan, it is easier for the city, park district, and state to rationalize a package of public funding that would be required if the Bears stay or if they go. The deal also restructures the overhang from the current bonds and spreads them over 40 years. Not even Johnson believes that he will be in office long enough for this to be his problem. In the meantime he can imagine basking in the glory.
I notice that there hasn't been much reaction from most Chicago politicians yet. Some of them are the ones moaning that too much money is being spent on immigrants when it should be spent on those from Chicago that are homeless. There supposedly is too much being spent on Israel and Ukraine when we should take care of problems here. But they are mostly silent when it is being contemplated to spend a couple of billion on a football palace which offers no guarantees of rich levies for the city or help for those same down on their luck Chicagoans. While we're at it, what is all the noise about this plan offering more green space for people? Who says more is needed? The area has been doing pretty well since Daniel Burnham's original vision. How does one do that when plopping steel and concrete in the middle of it?
There is nothing strange about party lackies wanting the County Clerk's office. The supplicants know that getting the office is effectively a life-time sinecure. Although it is elected, it is never contested and the last two clerks prior to Yarbrough were in the office for 27 and 28 years. Cushy, high paying, high-status party hack. Why wouldn't there be a line of takers?
I liked EZ's position on the situation in Gaza. But I also think that it highlights the sad state of news coverage. The coverage is entirely superficial about who is involved, what is being said, what the consensus or majority of protestors think, etc. There is a similar lack of facts reported regarding the counter protest, claims of antisemitism and hate speech, acts causing fear, etc. And as usual, the coverage of the encampments provide nothing in terms of the actual numbers, the extent of the campus affected, percentage of the student body, numbers of non-students involved, etc. So, the situation is ripe for characterizing those involved in any way that is politically useful for ideologues.
As long as the McCaskey family owns the Bears, not one cent of taxpayer money should be used for their new stadium. They demonstrate that you can own a football team without knowing football. Given the lack of success, if they had any shame they would sell the team to someone else. I doubt that will happen anytime soon since the Bears are "Mother McCaskey's Employment Agency" for her family. They would be non-entities except for owning the Bears. They were fortunate to have won the genetic lottery and have been born a McCaskey.
Unfortunately, my representative in Congress is Mary E. Miller aka "Little Miss Maga" who never misses a beat when it comes to being a White Christian Nationalist and Trumper. She paradoxically reminds me a bit of my former congressman, Luis Gutierrez, who didn't give two cents for you if you weren't part of his posse. Miller won't even bother to send replies if you disagree with her.
When I see the protests on campus, it reminds me a lot of similar protests on colleges during the war in VietNam. Looking back, many of them were naive tools of the North Vietnamese and when people praise them, I think that the "boat people" might beg to differ. What do they think Hamas would do to the Jews there if Israel vanished?
Which is the worst move: Bears associating with Mayor Brandon; or Mayor supporting the Bears. Another bad choice by the Mayor - but overshadowed by a horrible presentation. 1) We have God on our side - although we question if he has ever played football; 2) All of the costs we not truly disclosed; 3) Then hearing the 'rush' is on to get under the wire on the legislation timeline. 4) No questions were asked - parking, true cost, infrastructure needs... I thought Bears were on a path to change and suddenly we have another "Dave McGinnus" debacle. Couldn't we have just gotten in our draft day joy to relish for a moment.
I believe that MSNBC chryon is fake. You might check.
In regards to that Bears fiasco, forget the money, that thing is absolutely hideous. It looks like an super-sized illuminated turd on the lakefront. You won't see the skyline from the lake anymore. I can't believe they presented that with a straight face. It's a joke. That belongs buried in town like the United Center or put it in Arlington Heights. And mayor, how about the same enthusiasm for reducing crime and attracting business, oh wait, I forgot, this guys no too bright.
21 years ago, the McCaskeys McFucked the taxpayers over Soldier Field & now they want to McFuck us again!
Never!
Lawrence Holmes was 100% correct about that disgusting money grubbing pastor who gave thanks for that rotten to the core family!
why the rush? the Bears contract with the city doesn't end until 2029(?) Surely even if they needed any extra year the parties could agree to a 1 year extension since that would benefit everyone.
Election fatigue is a thing. Every year there is some type of election somewhere. It gets old. We have been talking about the 2024 Presidential Election since the day Biden was inaugurated, if not before.
Almost every elected official, once elected, spends their time in office working on getting reelected. Sometimes it feels like they only do things meaningful when they are lame ducks or victims of term limits.
What people don't seem to understand is special elections and recalls cost money. I'm not talking about the campaigning, i'm talking about actually setting up a polling place. I would rather use that money to add a few more polling places to underprivileged communities during regular elections than have a special election for a seat that is gonna be open again in less than a year.
and yes, I'm paining with broad strokes here.
Laurence Holmes on 670 am The Score is my favorite radio personality. His show is on from 10a to 2p.
The whole idea of this build a stadium nonsense makes my blood boil. I read yesterday that NFL teams rake in on average close to a billion dollars per year. The bears are worth 6.3 billion. So here come the McCaskeys with their hands out and goofy Mayor numbskull (looking for something positive that he can call his own) falls all over them and can't wait to spend taxpayer dollars to have them eat up more of the lakefront. Yeah, I know the renderings show it would be built on current parking lots but where will the parking lots go? Also, the hideous mess they made of soldier field isn't going anywhere because it's a landmark, so with this new playpen we won't be able to see the lake from Solidarity drive to south of McCormick Place. And oh yeah, somehow the pier authority wants to re-do the White Sox deal as part of the package. And let's not forget that we taxpayers are still paying for the current White Sox park and soldier field renovation which everyone knew should have been domed. Let the Bears move to Arlington Heights or Timbuktu or wherever. They stink anyway. And I guarantee that if they did leave the NFL would put a new team here and that team would win a Superbowl before the Bears do.
In regard to the student protests at Columbia and other places: First, what is happening to innocent people due to the Israel-Hamas war is horrific. However, it seems to me that there are protesters with different motives all mixed together. Some may want just an end to this horrible war. Some may want an end to Israel, which is not realistic. Some who want an end to Israel say they are anti-Zionists but not anti-Semitic, and some are just intensely anti-Semitic. Personally, I can’t help wondering how informed many of the protesters are and I would like to see interviews to discover how much of the facts they know, plus how much of the facts they refuse to believe. But it is obvious that a significant number of the protesters see this conflict as totally one-sided.
I think that the Bears deftly crafted a strong negotiating lever. If they were to move to Arlington Heights, they would have no obligation to do anything with respect to the current stadium or parking lots. The necessary maintenance and improvements would fall to the Park District and the city. There would be little or no reason for the state to provide for those costs in any way. By including the Soldier Field renovation in the plan, it is easier for the city, park district, and state to rationalize a package of public funding that would be required if the Bears stay or if they go. The deal also restructures the overhang from the current bonds and spreads them over 40 years. Not even Johnson believes that he will be in office long enough for this to be his problem. In the meantime he can imagine basking in the glory.
I notice that there hasn't been much reaction from most Chicago politicians yet. Some of them are the ones moaning that too much money is being spent on immigrants when it should be spent on those from Chicago that are homeless. There supposedly is too much being spent on Israel and Ukraine when we should take care of problems here. But they are mostly silent when it is being contemplated to spend a couple of billion on a football palace which offers no guarantees of rich levies for the city or help for those same down on their luck Chicagoans. While we're at it, what is all the noise about this plan offering more green space for people? Who says more is needed? The area has been doing pretty well since Daniel Burnham's original vision. How does one do that when plopping steel and concrete in the middle of it?
There is nothing strange about party lackies wanting the County Clerk's office. The supplicants know that getting the office is effectively a life-time sinecure. Although it is elected, it is never contested and the last two clerks prior to Yarbrough were in the office for 27 and 28 years. Cushy, high paying, high-status party hack. Why wouldn't there be a line of takers?
I liked EZ's position on the situation in Gaza. But I also think that it highlights the sad state of news coverage. The coverage is entirely superficial about who is involved, what is being said, what the consensus or majority of protestors think, etc. There is a similar lack of facts reported regarding the counter protest, claims of antisemitism and hate speech, acts causing fear, etc. And as usual, the coverage of the encampments provide nothing in terms of the actual numbers, the extent of the campus affected, percentage of the student body, numbers of non-students involved, etc. So, the situation is ripe for characterizing those involved in any way that is politically useful for ideologues.