QUOTE OF THE DAY
Notable & Quotable: Thomas Sowell on ‘Greed’
Among the many other questions raised by the nebulous concept of “greed” is why it is a term applied almost exclusively to those who want to earn more money or to keep what they have already earned—never to those wanting to take other people’s money in taxes or to those wishing to live on the largess dispensed from such taxation. No amount of taxation is ever described by the anointed as “greed” on the part of government or the clientele of government. . . .
Families who wish to be independent financially and to make their own decisions about their lives are of little interest or use to those who are seeking to impose their superior wisdom and virtue on other people. Earning their own money makes these families unlikely candidates for third-party direction and wishing to retain what they have earned threatens to deprive the anointed of the money needed to distribute as largess to others who would thus become subject to their direction. In these circumstances, it is understandable why the desire to increase and retain one’s own earnings should be characterized negatively as “greed,” while wishing to live at the expense of others is not.
CBS Chicago: Uber seeks to put veterans behind the wheel
Chicago Sun Times: Flawed reform is better than none
To survive the political process, reform often comes with scratches on the veneer.
That’s the case with a proposal to move the City Council under the purview of City of Chicago Inspector General Joe Ferguson. The proposal is not perfect, but it would swing the reform needle a good way closer to good government.
Here’s what we don’t like: Instead of spelling out that Ferguson would have unfettered ability to chase after any offending aldermen and their staff members wherever the facts lead, a noxious clause in the proposed ordinance says he would be able to investigate complaints about the Council only when an accuser signs a complaint. We’d hate to see that clause block important probes into skulduggery.
Chicago Tribune: Voters not sold on tax money for Obama library
A majority of Illinois voters continue to give home-state President Barack Obama positive marks for his job performance, but that doesn’t mean they want their tax dollars used to help bring his library to Chicago, a new Tribune poll shows.
The survey also found that a majority of the state’s residents want to see the president’s signature health care law improved rather than repealed. But voters were split on Obama’s use of executive actions to bypass partisan stalemates in a divided Congress.
The poll of 800 registered voters was conducted from Sept. 3-12, before Monday’s announcement by the Obama library foundation that two Chicago universities — the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago — are among the four finalists to host the future facility.
Crain’s: Chip startup gets $3.5 million to keep HQ in Illinois
The state wants Gurnee to be known for computer chips as well as roller coasters and outlet stores: It’s offering $3.5 million in incentives to lure a Hoffmann Estates-based semiconductor company to move its headquarters to Gurnee instead of another state.
Akhan Semiconductor says it will nearly triple its headcount to 80 employees in the next two years — mostly in research and technogy — and invest $15 million.
If it reaches those goals, the company will get $3 million in credits over 10 years to offset Illinois income taxes. Akhan also will get $500,000
Chicago Tribune: Lawyers want to question ex-state senator about alleged $2,000 cash payoff
Lawyers for a Chicago man charged with illegally lobbying on behalf of the oppressive regime in Zimbabwe want to cross-examine former Illinois state Sen. Donne Trotter about a cash bribe that was allegedly passed to him as part of an undercover FBI sting five years ago.
The purported bribe came to light Wednesday during a pretrial hearing for C. Gregory Turner, 71, who is slated to go on trial later this month on charges he tried to persuade government officials — including Trotter and two U.S. representatives from Chicago — to push for the lifting of sanctions imposed in 2003 on top Zimbabwe government officials.
According to Turner’s lawyers, Prince Asiel Ben Israel, Turner’s co-defendant, met at the Trump Hotel restaurant in 2009 with an FBI agent who posed as an Indian businessman and gave Ben Israel cash to pass along to Illinois politicians in exchange for future political favors. Ben Israel later told authorities he gave $2,000 of the money to Trotter, a longtime friend, but Trotter has denied any knowledge of the cash payment, Turner’s attorneys said.
WSJ: Robots Work Their Way Into Small Factories
A new breed of so-called collaborative machines—designed to work alongside people in close settings—is changing the way some of America’s smaller manufacturers do their jobs.
The machines, priced as low as $20,000, provide such companies—small jewelry makers and toy makers among them—with new incentives to automate to increase overall productivity and lower labor costs.
At Panek Precision Inc., a Northbrook, Ill., machine shop, 21 shiny new robots hum as they place metal parts into cutting machines and remove the parts after they are done. It’s a tedious and oily task once handled by machine operators who earn about $16.50 an hour.
Gallup: Trust in Mass Media Returns to All-Time Low
After registering slightly higher trust last year, Americans’ confidence in the media’s ability to report “the news fully, accurately, and fairly” has returned to its previous all-time low of 40%. Americans’ trust in mass media has generally been edging downward from higher levels in the late 1990s and the early 2000s.
WICS: Illinois Ranked Third In Country For Most Railroad Deaths
CARTOON OF THE DAY
