Let's not kid ourselves about Tammy Duckworth, subject of a BRILLIANT Dennis Byrne column in this morning's Tribune HERE.
Tammy was the subject of the most mild treatment by the Tribune on Sunday, Oct. 21. What follows is a note I placed in the Facebook comments on the story, which has since been shut down by the paper. But, going through my own Facebook account, I pulled it up. The article, "Duckworth hoping to transcend own narrative in 8th Congressional District race," by Duaa Eldeib, can be found HERE.
It is time for Tammy, as the old song says, to 'tell us true.' And once you know all she has to explain, she'll be telling us true for a long, long time. Here is the note: Let's not kid ourselves about Tammy:
- While a Blagojevich appointee, Tammy summarily and incorrectly fired a whistleblower. She has admitted this, and I think the Tribune knows that very well. But it's not in the story.
- Tammy then ... tried to cover her tracks, and ended up a defendant in an unseemly lawsuit that is noticed up for a key hearing in December. As the article almost mentions, she could yet be found liable for money damages.
- When Joe Walsh called her on the lawsuit in front of voters at a debate on October 9 in Rolling Meadows, Tammy flat out lied -- she denied its existence – and refused to discuss it at a press conference. This the Tribune knows because it was there. These events are on video. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BANGRuzlkvc]
- Tammy fit right in as a Blagojevich administration appointee. She was cited 12 times by the Illinois Auditor General for wasting money and not following Illinois law. That is 12 times, as in 12. This is not in the article. Not even close.
- Duaa Eldeib's copy includes Tammy breaking our property tax rules by holding not one, but two, Illinois homestead exemptions simultaneously on two homes.
- Eldeib reports that Tammy did not live in at least one of those homes, which was an income-producing rental property, which also breaks the rules. So far so good.
- But Eldeib does not nail down one way or the other if Tammy was living -- actually resident -- in the other home. If not, her infractions would increase 50%. Presumably, Tammy would answer such a question from the Tribune. Since she never has answered it elsewhere, that would be news.
- When David Axelrod, Tammy's principal backer, got Tammy a political job in the Obama Administration at US Dept Veteran Affairs, Tammy cooked up a more than $2.5 million taxpayer-funded Hawaiian junket for herself and her political and bureaucrat buddies...
- ...which included some $1 million from U.S. taxpayers spent on a connected, insider party planner. Vets who took this trip had to pay their own way. Not Tammy. Not her political buddies.
- David and Forest Claypool are closest associates. Forrest (and Rahm) want RTA eliminated so CTA can take suburban taxpayer dollars directly. The Quinn Administration (IDOT Sec.) has said it has 'no position' on nuking RTA. What about Tammy? Since she owes her career to David and Rahm's Blue Dog strategy, is she a stalking horse for their "soak the suburbanites" plan to fund waste at CTA? Since Tammy's in a suburban district with at least two Metra lines, why doesn't Duaa ask this? Again, an answer to the Tribune would be news.
Joe's turning on the media spit. So be it. But why does an article such as Duaa's miss so much? Before so important a vote, don't the voters deserve this info from the Tribune?
Thanks and cheers.
