http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 5637.story

"We said to Jerry, 'Jerry can we have part of the profits?' and he said no," former Gov. Jim Thompson, who was the agency's board chairman when the deal was made, said in an interview. "We said, OK.'

Boy, that Big Jim is a tough negotiator.

I wonder if they'll send me a gallon of rum and cokes for my tax money.

STAY OUT OF WHITE SOX BUSINESS!

Oh wait, that's State of Illinois business too! Bring it on!

As most of you know, I have been on this topic for YEARS, every year they get money from the state for no real reason and make up projects to spend it. After all the years, finally an article about the flow of cash and the foolish projects that Sox fans, yes Sox fans, defend as "Capital Improvements" to the park, thus making it worth more? to who? the next person we are going to sell it too? Because the market for people looking got MLB parks is so vast?

It's as crazy as Vegas?

What is surprising to me is seeing Governor Thompson throwing Jerry under the bus so quick. I guess Thompson senses this ISFA going bad and wants out?

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Let's hear WSOX say "THIS IS A DISGUSTING OUTRAGE but hey, you gotta hand it to The Chairman for going to war for his business partners like this."

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Mully and Hanley already ripped on the deal.

I read that last night as well.

Everyone not named Reinsdorf should rip the deal.

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Put on the radio just in time to hear them say "hey, Jerry did what he was supposed to." Mmhmm.

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They ripped on the deal, but really defending Jerry in all this.

Saying that Jerry is just doing what is right for his investors.

Its the exact same thing as lobbyists in Washington. Banks,Drug companies, Internet companies, donate huge sums of money and then look for favors.

It is the most corrupt part of America. Worse than thieves.

In the politiical section I have commented on Pay for Play type of scenarios on a constant basis and this is all US cell and the constant flow of cash is.

SELL IT!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Ugh.

I sorta see what they're saying. He's working the system and being a better businessman.

But I can still hate it.

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FINALLY WE AGREE!!!!!!!!! and this has been my point with Uncle Jerry for years!!!!

Except I have had to actually thank him for some of the best times of my life, so you should see how I do not hate/dislike/despise/etc him at all as Frank has stated in about 30 or so posts over the past 12 years.

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Of course that stadium deal was a fuckjob for the taxpayers. But in comparison to so many other fuckjobs it's really insignificant. And the value of a major league franchise to a city has to be part of the equation. Maybe you're of the belief that Jerry never would have moved the Sox and it was all just a bluff. Maybe you don't believe it matters if a city has any sports franchises. Maybe the Cubs are enough. But if I were going to start railing about taxpayers getting the shaft I'd start with the downtown TIF districts rather than a sweetheart deal that guaranteed a charter member of the American League staying in its original location.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Agree to a point.

Didnt even need the original deal to make sense in terms of a real lease, which it doesn't, my issue is this constant flow of cash.

SELL IT!

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"That's what the internet is for. Slandering others anonymously." Banky
“Been that way since one monkey looked at the sun and told the other monkey ‘He said for you to give me your fuckin’ share.’”

Ya..heard M&H over and over this morning "defending" Jerry in this deal....and while I can understand the angle of winning a negotiation and getting the most for your business and business partners.....they saying NOTHING about doing so on the BACKS and the SWEAT of the working man - illinois tax payers. So I guess that makes it OK because he was on the other side of the table.

Also - Heard Big Jim Thompson has 4 front row seats at the cell for every game. Wonder how that deal works? Who pays for that?

I have often referred to Comiskey / Cell as "Tax Payer Stadium" since the day it was built. Now it becomes tax payer restaurant & tax payer gift store & tax payer....yadda yadda with ALL THE FUCKING PROFITS going to Jerry and his partners and NOTHING coming back to the State??? Come the fuck on!!!! This has to illegal on some grounds while it is simply ethically and morally wrong PERIOD.

But...WSOX is sucking Jerry's cock telling evryone how great he is. Fuck Off M&H and Fuck you Thompson, you belong in prison, and Jerry...enjoy stealing from the people of illinois.

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

I sure hope you do the same for the new Cowboys stadium.

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How much of their own money did the white sox put in to build cookie cutter comiskey? zero. I think JJ put in as much as 50%. The Cowboys stadium deal is not unique. The Sox stadium deal is not only unique...it reeks of injustice to the state and the tax payers. I understand you are sox fan...but if you live in illinois, you should not like the deal they have. I know they are not alone in ALL the shady dealings going on within illinois politics...but that doesn't make their deal any less wrong.

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Proud to be UNVERIFIED.

"I think its as much as 50%"

Still, 'Cowboys Taxpayer Stadium' then. Have a nice day

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You have elected officials protecting your interest. But seriously, those are the people with whom you should be angry.

On the good side, the government won the negotiations with the Bears, so everything is balanced.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Dat's bacause da Bearz don' have no Joos!

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

You would think Mc Caskey would have been able to make a vestibule deal with Daley. Unfortunately, he had to employ Phillips to complete a baptismal font negotiation. Now we are stuck with Phillips holding a place of prominance on football decisions.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Did that article mention the businesses around the Cell? Can someone please tell me where these businesses are? I don't think I've ever spent a single dollar there outside of the train. This new establishment is cool because it would mean that you don't necessarily have to rush for the train back to River North or downtown to continue the party.

The biggest failing here is that this wasn't done with a planned renovation strategy to build Wrigleyville 2 outside of the stadium.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Apparently you never been buzzed into Bernice's or tried the chicken feet at Ed's Potsticker House.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I think facing the skyline would have been nice. But at the time there was no opening in the OF.

There is the new neighborhood of mixed income housing and retail the city developed at 35th and State. It has a Starbucks, Jimmy John's, a pizza place and a candy store. I've haven't been to the places north of the stadium in years, including the new Cork and Kerry.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I know you know there are plenty of places to go within walking distance of the ballpark. For whatever reason, the Sox designed things to drive the fan away from the park as quickly as possible. Now they are trying to keep the fan around to capture the money themselves. That may be a tough sell after so many years of chasing people away immediately after the games.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I didn't even know those existed. I am only aware of the stadium, the parking lots, and the walk to the train. It always annoyed me that there was nothing around there for after the game.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Ya know the whole Wrigelyville thing is contingent on how close it is to the park. I mean walk out the gate and BOOM 5 bars.

For a typical half drunk fan that 2 blk walk is a huge difference from stumbling across the street.

You need foot traffic for commercial to succeed beyond the season. There is no way to get foot traffic within three blocks of the park on any side. No commercial will work unless it is JR or government subsidized.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

But there are all kinds of places around there. When that park was built there were even more bars on the corners of the residential streets. They set it up in a way that was designed to sweep people into the lots and then sweep them right back out. I suspect the clout in Bridgeport didn't want thousands of drunken fans wandering around the neighborhood. You look at a place like Murphy's that is allowed to take over entire sidewalks and compare it to Jimbo who got ticketed for people standing up in his tiny sidewalk cafe'.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

That may be true. Also, I think there is an image- right or wrong- that the neighborhood around Sox Park is somehow more dangerous than the one around Wrigley, although that certainly wasn't the case in the late 70s/early 80s.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Honestly walking to Cork from the parking lot the Mac tailgate was in was a pain in the ass. I went, because you dont get to rub elbows with a caped Ag Bob and Spaulding every day, but I could see myself saying...Fuck that after a game.

Im a lazy drunk though

I can see how some people wouldn't want to make the arduous trek through Armour Square Park. Seriously, I think a lot of people just don't know where to go. Cork & Kerry does enough advertising that they've got 'em lined up on game days. A couple times this season I saw people waiting outside to get in to Cork and I was a block east at Turtle's with about ten other people. And pretty much everything about Turtle's is better than Cork. I have to believe people just don't know it's there.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don