Category Archives: Politics

One problem with e-voting: roll-off

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This Newsweek piece explores how unknown Alvin Greene might have won the Democratic Senate primary. While some have alleged fraud at the voting booth, the issue of “roll-off” is a more reasonable explanation.

Roll-off describes a process originally found in paper ballots where voters cast less votes toward the end of the ballot. This can be exacerbated if voters don’t recognize names – perhaps in those races like local judges, forest preserve commissioners, township officials, and more. Between the Greene race and the one listed above it, for education superintendent, there was only a 10% drop in votes cast. Newsweek says political analysts consider this a low roll-off figure for a race that garnered little public attention.

But there was another step with the e-voting machine: when a user submitts a ballot, the machine passes on a warning if all the races are not voted for. If a user saw the warning and hadn’t voted in the Democratic Senate primary, they then might have just picked the first name, Greene’s, as he was the first candidate listed based on alphabetical order.

Summary: by asking voters to double-check their input, the machine may be skewing voting results as voters just want the warnings to go away and vote for the most accessible candidate.

As local governments consider purchasing e-voting machines, this is an issue to consider.

California town outsources all work to contractors

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On the final day of the fiscal year, Maywood, California laid off all of its staff (96 employees) and is now outsourcing all city duties to contractors. The city, with roughly 30,000 residents and about 8 miles from downtown Los Angeles, is keeping its elected officials and some of the former employees will remain on the job as contractors.

From the story:

Maywood is billing itself as the first American city to outsource all of its city services. In an odd twist, officials say it can provide even better services because the shift will help it save money and close a $450,000 shortfall in its $10 million general fund budget.

This bears watching as many municipalities face budget shortfalls. While the cost savings speak for themselves, it remains to be seen how residents feel.

Second Wal-Mart moves forward in Chicago

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Update 9:52 PM 6/30/10: The Chicago City Council voted tonight 50-0 to approve the second Wal-Mart in the city. Read about the voting and the consequences here.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the Chicago City Council Zoning Committee approved Wal-Mart’s proposal for a store in the Pullman Park neighborhood on the South Side. A quick summary of how the deal was made:

The deal struck Thursday has Wal-Mart assenting to pay at least $8.75 an hour — 50 cents more than minimum wage as of July 1. Unions once wanted $11.03 an hour, but settled for less and touted the company’s agreement to give raises of 40 to 60 cents an hour to Chicago workers after a year. A Wal-Mart spokesman, however, said store workers typically get that kind of bump anyway.

In the end, Wal-Mart appears on its way to getting a second store. The unions, which won’t actually represent any of the workers, get to save face. And aldermen looking ahead to re-election in February get to avoid a repeat of 2007, when several of them lost after angry unions put up challengers who opposed Wal-Mart.

As often happens in politics, a deal is finalized when all the interested actors feel they benefit in some way.

Why vote against honoring sports teams?

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Amidst the story of the US House voting 395-5 to honor the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks with a resolution, three of the five who voted “no” explained their vote to the Chicago Tribune.

One was a diehard Flyers fan and Philadelphia native. A second is from New Jersey, across the river from Philly, and said his vote would not line up with his constituent’s interests.

The third “no” vote came from Marion Berry in Arkansas. His explanation:

I am generally opposed to congressional resolutions congratulating sports teams when they are the only reason members have been required to return to Washington to vote for that day. While the success in any sporting event is a source of great pride for all who played a role in the victory and their supporters, these resolutions are far less urgent than the many other important challenges facing our nation, such as job creation and our economy.

While Berry is certainly correct about the relative importance of this resolution, does it matter if he is the only House member who feels this way? Will any of his constituents take note? Is it the sort of fact that can be used for him on the campaign trail – or will he be seen as a killjoy? A quick perusal of the early comments on the story suggest Berry may be on to something…

54 years ago: Federal interstates are born

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On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. This legislation, though immediately about infrastructure, had a tremendous impact on American life. Many of the interstate highways of today were built with this money.

These roads have produced a number of changes:

-Suburbanization. People could now easily travel from suburbs to the city center. By the 1960s, many businesses were also locating headquarters along suburban highway exits.

-The American love of the car. This already existed before Federal Interstates but it was enhanced by these well-maintained roads. Now, the average American could drive farther and more safely. From this point on, money for public transportation would always be limited compared to funds for roads.

-Shipping. Many goods today are carried by trucks. Cheap roads coupled with cheap gasoline helps keep Wal-Marts and McDonald’s stocked and cheap.

-Urban renewal. A number of big city neighborhoods were bulldozed to make way for new highways. Recently, some cities have reversed these trends by removing highways and establishing parks and public spaces. Two notable and beautiful examples: the Big Dig in Boston and the Embarcadero in San Francisco.

-Aesthetics. Many of these roads are about brute efficiency: moving the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. To many, these highways scar the landscape. But they can often take on a beauty of their own, particularly in complicated interchanges.

-Small town life all but disappeared. With the rise of suburbs and highways rerouting traffic around small communities, rural populations dwindled.

-A fast-food approach to life. Not only does food have to be obtained quickly so one can get back on the road, signs need to be larger to be legible at 65 MPH, cars need to be larger to survive the occasional highway accident, travelers need built-in DVD players to be entertained, and so on.

Prior to the signing of this act, local governments and states had begun to cobble together a highway system. The City of Chicago had been planning for a local highway system for years but did not begin construction until after World War II. Pennsylvania had a turnpike (now I-76) and Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois had started roads that would create an interstate toll road. Robert Moses had begun a system in New York City.

But this law helped build and codify a system that is still going strong today.

Supreme Court decides on Chicago guns

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In a long-awaited decision, the Supreme Court has decided 5-4 against Chicago’s gun ban in McDonald v. Chicago. The Chicago Tribune notes that Chicago will soon consider new gun laws and that the decision seems to be motivated in part by current conditions in the city:

In the majority opinion, written by Justice Samuel Alito, the court noted a recent call by two state legislators to deploy National Guard troops to quell the violence on Chicago’s streets.

“The legislators noted that the number of Chicago homicide victims during the current year equaled the number of American soldiers killed during that same period in Afghanistan and Iraq,” the opinion stated.

“If (the) safety of . . . law abiding members of the community would be enhanced by the possession of handguns in the home for self-defense, then the Second Amendment right protects the rights of minorities and other residents of high-crime areas whose needs are not being met by elected public officials.”…

Read the full decision here.

Alito’s argument (summed up briefly in the article above) is interesting: Chicago may have lost this case because the crime rate, particularly murder rate, remains high even with a gun ban. Chicago’s ban has not limited the number of guns in the hands of violent actors. If violent actors can get guns even with a ban, Alitio suggests local citizens should have the tools to be able to fight back, particularly citizens “whose needs are not being met by elected public officials.” This is a case about a law but this statement in particular is a Supreme opinion regarding the abilities of Chicago government.

UPDATE 11:13 PM 6/28/10: Some Chicago officials also read some of the decision as an attack on the performance of Chicago’s police and government. Read here.

UPDATE 7:08 AM 6/29/10:  Links to more coverage:  Chicago Sun-Times, National Law Journal, ABA Journal, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NRA press release…

Privacy is possible online?

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A journalist laments the end of JournoList – but also seems to think that privacy is possible in today’s online world. Really? This is something that most 20 year old Facebook users know: if you don’t want something to become known online, don’t ever post it online. Even among groups that trust each other, as the journalists on JournoList did, the Internet is one of the least private places I can imagine.

Chicago vs. Wal-Mart: outcome still in doubt

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A news story today from the Chicago Tribune detailing Wal-Mart’s latest offer to build a store in Chicago (it currently has 0 within city limits). Some of the players in the long saga:

1. Wal-Mart. Its latest offer is starting all workers at $8.75 an hour, $0.50 above current minimum wage standards in Chicago. Has been exploring several sites on the South Side for years.

2. Unions. Don’t want Wal-Mart as the company does not allow its workers to unionize. Worried about lower wages.

3. The City. Has primarily been against Wal-Mart because of the wage issue.

4. Those who want cheaper and/or accessible groceries. Several of the neighborhoods Wal-Mart has looked at might be considered “food deserts” (neighborhoods where relatively cheap, nutritious food is not available). Many other companies are not willing to move in while Wal-Mart has expressed interest.

There might be a path to resolution soon – several aldermen now seem willing to support the stories in their wards. This may be particularly timely as Wal-Mart says it would add 12,000 jobs to the city for the next five years if they could build where they want.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE 6/23/10 at 11:10 PM

From the Chicago Tribune: Mayor Daley of Chicago makes “an emotional pitch” for Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart releases a list of benefits for the community, and demonstrators who support Wal-Mart add the vuvuzela to their arsenal.