COUNCIL GETS EARFUL OVER REMOVAL OF TRUMP SIGN
Chicago aldermen got an angry earful Wednesday about their decision to remove the honorary sign outside the hotel and condominium that bears the name of Presidentelect Donald Trump.
It came from former Chicago Public Schools teacher-turned- Maxwell Street merchant George Blakemore, who has made a career out of giving aldermen a piece of his mind, sometimes using profane language.
Days after the Chicago Department of Transportation finally got around to taking down the Trump sign, Blakemore demanded that the sign be put back up.
“You passed it. He was honorable then. What makes him not honorable now that you take it down? Because he’s elected the president of the United States? Stop this nonsense between the Democratic machine and Republicans. This man is all of our president. We want him to succeed,” Blakemore yelled.
“For somebody to do this is a criminal act. What did he do so bad that Streets and Sanitation snatched it down. Put it back. It makes this city look bad. We want to unite the people. You gave him this sign. Are you God that you can give and take away at will?”
When Blakemore finished speaking, Joan Baez’s version of “Kumbaya” mysteriously started playing on the public address system in the City Council committee room. It was not known who was playing disc jockey.
This year, aldermen amended the City Council’s Rules of Procedures to impose a three- minute time limit on public testimony. The new rules were primarily aimed at 74- year- old Blakemore, so much so that they’re known around City Hall as the “Blakemore Rules.”