CHICAGO NEWS BENCH: Tom Westgard

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Yet Another Ginderske-Westgard Fraud and Failure

JUNE 5, 2010 - James "Jim" Ginderske will probably run for alderman again next year in Chicago's 49th Ward. He's been building his political resume since 2006, when he launched his poorly run aldermanic campaign against incumbent Joe Moore.

Since losing to Moore and two other contenders in February, 2007, Ginderske has become a shameless lapdog of Joe Moore and overseen the stunning failure of two of his own pet projects: "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" (NHRP) and "The Urban Coaster."

Ginderske keeps racking up spectacular failures, and continues to lie about them and misrepresent himself. First, let's look at The Urban Coaster. Then we'll examine the NHRP.

The Urban Coaster was first incorporated in October, 2008. It was involuntarily dissolved by the State of Illinois on March 12, 2010.

However, it continues to illegally misrepresent itself as "The Urban Coaster, Inc." (when we checked the "About" page on their website at 10:00 a.m., June 5, 2010). There, the publisher is listed as "The Urban Coaster, Inc." It's the "Inc." part that's the problem.

They cannot legally use "Inc." in their name, because they are not a legal corporation in Illinois. The original signers of the Articles of Incorporation on October 22, 2008 were James J. Ginderske, Francis Scudellari (right) and Thomas Westgard (left).

Westgard, an attorney of sorts, is currently listed as a Contributing Writer. He should certainly be aware that it is illegal for an entity to use "Inc." in its name and constitutes misrepresentation if, in fact, the entity is not a legal corporation. Such is the case with The Urban Coaster.

Inc-a-dink-a-doo

Curiously, Jim Ginderske calls himself the publisher of The Urban Coaster on his LinkedIn page and says he still holds that title. He says he's in the "Newspapers industry," but we wonder how that can be true when in fact the Urban Coaster seems to no longer be putting out a dead-tree version. He may technically be in publishing, but no longer in newspapers. The question, then, remains: Who, exactly, is really the publisher of The Urban Coaster?

There is a notice at the bottom of that "About" page that says, "All materials are Copyright The Urban Coaster, Inc." Since there is no such entity as "The Urban Coaster, Inc.," we can't help but wonder who actually owns the copyrights to any "materials" posted after their involuntarily dissolution on March 12, 2010.

The Urban Coaster was originally both an online and actual paper publication that billed itself as covering "all the news that fits the neighborhoods of Rogers Park, West Ridge, and Edgewater along the shore of Lake Michigan on Chicago's far North Side."

The Urban Coaster has not printed a paper version since late 2009. Their last post on Twitter was October 16, 2009. The last time they posted to their Facebook wall was March 22, 2009. It still has its website, and the most recent posting was on May 28, 2010.

The Urban Coaster usually misses or ignores the big local stories in favor of non-local headlines such as "Is the Informal Economy the Best Hope for Africa?" (May 27, 2010), "The Threat of Extremism in South Africa" (April 6, 2010), "The Tragedy of Niger's Coup" (February 23, 2010) and "Understanding Rwanda in the Context of Haiti" (January 29, 2010). That can be considered "neighborhood news" only if you live in Africa or Haiti, not Rogers Park, Illinois.

No Union Label: The Urban Coaster presents itself as pro-union, yet the Urban Coaster itself is not and never has been a union shop. Ginderske brags about his union membership but proudly participates in a non-union operation.

No Hablas Espanol: In March, 2008 there was a public meeting in Rogers Park, at which Dan Haley, the new publisher of the News-Star newspaper, introduced himself to the community. Neither Westgard nor Ginderske bothered to show up, but Ginderske minions Francis Scuddellari and Terry "Cookie" Feingold were in attendance. Both men were integral cogs in the 2007 Ginderske aldermanic campaign and both are still listed on the Urban Coaster staff roster. Feingold raised his hand and asked Haley if the News-Star had plans to publish a Spanish language version, citing Rogers Park's large Latino population. Haley said they had no such plans, and Feingold effectively chided him for not caring about the Spanish speakers among us.

The Urban Coaster has never published a Spanish version of itself either online or in paper. For that matter, Feingold's own catering company's website is English-only.

The Urban Coaster, as noted, is not incorporated, so it is misrepresenting itself by using the name "The Urban Coaster, Inc." on its website. It's not the first time, either.

The Urban Coaster has been in violation now (again) since March 12, 2010 by calling themselves "Inc." on a website that still, apparently, accepts advertising. As of June 5, 2010 at 11:36 a.m., Terry Feingold is still listed as their contact for advertising. The next item on that page, below Feingold's name, is "The Urban Coaster, Inc." To be selling advertising - or anything else - while misrepresenting yourself as a corporation is a violation of law.

IT'S FRAUDULENT

Illinois law states that "Any corporation which (i) puts forth any sign or advertisement, assuming any name other than that by which it is incorporated or otherwise authorized by law to act or (ii) violates Section 3.25, shall be guilty of a Class C misdemeanor and shall be deemed guilty of an additional offense for each day it shall continue to so offend." (Source: Illinois General Assembly web site; see "Article 16 - Penalties".) As of this writing on June 5, 2010, it's coming up on 90 days since they lost their corporate status, yet they continue to use a name that is not "authorized by law."

A video interview of Jim Ginderske and Francis Scudellari talking about the beginnings of The Urban Coaster (Part 1 here; Part 2 here) reveals much. (Fast forward to 3:20 in Part 1 to get to the Ginderske-Scudellari portion.) The interview was recorded at the Heartland Cafe on March 21, 2009 during a live radio broadcast hosted by SDS member and lifelong marxist Michael James. (Little did any of them know, at the time, that The Urban Coaster would have the same kind of spectacular success that the late Air America enjoyed.)

It's darkly amusing to hear Ginderske insist that The Urban Coaster would be unbiased (in fact, it's had a boldly pro-socialist slant from the beginning), and to hear them promise, in Part 2, that "within a year" they would publish a Spanish version of The Urban Coaster.

As noted, that has yet to happen, and with no paper version - and no advertising - there seems little chance that they their promise will be kept. Involuntarily dissolved by order of the State of Illinois one year and nine days after that promise was made, it seems like just one more broken Ginderske promise.

Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park (NHRP) was first incorporated in December, 2006, at the height of Ginderske's 2007 aldermanic run.

It was involuntarily dissolved by the State of Illinois on May 9, 2009. NHRP was created primarily as an attempt to make Ginderske look like a man of the people and a guy who just wanted to help the neighborhood. With the benefit of hindsight, we can now see that Ginderske neglected NHRP when it was no longer politically useful to him.

Watch for him to try to rehabilitate the discredited NHRP, however, as he gears up for another aldermanic run in 2011. Ginderske continues to make lame attempts now and then to misrepresent NHRP as a legitimate group.

As recently as September 14, 2009 (four months after losing its legal status as a corporation), Ginderske was pushing NHRP. According to the Minutes of the Public Hearings on the FY2010 Preliminary Budget, page 3, for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board of Directors, he was registered as "Jim Ginderske, Representative, Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park" and submitted "written testimony." We couldn't find the details of that testimony, but we bet that Ginderske did not tell the Board that the group he was representing had been involuntarily dissolved by the State of Illinois months earlier.

Ginderske lists himself as the current "President" of NHRP on his LinkedIn page. He claims that NHRP is in the "Research industy."

In July, 2008, Chicago News Bench noted that NHRP had not given a full accounting of any money that passed through its hands. Today, on June 5, 2010, we would still like to see a full accounting from NHRP.

Ginderske's partner in these messes: Thomas J. Westgard was Ginderske's campaign chair in the 2007 run for alderman. Westgard has been an integral part of Ginderske's fraudulent NHRP and Urban Coaster failures. Will he be part of Ginderske's sure-to-be-fraudulent 2011 campaign?

RELATED:

(Updated) NHRP Still "Not Good Standing" With Sec. of State

Update, May 22, 2010: The entity known as "Neighbors For A Healthy Rogers Park NFP" went through an "INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION" on May 8, 2009, about three months after this post was originally published. (Click images to enlarge them)

Bittersweet congratulations to The Urban Coaster, Inc. Finally, as of today [Feb. 11, 2009], they can legally call themselves a corporation, after months of falsely claiming to be incorporated. However, another one of Ginderske's operations is still "NOT GOOD STANDING" with the Illinois Secretary of State.

UPDATE, May 22, 2010: The Urban Coaster went through an Involuntary Dissolution, on March 12, 2010.

Yep, The Urban Coaster is finally incorporated, but only after they paid the State of Illinois a $25.00 penalty for passing a bad check to them the first time they tried to incorporate.

Chicago News Bench spoke with the Secretary of State's office in Springfield today. We were told that The Urban Coaster's check for $200.00 "just cleared today" (Feb. 11, 2009). That check was for the initial $175.00 filing fee plus $25.00 to cover the bounced check penalty imposed by the state.

The initial filing attempt was in October, 2008. A Form BCA 2.10 Articles of Incorporation was filed on Oct. 27, 2008. The initial registered agent is James J. Ginderske (photo). For months, The Urban Coaster was not legally a corporation, yet deliberately passed themselves off as one. It was not until today that they could legally call themselves "The Urban Coaster, Inc."

Ginderske's other operation is "Neighbors For A Healthy Rogers Park NFP," also known as "NHRP." It is still not in good standing with the State of Illinois. Initial filing for that was in September, 2008. (Ginderske is misspelled as "Gindevske" on the Sec. of State's website.)

You can search for corporations and LLCs at the Illinois Secretary of State's website: http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/index.jsp

RELATED PAST POSTS:
Urban Coaster: Non-Local, Non-Union
NHRP: Ginderske's Sham Organization
NHRP: Odd Man Out

Tainted Evidence

Thomas J. Westgard

Attorney Tom Westgard keeps renaming his shameful blog in sporadic fits of paranoid identity crises. Those are always coupled with a purging of all previous postings. It's almost as though he had a sense of shame, but having none, his reasons remain a mystery.

"I have had an ongoing inclination to change the name of the blog, especially since the url was a historical thing that no longer made sense. So, starting today, the Rogers Park Rake has become Mountain of Evidence.Other than that, not much has changed (or should change, anyway). If I did it right, everything will transfer over seamlessly. With any luck there won't be too many exceptions to that rule." ~ October 20, 2008 (Source)

From "Rogers Park Rake" to "Mountains of Evidence" to "Molehills of Evidence" and back to "Mountains of Evidence," all within a 6-month period. Hmmm. Too many exceptions to the self-imposed rule?

Formerly called "Rogers Park Rake," looking up Rogers Park Rake on Technorati leads you to "Mountain of Evidence." In October 2008, the blog's author (Thomas J. Westgard, Atty.) deleted most of his past posts and changed the format and name, but still concentrates on supporting Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) and slandering the editor of the News-Star. He is currently one of three partners/editor of The Urban Coaster, a socialist propaganda tabloid in Rogers Park.

The URL of the now defunct "Rogers Park Rake" was morosehellhole.blogspot.com. A Google search for that URL produces this hit:

Molehills of Evidence (formerly Mountains of Evidence) Molehills of Evidence (formerly Mountains of Evidence). If there were a deep truth in the idea that difference is insurmountable, our community would ...www.mountainofevidence.com/ - 82k - Cached - Similar pages

With any luck there will be another name change soon.

Also See: Profile for site: http://www.morosehellhole.blogspot.com/ "Writing Off Tom Westgard"

Note to Mr. Westgard: You should really update your address with the Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (ARDC) of the Supreme Court of Illinois. They think you're still at 6970 N Sheridan Rd #C Chicago, IL 60626-3560, when in fact that storefront address was vacated in mid-late October, 2008, which we confirmed by sight and by a call to the building's management. Uhm, you might also want to put the correct address on this website, too. And this one.

Newspaper Editor Threatens Two Chicago Bloggers

ACCOSTS BLOGGERS ON STREET, YELLS: "WE'LL SUE YOU! WATCH YOUR MAILBOXES!" ALSO SEE: Newspaper Continues To Threaten Bloggers (2/14/09) We were verbally assaulted by a newspaper editor on Saturday, February 7th. In broad daylight, on a public street, by an editor. Jerk blogger Craig Gernhardt (The Broken Heart) and I were crossing the street on Saturday afternoon over in the People's Democratic Utopia of Rogers Park. We were on our way to Leona's at W. Morse and N. Sheridan to get pizza, which we both agreed is good (and the only thing on Leona's menu that doesn't suck). So much for the restaurant review. As we crossed the street, one of the editors of "The Urban Coaster" (a still-new, socialist propaganda tabloid in Rogers Park, Chicago) walked toward us. He had a mangy dog in tow. With a sneer, the editor said to us, "Well, well, I s'pose you think you're big shots now that the Reader wrote about you." The editor was referring to the Feb. 5 issue of the Chicago Reader, in which Mick Dumke wrote a great piece titled "Where Bloggers Dodge Beers." That title refers to me, when one of Alderman Joe Moore's aides threw a beer at me last summer. She threw it with such force that it destroyed my camera. So I not only have to watch my back for Joe Moore aids, I also have to worry about being verbally assaulted on the street by local tabloid editors. Tabloid editors, who, by the way, are operatives of Joe Moore. Gernhardt and I immediately got the chuckles. "When are you guys going to make your rag newspaper legitimate?" I replied. His name is Francis Scudellari, but he is also known as "Scudmissile," "Scudmuscle," "Frankie," "Scuddles," and words that I won't include here because this is, after all, a family-oriented website. Frankie was flustered. First time I've ever seen him flustered, to be honest, and he was shaking. I've seen him angry before, but to his credit he kept his composure at those moments. "What does that mean?" he said, feigning ignorance. "Your check to the Secretary of State bounced," I guffawed, "you call yourselves incorporated but you're not!" "Hey Frankie," said Gernhard said, laughing, "has your paper gone union yet?" The pasty Scuddlebuttliari went pale, more pale than usual, and his quivering lip threatened to cause his entire head to dislodge. He looked a bit woozy, but managed to raise his voice in a heroic effort. "We'll sue you!" This, of course, only caused us to laugh harder. You know how your cheeks hurt when you laugh really hard, and your eyes kind of tear up a little? Yah, that's what it was. But over our laughter we heard Scudloogy advise us, "YOU BETTER CHECK YOUR MAILBOXES!" For a moment, his pasty face flushed bright red. I couldn't swear to it, but I thought I saw spittle fly from his mouth, over that quivering lower lip, as he said "mailboxes." It was probably the "oxes" part of the word, with that k-s-s combination. It his flustered state, he may have been salivating heavily and so that could have caused a higher than normal amount of liquid to build up in his mouth, which could have been what I thought I saw being propelled from just above that lip. Try it yourself; save up a bunch of spit in your mouth, then try screaming "MAILBOXES." The mangy dog figured he'd heard enough and was, frankly, embarassed by all of this, so Mr. Dog pulled Scudlarian northward, away from us, to a quieter place more suitable to relieving himself. Scudellari is one of three editors/partners of "The Urban Coaster." They refer to themselves in the paper as "The Urban Coaster, Inc." but that is not accurate. You see, not only are they not incorporated, the Illinois Secretary of State's website shows that the check they sent in with their filing papers bounced. That's right, their check bounced. They are not in good standing with the State of Illinois, and to call yourself a corporation when in fact you are not is a violation of state law. (Go here http://www.ilsos.gov/corporatellc/ and search for "The Urban Coaster" and also see "Merchant Alert for Chicago's North Side") In case you haven't guessed yet, there is an animosity between Scudlamander and Gernhardt and me. That is, Scudiarity can't stand either of us. That's only fair play, though, because we're none too fond of him, nor of his pathetic newspaper, "The Urban Coaster." The Urban Coaster is not the first failed venture in which he has joined Westgard and Ginderske. One was the failed "Ginderske 2007" aldermanic campaign. The other was the "Neighbors for a Healthy Rogers Park." (See "NHRP: Ginderske's Sham Organization" and "Smells Like Ginderske") Why does Scudlemon dislike us so much? Well, isn't it obvious? It's because of posts such as this one, which Gernhardt and I do often. He and I enjoy exposing the dishonest, lying, deceitful misreprentation perpetrated by Scudmingdynasty and his partners in slime. There you go. No mystery, really. Vampires hate it when you shine light on them. Scudlinguini is wrong about our feelings about the Reader article. Gernhardt and I are accustomed to being interviewed in print and on the radio, and the Reader article about us didn't even merit a part of our own conversation up to the point that Mr. Scuddlebutt, in a pique of self-loathing, decided he should belittle us for it. I've been the subject of newspaper articles local and national since February 1976, have written newspaper articles, and had my own radio show in the early 1980's. Gernhardt has been written about many times as well. Scudelingus thinks a small mention in the Chicago Reader makes us feel like big shots? Not hardly. I've turned down more interview requests than I have ever accepted, and I'm sure that's true for Gernhardt as well. I am reminded of a "Soprano's" episode in which the mobster Christopher was mentioned in a newspaper article that named him as being under criminal investigation. Christopher ran out to the nearest newspaper box, put coins into it, and pulled out all of the papers. Unlike Christopher in the Sopranos, however, Scudelarrium wants to put all those Chicago Readers back into their boxes. RELATED: Urban Coaster: Non-Local, Non-Union Ginderske Violating State Law Another Sham Ginderske Organization (Updated) Tainted Evidence NHRP: Ginderske's Sham Organization NHRP: Odd Man Out CNB RSS Feed

The Devil Whispers: Attorney Violates Numerous Ethics (Allegedly)

An attorney in Rogers Park, Chicago is calling Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich a "criminal" in an open letter to Illinois Rep. Julie Hamos. That's just wrong, and an attorney should know better, particularly when said attorney fancies himself the editor, albeit of a teeny weeny rag of a childish "newspaper" in Chicago's hyper-provincial 49th Ward. The attorney specializes in mechanics liens law and actively libels or slanders anybody who gets in his way. He is the former campaign chair of failed aldermanic candidate James Ginderske (Democrat, 49th Ward, 2007) and a close confidant of Alderman Joe Moore (Democrat, 49th Ward).

The attorney's name is Thomas J. Westgard. Before I go on, let me be clear: This is not a defense of Rod Blagojevich so much as it is a defense of the right of everyone (you and me, folks) to not be called "a criminal" unless they have been judged so in a court of law. Until such time, persons referring to a criminal defendant should qualify their accusations with words such as "alleged," "suspected," "reputed," or with phrases such as "I believe he is a criminal," or "I think he is a crook." You're now stating your opinion, not a legal falsehood. This goes beyond courtesy, in fact. It is also legally required, and people wrongly called "a criminal" without ever having been found so by a court of law have, in some cases, successfully sued for slander and/or libel damages.

Westgard's violation of this simple rule is inexcusable, ethically questionable, and - sadly - very typical behavior on his part. In the post just under his open letter to Hamos, for example, Westgard has this lovely headline: "Roland Burris is a Corrupt Piece of Shit." Westgard has a nine year old son who will read all this one day (I've been caching it for two years). What a legacy he leaves. But I digress.

As stated, I am no fan of Rod Blagojevich. Frankly, I loathe him. I hope he is impeached, and then convicted. Nevertheless, he deserves the same protection of law that anybody else does. I wish for impeachment or conviction to be accomplished in a tidy, legal, ethical and civilized manner, and only in that manner. Although I thoroughly enjoy watching Democrats snarl and bark at each other, the attorney's unethical behavior is offensive.

Call Blago a bastard, if you will, he's fair game for that. But you cross a line when you call untried, unconvicted persons of criminal behavior. Period. For Westgard, or any attorney, to publicly pronounce Blago "a criminal" is a violation of ethics on several levels.

Let us count the ways:

Said attorney wrote, in that open letter to Rep. Hamas on his blog, "Rod Blagojevich is a criminal..." I know that mechanics liens attorneys are not required to be experts in criminal law, but even a halfwit layman knows that a person who has only been accused of a crime cannot be called a "criminal" until after a judge or jury has decided so. As an attorney, Westgard should know better.

"...who has taken over the Executive Branch of the State of Illinois." Have I been asleep since George Ryan left office? I was under the impression that the Illinois Democrat Party endorsed Blagojevich in two gubernatorial elections. No? Yes? I was also under the impression that Democrat voters voted for him, early and often, thereby electing him fair and square (as fairly as can be expected in Democrat-controlled, scandal ridden, super-corrupt Illinois). So what is Westgard talking about? "Taken over?" Huh?

Westgard blathers on, and we're bored witless three words into his second paragraph. "As a litigator," he has the psychopathic gaul to write, "I am of course familiar with different standards of proof in civil and criminal matters." Westgard then veers off into tangents willy nilly, but he never bothers to explain just what "standards of proof" he feels he has so expertly applied to the matter of citizen Rod Blagojevich that allows him to conclude - without benefit of discovery, examination, cross examination, evidence, and so on - that Blago is in fact "a criminal." Even the federal investigators who listened to the phone conversations of Blago allegedly conspiring to commit illegal acts are bound to see Blago convicted in a court of law before they haul him off to prison.

Notice the use of the word "allegedly" above. Westgard, the carpenter cum mechanics liens lawyer cum newspaper editor, should become acquainted with the word. I would not be writing this had Westgard written something like "I believe Rod Blagojevich is a criminal," I would not be writing this.

Technically, Westgard is a "journalist," not only by virtue of his lousy, 8-page newspaper, but by virtue of his libelous blog site. Any journalist worth their salt, however, knows that the word "allegedly" is not only a standard, but it also serves the purpose of legally covering one's ass. Just add "allegedly" in front of a charge of heinous behavior and voila - in most cases you've wiped away the possibility of being sued. Why doesn't attorney/litigator/editor/journalist Westgard know this, and if he does, why doesn't he adhere to it?

Westgard wrote, in his boring letter to Hamos, "We in Illinois deserve to be protected from bad government..." The idiocy of that statement is mind numbing. While Attorney Westgard says that Illinoisans "deserve to be protected from bad government," he apparently does not feel that we all deserve equal protection when charged with legal wrongdoing. While I am not happy that Blago is still - or ever was elected as - our governor, I must recognize that he legally holds that office. Westgard would, it seems, prefer a quick lynching and 3-foot deep burial, and to hell with the inconvenience of legal proceedings.

Westgard continued his vile spew: "...and if Blagojevich has no other problems, he can go find a new job like everyone else who is fired for malfeasance." More idiocy. First, Blago does have other problems. He allegedly owes, by now, well over half a million dollars in legal fees and the meter is running furiously. As for finding a new job "like everyone else who is fired," I must ask when Blagojevich was "fired." The phrase "everyone else" is quite different than the phrase "like everyone." Adding "else" in there makes it inclusive, and as far as I know, Blago is not included in the long list of people who have been fired, at least not as regards his current legally attained and legally held job. Shouldn't an attorney - even a lowly mechanics liens lawyer - know this?

"If he has problems with a federal prosecutor, that's not a burden that Illinoisans should have to bear." Well, it is if that's what your contract provides. Furthermore, Westgard has no problem whatsoever with taxpayers picking up the tab for public defenders providing legal counsel to accused gangsters, child molesters, and so on. Getting back to Blago, he is under no legal obligation to resign his office. You may argue that Blago has a moral obligation to save the taxpayers some dough, but he has no legal obligation.

Westgard finishes his moronic rant with this: "A big decision is always accompanied by some trepidation, and some people are more inclined to self-doubt than others. This desire to devolve into philosophy is just the devil whispering in your ear." It is fascinating that Attorney Westgard considers the application of philosophy to be a kind of devolution. In essence, he is asking Hamos to just stop thinking about the impeachment process and to get on with it. Would Westgard apply this same mentality in a court of law on behalf of a client? Would he approach the judge and say, "Look your honor, all this talk is a waste of time. Can you just cut to the chase, not devolve into philosophical flights of fancy and bothersome mountains of evidence, and quickly rule in my client's favor?" Perhaps he would. He seems to be advocating for that kind of behavior in his open letter to Hamos.

To repeat, Blagojevich may well be guilty, but until he is given a fair trial he is legally not a criminal. Not officially, anyway, and until such time that he may be convicted he has the same rights that any other person has under both our state and federal constitutions. The same goes for any impeachment of Blagojevich. Rep. Hamos and other elected officials in Springfield have a difficult decision ahead of them. To impeach or not to impeach, that is their question. While I hope they move for impeachment, I would also hope that they impeach Blagojevich for the legally proper reasons. To do otherwise would be to take the advice of a whispering devil.

How Predictable, How Sadly Predictable

Leave it to a self-described "progressive Democrat" to attack John McCain's Veep pick Sarah Palin based on - substance? nope ... age. That's right, the individual I refer to is attacking McCain's choice by mocking the age difference. Now, let me be fair: The individual to whom I refer is NOT typical of the progressives I know, some of whom I call friends. Rather, he is a sick individual who is himself loathed by most of the true progressive Democrats in Chicago. He is Thomas J. Westgard, a man who openly hates transsexuals and gay people, mocks women, and now gleefully mocks senior citizens and women. Westgard, who has a wide reputation as a misogynist in Rogers Park, even has the nerve to show a scandalous video about McCain's extramarital affair. Now, I'm not excusing the marital affair, but for Westgard to mock anybody's is hypocrisy to the max. Westgard himself screwed up his own marriage - while his coffee shop was going down the toilet, his wife grabbed their kid and fled to Indiana to hide out with her mother and retains custody today. See for yourselves (links below, all posts cached). Westgard will notice a spike - again - in his pitiful numbers. Before he brags about it - as he did the last time I directed a bunch of hits his way - he should consider who the spike is coming from (again): People being directed to his sick blog to see what a tragic lunatic he is. Note: He makes no money on any hits to his blog, so click away. Westgard is a close ally of Alderman Joe Moore (49th Ward) and of Moore's lacky Jim Ginderske. All three of them avidly support Barack Obama for president. GOP Exactly 24 Years Behind Dems John McCain Sure Likes 'Em Pretty Mail-Order Running Mate The Next Hot Thing John and Sarah

JOE MOORE PAL MOCKS THEATER FIRE

This morning, after a fire was extinguished in the Morse Theatre in Rogers Park, one of Alderman Moore's buddies wasted no time mocking the entire situation - and once again take advantage of a sad situation to libel theater owner Andy McGhee. Thomas J. Westgard, a tragic, bitter and insane waste of protoplasm, wrote this: Venue owner Andy McGhee, who occasionally claims to be interested in improving the neighborhood, immediately cooperated with two local hatebloggers to promote the idea that this event is arson. This leaves me with so many unanswered questions. Above all, I'm amazed that it's possible to determine so quickly that it's an arson, and with the degree of certainty necessary to announce the fact to self-styled "journalists." Fact-checking, anyone? It was preceded by a tasteless post yesterday: "Photoshop Funnies," which, apparently, the tasteless Westgard thinks is funny. Note to Westgard: McGhee did not "cooperate" with the two citizen journalists that you so hatefully call "hatebloggers." He merely spoke to us about the situation. (Funny, we didn't see YOU on the scene, Mr. Know-It-All.) Before McGhee even arrived, Craig Gernhardt and I were on the scene and, although we are not experts, even a non-expert could see a pile of rubbish that had been set afire, the holes punched in the walls, the vandalized glass upstairs, and several large graffiti scrawlings. You're "amazed that it's possible to determine so quickly that it's an arson?" You stupid ass, Westgard, even a dumb, ignorant layman like me can read the writing on the wall - literally. You have not even looked inside of the theater. Where are your photos? Who did you interview? Fuck you and your dogs, Westgard.

Wrong Question

Yesterday, I published a post with the title "When Will This Liar be Disbarred?" In that post, I posed a question regarding attorney Thomas J. Westgard: From: "RogersParkPlace" To: rogersparkbench "When will somebody have the balls to sue this bastard and get his sorry ass out of the Illinois Bar?" Why don't you sue him? RESPONSE: I am not at liberty to discuss pending legal matters.

Blogwatch: You Call This "Frequent?"

"Short, frequent updates in mechanics lien matters, mostly in Illinois," the banner says. I guess it depends on what the meaning of "frequent" is. Today is July 2. As of 1:25 p.m. today, the last update at Illinois Lien Mechanics Blog was on April 12. Perhaps the name should be changed to "Illinois Lean Mechanics Blog."

Disregard for Human Life

The Bench recorded these image of today's construction on the northeast corner of W. Morse and N. Greenview in Rogers Park at 9:25 a.m. The man is cutting pavement without wetting it while his partner stands close by. Wetting the pavement, according to self-proclaimed pavement cutting expert Thomas J. Westgard, "is the proper technique" - this is why a wet saw is called a wet saw.

The rest of this post is based on the expertise of Mr. Westgard, who is expert in Everything Known to Man.

According to Mr. Westgard, the absence of water causes finely divided particles to fill the air. These particles then drift into the crevices in the lungs and stay there, in a process very similar to black lung that affects coal miners. Another option, not perfect but better anyway, would be to wear an OSHA mask. In any event, this is a cloud of toxins with a human in it, taken today on a public street in Alderman Joe Moore's 49th Ward. The cloud, as you can see, engulfed passing pedestrians who are now victims of Joe Moore's callous disregard for human life.

Also notable is the lack of safety goggles on the worker standing nearby. The device this man is standing near runs at something like 4,000 rpm, and the carbide wheel is designed to flake off as it grinds. If something flew from the saw, notes Mr. Westgard, it could hit the man who has no goggles in his eye, thereby blinding him permanently and causing the next twelve generations of his family to suffer horribly.

Ideally these are only small flakes of powder size, notes Mr. Westgard, but sometimes a carbide wheel is defective, or the workpiece has an inclusion, like an unexpected metal bolt, and the wheel can shatter and send larger chunks of material flying at high speed into the surrounding area. A full facemask for both men would be a good option here, says Westgard, but what's truly essential is protecting the eyes. Granted, testicles are also important, but I've lived my whole life without one. Thank God I still have both eyeballs. It's one thing to have a scar on your cheek; it's something else entirely to lose an eye. The cutter's partner has nothing but air between the point of cutting and his corneas.

Finally, says Mr. Westgard, this is the wrong tool for the job. In this context, there's plenty of room for a much safer tool - a table wetsaw. As anyone who has used a chainsaw for wood knows, there's a serious risk of kickback or overcut with a hand tool like this one. That's one reason why sawmills use stationary saws wherever possible - the other is that you get better cuts with a stationary tool. Sometimes you have to use the more dangerous hand tool, and if that's what the job requires, then you do it. But this man is suffering the unnecessary risk that this tool will fly out of control. You might also notice the gasoline can a couple of scant feet from the hot saw blade. One spark or hot flying piece of debris could ignite the gasoline, thereby immolating both men and, possibly, any passersby.

Looks like Alderman Moore and Mayor Daley are getting their costs cut - but not without putting human beings at risk of injury or death. It should be added that Mr. Westgard did nothing to remedy this situation, nor will he offer aid or comfort to either of these men or any of the pedestrians who involuntarily inhaled this nightmare cloud of toxins.

Remember how Lorraine Swanson published a story about the supposed "toxic plume" of asbestos that was floating through the north end of Loyola Park from the North Shore School?

Damn, that was a great job of reporting. She accurately reported what the Illinois environmental authorities said. Aside from being timely, that story had the unintended effect of making Joe Moore look like an uncaring, out of touch fool. The truth hurts, you know, and Mr. Moore was undoubtedly embarrassed by being caught with his pants down, so to speak. Here is an actual picture of a human being in a toxic plume in Rogers Park, working on a public sector job for the City of Chicago.

Unfortunately for the likes of Joe Moore, Jim Ginderske, and all the other fakes who pretend to be champions of the People, the very Government that they suck at the teat of and look to for protection is responsible for it. If Thomas J. Westgard wants to hunts down dangerous plumes, will he hunt down this one? Will he go after the City of Chicago for its medieval labor practices?

Don't hold your breath.

He Got it Wrong (As Usual)

Lorraine Swanson had already been kicked out of the Gassman v. Residents meeting last Thursday night by the time I arrived. I never entered the room, nor did Craig Gernhardt, who arrived minutes after I did. Still, as is habitual for him, Tom Westgard lied about this. I saw Westgard walk by the meeting twice, once toward the beach then back to Sheridan, whence he walked northbound. He did not stop to observe. He just walked by, both times well after the ejection of Ms. Swanson had occured. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from writing this: Update - Turns out that who you walk into a room with can have a pretty big effect. Lorraine Swanson walked into the meeting accompanied by Mannis and Gernhardt, and Gassman made the obvious inference: that they were all together. It's good to keep track of the company you're keeping. Neither Gernhardt nor I accompanied Swanson into the meeting. In fact, Gassman made no "inference" about Swanson. In fact, Swanson was narced out by Blaine Roberts. Furthermore, all non-residents were ejected, so it was not as if Gassman was discriminating against Swanson in particular. Once again, douche bag Westgard is wrong, wrong, wrong. FULL DISCLOSURE: Tom Westgard and Jim Ginderske have personal interests in seeing to it that the Heartland Alliance maintains a pristine reputation. After all, they were key players in getting a wad of your tax dollars to install a Heartland Alliance operation at 2200 West Touhy Avenue this past February with help from Congressman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). (See: Heartland Health Center - Rogers Park Grand Opening and New Health Center to Open in the 49th Ward.) SEE: NEWS-STAR REPORTER KICKED OUT OF MEETING

Mr. Westgard, Your Permit, Please

Tom Westgard doesn't want you to see these photographs. They prove that he has violated building code.

These photos were taken in the Ginderske 2007 campaign office, which is now the office of Thomas J. Westgard, Atty. He was Ginderske's campaign chair, and is now a supporter of embattled Alderman Joe Moore.

Since late February, Westgard has ripped apart walls, applied new drywall, and constructed a reception desk in the middle of the office. (See "Westgard Coy About Code Violations")

According to the City of Chicago's Department of Buildings, "permits are required for interior remodeling for the removal of plaster, lath and drywall." Hmmm. Can we see your permit, Mr. Westgard? Or perhaps you would like to provide photos of your office in its current state?

In a comment on his own blog, Westgard once implied that he has only painted walls and built furniture. Nope.

We ask again: Is Alderman Joe Moore covering up or overlooking this clear code violation for his new supporter?

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