What About the NRA?
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Mick, I know you’re the City Hall reporter, but frankly, I’m shocked and appalled that the Reader itself wouldn’t bother to look into what’s really behind this whole issue and help open the public’s eyes about what’s really going on. The NRA and the gun industry are running rampant in DC and around the country, exempting themselves from federal laws that apply to everyone else (e.g., the DISCLOSE Act, which just passed Congress last week—at the urging of DEMOCRATS—exempts the NRA from campaign finance reporting that applies to every other organization, and that’s just the latest example) and using minority plaintiffs to sue hundreds of states and cities for putting in place reasonable gun restrictions. The gun industry is making ENORMOUS profits off their propaganda and off the sales of DEADLY WEAPONS, and their current push, which is to profit from gun sales in low-income minority communities, is downright despicable. And believe me, last week’s Supreme Court decision was just the beginning. . . . The Reader is always so quick to point out how big biz is taking advantage of the little guy . . . so, why not on this issue? —wakeup
Wakeup: You raise some good points. I may not agree with all your conclusions but I’m also not claiming there aren’t serious political agendas at work from gun-rights advocates. However, that doesn’t mean Chicago officials shouldn’t be asked to explain why this gun legislation they’ve just rushed into law is necessary and what else they’re doing to fight violence around here. Right?
When you can provide a better solution than a handgun to a 110 lb woman with a stalker who is making death threats towards her and her children, I’ll be all ears. —LibertyForAll
Huberman’s Timing
I’m a big boy—rip me when I’m wrong, but in this case, I’m right. That $400 million pension payment break mentioned in the Tribune article you refer to? It swept through the General Assembly back in March. You can read all about it in a March 24 Tribune story from which I quote: “The legislation also would provide some relief to Chicago Public Schools, allowing the system to skip teacher pension payments for three years to give the district financial flexibility while its leaders struggle to fill major budget gaps.” The point is—this stuff was old news long before Ron Huberman called his June 28 press conference. In fact, the Raise Your Hand people wrote about it on their website on May 28. For weeks, teachers and parents have been asking each other: When will CPS update its projected deficit? Like I said in my story, they were just waiting for their right moment.
