"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Obama Still Owes Chicago $1.74M For Victory Bash

Chicago has yet to recoup the $1.74 million cost of President Obama's victory celebration in Grant Park-despite a burgeoning $50.5 million budget shortfall that threatens more layoffs and union concessions."The Democratic National Committee has not yet paid us,'' Peter Scales, a spokesman for the city's Office of Budget and Management, said Thursday after questions from the Chicago Sun-Times."We're reaching out to them this week."
THE BILL

The bill for Barack Obama's election night rally at Grant Park Police $1 million
Emergency Management and Communications Office $121,578
Fire Department $85,965
Streets and Sanitation $71,694
Transportation $49,659
Cultural Affairs $2,567
Environment $2,309
CTA $201,500
Chicago Park District $202,440
(Park District breakdown):
Giant video boards $68,900
Electrical $37,185
Sound $37,500
Stagehands $29,850
Portable toilets $12,500
Security $7,505
Stage rental $6,000
Bike racks, barricades $2,000
Heavy equipment $1,000
Total bill $1,737,712
Stacie Paxton, a spokeswoman for the Obama-controlled DNC, explained the reimbursement delay by saying, "We are still looking at various costs and bills.'' She would not say whether parts of the bill are disputed.The city spent $1 million on police protection for the rally. The Office of Emergency Management and Communications racked up more than $120,000 in expenses, including $19,500 paid to police official Neil Sullivan to quarterback election night logistics.In late October, Mayor Daley assured that the cash-flush Obama campaign would reimburse the city for every penny spent on the rally."We have a financial crisis," he said at the time. "The City of Chicago could not afford $2 million on this because we're gonna be laying off people, cutting back. That cost would really be unfortunate...It's a huge cost to the City of Chicago."This is not a presidential visit...This is a political event, and they've agreed to pay for all those services-all the expenses of that...It's costly, but they raised quite a bit of money. There's no shortage of money in that campaign."The day after the Nov. 4 election, Daley was asked again whether the Obama campaign would pay up. "Yeah. I don't know why you're so negative....What is this? He just won for president, and you say, 'He's not gonna pay his bills,'"the mayor said then.On Dec. 9, the day the Sun-Times disclosed the $1.74 million tab, Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt referred questions to the DNC.Paxton confirmed then that the rally was a "DNC-sponsored event" and that the party was discussing the itemized bill with the city.
BY FRAN SPIELMAN--City Hall Reporter

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