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.

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.
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