Daily Herald (Newspaper) - October 10, 2005, Chicago, Illinois MONDAY OCTOBER 10 2005 Metropolitan Chicago DAILY HERALD SECTION 1 PAGE 11 Good morning With an election coming did New York City mayor have a Chicagos reputation is second 10 none when it comes to cam aerobatics and election trickery From votes sur facing in nonexistent river wards to hundreds of people voting from a single bungalow 10 personal voting concierges for the infirm the citys dishon esty standing is simply unsurpassed Some desperate candidates around here have even been known to stage tire slashings enlist gang members to throw bricks through windows and even inflict gunshot attacks on themselves or their property to gain sympathy from the elec torate or just to impugn their opponents Such cleverness is a beloved like the Macys Christ mas windows will soon be on State Street Therefore it should be an affront to all of us that some conspiracy theorists are whis pering that New York Citys mayor would dare to attempt a campaign stunt Chuck Goudie As you know Mayor Michael Bloomberg scared the dickens out of people last week by announcing that he had solid informa tion IS terrorists were going to blow up the New York City subway system What you may not know is that Michael Bloomberg is run ning for reelection and that Election Day is four weeks from tomorrow I might not have known that either had I not been in New York a couple of weeks ago It was on a Saturday and there was a German parade under way up Fifth Avenue along Central Park Along the parade route there were some welldressed young men handing out bright blue campaign signs emblazoned with the word Mike in huge block white letters Being a somewhat curious type I took a sign to see what it was all about Upon careful inspection there was the name Bloomberg in a much smaller font and the words For Mayor It seemed odd at the time that the incumbent mayor would be running on his first name I mean youd never see Rich signs during a Daley campaign People might take that word lit For decades the only candi dates in Chicago who needed to downplay their last name were Now the only candidates in Illinois who need to be on a first name basis are those with the last name Ryan Nobody wants to be confused with former Gov George Ryan who is currently going through an untidy dure in federal court The is precisely why former Attorney General Jim Ryan emphasized Jim in a losing campaign for governor and Jack Ryan ran for the US Senate as Jack before he gave up amid a scandal of his own But there are no other running for mayor of New York and surely nobody would confuse Bloomberg with the department store Only a cynic would think that Mike doesnt want to be mixed up with the Bloomberg firm with whom he shares DNA and billions of dollars Those kinds of name games are common and understand able in todays world of politics whether were talking about New York or Chicago But Bloomberg has spent million of his own money into the campaign for his second term including mil lion on a TV and radio blitz He is running against the Democra tic candidate Fernando Ferrer who has less than million Despite the spending gap between the two Ferrer is only 15 points behind Bloomberg in the polls Some how approval rating has never gone higher than 50 percent Immediately in New York skeptics began to suggest that maybe the mayor overreacted with police security this week in an effort to burnish his image five weeks before the general election as Newsday wrote in a Saturday editorial The theory that political moti vation was behind the dire public warning was fueled by statements from the US Home land Security department in Washington that brushed aside the threat Nevertheless author in Chicago followed New Yorks lead and beefed up secu rity in our subways There is no doubt that the ter plot on New Yorks subways was real So was the sincerity with which Mayor Bloomberg and his police com missioner cautioned the citys 8 million citizens to be on guard The question is Would Bloomberg have taken the iden tical action last week had it not been so close to the election Of course he says yes but I think the correct answer may actually be planted in Chicagos lush political landscape After the great snowfall oi 1979 the one that buried the city and incumbent Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic bents everywhere learned tc never let such a preelection dis aster get in the way of victory Bloomberg was in a corner last week If he did nothing and there was an attack terrorists would have become his 79 snowstorm But by taking preemptive action Bloomberg predictably faced charges that he acted for political reasons Im going to err on the side oi being cautious Bloomberg said Chicagos late Mayor Mike B couldnt have said it any better Chuck Goudie whose column appears each Monday is the chief investigative reporter at Chicago The views in this column are his ciin and not those He can be reached at Congressional spouses now breaking the mold with job choices O 1 o Work Can Create 0ceupatiQns of spouses members m Illinois congressional delegation Associated Press WASHINGTON A Guatemalan lawmaker a State house lobbyist an admitted felon all have one thing in common Theyre married to members of the Illinois congres delegation The days are long gone when the typical politicians spouse was a stayathome mom whose main job outside the home was to help on campaigns and smile adoringly at the candidate Now those spouses pursue all kinds of careers Democratic Sen Barack wife Michelle is a vice president at the University of Chicago Hospitals Kathy LaHood wife of GOP Rep Ray LaHood is a business manager for Goodwill Industries in Peoria Democratic Rep Danny Davis and GOP House Speaker Denny Hastert are married to retired teachers With more congressional spouses working in more profes sions politicians sometimes have to tiptoe through a mine field of potential headaches from simple image problems to possible violations of ethics rules Rep Jerry Wetter a Republican on the House International Rela tions Committee last year sought advice from the House Ethics Committee before marry ing Zury Rios Sosa a Guatemalan senator and daugh ter of a former Guatemalan dictator Weller spokesman Chris Kennedy said the guidance was important because Weller was about to become the first Con gress member ever to marry a member of another nations leg body The committee said he had a duty to vote on bills unless he had a direct inter est in the outcome In July Weller helped the House pass the Central Ameri can Free Trade Agreement which would eventually elimi nate trade barriers between the United States and six nations including Guatemala Campaign manager Steve Shearer said the congressman was a wellknown supporter of such legislation even before his marriage Sen Dick Durbin also con an ethics committee over his wifes career In 1997 when Loretta Durbin wanted to start a lobbying firm representing clients before local and state government the Democratic senator asked about the propriety of being married to a lobbyist The committee replied that there was nothing improper about it Four years later Durbin used his clout on the Senate Committee to approve a grant for the Ameri can Lung Association of Illinois one of his wifes clients The money was to improve a tobacco and run an out reach program for military veterans Again Durbin had a question This time he supplied the answer himself I did step back and I thought for a second Now Loretta rep resents the Illinois Lung Association Would I have done this anyway And the answer was clearly yes said Durbin a longtime critic of tobacco whose father died of lung cancer I just didnt think it was fair to say that these veterans wouldnt get a helping hand because the Illinois Lung Association worked with my wife on state issues Durbin and his wife said they did not talk to each other about the grant and the Lung Associa tion said it approached the senator directly because of their Alan Rosenthal a professor of political science at Rutgers Uni versity and author of Drawing the line a study of state legisla tive ethics said the Weller and Durbin examples are clearly not conflicts of interest because the politicians involved would have done what they did regardless of their spouses Would the senator try to get a grant bring home the bacon if the wife were not a lobbyist Of course he said Other Congress members said their spouses careers present no conflict in their jobs Rep Luis Gutierrez is the senior Democrat on the House Financial Services Oversight and Investigation Subcommit tee His wife has worked in the banking field for years and recently registered as an Illi lobbyist for Popular Securities Inc listing several state agencies as potential clients for the companys under writing services Gutierrez said his wifes work is limited to Illinois whereas his committee addresses federal issues I just dont have a conflict Gutierrez said I didnt tell her you have to give up your career you love for the career I love Rep Jan Schakowsky found her spouses legal problems in the spotlight in part because of her career Her husband Robert Creamer who runs a polit ical consultant firm recently pleaded guilty to a 1997 check kiting scheme involving Illinois Public Action a consumer rights group he once ran His wife is not accused of any wrongdoing Creamer opened Strategic Consulting Group just before Schakowsky became a congress SENATE 1 Democratic Sen Dick Durbin wife is coowner of a lobbying firm Government Affairs Specialists inc that does work on behalf of clients with interests in state and local governments but is not registered as a federal lobbyist 2 Democratic Sen Barack wife is vice president for community and external affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals HOUSE numbered by congressional 1 Democratic Rep Bobby Rush wife works in Illinois Treasurer Judy Chicago office 2 Democratic Rep Jesse Jackson Jr wife does training work for the Democratic National Committee 3 Democratic Rep Dan Lipinski wife is an actuary for Coventry Healthcare in Bethesda Md 4 Democratic Rep Luis Gutierrez wife does marketing for Popular Securities Inc a wholly owned subsidiary of a Puerto Rican company She is also registered as an Illinois lobbyist for the company and has listed several state agencies as potential clients 5 Democratic Rep Rahm Emanuel wife is a homemaker 6 Republican Rep Henry Hyde widower 7 Democratic Rep Danny Davis wife is retired teacher and treasurer for his campaign committee 8 Democratic Rep Melissa Bean husband has an executive search firm that specializes in the food industry particularly in finding midlevel managers for companies 9 Democratic Rep Jan Schakowsky husband is a political consultant with his own firm in Chicago He has pleaded guilty to committed in 1997 related to his former job as director of a consumer group Illinois Public Action 10 Republican Rep Mark Kirk wife is a law school student at Northwestern University 11 Republican Rep Jerry Weller wife is a member of the Guatemalan legislature and adviser to her father former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt 12 Democratic Rep Jerry Costello wife is an assistant superintendent in the SI Clair County Regional Office of Education 13 Republican Rep Judy Biggert husband is an attorney specializing in personnel matters 14 Republican Rep Dennis Hastert wife is retired teacher 15 Republican Rep Timothy Johnson divorced 16 Republican Rep Donald Manzullo wife is a substitute school teacher 17 Democratic Rep Rep Lane Evans single 18 Republican Rep Ray LaHood wife is business manager at Goodwill Industries in Peoria woman some seven years ago The couple say they have never faced a situa tion in part because his firm handles candidates and progres sive causes that Schakowsky supports too I would never take a client or work for a client that was essen trying to get some private interest legislation passed in Washington Creamer said Freshman Rep Dan Lipinski a Chicago Democrat said he ben from his wifes experience as an actuary for Coventry Health care in Bethesda Md She avoids telling him how to vote he said Juice boxes recalled The Ceres Food Group pulled juice boxes from nearly 350 schools in greater Cook County pend ing the outcome of a contamination investigation Cases of the Country Pure Foods juice were recalled because 17 at Forest Trail Middle School in Park Forest were hospitalized after drinking mixed fruit juice boxes last week Two of the Park Forest students vomited and the rest complained of mild stomach cramps and lightheadedness All were treated and released day and have returned to school Ceres sent an unopened box of the juice to DonLevy Laboratories in Mer riville kid for testing and the Chicago food company said it is not serving juice at any of the 30 school districts it supplies until results are final Fundraiser for Ernst family Nicks Pizza and Pub in Elgin will host a fundraiser Tuesday to benefit the family of Tibor Ernst owner of Mels Deli in East Dundee Ernst has termi nal cancer and his wife Missy recently gave birth to a daugh ter Nicks 990 S Randall Road in Elgin will donate 15 percent of its sales to the fund from 11 am to midnight Tuesday S Elgin man arrested for DUi A 28yearold South Elgin man was arrested early Sunday morning after ignoring a red light and crashing into an oncoming vehicle according to police reports Ryan Willis 9 Windsor Circle was driving south on Liberty at am when he drove through the intersection at Summit and hit Buffalo Grove resident Helen Hebels Subaru Legacy According to reports Willis said he spilled his beer and reached to get it when he ran the tight Hebel was sent to Sherman Hospital with minor injuries Willis was arrested after failing drunk dri ving tests He was ticketed for disobeying traffic signals no proof of insurance failure to reduce speed and driving under the influence of alcohol His date was set for 9 am 26 No one hurt in apartment fire No one was hurt Sunday morn ing after a fire broke out in a St Charles apartment complex at 1408 E Main St Fire officials are still investigating the blaze which began in a secondfloor apartment of a building The apart ments resident escaped unaided St Charles fire said in a statement Fire departments from St Charles Geneva and Batavia responded to the call at am immedi ately beginning rescue operations and helping four occupants out of the building The fire took 20 minutes to put out Officials estimate damage at to the buildings structure and to its contents Raging Waves on agenda The Sugar Grove village board will begin to take up the issue of the proposed Raging Waves Water Park at a meeting at 6 pm Tuesday in the Community College audito rium Route 47 and Drive Sugar Grove The public can attend but public com ment will not be heard at the meeting it will be taken at a future meeting Village board members will hear a presenta tion by developer the Lundmark Group 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