November 22, 2009
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November 02, 2009

Taking care of the home folks - Chicago style

Ed Lasky
A president is supposed to represent all of America. Recall Senator Obama made his mark in a speech that began his presidential plans when he said at the 2004 Democratic convention that there was not a red America or a blue America but only a United State of America.

Well some states are more deserving in Obama's America: one of them being Illinois, his home base, the home base of powerful Democrat Senator Dick Durbin, and of Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff.

Illinois seems to be primus inter pares - first among equals. Pay to play politics is alive and well. Chicago may no longer have stockyards, but we sure get a lot of pork in this neck of the woods. The rest of the nation is enriching the very blue state of Illinois, and beefing up the political fortunes of Democrats in that state At the same time, teachers' unions are being richly rewarded for their support for Barack Obama and the Democrats. Money is flowing towards teachers while the rest of the nation faces 10% unemployment for many months to come.

Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, Barack Obama's friend and formerly superintendent of Chicago schools, must be all smiles as well, as is pointed out in Politico's Playbook:

 

 

'Stimulus gave state 16,000 school, highway jobs,' by Jared S. Hopkins: 'A quick drive around Chicago - on an interstate or neighborhood streets - and a driver quickly sees signs advertising the $787 billion federal stimulus at work on roads. But it is in the classroom where the impact might be felt most. Of the 24,448 jobs created or retained in Illinois from the historic spending package, the state reported that 14,330 jobs were in the education sector. According to figures released Friday by federal officials, the state had the seventh- most stimulus-related jobs of a total 640,329 across the country through the end of September. The new numbers also showed Illinois to be among the leading states in stimulus funding received by state and local agencies, nonprofits and private companies. The $2.5 billion received in Illinois was second only to California's $8.1 billion, according to the figures.

 

 



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