Before they throw papa Joe under the bus 3 questions for Tom Rickets & family

UPDATE: See update below.

Before the Ricketts' family dismisses the racist super pac proposal I have some question for Tom Ricketts that I would love local media and Mayor Emanuel to ask (provided he takes their calls).  The questions are from the following passage in the New York Times article that exposed Tom Ricketts:

"The proposal was presented last week in Chicago to associates and family members of Mr. Ricketts, who is also the patriarch of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs."

• What Ricketts' family members were there when the proposal was presented?
• Were any of the Ricketts' family members that were present members of the Chicago Cubs ownership team?
• While Tom Ricketts' condemned the racist plan after it was revealed that his father and other family members considered it, are any members of the Cubs ownership team on board with Joe Ricketts super pac and its efforts to unseat President Obama?

It easy to dismiss this as a misguided attempt by Joe Ricketts, but the article talks about Ricketts family members.  Who are those family members and what are their roles with the Chicago Cubs?  Might Tom be involved?

UPDATE: According to the New York Times the proposal was presented to two of Joe Ricketts's sons, it should be pointed out that all of the Ricketts' children are in the ownership group of the Chicago Cubs so it is absolutely fair to say that members of the Chicago Cubs ownership group sought to attack President Obama.

"The president and general counsel of the Ending Spending Political Action Fund, Brian Baker, said through a spokesman that the plan was submitted to a group that included him and two of Mr. Ricketts’s sons at a meeting in Chicago last week. 'I was surprised and troubled by what I saw,' he said. 'It was not what we asked for.'"

The Ricketts family is against “wasteful government spending” unless it helps make them rich

Chicago Cubs owner Joe Ricketts dislikes government spending so much that he spent over a half a million dollars of his own money to fight against it. According to the Huffington Post (HuffPo) Ricketts was the “sole financier of the Ending Spending Fund” which invested nearly $600,000 into the Nevada US Senate race against Majority Leader Harry Reid.

HuffPo also points out that the fund is the political arm of a new nonprofit called Taxpayers Against Earmarks, which is "dedicated to educating and engaging American taxpayers about wasteful government spending and the misguided practice of earmarks."

In a video on the group’s website and YouTube page Joe Rickets says, “I think its a crime for our elected officials to borrow money today, to spend money today and push the repayment of that loan out into the future on people who are not even born yet.”

Its funny that Joe Ricketts is so passionate against “wasteful government spending” when his family, led by son, Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts, has just asked the people of Illinois to borrow $300 million in a bond offering so that it can rehab Wrigley Field. This request follows a vote in Mesa, AZ which guaranteed the Cubs $84 million in public funds to build a new spring training stadium and facility.

Does Joe Ricketts think its a crime that the family business will collect $84 million from one government body, while asking for $300 million from another?

When he talks about borrowing money today and forcing that debt on the unborn he is literally talking about the very scheme that the Cubs are pushing. That plan calls for the bonds to be paid off over 35 years through amusement taxes. Many of the individuals paying those amusement taxes haven’t been conceived yet, hell some of their parents are still in elementary school.

The Ricketts’ family is a perfect example of these so called fiscal conservatives who gin up the outrage against government spending while at the same time using corporate welfare to increase their profit margins.

To these folks funding health care, education, infrastructure, public transportation and public safety is an unnecessary waste of money.

Simply put Joe Ricketts is selfish with an outsized sense of entitlement.

I support the responsible investment of public funds into private sector businesses that leads to economic development and puts people to work. In this case however I encourage members of the Illinois legislature to watch Joe Ricketts video before casting their vote. They should think twice about being an accomplice to what he calls a crime.

BREAKING: Chicago Cubs consider bankruptcy filing. . .SOX FANS GLOAT!

White Sox: 2005 World Series Champs
Cubs: 2009 Bankruptcy Filers the first MLB team in 39 years to do so.

We know there is a very shrewd business reason for this filing, but considering Cubs fans think their dominance in attendance means that they are the superior organization, a POTENTIAL BANKRUPTCY on the Cubs part is definitely worth 24-28 hours of Sox fans TALKING MAJOR TRASH!

Bloomberg: Chicago Cubs Bankruptcy Looms as Way to Finish Sale by Tribune

By Greg Bensinger and Gadi Dechter

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- The Chicago Cubs may become the first Major League Baseball team in 39 years to file for bankruptcy as Tribune Co. seeks to sell the franchise after months of negotiations.

Tribune sought Chapter 11 protection in December. It is contemplating a separate filing for the Cubs to expedite the team’s estimated $900 million sale to interested bidders, including Incapital LLC Chairman Tom Ricketts, according to four people familiar with the plan.

A brief Cubs bankruptcy would be a legal maneuver to clear the team from any future liability in the Tribune bankruptcy, according to two of the people familiar with the matter. Sam Zell, chief executive officer of Chicago-based Tribune, pledged the company’s interest in the Cubs as collateral when he negotiated the deal to take the publisher private in 2007, according to one of those people.

“You take it in the front door, and it’s just like you’re getting radiation,” said Michael J. Cramer, a former president of the Texas Rangers who teaches sports business at New York University. “It comes out the other door about a half minute later. It’s clean.”
-snip-

Racism in Wrigley's Bleachers?

Rather than seeing this as an indictment of all Cubs fans or being defensive about it Cubs fans will be well served if they just shut up the next idiot who makes a racist comment. If the fans institute their own zero tolerance policy players will talk about how Wrigley has gotten better.

I bet a lot of folks are shocked to learn that the Torii Hunter passed on the Chicago Cubs because of the perception that there are racists hanging out in the bleachers.

Chicago Sun-Times: Crowd burst
Potential storm in forecast as volatile outfielder meets fans known for racist taunts, but Bradley sure he can handle bleacher creatures

April 15, 2009
BY GORDON WITTENMYER gwittenmyer@suntimes.com

Milton Bradley says he's aware of Wrigley Field's reputation for fans who not only boo their own players, but also have a history of getting racial.

He also says he's ready for it.

''I can be like that guy that you watch all the time for whatever reason,'' he said, referring to his track record of angry outbursts and run-ins. ''But I really think I've outgrown it, a lot of the stuff that I did when I was younger.''

Still, this seems at first glance a curious marriage between the Cubs and their newest big-money free agent, who's expected to return from a groin injury during this weekend's home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. And it might prove to be the biggest test of the new man Bradley says he is at this point in his life and career.
-snip-

The Cubs should erect a Jumbotron in front of the Lakeview Baseball Club . . .

. . .and tell Anthony Racky to keep his money.

A story in today's Chicago Sun-Times reports that Anthony Racky, who owns the Lakeview Baseball Club, is withholding his 2008 profit sharing payment from the Chicago Cubs because he claims a Jumbotron erected for the NHL's New Year Classic blocked the view from his rooftop club on January 1.

We can understand why he would withhold a payment for that particular event, however the profit sharing payment he is withholding is from the 2008 baseball season and it was due on December 31, 2008, a day before the New Year Classic. No where in the article does Mr. Racky claim that there were any problems during the 2008 season.

In 2004 owners of rooftop clubs across the street from Wrigley Field and overlooking the ballpark agreed to pay the Cubs 17% of their gross revenues for the next 20 years. The Cubs/Major League Baseball are entitled to this compensation because they own the intellectual property rights to their games. It should be noted that radio and TV broadcasters pay hefty fees for the rights to carry professional and college sports.

If the Cubs didn't reach an agreement with the rooftop owners they would have been well within their rights to put up barriers in an effort to block the view from the clubs. Furthermore it would be reasonable to assume that the Cubs are losing money in this deal, for if they put up billboards and Jumbotrons the potential revenue generated could dwarf the income from the rooftops. Windy City Watch feels the rooftop owners have a good deal and should honor it, if it were up to us the Cubs would have been entitled to a percentage of all revenues generated by rooftop owners in the years prior to 2004. . .with interest.