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Legal Guides
Sep
26
The on-going political corruption investigations in Illinois continue:
Illinois’ governor Rod Blagojevich might be indicted — the evidence is there say the feds, the question is when will the axe drop, according to WBBM CBS Chicago.
Another investigation is looking into a grant that then Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama obtained for an Englewood botanic garden that was never built, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
Corruption in Illinois politics is equal opportunity — a Republican governor fell under the weight of political corruption.
There’s something in Chicago’s and Illinois’ political water that causes many to stumble and fall. Maybe it’s all of those fixers and fundraisers and all of the favors that end up being owed to them as they help political leaders rise in power and office? A little boost here could mean a favor is owed years later when someone rises into a position where they have some pull.
As the investigations continue onward, one can only hope that whatever it is that causes so many political officials in Illinois’ system to go bad can be excised. One can also hope that the corruption can be contained and kept from spreading beyond Illinois and Northwest Indiana.
Jul
11
Local Gov’t Officials Censoring Newspaper’s Forum?
Filed Under Democratic Party, Hammond Indiana, Lake County, Northwest Indiana Times, corruption, life online | 9 Comments
The Northwest Indiana Times calls on a local Democratic party mayor to stop censoring its message boards after it discovered IP addresses leading back to Hammond, Indiana’s government.
Supporters of Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. who have been interfering with public discourse on Hammond issues need to be reined in. And the one to reel them is the mayor himself.
Unfettered public dialogue on the issues is one of the founding principles of democracy. It’s important enough that the Founding Fathers put it in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
And yet that public discourse has been under attack in Northwest Indiana. Comments unfavorable toward McDermott have been under attack on The Times message boards.
It’s a sad day in America when a newspaper has to ask a government official — a Democratic mayor — to tell workers using government computers stop censoring items on its website.
It’s another piece of evidence that shows why it is always important to not give government officials unlimited control over our lives and our businesses because they can use their control of these things to limit our freedom and liberties. When the government feeds and takes care of people, it can also withhold those same necessities to those it does not like. If the government is so afraid of dissent it is willing to censor its opponents, what else is it willing to do to its opposition? Unfortunately, world history is replete with examples of the horrors that power-drunk governments commit on their citizens.
In the heart of anyone in a power position in government, there is the potential to become ultimately corrupt like King George III, Stalin, Pol Pot or Robert Mugabe. We’re seeing this evil tendency at work right at home when government officials censor the Northwest Indiana Times’ message board in an effort to silence the opposition.
It’s just another reason why the northern part of the county continues to lose population and businesses. Why put up with corruption, waste and now censorship when there are better places to live and work?
Jan
24
Luckily It’s Isolated
Filed Under corruption, crime, economy | Leave a Comment
A French trader loses $7.1 billion of Société Générale’s money in what could be the largest trading fraud case in history, but don’t worry because it’s an isolated incident.
What’s happening to our financial system?
Reports David Jolly for the New York Times.
The French bank Société Générale said Thursday that it had uncovered “an exceptional fraud” by a trader that would cost it 4.9 billion euros, or $7.1 billion, and that it was raising about 5.5 billion euros in fresh capital to shore up its finances.
The company, one of the biggest banks in France, said in a statement that the fraud had been committed by a trader in charge of “plain vanilla” hedging on European index futures.
The trader “had taken massive fraudulent directional positions in 2007 and 2008 far beyond his limited authority,” the bank said. “Aided by his in-depth knowledge of the control procedures resulting from his former employment in the middle office, he managed to conceal these positions through a scheme of elaborate fictitious transactions.” …
The trader’s actions were found to be a case of “isolated fraud,” the bank said, and officials said they were convinced the trader had acted alone.
Jan
5
Feds Ask Mayor Clay To Step Down As GSD Admin & Taxes Could Still Rise
Filed Under COIT, Gary, Gary Indiana, Gary Sanitary District, Income Tax, Lake County Council, corruption, federal investigations, government waste, political machines, property tax crisis, tax revolt, taxes | 5 Comments
Higher fees might be the result of mismanagement of funds at the Gary Sanitary District and the Lake County Council is still talking about the premature declaration of death of the proposed Lake County income tax needed to continue business as usual.
Gary Mayor Rudy Clay refuses to quit his job as special administrator at the Gary Sanitary District, despite requests from the U.S. Attorney’s office that the mayor do so because of allegations of mismanagement of funds, reports the Post-Tribune.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has asked Mayor Rudy Clay to resign as special administrator of the Gary Sanitary District alleging mismanagement of funds, a city attorney said Friday.
Hamilton Carmouche, the attorney for the Gary Sanitary District and corporation counsel for the city of Gary, said Clay has refused the request from Assistant U.S. Attorney Wayne Ault.
Meanwhile, Carmouche said the district is likely to raise its rates for the first time in about five years. He said it probably should have happened sooner, but he said Ault put additional pressure on the commissioners.
The Post-Tribune reports “the city borrowed about $11 million from the sanitary district to cover operating expenses” in 2006.
The news of the U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation another case of mismanagement of funds within a Lake County governmental unit comes right at the time that the Lake County Council is talking about the need to “regroup” because a proposal to raise taxes was defeated by voter opposition. Councilman Will Smith’s departure — he was a key tax proponent despite his own personal opposition to taxes which resulted in a conviction — also hurt the proponents of higher Lake County taxes.
Writes Bill Dolan in the Northwest Indiana Times:
Former Councilman Will Smith Jr. worked behind the scenes last fall to pass the tax following his conviction on a federal tax fraud charge. Smith resigned last week after the tax failed. His sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday, although Smith is asking for a delay.
It’s just too bad that people didn’t see the need to sacrifice some of their hard earned money in the form of higher property taxes and a brand new income tax so that government officials and their kids can have several lucrative government jobs and money to spread around to their cronies.
It’s selfishness!
Shame on you, anti-tax protesters asking local government to cut back at a time when it is obvious that the only people who think there is waste and abuse of taxpayers’ funds are those folks at the U.S. Attorney’s Office with all of their investigations and such.
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