Tag Archives: rahm emanuel

Politics

ABC Refuses To Air Anti-Rahm Emanuel Commercial

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By Patrick Howley

The ABC network refuses to air a commercial criticizing Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel even though other networks are running the spot, The Daily Caller has learned.

As Emanuel seeks re-election in the Chicago mayoral run-off next week, the Republican-leaning Real Chicago PAC produced an ad highlighting reported instances of Emanuel’s corruption and crony capitalism, including his promotion of the transportation company Uber, in which his brother Ari is a major investor.

“We sent the commercial to the local Fox affiliate. They vetted it, they checked every single quote and every single headline to make sure it was accurate and they ran it on the night of the [mayoral] debate,” Real Chicago PAC chairman Bill Kelly told TheDC. Kelly noted that NBC also approved the ad. But the ad will not appear on ABC 7, Chicago’s highest-rated local network. And that decision came down from ABC’s national corporate infrastructure.

When Real Chicago PAC representative Laura Grock sent the commercial to ABC, Philadelphia-based Dee Parker of the network’s national sales office sent the video to its legal department, based in New York City. Parker then emailed Grock on Wednesday and demanded that the ad be changed.

ABC took issue with the ad’s claim that Emanuel made $18 million in three years as an investment banker between 1999 and 2002 for almost no work and that he used the mayoralty to turn brother Ari Emanuel’s Uber investment into a billion dollars. The ad’s makers cited multiple press articles to provide what they claim is factual basis for their assertions.

“Two of the track lines need to be revised, or this ad cannot air:” ABC’s Parker wrote in her email to Grock.

“1. There is no support for the phrase: for almost no work,” Parker wrote.

“2. There is no support for the claim, as phrased, that: He used his position to turn his brother’s investment in Uber into a billion dollars,” Parker added.

“If they took out the phrase ‘for almost no work,’ and rewrote the Uber allegation to take out the causation and the amount claims [to something like: ‘He used his position to favor his brother’s investment in Uber’],” Parker continued, without elaborating further.

Grock refused to change the commercial.

“No, we won’t change the ad — especially not at this date. The Chicago Magazine article substantiates our claim as to the ‘almost no work’ and the valuation on the Uber stock has been discussed in the media,” Grock replied.

In response to ABC’s first problem with the ad, Grock cited a Chicago Magazine article detailing Emanuel’s leisurely relationship with private equity mogul Bruce Rauner and a Chicago Reader article that reported, “In that period [1999-2002] Emanuel made about $18 million, putting together deals by tapping connections he made in the White House.”

As for ABC’s objection to the bit about Uber and Emanuel’s investor brother? Grock cited a Chicago Sun-Times piece revealing Emanuel’s brother’s stake in Uber and detailing the company’s massive expansion in Chicago after Emanuel was elected mayor in 2011.

Reached by TheDC, ABC’s Parker confirmed the email exchange but declined to speak on the record.

“That commercial should be running on ABC today,” Real Chicago PAC chairman Kelly told TheDC. “I want them to run that commercial all day until the polls close on Tuesday. They’re refusing. I think they’re being incredibly unfair and duplicitous.”

Emanuel voted early, presumably for himself, Thursday morning. When he showed up to the polling place, he referred to the crowd of reporters surrounding him as “my family.”

Emanuel leads opponent Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in Tuesday’s run-off.

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US

Chicago City Council approves minimum wage hike

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An ordinance brought before the Chicago City Council to raise the minimum wage to $13 an hour was overwhelmingly approved Tuesday by a vote of 44-5.

Currently, the minimum wage in Chicago is $8.25, and under the new ordinance this will rise to $10 an hour by next July and continue to rise by fifty cents every year until 2019.

The ordinance cites the rising levels of inflation for the need to raise the minimum wage.  Specifically, the ordinance says, “rising inflation has outpaced the growth in the minimum wage, leaving the true value of lllinois’ current minimum wage of $8.25 per hour 32 percent below the 1968 level of $10.71 per hour (in 2013 dollars).”

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said, according to the Chicago Tribune, the minimum wage increase is “part of an economic strategy to make sure that work pays … and not only that work pays — simple — but no parent that works should raise a child in poverty.”

While some groups such as the Raise Chicago Coalition applauded the raising of the wage, others said the approval of the ordinance is a mistake.

Tom Tunney, a restaurant owner in Chicago, said, according to the Huffington Post, “How do you go from $8.25 [an hour] to $13 overnight?  You know what you do? You raise the prices and you’ve also got to find ways to do it with less help. That’s what’s going to happen.”

Alderman Bob Fioretti, however, said the ordinance does not go far enough and the minimum wage could be raised to $15 an hour.  “While I’m proud to support today’s increase in the minimum wage, we can’t stop fighting now,” said Fioretti.  “The chant in the streets here and nationwide has been ‘show me $15,’ not ‘show me $13 by 2019.'”

Politics, US

E-Cigarettes To Soon Be Banned In Chicago Restaurants & Bars

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Electronic cigarettes, usually called “e-cigarettes,” are battery-powered devices meant to simulate tobacco smoking. They work by vaporizing a liquid solution — some contain nicotine but many simply release a flavored vapor. E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular with Americans who wish to ween themselves off of normal cigarettes. At this time, there is no scientific evidence that vapor emitted from e-cigarettes is dangerous. In other words, there is no proof that the electronic devices can cause harmful secondhand smoke.

But that doesn’t stop Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual, who is moving to ban electronic cigarettes from being used indoors.

The mayor’s plan, which was recently advanced by City Counsel members, would require electronic cigarette users to smoke outside of Chicago restaurants, bars, and other buildings, along with regular cigarette smokers. Emanuel is attempting to push the new rules through the Clean Indoor Air act.

Supporters of Emanuel’s proposal claim that the ban must apply to both e-cigarettes loaded with nicotine and those with other liquid solutions. They say this is necessary since many restaurant and business owners are unable to tell the difference between e-cigarettes that use nicotine and those that do not.

Ald. Rey Colon, 35th Ward, does not support the proposed rules. He said, “It is a ban, because you’re making people go outside, you’re treating it just as you would an analogue cigarette or tobacco cigarette. You’re lumping it together in the same category even though you don’t really have any proof that it has any harm. You’re saying ‘We’re going to regulate first and ask questions later.’”

Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward, agrees with Colon. Reilly said, “I’m certainly not here to defend Big Tobacco. They’re done enough harm in this country. But I do have friends and family members who are using (e-cigarettes) to quit, to get away from combustible tobacco that kills people.”

Emanuel’s plan also requires the electronic smoking devices to be sold behind store counters. Supporters of the rules claim this will make young people less likely to start smoking e-cigarettes. The Chicago Tribune pointed out that the “cartridges that can be loaded into the e-cigarettes can be bought in candy-like flavors that critics say are enjoyable for kids who then get hooked on conventional smokes.”

What do you think of Emanuel’s plan — is it a good idea, or merely another step towards a true nanny state?

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