SKEWERED FOR DOING GOOD!

SKEWERED FOR DOING GOOD! Sometimes politicians just cannot win even when they are doing something good. We read story after story about free fall spending on “pork projects,” bloated no-bid contracts and deficit spending that skewers elected officials for not being fiscally responsible. Yet when some Chicago Aldermen decide not to spend all of their “menu money” ($1.32 million allotted to each Alderman for projects in their ward) immediately, the Sun Times castigates them. Sun Times City Hall political writer Fran Spielman wrote an “exposé” story about 13 Aldermen who were left with at least $500,000 of unused “menu money” at the end of 2009; including four with more than $1 million unspent. The casual reader of the story probably missed the line, “unspent money stays in an alderman's account for future use “ and believes instead that their Alderman did not properly allocate money for ward street repairs and other projects and the money is lost. Just because you have the money in the bank does not mean you have to spend it immediately! These castigated Aldermen are wise and have not haphazardly spent money as if it were burning a hole in their pockets and have prudently decided to apportion it as needed. What is wrong with that? In the story, Alderman Helen Schiller (46th ward) said she had not spent $1.15 million of her budget because she is deliberate. "I can spend the money. That's not the issue. The issue is I like to do it in a comprehensive manner.” Alderman Mary Ann Smith (48th ward), “acknowledged that she "hordes" most of her menu money to "seed" projects that "might not happen" otherwise. They include improving retail space in CTA Red Line stations, building dog parks, and enlarging the soon-to-be-built Edgewater Library. This is a very precious pool of money to me. With this menu money, I can make unusually good things happen. But, just because you've got it doesn't mean you need to spend it. There's no rush," she said. "Our neighborhood has a wish-list. It's our job to make it happen. If that means hoarding some of the money, I hang onto it. Every nickel is a prisoner." We should be holding a parade for Aldermen who want to expend money in a purposeful manner instead of grilling them about not spending it frivolously. At first, I was happy to read that my Alderman, Brendan Reilly (42nd ward), was first on the list with $1.3 million still left in his budget. I was proud of his prudence. Then I read what he wants to do with the money and I went ballistic! According to the Sun Times, Reilly wants to “nearly triple the number of downtown bike lanes and clearly delineate those lanes with a plastic green surface. But, the work can't begin until the Chicago Department of Transportation completes a study on the project. “I have done a number of blogs about hating how bicyclists ignore the rules of the road and are a menace to pedestrians and drivers. Their impertinence and disrespect is compounded because they know the Mayor loves them and they can get away with anything. Now I will have to worry about triple their number! I have already written to the Alderman’s office asking how I can testify against expanding the bicycle lanes but have not heard back yet. Look for a future blog on the subject as spring approaches.

The one day there is good news coming out of City Hall, the Sun Times chooses to run it as a negative piece. Since there are scandals of epic proportion occurring every day at City Hall, this story should have been front page with a smiley face—but good news doesn’t sell. It has to bleed to lead.