First Ward Problems

While all our alderman "Hipster" Proco Joe Moreno hangs out at hip dive bars and tries to capitalize off national news, our ward is falling apart. His crony developer friends are making Wicker Park and surrounding communities unlivable. This blog will hopefully shed some light on these issues.

[firstwardproblems-blog]

This is "Hipster Alderman" Proco "Joe" Moreno on Fox Business News slamming the Chicago Teachers Union going on a wildly popular strike.

Joe takes his orders from the UNO charter organization. He says he "speaks for his ward" in this clip, but his ward was marching on him and protesting his office during the teachers strike because of his anti-teacher behavior.

In case you were wondering what Joe Moreno's qualifications were in discussing this matter, read this profile of him in Chicagoist:

10With: Ald. Joe Moreno Listens to Minor Threat

Since we're all reminiscing aboutembarrassing musical tastes in our past, we at the Chicagoist Podcast Series thought we'd throw it out to the political power structure as well. If you do a little poking around on the interwebs, you'll notice that1st Ward Alderman Joe Morenohas all the typical politician "Likes" on his Facebook page. Charities, other politicians, local businesses, and so on. You expect those things.

You don't expect artists like Girl Talk, Animal Collective, Radiohead, Tribe Called Quest, the Roots, Joy Division, the Smiths and PJ Harvey to be on an Alderman's playlist, however. I mean, politicians aren't allowed to like good music, are they? They have to like inoffensive drivel so as not to offend anyone's tastes, right?

In today's 10With, we get into hanging out at theEmpty Bottle, listening to Sonic Youth,Punk Planet, theFireside Bowl, arguing the merits of David Lee Roth-era Van Halen, regrettable Itunes downloads, and much more with Alderman Joe Moreno.

To listen, just press play:Joe Moreno, Enjoyer of Music

Get these podcasts in your whateverPod! Subscribe via iTunes here or get updates via RSS here. Thanks again for your continued attention.

This person runs your ward. 

[firstwardproblems-blog]

Chick-fil-A CEO Denies Giving ‘Concessions’ to Open Chicago Restaurant

Alderman Proco Joe Moreno attempts to fool Chicago's gay community into thinking that he is their advocate. He was merely trying to grab airtime over a deal that he never really brokered with Chick-Fil-A. He must have realized that using his zoning power to block the restaurant was illegal and the lawsuits would have cost the city millions. Not that he really would have cared, but the UNO charter school organization bankrolling him probably told him to sit down on that one, but not before lying to the entire gay community of Chicago. 

From ABC News:

Chick fil-A has “made no … concessions” regarding its support of groups that oppose gay marriage, company CEO Dan Cathy said in a statement that was posted online by Mike Huckabee, denying a statement by a Chicago alderman that the company said it would reevaluate its policies in the face of a move by city officials to bar Chick-fil-A from opening a restaurant there.

“Chick-fil-A made no such concessions, and we remain true to who we are and who we have been,” Cathy said in the statement. “There continues to be erroneous implications in the media that Chick-fil-A changed our practices and priorities in order to obtain permission for a new restaurant in Chicago. That is incorrect.”

Chicago Alderman Proco Joe Moreno told ABC News Wednesday that he had received a letter from Chick-fil-A’s senior director of real estate saying the company had decided to re-evaluate the multimillion-dollar donations it gives to anti-gay marriage activists and other groups with “political agendas.”

“The WinShape Foundations is now taking a much closer look at the organizations it considers helping, and in that process will remain true to its stated philosophy of not supporting organizations with political agendas,” the letter said.

A representative from Chick-fil-A did not return calls made by ABC News by press time to explain the letter.

While the company memo “Chick-fil-A: Who We Are,” released last week, does use language quoted by Moreno, the document goes on to reaffirm the company’s commitment to funding pro-marriage groups, although the document does not clarify as to which groups.

“Chick-fil-A supports programs and marriage retreats to help strengthen and enrich marriages.  More than 4,000 couples benefit annually from these programs, including military personnel and sports coaches that received scholarships.”  [Click here to view the entire company document.]

Previously the company’s WinShape Foundation gave money to groups like the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defense Fund — donations that rekindled a firestorm among pro-gay groups.  The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Family Research Council as a “hate group,” as displayed on the group’s “hate map.”

Moreno raised the stakes last month when he threatened to block the construction of a Chick -fil-A restaurant, a move that prompted Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to side with Moreno, declaring that “Chick-fil-A’s values are not Chicago’s values.”

[firstwardproblems-blog]

This was made by anonymous on "Talk LIke A Pirate Day." The pirate waxes philosophically on Wild Flag, Carrie Brownstein, union busting, Chicago Teachers Union, and being a fake progressive. 

The hipster alderman was not available for comment.