Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Business in Chicago....Mr. Z and first-hand experience

When the news hit today about the corruption in the governor of Illinois's office, I remembered that Mr. Z had had an experience in Chicago and wanted him to share it with us:

The events of the day warrant a look-back at my own experience with Chicago business. Nothing appears to have changed.

It was in the middle 1980's that I went to Chicago to respond to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a public works project. We had a transportation system to offer, and I went there together with one of the largest engineering companies in the country to inspect the project and hold discussions with the agency in charge of the project.

The RFP requested a portion of 25% of the contract volume to be subcontracted with certified minority-owned companies. We received a list of companies which were certified by the agency. The list was comprised only of Black-owned companies in Chicago. Having just moved from Germany, this principle was strange to me so I consulted with my partners to determine what that meant. The answer was that we had to consider that the work we would be paying these minority-owned companies for would not actually be done by these companies and we would have to contract with other companies to do the actual work and pay them as well.

It was later explained to me by my partners that this funneling of moneys through such enterprises was a "normal" Chicago procedure and that nothing worked there without it. We decided not to participate in this process. Mr. Z

Here is a link; http://chicagoargus.blogspot.com/....it's by a Chicagoan Hispanic writing about what Blagojevich ought to do as of December 2, before he was exposed. "Should they have a Latino? Is it Illinois' responsibility to put another Black in the Senate because (Z: Sadly) there are no non-Illinois Black senators there? (Also, sadly, that guy doesn't get many comments, because he's a very good writer even if we don't agree with his politics) The odd thing is that my linking it will not work no matter what I do. If it wasn't such a 'small potatoes' blog, I'd say his thoughts are being shut up because the articles I wanted to direct you to just will not embed... strange.

This article at Huffington Post is priceless (below the fold). All the FBI needs to do is read through the names and round these people up and start asking questions about how much they offered Blagojevich at these individual meetings! An excerpt: "Sen. Dick Durbin said Friday that he does not believe race should be the sole criteria in selecting President-elect Obama's replacement in the Senate": Neither does Blagojevich.....it's HOW MUCH WILL THE CANDIDATE PAY?$$$ Then there's Bobby Rush and his demands. But, that's another subject. Or is it?

Yes, some things never change. Let's hope they do after this scandal, huh? (And Mr. Z reminds me to mention that there are probably some excellent Black-owned businesses in Illinois which would never agree to this kind of graft.)

UPDATE: This article in the New York Times NEVER mentions that Blagojevich is a DEMOCRAT! SURPRISE!! Picture the article if he were Republican? From Mullings.com:

  • If Govenor Blutarsky had been a Republican that fact would have appeared in the headline
  • And the lead paragraph would have been something on the order of:

  • heh heh



    Anonymous said...

    --We decided not to participate in this process. Mr. Z--

    Good for you Herr Z! I hope you let them know why. The corrupt bas-ards need to know.


    Greywolfe said...

    It's amazing to me how a city/state can change so little and have so little soul. What is wrong with the people of Ill. that they continue to allow elected officials to have such an ongoing propensity for graft and corruption?

    And seeing as how this is Barry's idea of change, what does that mean for the rest of the country over the next 4/8 years?

    Elmers Brother said...

    Michelle Malkin made the point about the "D" and "R" thing on her blog.

    shoprat said...

    Very soon the whole country will be like this. No we won't be socialist or fascist; we'll be a kleptocracy disguised as a progressive state.

    cube said...

    I can't believe that Obama, having come up in Chicago politics, isn't corrupt as well. The BO koolaid drinkers will howl that I'm being conspiratorial, but I just can't believe it.

    Of course, I'm not being fair to BO, after all Blagojevich was just someone in his neighborhood, not the Blagojevich that he knew, their kids just played together, yada yada... you know the drill.

    Z said...

    Elbro...I prefer to think geeeeZ had it first (hee hee!! What does Malkin know? HAAA!)

    Greywolfe...good point. But, maybe this'll make him realize even Chicagoan crooks aren't impervious to the truth getting out? EVEN HIM???

    Shoprat....I looked at it differently (sometimes I can be a Pollyanna)...I'm thinking not many will have the guts to cheat anymore after this.

    And CUBE: Don't be so MEAN. Obama MIGHT be the only Chicago politician who's squeaky clean...REALLY! And he MIGHT have risen to the top of the ranks on merit only!! OH, he has no merit?
    I forgot. LOL!


    Anonymous said...

    8a Set Asides are just another example of the government over-riding the free market and introducing business inefficiencies which render American companies and products non-competitive.

    There's nothing "illegal" about them. Quite the reverse. They represent business entities which would likely not exist were it NOT for the "legal" regulations and requirements which create them.

    MK said...

    The infamous Chicago politics we hear about eh. Wait till it's brought to the White House. Now that's the sort of change the closet-commie was banging on about.

    Z said...

    I wonder if this isn't the best thing that could happen for this country (Other than the economy coming back AND terrorism finally eradicated)..

    Anybody think Obama could STILL do hanky-panky when even the lib media's all over this story? (Okay, every time FOX ran it, I'd switch to CNN and they'd be doing weather..okay, not EVERY time, but two times..but CNN DID get to it...Wolf Blitzer, of course, mentioned how most scandals are Republican, he does this with every Dem scandal, but he's too stupid to realize that it's the media which covers for the Dems)...

    Anyway...WHO KNOWS? Maybe LOTS of politicians of BOTH stripes are thinking dirty deals over twice. I wouldn't be surprised if there weren't some calls this morning sounding like "Hey, you know that deal......anything in writing? No? Okay. It's off"

    They're talking about Fitzpatrick approaching Rezko in prison saying things could go easier for him if he talks, too. I hope he'll be as hard as he was on Scooter Libby.

    Ya, I'm thinking this could be good for America. a CAUTIONARY TALE, is the term I like to use. Let's hope so.

    Anonymous said...
    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
    Anonymous said...

    When you lay down with dogs you may get up with fleas. This kind of brings back the good old memories of the Clinton years. Deny, deny, deny. Until your caught!
    Does anyone smell files burning?

    Anonymous said...

    This helps to explain, I think, the answer to a question I've asked since Obama began his run for the Presidency.

    And that is: How did this guy come so far so fast? Where did he get the money, and who's providing the backing?

    Well, this is part of it. The old "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours".
    I think since he won, he owes a lot of back scratching, if you get my drift. It's for sure the Illinois Governor thought so.

    All these folks are operators, including Obama. How else did he get where he did? It looks to me that, quid pro quo is the rule in Illinois, and more specifically, Chicago.

    In a sense it's pervasive throughout politics, but there's a fine line between patronage, and extortion.

    The machine in Chicago, and evidently Illinois overall, has run things there for years. This is the danger when one party controls everything. "Absolute power, corrupts absolutely". Truer words were never spoken. Those in power come to believe they are indeed untouchable.

    A sad state of affairs, and unfortunately accepted by way too many.


    highboy said...

    People in America you'd think be tired of their government being run by backroom deals, elbow nudges, and borderline flamer winks.

    Bloviating Zeppelin said...

    Ever hear or read of the phrase: "It's the Chicago way?"