Local Soldier Killed by Roadside Bomb

Albert Bitton, 20, who joined the Army after graduating from Ida Crown Jewish Academy, was killed in Baghdad on Tuesday. His Humvee/ambulence was hit an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife, Melissa Handleman, his parents, Elie and Silvia, and his sisters, Jackie and Elizabeth.

Albert grew up in West Rogers Park and was scheduled to return home in January 2009.

"Bitton's family said the soldier's body was expected to return to Chicago this weekend, and services are planned for Tuesday or Wednesday."

Service: February 26 (Tue), 1 pm
Congregation Adas Yeshurun
3050 W Touhy Ave
Chicago, IL 60045

Interment: Memorial Park

The Color of Rebuke

Key:
Red = Stone won 55% or more
Pink = Stone won 50%-54%
Green = Ira won 50%-54%
Lt Gr = Ira won 55%-64%
Lt Bl = Ira won 65%-74%
Blue = Ira won 75% or more

Ald. Stone may try to blame his crushing defeat on Congresswoman Schakowsky and the lakeside liberals, but it's apparent from the vote returns that he was rebuked across the 50th Ward. Peterson Park, hardly a bastion of lakeside liberals, voted overwhelming against Stone, as did Park Place and the nursing homes; this was a broad rejection of Stone shared across all the neighborhoods.

85% of the voters who came out voted in this race. Stone held on to less than half the vote he had received not even a year ago. Outside of three of the Winston Towers and precinct captain Saul Charak's precinct, Stone lost those precincts he had won in 2007. Which may answer the question of who the precinct captains were loyal to, Stone or the Mayor. Newly-elected Democratic Committeeman Ira Silverstein turned the 50th Ward blue!

Dolar Beats Stone!

The headline that many were waiting for:

Naisy Dolar: 4628 50th Ward
Berny Stone: 4549 50th Ward

Votes for delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

Ira Wins! Ira Wins!

It's a great day in the neighborhood. A man of integrity, spirit and a man who will not embarrass us has won election as Democratic Committeeman for the 50th Ward.

DEM - Ward Committeeman, 50th
37 out of 45 precincts (82.22 %)

Ira I. Silverstein 4,799 67.79 %
Bernard L. Stone 2,280 32.21 %

Ald. Stone's criminal organization, the Democratic Club of the 50th Ward, will no dount disappear. I think it safe to anticipate the return of the Regular Democratic Organization, the Democrats that Stone dissolved, to return to the 50th Ward.

It's a great day to be a democrat, to be alive in the 50th. If Stone resigns, his daughter is no longer the most likely replacement. And it's probable that Stone will not run for re-election as alderman. It's a GREAT DAY!

Let the race for 2011 begin!

Precinct Captain's Weather

Daley asked Ald. Stone to resign as vice mayor

Seems that Berny Stone's version of why Mayor Daley is supporting St. Senator Ira Silverstein for Democratic Committeeman is a bit far fetched. The Sun-Times Columnist, Michael Sneed, who tends to be clued in to the comings and goings of the 5th floor, writes:

The snubbing/drubbing of Ald. Bernard Stone, who has been in office for 35 years, is a classic case of "Upset the mayor -- get tossed under the bus."

• • The story behind the story: Sneed hears Mayor Daley's decision not to back loyalist Stone, 80, for 50th Ward Democratic committeeman had its beginning long before Stone's vote against the 2008 city budget.

• • The first shot: Sneed hears rumbles that Daley sent an emissary from the city's Intergovernmental Affairs office to solicit Stone's resignation as vice mayor -- at the start of Daley's present term.

• • The upshot: Considering his long tenure and loyalty to Daley in the City Council, Stone believed the request to be out of line and refused.

• • The buckshot: Word is Daley, who has a long memory, chalked this up as "strike one" against Stone.

• • The backshot: Stone's subsequent "no" votes on the budget and property tax increases -- despite 18 years of tough political support for Daley (including on such issues as the controversial big-box ordinance) -- seem to be strikes two and three. Stone's big-box vote almost cost him his aldermanic seat last February.

Hugh Devlin, who doubles as an information central for many things in the neighborhood, is right when he says:

It is reasonable that Daley had an idea of the current investigation into voter fraud in the 50th, and knew it was actionable and ongoing, at the time Daley asked Stone to step down.

I'd take it a bit further. If the Mayor sent someone from the Inspector General's office to ask Stone to resign, then he definitely understood the implications of the investigation into Stone's criminal organization and was looking to separate himself from it. The Mayor has enough problems with governing the city; he doesn't need Stone's criminal activities to reflect poorly on him or on the city of Chicago.

None of us do.

Reputation? What "Good Reputation?"

One hears that Ald. Stone contends that there's 'No Doubt About My Good Reputation.'

My wife giggled at that. Which just about says it all.

This is the ward where some residents are embarrassed to admit who their alderman is, even though they love the neighborhood. So Berny is partially right -- there is no doubt about his reputation. It's just not good.

This was true even before one of his hired thugs got indicted. Before the press was called in by a priest at one precinct and the Board of Elections was called in to another. Before all the vacuous rumors Stone and his thugs started about opponents, before he promised to "take out" Lou Lang, Ira Silverstein and Jan Schakowsky. Long before, to be accurate.

It's not just that Berny Stone has gotten old. It's more like all the things he's said and done have come back to haunt him. Remember when Berny was challenged about all the rumors of corruption around him? What did he say? "Call the police."

Well, somebody did. In fact, it sounds like more than one somebody did. Berny Stone standing up at City Hall proclaiming that he still has his good name is just like President Clinton standing up at the White House and telling the nation that he did not have sex with "that woman." Actually, given Stone's braggadocio about his ties to the old machine and Fred Roti, President Clinton was more credible when he claimed not to have had sex with that woman.

Berny, you may have protected yourself from the city's Inspector General, but you can't hide from Patrick Fitzgerald or the feds. You have much to account for before you can even think about getting your "good reputation" back. Trying to argue over what the meaning of "is" is won't help.