* Alderman Covers Up Tragedy For Campaign Contributor
""I did conduct a visual inspection of a couple of the other units in the building today. They were equipped with smoke detectors, hard-wired. So, I believe the fire department's finding of there being no smoke detectors in that apartment were preliminary," said Alderman Moore, sounding like a lawyer covering for his guilty client.
The Chicago Fire Department says there were NOT working smoke detectors in the unit.
Watching Alderman Moore being interviewed on the news just hours after the tragedy that killed six children on Marshfield - in a building of a political friend, was like watching President Bush after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans covering for the government's poor response.
Lie, lie, lie. Then lie some more. This is just another example why the man sitting in the 49th ward Alderman's seat has to go. He's out of touch with his community.
Didn't the Alderman know you need electricity to make these hard-wired smoke detector's work?
Jay Johnson, the owner of the "Death Trap on Marshfield" is a frequent Alderman Moore campaign contributor and has been notified of the tragedy. Mr. Johnson blames the Ramirez family for this tragedy on the news programs. Mr. Johnson also sits on Alderman Moore's rubber stamp - local 49th ward ward, "community" Zoning And Land Use Advisory Committee. (ZALUAC). He must have known the electricity was turned off to the 7706 North Marshfield #3 unit. ComEd is required to tell the property owner when they shut off power to a unit.
Plus, according to a source, the Ramirez family was stealing power by using a extention cord from the hallway to the apartment unit.
To say Alderman Moore didn't know Jay Johnson didn't take care of his properties - is to say Wayne Jones didn't get beaten to death in front of a Johnson property on Morse earlier this year.
The Alderman covered for Mr. Johnson then - and he's doing it again. This is a clear pattern of political cover-up. Cover up problems for your campaign contributors. Even when people die senselessly.
Campaign contributions over public safety must be Alderman Moore's motto?
Then there's this:
"Politics' didn't start this fire, but human indifference did," said Toni Duncan. She was interviewed by a WGN/Tribune reporter, who later called Toni back asking for clarification on why the Alderman would say, " not to listen to the nay-sayers, they are just politically motivated."
It's too bad these children weren't ducks or geese. Then Alderman Moore would have done something to save the children.
Donation Notes: The Ramirez family and friends have a fund set-up for today between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Howard Area Community Center at Jonquil and Paulina. Please avoid the Alderman's political fund set-up with one of his political action committee groups - RPCC. This fund is un-trustworthy, like the Alderman.
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25 comments:
Can we use official CAPS flyers to inform the residents in our beat that smoke detectors are availiable for free. Then later use our beat walk to deliver these detectors. Many buildings in our beat have smoke detectors that do not work and have the most childern in them.
The North Howard Neighbors Association is working with LaSalle Bank's Gateway Branch on Clark St. in establishing 'The Rameriz Family Fund'. We will notify everyone Tuesday A.M. of the details. Please spread the word to stay tuned!
If Joe Moore gets voted into office again then the people in the 49th ward have but themselves to blame. The fact that he is covering up the guilt of a political friend in the death of these CHILDREN is very sad as well as very wrong. It is time to vote him out! Let's not let this bullshit of joe's go on!
Progun,
Great suggestion regarding using the beat walk as a way to deliver smoke detectors. Bring batteries too!
Best to help others at a time like this. The fire department investigators will release their full report soon enough.
Meanwhile time to grieve, bury the dead and console each other.
Jay Johnson has some explaining to do. Sure, we’ll wait for the city’s official investigation results before passing judgment. But in the meantime, there are some valid questions to be asked.
First there is the question of electrical service being disconnected for months. He either knew about that or he didn’t. If he didn’t know, why not? Was he not informed by ComEd? Did he just not notice? If he did know, why didn’t he do anything about it? A responsible building manager could not accept a unit in one of his buildings to remain without electrical service for months with the understanding that a family with children was living there. A responsible owner/manager would rectify the situation, either by seeking utility payment assistance or evicting the tenants. Either action would have prevented the horrific tragedy that has occurred.
Then there is the question of the missing smoke detectors. Mr. Johnson, in an interview with the Chicago Tribune stated “…that the Marshfield unit had working detectors when the family moved there in 1998.” 1998 was eight years ago. Mr. Johnson is also quoted as saying that his company inspected the victims’ unit in September of 2005 and that detectors were present at that time - although it remains unclear as to whether or not the detectors were tested. According to Mr. Johnson “he and staff were reviewing records to determine whether they had recorded problems with those detectors.” Perhaps the city Law Department and the Department of Buildings could assist Mr. Johnson and his staff with that review.
This really makes me sick. I was once on the fence regarding Moore, but now I've fallen off. Rogers Park suffers the most — aside from the gangs and drugs — from SLUMLORDS who seem to continue to have a stronghold in thie neighborhood. I went to school here in the early 1990's and returned a few years ago to shock that, despite some condo conversions, nothing has changed. The slumlords still retain refuge here and the Alderman, who I once thought was an okay guy, seems to appease them. This makes me want to leave this neighborhood that is truly "progressive" and does not merely pretend to behave like one. A progressive neighborhood and alderman/woman addresses where the core problems like: Slumlords. Rogers Park is infected with all of them. Their ability to shine here is the real tragedy of this stagnant neighborhood.
Thomas Westgard is right on target.
The nexus of politics, lobbyists, and political financiers seems to always sell the voters short.
We have very similar problems down here in the 46th ward, with Helen Shiller. Both Helen and Joe claim to be guardians of the disenfranchised or poor, but they aren't. They encourage and use them to maintain their personal status quo.
Toss both of them out come February.
All these posts are on target.
WhatTheHelen might notice that JoMo and Helen The Commie like to pal around together.
These deaths would have been prevented with minimal code enforcement, like making sure that there were working smoke detectors.
Regarding a family of 11 with no electricity for more than a month, where in the hell were all the social services that we pay tax money to fund? Where were the DCFS social workers who are paid on our dime? Where was Family Matters? Where was Bud Ogle's Good News Mission, which receives tax funding? Where were all the people we pay to help impoverished families in this family's predicament?
It's sad when someone tries to politicize a tragedy. It's sad when someone trivializes the loss of life to take a cheap shot at a man who worked for families just like the Ramirez's when he pushed and got the Big-Box Ordinance.
This isn't about politics- Moore's comments don't seem like a cover-up to me - they seem like a man who was asked to say a statement and not having the facts just said the safest thing he could say. Cover up? Hurricane Katrina? George Bush?
Moore's comments are far off from what George Bush did andthe failures of his republica rubber stamp congress - a far cry.
What does it take to get a court action to force a notorious slumlord to sell his properties?
Jay Johnson should be forced to sell all his properties in this area, just as the notorious Jain family, former owners of 1200 W. Pratt and 3 other blighted RP properties, was.
This is in regards to my earlier comment. I'd like to start off by saying that my point of view in no way shape or form reflects the opinion of my school or the Young Democrats chapter at WYHS. I'm just one of a handful of people that has access to update our blog site.
With that said I live off Lunt and take the Morse Red Line to school about once a week (on those occasions when I miss the Metra). I'm critical of Ald. Moore too (taking that Morse Red Line is SCARY) but think that this post was a far stretch. I view it as a politicization of the event. I think it wrong to politicize the event. I would liken this post to what George Bush has done with the tragedy of 9/11. That's just my opinion. That's just how I feel.
Now as to the previous comment "You get better at it after high school." That's just a ridiculous assertion. I've lived in Chicago all 17 years of my life and know more about politics in this City then most people - let alone most adults. To think a young person speaks their mind and then a progressive shoots them down. Awesome Job!
-Carlos
Thomas Westgard is to progressives as Hugh Hefner is to feminists.
See, Young Dems, Thomas Westgard has this personality disorder that does not ever allow him to let anything go unsaid. He always has to have the last word. Go ahead--comment. He has to weigh in. He can't help it. That's why he's all over EVERYONE's blogs, especially his own where no one in particular is listening
Carlos, please try to appreciate it's not just this one sad event, OK? Please understand there is a long history to Ald. Moore's policies toward problem landlords in our community, a history that unfortunately includes many sad consequences up to & including other fatalities. Ald. Moore's policies includef appeasement of problem landlords, accepting campaign contributions from problem landlords, and acting as paid spokesperson for problem landlords. Judge people by their actions, right? Ald. Moore is in the thick of this because of his actions, not because some are politicizing anything. Saying Ald. Moore has nothing to do with this is just as unreasonable as saying he killed those kids.
I wish to join with everyone of you in expressing my sorrow for the loss of these young lives in this tragedy.
However, there will be an accounting for what took place, and responsibility needs to be assessed. Hugh is correct in noting the record of Ald. Moore and his office in being a de facto spokesman on behalf of "problem" landlords in Housing Court. There have been instances where Moore's campaign committee accepted donations from such "problem" landlords (or their management agencies) on the same date that Moore and/or his aides would speak in Housing Court on behalf of the aformentioned landlords. (You and the voters of the 49th Ward are free to draw whatever conclusions you wish.)
Time will only tell if these young victims are to Joe Moore what the Willis children turned out to be to George Ryan.
Mr. Sherman, I was thinking the same thing all weekend. I was told that Mr. Moore was on CNN at 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning and I also saw him on World News Tonight last evening...lots of coverage on this story.
Today in the Sun Times, there's an article about Daley blasting Johnson. There's this nugget in there:
"Officials of Commonwealth Edison have said they are prevented by law from sharing information about a customer’s account, so the utility could not alert the landlord about the power cutoff."
Is this a lie? Is ComEd mistaken? What is the law here?
If the smoke detector is hard-wired, wouldn't it be part of the building's account? Wouldn't the alarm go off when the electricity got shut off (somewhat like a smoke detector with a dying battery)? Maybe that is why it was removed (if it ever was there).
the fire dept found no evidence of a place where hard wired smoke detectors would be connected in that particular unit.
so either someone is mistaken or they were lying.
"We found no evidence of any smoke detectors, period. Anything can be removed, but there would have to be a place where it was hooked up and there wasn't," said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
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