My Adventure in Obamaland (aka Grant Park)

Tuesday night, I decided to venture downtown to see what was going on at the Obama rally in Grant Park. I decided that I would look at the festivities outside the park rather than what was going on inside the park.

I rode in on the train as parking for the event was going to be hard to come by, and expensive. Yes, I'm a bit of a cheapskate. On the train, the groups boarding were mostly young, and diverse in appearence. However, they were not diverse in opinion or goal. I overheard one group discussing the 2000 election and how Gore got the popular vote but not the electoral vote.



Once downtown, I took note of the law enforcement presence. There were Chicago Police Officers, CTA officers, traffic cops, private security, and more. The presence was massive, with as many as a dozen LEOs at each street corner.



I walked along Jackson on my way to Grant Park and took note of the many street vendors. This would be quite common, as I found out, along Michigan Avenue as well.



All sorts of items were being sold. Buttons, T-shirts, banners, posters, etc.



When I got to Michigan, I saw several people playing music on various instruments. Some bands had real instruments, while others were using 5 gallon pastic buckets.



There was also a guy at Michigan and Congress handing out religious material. I took one, and it was non-political, but talked about the need to be reborn. The guy was handing them out to anyone who passed by.



I then went to the east side of Michigan Avenue to see what was to be found. In front of the main entrance to the Obama rally, World Can't Wait was set up with their tables and banners.



They seemed to go all out, enjoying the night.



In addition to the World Can't Wait folks, there were others who demanded to be seen with their signs at the ready. Here's a guy who claimed the election is a distraction. A distraction from what, I have no idea.



There were also a colorful couple, dressed in a pig suit and a skeleton. Each held a sign. Miss Skeleton held an anti-Palin sign, while Mr. Pig had much more class. His sign simply read "Fuck McCain".







Moving on, I took note of a car with Obama and "Punch #1" on it. This is a relic of the punch card days in Cook County when they'd tell you when number on the ballot a specific candidate was to make it easier to him/her.



I also took a look at the crowds waiting to get into the park, standing in a line about two to three blocks long along Michigan Avenue.



They also rode their bikes to the event. Bikes were parked everywhere. Trees, lamp posts, bike racks, where they were by the dozens. These "green" people also left trash in mounds, overflowing the trash cans,a nd in piles on the ground. Randomly on the ground.



I caught a few scenes around the area as I was wandering on the edge of Grant Park. I overheard a guy ask "What state does Biden represent?". An Obama supporter who doesn't know where Biden is from.







I then turned my attention to the Obama stage in Hutchinson Field. Looking across the railroad tracks, I saw what appeared to be a crown of light above the stage. There were several beams, all radiating from the same spot.



I then started on my way back to the train station, and found a most humorous marquee offering drinks for that evening.

When I got back to the train station, I heard a rather large, but not tall lady talking to the air. I realized she was talking to a Bluetooth phone. She was whining about how the "rednecks" couldn't take the election away after Obama was declared to be the winner. Another group, behind me, said "They can't steal this one". However, the train ride home was uneventful, and actually pretty quiet. Quite the change (heh) from the blaring of car horns and shouting along Michigan Avenue.

So What About Raiding The Public Pensions, is CTA Pension Next, Mr. Governor?

King Richard II is calling on Blago to find money for the CTA health care and pension plans.

He said workers have done everything they can. Now it's up to the state to fund their pension and health care deal.
-NBC 5, Chicago

Do we really want Blago's hand in any pension plans? He raided the state's pension plan to fund his pet projects and make it appear liek he was balancing the budget. Not that I'm in favor of using more taxes for the CTA, but we don't need the governor's hands in yet another pension plan.

Mass Transit Meeting "Unproductive Shouting"

From the Springfield Journal-Register, House Speaker Michael Madigan left a meeting about funding Chicagoland's mass transit, declaring it to be little more than "unproductive shouting". King Richard II, by contrast, felt "optimistic". The meeting was between Daley, Madigan, and Blagojevich, and other legislative leaders in Chicago.

I, for the record, support cleaning house in each of the RTA's agencies first, then raising fares so they can support themselves without any band-aid fixes or more taxes.

Taxalicious Chicago

The Chicago City Council passed a large tax and fee increase today, in hopes of funding their $5.9 million budget starting January 1, 2008, according to the Chicago Tribune. Here's the SunTimes story.

What does this mean for Chicago residents?

1. The tax on beer, wine, and liquor will increase. About half of that drink you have at the bar is purely taxes. I think I'll have a tax and coke, please.

2. The city property tax increases by $86 million, total.

3. Bring your own bottled water into the city. That now has a tax of 5 cents a bottle.

4. Don't run red lights (or yellows) unless you can afford it. Those fines increase, and Dalye wants more cameras.

5. If you own an SUV, be prepared to pay more for a city sticker. $30 more a year, and more than a smaller car.

6. Watch where you park. Fines for illegal parking are increasing under King Richard II's new taxing budget.

This is on top of what the Cook County Board will add in taxes. This town needs a tax revolt like Michael Moore needs liposuction.

MAYOR DALEY’S $276.5 MILLION REVENUE PLAN BY THE NUMBERS
• $83.4 million property tax increase costing owner of a home sold for $250,000 roughly $60 more a year.
• $43.9 million increase in water rates.

• $20.8 million increase in sewer fees. Combined water and sewer increase costs the owner of the average single-family home $45 more each year.

• $10.5 million by imposing a new five-cent tax on each container of bottled water.

• $12 million liquor tax increase that’ll add seven cents to the cost of a six-pack of beer, two or six cents to a bottle of wine, depending on the liquor content, and 22 cents to a liter of hard liquor.

• $48 million by doubling — to $2.50 — the monthly surcharge on telephone bills.

• $24 million by raising the tax on lease transactions from 6 to 8 percent. It’ll add $4 to a $200 car rental fee and a dime to a $5 DVD rental.

• $8.7 million by raising 32 different parking fines. Individual increases range from 11 to 140 percent.

• $3.8 million by increasing the fine for being caught on camera running a red light from $90 to $100 and $5.7 million by installing red light cameras at 20 more intersections.

• $1 million by raising billboard fees and cracking down on illegal signs. Signs located on the premises of a business go from $75 to $200. Larger, off-premise billboards go from $75 to $500.

• $3.5 million by imposing a 25-cent development fee on every square foot of buildable floor area.

• $1.6 million by raising — from 1.50 to $2 — the cost of a strip of tickets to Taste of Chicago, Blues, Jazz and Celtic festivals.

• $6.2 million by raising the cost of a city sticker for SUV owners from $90 to $120.

• $3.9 million by raising the natural gas use tax from 5.2 cents to 6.3 cents per therm.

- Chicago SunTimes

State Police Probe Blago Donation

According to the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois State Police are investigation some campaign contributions made in order to stave off an on-going fraud investigation.

Harish Bhatt, owner of Basinger's Pharmacy in Joliet, is at the center of this investigation for donating $25,000 to Blagojevich during this time. Bhatt has made other contributions to Illinois Democrats as evidenced on Campaign Money.com.

The Free Will Blog asks How Corrupt is the City of Chicago? Well, it isn't just the city, it's the whole dang state right now.

How much deeper could this get, and could Blago end up as Ryan's bunkmate?