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May 24, 2012
Emanuel walks out of news conference when asked about Ricketts and Wrigley reno
Oh, yes, Rahm Emanuel is going to milk this Ricketts family controversy over anti-Obama ads for all it's worth:
Mayor Rahm Emanuel laughed and then walked out of a news conference on Wednesday when asked why he has not returned an apologetic phone call from [Tom] Ricketts after revelations surfaced about his father's involvement in a conservative SuperPAC considering a $10 million plan to attack the president by resurrecting the Rev. Jeremiah Wright controversy.
The mayor also refused to say whether he believes the political controversy caused by family patriarch Joe Ricketts' SuperPAC would sabotage the Cubs' appeal for a $150 million taxpayer subsidy to help renovate Wrigley Field.
Ricketts later told a radio interviewer that "the mayor's got a lot on his plate" and "I'm cool with whatever timing works," which makes it sound like he's prepared to take his lumps in public over this so long as eventually he's allowed back into Emanuel's good graces. The best bet here is still that negotiations over a Wrigley Field renovation — which, notwithstanding what the Chicago Sun-Times says above, could actually involve as much as $300 million in taxpayer subsidies — will eventually pick up where they left off.
In the meantime, it would be nice if the Chicago media would use the added time to investigate how the renovation finances would work, how it would affect revenue for both the Cubs and the city, and what it would mean for the look and feel of Wrigley. But reporting on Rahm's daily hissy fit is more fun, and easier.
I'm in Boston, not Chicago, so I haven't read everything about plans for Wrigley, but it would be good if the Chicago media investigated actual plans for a renovation and who is paying for it as well as news conference dramas. In the past month, SFP! had been asked about the 'Fenway Plan' which, apparently is perceived as merely blocking off a street and slapping on advertisements in the ballpark...and nothing about treatment of the structure, care taken to preserve historic elements or creative use of existing square footage. However, in the long fight to save Fenway, we had outspoken puppets and people dressed in hot dog and Santa suits at various meetings and hearings so Chicago may have a ways to go to fully experience the fun of ballpark and taxpayer money saving.
Posted by Erika on May 24, 2012 08:51 AM
Neil,
Ben Joravsky & Mick Dumke at the Chicago alternative "The Reader," have been doing very good reporting on Rahm & financing as well as Daley's & now Rahm's use of TIF Financing for damn near everything in the city.
What will likely go down is that Rickett's will give a nice "donation" to the Rahm political war-chest, and coincidentally, negotiations will begin anew, the Chicago & Illinois taxpayers will once again get soaked, and all we'll hear about from Rahm & Rickett's at the Press Conferences (with plastic smiling faces on all) will be all the "job creation" that the massive taxpayer funded renovations will provide...Union heads will get behind it...because they can go to the rank & file and say, "we have work for you."
It's all a shell game.
Posted by Dan M on May 24, 2012 12:08 PM
Neil,
Ben Joravsky & Mick Dumke at the Chicago alternative "The Reader," have been doing very good reporting on Rahm & financing as well as Daley's & now Rahm's use of TIF Financing for damn near everything in the city.
What will likely go down is that Rickett's will give a nice "donation" to the Rahm political war-chest, and coincidentally, negotiations will begin anew, the Chicago & Illinois taxpayers will once again get soaked, and all we'll hear about from Rahm & Rickett's at the Press Conferences (with plastic smiling faces on all) will be all the "job creation" that the massive taxpayer funded renovations will provide...Union heads will get behind it...because they can go to the rank & file and say, "we have work for you."
It's all a shell game.
Posted by Dan M on May 24, 2012 12:09 PM
Word Dan. Rahm must do the deal with Ricketts, lest he put his streak of irritating taxpayers and public sector workers in jeopardy.
Posted by Chris on May 25, 2012 10:47 AM