The Language of Mayor Daley: On The Obamacade

The Medill newsroom is conveniently located across the street from where Obama’s transition team has been meeting the last couple of weeks, so it’s been very interesting to see the motorcade coming and going all the time. Everyday I can watch Chicago police block off a chunk of Clark Street to let the motorcade out, pausing rush hour traffic by car AND by foot, so the motorcade can move along.

There has been a lot of discussion of the cost to the city of Obama’s presence here, dating back to the day he announced Obamapalooza. Lately that discussion has centered around Chicago’s thinly-spread police department. The police here do a great job of maintaining order with what they have to work with. Daley’s relationship with the police department always been somewhat tumultuous, appeasing them when he needs a favor and throwing them under the bus when it helps him secure votes.

As for the issue of whether Chicago’s police force is being over-burdened by the presence of the president-elect, our favorite Mayor had this to say:

“This is a great honor…We’re excited about him being here. This is his transition. He could go to Washington, D.C…He’s not going to buy right into Washington. He’s here and he has people from all walks of life coming here. It is putting us on a global map more than anything else.”

More than anything else? Sure, I guess you’re right. And if we want those Olympics, Chicago better get on that map quickly, no? Oh, and good move dissing Washington, D.C. Yes, Daley, do go on…

“In Washington, D.C., the Secret Service [would] be doing most of this — even outside the buildings. We’ve taken that responsibility and they’re going to reimburse us for that… We’ll utilize resources from headquarters and the training academy until next week. [After that], off-duty officers will be compensated at time-and-a-half, to be paid by the federal government. This is a temporary measure that does not take any officers off Chicago streets.

Well, for starters, in Washington, the President does not leave his house that often. He has a sweet commute from the living quarters to the West Wing. Whereas here, The Obamacade clogs up the downtown area twice a day, plus they patrol outside the Federal Building all day. Also, after living in DC myself for 2 years, I never noticed the presidential presence nearly this month. It’s obviously a well-practiced plan by now

But now I have to wonder: Why would the police presence be needed at all? Why can’t the Secret Service cover all of it on their own? They have been carrying Obama all over the country for quite some time now, so I think they would probably be relieved to only cover his movement between the South Side and the South Loop.

Also, if the police officers working are actually “off-duty” and will be paid overtime, doesn’t that mean that our police officers are working more than usual? Isn’t it true that if one were suddenly working a lot of overtime, it might cause one to be a little more tired? How would that not affect their work? I certainly hope that these officers aren’t being pressured into taking extra shifts because it’s difficult to ask even more from a group of people who already work so hard to keep us safe.