Chicago Stories August

Here are a few random thoughts that have been swirling around my head that I had to filter out to make room for new random thoughts.  My brain can only hold some many bytes of information before the hard drive crashes!

FRIENDS

I don’t understand the frantic means people go to accumulate excessive amounts of friends on Facebook.  I don’t know 90% of the people who ask me to be their friend, so why would I care about their pictures on vacation and their families? (which is the main reason people post)  I am lucky to have many true friends, but on Facebook people want to “stuff” their list with random people just so other random people who don’t know them will think they have a lot of friends. The practice of having random friends is analogous to an episode of Seinfeld, when George Costanza stuffed his wallet full of receipts (just in case he ever needed them).  Inevitably, his wallet finally exploded and he lost all the little pieces of paper in the wind.  If we have too many friends we cannot give them the individual love and attention they need.  I have less respect for someone with 10,000 friends on Facebook than someone who has 50.  After all, those 50 are really friends!

ETHICS STATEMENTS

 

Last week Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that the ethics statements of all of the city’s 36,500 employees are available online.

That statement is not entirely true for two reasons.  The first is because the ethics statements are from 2010.  There is no ethics statement for the current Mayor. (Your search for Emanuel, Rahm and 2010 yielded 0 Record(s). Please refine your search criteria and try again.)

Second, I searched a number of Aldermen’s names and got the answer of “0 Records.”  So I thought that maybe because Aldermen are elected officials, they don’t count as city employees.  But when I searched for Stephanie Neely, the city treasurer, who is an elected official, her ethics statement was posted and there is also one posted for Mayor Daley.

So why aren’t there ethics statements posted for Aldermen?  Not very ethical of Mayor Emanuel to say all the ethic statements are posted when they’re not!

I don’t believe in ethics statements anyway.  If I were doing something illegal, would I make note of it on my ethics statement? If I am unethical in my business dealings why would I list it?  The idea of it is absurd.

NO BID CONTRACT

Mayor Emanuel also announced last week that the city has hired Accenture, a private consulting firm, which his press release said will “conduct a complete evaluation of citywide procurement services, which will save the City up to $25 million by 2013.”

The press release also said, “The City’s contract with Accenture is one of many recent contracting changes implemented by the Emanuel Administration, including reverse auctions and stricter no-bid contract regulations.”

But when you read the terms of the contract, it IS a NO BID contract!  How did the city get around that little stumbling block?

But when one reads the terms of the contract the city made with Accenture it is a NO BID contract! How did the city get around that little stumbling block?

The exact wording on the contract is:


“Whereas, the City, pursuant to Chapter 2-92-649 (the “Reference Contract Ordinance”) of the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC), may procure goods or services that otherwise would be subject to the Municipal Purchasing Act of Illinois (65 ILCS 5/8-10-3-4, as amended) by using an existing contract (9) a reference contract) of another unit of government:”


So what Emanuel did was connect the Accenture contrast to an already existing on the company has signed with Cook County this past April. Very tricky! I don’t find that maneuver especially ethical. But since the City is friends with Cook County, we will all look the other way.