Rahm Snubs Cubs Over Political Contributions
Mayor Rahm Emanuel taking in a Cubs gameIt appears Wrigley Field's long-awaited upgrades may be hitting some political snags in this 2012 election cycle when word came out that Chicago Cubs owner considered donating $10 million dollars to President Obama's opponent. The rumor didn't please former Chief of Staff under Obama and current Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the president's friend and former chief of staff, has since refused negotiate financing or even take phone calls from the Cubs chairman. A best-selling author took to the Internet to vow never to step foot in Wrigley again.
Now fans are left wondering if the complicated financial deals and presidential politics mean the team's owners will have to put more money into the stadium, and less into building a winning team.
So if Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade and head of the Cubs-owning Ricketts family, were to donate to the Obama campaign... one can only assume Rahm would be quick to take that call.
But in a city like Chicago, the president's hometown, such pleas appear to be going nowhere. One of the black aldermen, Howard Brookins, told the AP that the Ricketts should have expected such "blowback."
"Especially with someone with the reputation of Rahm Emanuel, who punishes people who are his political enemies," Brookins said. "I don't know how you think you can get away with that."
This isn't the first time the Cubs have experienced petty grievances from the left. They had a big target on their back when they converted Wrigley into a football field and brought in a non-Union turf company that specialized in professional and collegiate sports turf, then returned it to it's improved state. Since then the Cubs organization has been looked down upon by Democrats and Big Labor proponents like Emanuel.
Permalink | tagged 2012, Campaign, Chicago, Cubs, Donation, Howard Brookins, Joe Ricketts, Obama, Rahm Emanuel, TD Ameritrade
Reader Comments (3)
If sport franchises can afford to pay multi-million dollar contracts to players, then they can afford to finance facility improvements themselves, with the added benefit of not being shaken down for donations by gangsters disguising themselves as politicians.
What Mach says is quite valid.
In addition, when in Chicago, you pay to play. Nothing happens unless the proper Machine palms are greased. It's been a town of obscenely crooked politics for more than a century, and Rahm Emanuel is just the latest scumbag to ride along in the ceremonial chair. The Machine rules all.
That said, Ricketts might want to be on the lookout for one of Filthy Mouth Rahm's trademarked dead fish deliveries.
Nice stadium yoouse got there, be a shame if something happened to it.