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Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:42 pm
by GreenGoo
tjg_marantz wrote:
Moliere wrote:
LawBeefaroni wrote:Also, any cigarette black market that exists is due to taxes, not age restrictions. This new law won't change the cigarette black market at all.
Really? You don't think 18, 19, and 20 year olds are not going to buy cigarettes on the black market? This age extension is a boon for illegal cigarette dealers. Hell, they probably lobbied for it.
They will but he's right. Bootleg is about taxes.
Certainly in Canada.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 4:03 pm
by Kraken
Jeff V wrote:
Then again, back then my high school had student smoking sections.
Ah, the good ol' days. My HS brought the smoking lounge indoors because the outdoor smoking corner doubled as the school drug market.

The really progressive teachers let us smoke in class. I spent most of my time in one math class playing chess and smoking cigarettes. I didn't learn much math but I had a good attitude toward it.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 12:08 pm
by Jeff V
Kraken wrote:
Jeff V wrote:
Then again, back then my high school had student smoking sections.
Ah, the good ol' days. My HS brought the smoking lounge indoors because the outdoor smoking corner doubled as the school drug market.

The really progressive teachers let us smoke in class. I spent most of my time in one math class playing chess and smoking cigarettes. I didn't learn much math but I had a good attitude toward it.
Oh, everyone used the smoking area...very few were smoking cigarettes though. :ninja:

None of the teachers allowed it class (although there was instances of weed being smoked in chemistry class, particularly when other things burned to mask the smell), but in college one of my classes talked the teacher into letting us smoke during the 3.5 hour final exam. It was as small room, most of the 30 or so students smoked, the teacher did not and was noticeably green by the end.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:07 pm
by Zarathud
Rumors are that an Illinois budget deal for the schools through December is close.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2016 10:30 pm
by LawBeefaroni
Moliere wrote:
LawBeefaroni wrote:Also, any cigarette black market that exists is due to taxes, not age restrictions. This new law won't change the cigarette black market at all.
Really? You don't think 18, 19, and 20 year olds are not going to buy cigarettes on the black market? This age extension is a boon for illegal cigarette dealers. Hell, they probably lobbied for it.
They won't buy on the black market. They'l ask someone who is 21 to buy them a pack. Or they'll drive a few miles to Indiana to buy cheap cartons like everyone else.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 9:28 am
by coopasonic
I didn't think kids smoked tobacco anymore. Don't they use those pipe thingies? (I don't know the right words, I just see them at the smoking areas at work)

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2016 9:30 am
by stessier
I believe they are vaping these days.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2016 4:51 pm
by Isgrimnur
Politico
In a stunning defeat to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a federal judge on Tuesday refused to shave any time off his 14-year prison sentence that remains the highest ever in the state for a public corruption case.
...
Blagojevich had pleaded for a new sentence of five years in prison, of which he’s already served 4 ½ years.

However, U.S. District Judge James Zagel remained unmoved by both emotional testimony and legal arguments by the defense. “He claims he did not accept cash bribes … for this reason he sees himself as less morally culpable,” Zagel said. “I don’t draw such a clear moral distinction.”

Zagel said he believed in a case like Blagojevich’s, with such “high stakes,” the deterrence often lies with the court.

Blagojevich’s attorney Len Goodman had argued that Blagojevich’s crimes were errors in judgment and wrong, but did not rise to the level of other politicians who had pocketed huge sums of cash, taken Rolex watches, Ferraris or lavish trips.
...
Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Bonamici depicted Blagojevich as a greedy politician interested only in his own future.

“The dismissal of five counts in no way diminishes the … seriousness” of the convictions against him. And while she was moved by Blagojevich’s children, she said: “We cannot forget the people of Illinois.”

Bonamici said all the letters from inmates “also show something crucial: Even after four and a half years in prison,” he hasn’t taken true acceptance of responsibility for his crimes. Bonamici said Blagojevich had only apologized for “mistakes” but “has never acknowledged his criminal conduct.”

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:58 am
by Moliere
Cook County goes after small venues for back taxes, arguing their bookings don't count as live music or culture
Cook County is attempting to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes from several small Chicago music venues, claiming that the establishments should not have been exempt from a county amusement tax because the shows they book do not constitute "live cultural performances."

County code stipulates that venues with a capacity of 750 or fewer are exempt from a 3 percent tax on cover and ticket charges so long as the admission fees are for "live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances."
Rock, Rap, and Country are not cultural performances?

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:07 am
by Isgrimnur
Over here, too.
County code stipulates that venues with a capacity of 750 or fewer are not subject to the tax as long as any cover charges or admission fees are for "in person, live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances." A separate section of the code defines live music and live cultural performances as "any of the disciplines which are commonly regarded as part of the fine arts, such as live theater, music, opera, drama, comedy, ballet, modern or traditional dance, and book or poetry readings."
At the heart of it, they're going to have to challenge that portion of the law and have it invalidated, as the code specifies what constitutes 'fine art'.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:34 am
by Rip
Isgrimnur wrote:Over here, too.
County code stipulates that venues with a capacity of 750 or fewer are not subject to the tax as long as any cover charges or admission fees are for "in person, live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances." A separate section of the code defines live music and live cultural performances as "any of the disciplines which are commonly regarded as part of the fine arts, such as live theater, music, opera, drama, comedy, ballet, modern or traditional dance, and book or poetry readings."
At the heart of it, they're going to have to challenge that portion of the law and have it invalidated, as the code specifies what constitutes 'fine art'.
Which is to say rich white elitist art.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 1:24 pm
by Jeff V
Rip wrote: Which is to say rich white elitist art.
And yet ticket prices for this sort of art tend to be vastly less than pop art. Why aren't the rich elites charging massively more to keep the poor away if this is the case?

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 1:46 pm
by hitbyambulance
plays and operas used to be classified as 'mass audience entertainment' back in their day. how did they get elevated thus?

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 2:27 pm
by hepcat
Movies took that spot. Especially when they realized they could show boobies.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 2:42 pm
by Jeff V
hepcat wrote:Movies took that spot. Especially when they realized they could show boobies.
I've seen several operas where boobies made a magnificent appearance.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 2:45 pm
by tjg_marantz
Jeff V wrote:
hepcat wrote:Movies took that spot. Especially when they realized they could show boobies.
I've seen several operas where boobies made a magnificent appearance.
that was a strip joint, sorry.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 2:45 pm
by hepcat
And how many times did the people around you have to ask you to stop looking at your phone?

edit: damn, beaten to the punch

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 2:51 pm
by Jeff V
tjg_marantz wrote:
Jeff V wrote:
hepcat wrote:Movies took that spot. Especially when they realized they could show boobies.
I've seen several operas where boobies made a magnificent appearance.
that was a strip joint, sorry.
A few I've seen:

Mefistofele by Arrigio Boito
Salome by Richard Strauss
Samson et Dalila by Camille Saint-Saens.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 3:09 pm
by em2nought
tjg_marantz wrote:
Jeff V wrote:
hepcat wrote:Movies took that spot. Especially when they realized they could show boobies.
I've seen several operas where boobies made a magnificent appearance.
that was a strip joint, sorry.
If anybody knows what a strip joint is, I'm pretty sure it's Jeff V. :wink:

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 3:13 pm
by hepcat
Jeff V wrote: Mefistofele @ The Hooters off I90
Salome @ The Admiral Club
Samson et Dalila @ The Pink Pony
FTFY

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2016 4:39 pm
by Jeff V
"Going to the opera" is a euphemism for going to that kind of club, but no, in these cases it was the good ol' Lyric Opera of Chicago. I know they used to (maybe still do) need a burlesque license to include nudity in the operas.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 7:48 am
by Punisher
Isgrimnur wrote:Over here, too.
County code stipulates that venues with a capacity of 750 or fewer are not subject to the tax as long as any cover charges or admission fees are for "in person, live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances." A separate section of the code defines live music and live cultural performances as "any of the disciplines which are commonly regarded as part of the fine arts, such as live theater, music, opera, drama, comedy, ballet, modern or traditional dance, and book or poetry readings."
At the heart of it, they're going to have to challenge that portion of the law and have it invalidated, as the code specifies what constitutes 'fine art'.
Not sure where the disconnect is with the county... It specifically says music... What the county may do is to further define music to their liking, but that is just a lawsuit against them waiting to happen.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 8:18 am
by Rip
Punisher wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:Over here, too.
County code stipulates that venues with a capacity of 750 or fewer are not subject to the tax as long as any cover charges or admission fees are for "in person, live theatrical, live musical or other live cultural performances." A separate section of the code defines live music and live cultural performances as "any of the disciplines which are commonly regarded as part of the fine arts, such as live theater, music, opera, drama, comedy, ballet, modern or traditional dance, and book or poetry readings."
At the heart of it, they're going to have to challenge that portion of the law and have it invalidated, as the code specifies what constitutes 'fine art'.
Not sure where the disconnect is with the county... It specifically says music... What the county may do is to further define music to their liking, but that is just a lawsuit against them waiting to happen.
and what constitutes unacceptable.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/26/or ... music.html
Teri Brady, the senior director of transportation in the district, sent a memo to bus drivers in March ordering them to stop playing “religious, rap music or talk show programs.” The only acceptable music to play was pop, country and jazz, according to The Oregonian.

The paper reported that a parent, Colleen Ryan-Onken, obtained a copy of the directive and began to send it around to parents this month. Parents’ outrage over the memo forced the district to walk back on their order.

"We regret the way this was communicated. Our intent is to limit student exposure to religious teachings, profanity and violent lyrics," Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Courtney Westling said in a statement. “The transportation department will be revising its guidance to bus drivers shortly to be more inclusive of different genres of music."

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2016 2:16 pm
by Moliere
City insider given 10 years in prison for red light cameras scandal
John Bills, the insider convicted in one of the most brazen City Hall corruption cases in Chicago’s storied history of graft, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday by a federal judge who decried the damage done to public faith in government.

Bills’ voice broke with emotion as he acknowledged “ethical and moral” mistakes, but he denied masterminding the massive bribery scheme in exchange for growing the city’s controversial network of red light cameras into the largest in the nation.

The 10-year prison term marked one of the stiffest ever handed down in Chicago’s federal court to a non-elected public official for corruption.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 6:11 pm
by Isgrimnur
WaPo
The former Illinois congressman whose Capitol Hill office was decorated in the style of the TV show “Downton Abbey,” and whose six-pack abs landed him on the cover of Men’s Health, was indicted Thursday on charges that he misspent government and campaign money for his personal benefit.

Aaron Schock, 35, had resigned from Congress last year amid reports of alleged improper spending. The Republican said in a statement that he did so “in hopes of sparing loved ones the indignity of being questioned and harassed about unfounded allegations,” but the government pursued him nonetheless.
...
Schock was charged in a 24-count indictment with wire fraud, mail fraud, theft of government funds, making false statements and filing false documents. The 52-page document spells out a broad array of misdeeds spanning 2008 to 2015.
...
The indictment alleges that Schock reimbursed himself for 150,000 miles he never drove, bought a new 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe for his exclusive use with campaign committee funds, and reimbursed himself with congressional funds for camera equipment purchased for himself and his personal photographer. It alleges that Schock used government and campaign money to take a private plane with a group to Chicago for a Bears football game, and remodeled his Illinois apartment and Capitol Hill office — paying those who did the thousands of dollars worth of work at least in part from government and campaign funds.

Schock also, according to the indictment, accused a former staffer of inappropriately accessing a friend’s social media account and falsely claimed the FBI and Capitol Police were investigating — prompting the former staffer’s father to hire a lawyer.

All told, Schock caused the government and his campaign committees to lose more than $100,000, authorities said.
...
Schock was once a rising star in the Republican Party. He was a prolific fundraiser, generating more than $6 million for his 2012 and 2014 campaigns. Handsome and in good shape, his Instagram was filled with pictures of his outdoor adventures, and he once graced the cover of Men’s Health magazine.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 10:36 pm
by LawBeefaroni
Isgrimnur wrote:WaPo
The former Illinois congressman whose Capitol Hill office was decorated in the style of the TV show “Downton Abbey,” and whose six-pack abs landed him on the cover of Men’s Health, was indicted Thursday on charges that he misspent government and campaign money for his personal benefit.

Aaron Schock, 35, had resigned from Congress last year amid reports of alleged improper spending. The Republican said in a statement that he did so “in hopes of sparing loved ones the indignity of being questioned and harassed about unfounded allegations,” but the government pursued him nonetheless.
...
Schock was charged in a 24-count indictment with wire fraud, mail fraud, theft of government funds, making false statements and filing false documents. The 52-page document spells out a broad array of misdeeds spanning 2008 to 2015.
...
The indictment alleges that Schock reimbursed himself for 150,000 miles he never drove, bought a new 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe for his exclusive use with campaign committee funds, and reimbursed himself with congressional funds for camera equipment purchased for himself and his personal photographer. It alleges that Schock used government and campaign money to take a private plane with a group to Chicago for a Bears football game, and remodeled his Illinois apartment and Capitol Hill office — paying those who did the thousands of dollars worth of work at least in part from government and campaign funds.

Schock also, according to the indictment, accused a former staffer of inappropriately accessing a friend’s social media account and falsely claimed the FBI and Capitol Police were investigating — prompting the former staffer’s father to hire a lawyer.

All told, Schock caused the government and his campaign committees to lose more than $100,000, authorities said.
...
Schock was once a rising star in the Republican Party. He was a prolific fundraiser, generating more than $6 million for his 2012 and 2014 campaigns. Handsome and in good shape, his Instagram was filled with pictures of his outdoor adventures, and he once graced the cover of Men’s Health magazine.

"Will it play in Peoria?"

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 1:38 pm
by Moliere
40 shot in Chicago over the weekend
Of those who were shot, 12 died, according to multiple media reports.

The city already has been in the national spotlight for increasing gun violence in recent years. The Chicago Police Department in a statement sent via e-mail Monday night said that the majority of the shootings were attacks or retaliation during holiday gatherings by gang members.
Merry Christmas Chicago style. :shock:

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 1:51 pm
by Isgrimnur
They send you a Christmas card, you send them a Get Well card.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2017 2:53 pm
by Isgrimnur
ChiTrib
An international relations professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago has filed a lawsuit against the school, alleging he was discriminated against because he is from Korea.

Seung-Whan Choi's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, claims that after the Korean-born U.S. citizen was fired from his tenure-track position at UIC in 2011 and reinstated months later, he experienced years of discrimination and retaliation due to his race and national origin.

Choi alleges that he was ostracized and denied raises comparable to his peers in the department of political science. Choi also said he was forced to teach courses in statistics for which he is not qualified because, one department official said, "Asians, especially Koreans are very good at mathematics and statistics," according to court documents.

Additionally, Choi claims in court documents that he was forced to teach a course in Korean politics, despite having no formal education in the field.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2017 2:03 pm
by Jeff V
Well, I doubt he could have been worse teaching statistics than the Iranian guy I had as a calculus teacher at that school. When I asked what it was useful for (trying to put it in some sort of understandable context) he replied, "you use it for higher calculus." When I then said I do not need to take higher calculus, so what would I use this for (it was a requirement in my major), he simply repeated "you use it for higher calculus." :roll: That class did not go well.

That was not the only time I was subjected to a teacher that had no business being there while I was at that school. Still, the discrimination thing surprises me, the culture there was pretty diverse but come to think of it, maybe the faculty not so much? I would have thought it would have evolved for the better over the past 30 years.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:04 pm
by Moliere
Cook County, Illinois, Experiences Disastrous Rollout of Its Soda Tax
For the past two and half years, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and the Democratic controlled legislature have been unable to come to an agreement on how to address the budget deficit, much less the pension liability problem, Lucci says.

"Democrats have said they want a tax increase to pay for increased spending…the Governor has said that there needs to be economic reforms to offset that tax increase," Lucci says, "but because there is no agreement, nothing is happening."

The result is no budget and a government essentially on autopilot, unable to deliver promised funding to state vendors and local governments, he says.

The state government currently has $14.8 billion in unpaid bills. Cook County alone is owed $48.2 million, a number that was as high as $180 million just last year.

Unable to count on the state government to pony up promised funds, Lucci says most local governments are turning to tax increases. "Chicago is raising taxes like crazy," he says, "Cook County raised the sales tax."

In 2015 Cook County raised its sales tax a whole percentage point to help prop up its pension liabilities. Some twenty other Illinois communities did the same at the beginning of this year.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 3:02 pm
by Zarathud
I look forward to Governor Rauner getting kicked to the curb. Perfect example of the ineffectiveness of an authoritarian businessman who can't persuade, just demand others cave in to his demands.

There are enough solvable problems in the State of Illinois to craft a budget deal to get everyone on board, but Rauner can't even move the ball forward. Even the State Republicans realize the mess they're in because of him.

The Democrats are likely to run their own business leader but JB Pritzker has taken up education and early childhood intervention and so is likely to get the State working again to advance his pet projects. Those issues are key to me in any event.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:40 pm
by Jeff V
Methinks Pritzker will be a good one; his family has a long history of community involvement and even some politics over the past century (once upon a time, I was doing volunteer work at a west side school and Karen Pritzker was chair of the volunteer board). He needs to avoid being another Madigan stooge; if he does, I can see him being a good consensus builder and successfully moving forward with his admirable pet projects.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 5:32 pm
by Moliere
After waiting two years it looks like Illinois will have a state budget.
Illinois’s Republican governor vetoed a budget plan that gained final approval from the Democratic General Assembly earlier Tuesday. But less than an hour later, the state Senate overrode his veto of the three bills in the package.

The budget now heads back to the House for an override vote as early as Wednesday. If that chamber successfully overrides Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto, the legislature will have enacted the state’s first budget in more than two years.

No other U.S. state has gone without a budget for more than a year since the Great Depression.

“The package of legislation fails to address Illinois’s fiscal and economic crisis—and in fact, makes it worse in the long run,” Mr. Rauner said in his veto message to the legislature. “Budgets in Illinois won’t be balanced or stay balanced unless our economy grows faster than our government spending. We have been ignoring that truth for 35 years.”

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Tue Jul 04, 2017 8:09 pm
by Zarathud
Rauner is an unfit Governor. A State cannot function without a budget. Pass what you can, then work to fix it later.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 7:50 am
by stimpy
Zarathud wrote:Rauner is an unfit Governor. A State cannot function without a budget. Pass what you can, then work to fix it later.
Wow.......we've really come to accept a bar set that low, huh?

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:13 am
by LawBeefaroni
Something like 40% of the state budget goes to pension and retirement, with $250B (yes, billion) in unfunded liabilities. It is an impossible situation and the only way out requires rewriting the state Constitution.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 10:20 am
by Zarathud
If you can't pass a budget, the bar doesn't exist. Rewriting the Constitution will not happen if there's not enough leadership to vote on the state's finances.

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 11:26 am
by stimpy
LawBeefaroni wrote:Something like 40% of the state budget goes to pension and retirement, with $250B (yes, billion) in unfunded liabilities. It is an impossible situation and the only way out requires rewriting the state Constitution.
God forbid they try and fix that shit show.
Just keep digging in our pockets. I've still got enough left over from my paycheck to afford 1 round of golf per month.
I'm bleeding money!!!! Come and get it, Illinois!!!

Re: The proud tradition of Illinois

Posted: Wed Jul 05, 2017 1:03 pm
by Jeff V
A sack of spoiled meat wrote:
“Budgets in Illinois won’t be balanced or stay balanced unless our economy grows faster than our government spending. We have been ignoring that truth for 35 years.”
And I guess our economy will never grow until the millionaires and billionaires of our state have suitably gilded their job creation chambers in 18k gold, studded with diamonds, rubies, and other precious gems.