Graffiti is a problem in a lot of cities, but the tagging that annoys me most is that of American politicians. Take the Secretary of State for Illinois, Jesse White, as an example. I see his name everywhere and it’s making me crazy. He’s adorning my fucking driver’s license in a place more prominently featured than my own!
The website to deal with renewing license plates or anything driving is called “The Official Web site for Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White”. His HEAD is part of the logo! That just pisses me off to no end. If I ever get the right to vote in this country, the first thing I’ll do is vote for anyone but this self-promoting clown.
Stop worrying about spray cans and start worrying about the tagging of these renegade politicians. It’s much more costly to clean up their shenanigans.
Bret
on 06 Jul 09It’s a great way for incumbents to make their name synonymous with their role, so don’t expect it to stop any time soon.
You should create a site that details what it costs taxpayers to slap “Richard M. Daley, Mayor” on everything. Maybe that could create enough pressure to force them to stop.
Tyler
on 06 Jul 09That’s been a problem in Illinois for a long time. It’s not just Jesse White either – every podunk mayor, commissioner and dog-catcher slaps his or her name on signs for parks, buildings, etc. Pretty ridiculous.
J L
on 06 Jul 09I couldn’t agree more; I live in downstate Illinois, and I see that guy’s name everywhere! Buildings, roadway signs… even more than the Governor’s name, although that’s become a revolving door…
But you know who I blame? The people of Illinois! It’s US who vote in these megalomaniacs every few years. Until we get our own act together and vote for someone else for a change, we can’t blame our politicians for being self-aggrandizing slimeballs…
Benjy
on 06 Jul 09David, I have a feeling we’ll see less of this in Illinois after the state had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to remove Rod Blagojevich’s name from signage, etc. after he was kicked out of office…
I agree that it’s an unnecessary ego boost and one that does require additional maintenance when office holders change. We’re not directly dealing with White, etc. so why should his presence matter. It’d be like having Jeff Bezos in the Amazon.com header… hell, even Steve Jobs isn’t present on the Apple homepage!
George
on 06 Jul 09What, you expected something different from the state that gave us Barack Narcissus Obama? Chicago politics, baby!
nickd
on 06 Jul 09a nice post on daley’s name ubiquity at the taste of chicago.
Sarah
on 06 Jul 09“His HEAD is part of the logo!”—Ha! Thanks for the mid-afternoon laugh.
Paul Smith
on 06 Jul 09I would hope should you ever gain the right to vote, you would find substantive matters on which to exercise your franchise rather than aesthetic ones. You should inform yourself about the policy issues facing this state, from budget priorities to capital infrastructure. I suggest The Capitol Fax and Progress Illinois for two great statewide political new sources.
Matthew Murray
on 06 Jul 09While I am not generally a fan of ballot initiatives since they have pretty much crippled California, this issue seems prime for one: forbidding elected officials to plaster their name all over public signage. Embarrassing for a great city like Chicago to have these people think they own the city.
John
on 06 Jul 09When I lived in Virginia, they were phasing out the excise tax on cars. We got tons of mail about Gov. Gilmore’s Car Tax Repeal and how the first year of Gov. Gilmore’s Car Tax Repeal we’d pay 20% less and then Gov. Gilmore’s Car Tax Repeal would save us even more, because Gov. Gilmore’s Car Tax Repeal was in effect, yo. And on and on.
Of course when all the local governments started running out of money some of us pointed out that Gov. Gilmore’s Car Tax Repeal depleted the funds used to pay for schools, police, other little luxuries like that!
killian
on 06 Jul 09nice one David…
@Benjy: it took almost $500K to get helmet-hairs name off the signs! http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/jan/30/local/chi-tollway-signs-31-jan31
@J L: Thing is you are not going to run for public office without an inflated ego and you are probably not going to win without being a self promoter!
FredS
on 06 Jul 09I remember when Alderman Matlak signs were EVERYWHERE. I was so happy when he lost.
Anonymous Coward
on 06 Jul 09I agree with the basic premise of David’s post. But also, there is always the contingent that likes to know/see/relate to the people running their state/city/municipal lives, as these have more true impact regarding most daily affairs than those at the national level. Still, David is right for the most part, and this is truly overkill.
Which brings up @George ’s comment:
How does Obama’s foregoing a premium corporate gig for a shitty municipal /CHI town community organizer/state senator job make him a narcissist? Surely the back-slappin’ good-ol’ boys politics you’re certain to affiliate with has more than its share of narcissists of the “f#@k-the-poor-(or fill in ‘poor’ with women, minorities, dark-skinned Italians, all non-Anglo European immigrants …)onlyI- am-an authentic-American” variety?
Sean Iams
on 06 Jul 09Great post David!
This the ultimate example of using taxpayer money to fund a year-round campaign for the incumbent.
I wonder how the numbers compare: Cost for the incumbent’s perpetual signage vs. The incumbent’s campaign budget during an election year
Anonymous Coward
on 07 Jul 09Be careful, or you’ll be “disappeared” by the Jesse White Tumblers.
David Andersen
on 07 Jul 09@Paul Smith -
David’s point IS substantive. It’s a symptom of the power madness almost every politician has, and that almost always leads to more problems for the rest of us, though based on your links you probably don’t care and think it’s a good thing. Stay out of my life!
jaredvork
on 07 Jul 09I think about this every time I visit a public building or drive over a bridge into another state. The problem is just as big in Ohio. Do I really need to see the Governor’s name every time visit a state park? I don’t so much mind that politicians plaster their names everywhere. What really upsets me is paying for it with my tax dollars. It should be considered campaigning, and they should have to pay to put up their name and pay to take it down when they leave office.
Gnubeutel
on 07 Jul 09I think the next mayor/governor should charge his predecessor for the sum it takes to replace his face and name all over the town/state. I don’t think tax payer money should be used for that. Might be a bit late, but it’s a lesson for life.
Anonymous Coward
on 07 Jul 09I understand your frustration, but this post is seriously lacking the 37 signals style and quality. Very disappointed, very glad its the rare exception and not the norm.
Hendrik-Jan
on 07 Jul 09I understand your frustration, but this post is seriously lacking the 37 signals style and quality. Very disappointed, very glad its the rare exception and not the norm.
Steve
on 07 Jul 09Living in Chicago, I’ve often wondered about this. Perhaps the candidates at the next mayoral election should offer to rename themselves to Richard M. Daley in the event that they won; it’d certainly save the city a ton of money.
Merle
on 07 Jul 09David, you’d probably be too busy to vote.
mikemike
on 07 Jul 09—READ THIS RANT! --
Hey, America had its chance last year. Ron Paul ran in the primary election, and got a lousy 7% of the vote. My wife and I are moving to Nevis now because we don’t want to live in a tyranny, with a population of ignoramus that doesn’t understand the definition of a tyranny. So, if you intend on staying in America, you’ll just have to deal with the politicians, and you’ll have to deal with 65% communist taxes, disguised as inflation, social security, fees, and other miscellaneous vacuums in which we get to put our money here. My wife and I will be enjoying 10% taxes living 25 feet from the beach. Best of all, we get to live knowing that our taxes are not spent on killing people, and making high-tech weapons.
Anonymous Coward
on 07 Jul 09Bush didn’t use any tax money for the war, he borrowed it from China (that’s called deficit spending, a socialist practice…deficit spending is spending money you don’t have so that you can say you’re not increasing taxes or using anyone’s tax money). So, now…wait for it…Who’s the socialist? Hmmmmm. Me thinky it Georgy Bushy…
Merle
on 07 Jul 09Mike Mike, You can move wherever you want but the good old USA will still be doing the dirty work for YOU just like it does for the rest of the world. But if you can kid yourself that your somehow more noble by moving offshore, and you’re lucky enough to afford it (I guess the USA had little to do with that) then go for it bro!
carlivar
on 07 Jul 09Please note: criticism of Obama does not mean support of Bush. Support of Ron Paul does not mean support of Bush.
Thank you.
Ahh political posts… blog kindling.
carlivar
on 07 Jul 09@mikemike: It seems to me like I would get “island fever” on a small island. Also what’s the price of goods like since everything is imported? How is electricity produced? What is the Nevis policy on immigration? How much does real estate cost and do you own or rent?
I’d love to get out too, Atlas Shrugged style, but I’m not sure where to go. Many of the larger Caribbean islands actively discourage immigration because they know they’ve got a sweet deal (such as the Bahamas).
As for the comment on the U.S. “doing the world’s dirty work”. Well, that is not what the USA was supposed to be about. Read George Washington’s farewell address some time. He asks us to be friendly to all nations but not to form entangling alliances (or political parties… also excellent advice).
Anonymous Coward
on 07 Jul 09@mikemike,
Send a postcard.
Abhinav
on 07 Jul 09This is nothing compared to http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Editorial/Mayawati-and-the-40-statues/articleshow/4722566.cms
Paul
on 07 Jul 09Actually I think putting the office holders name on things is a good thing. It prevents them from hiding behind a bureaucracy. If you don’t like that website/bridge/park sign, you know exactly who is to blame.
Cody
on 07 Jul 09I agree, this is a completely unacceptable use of public money. Glad this doesn’t happen very much where I live.
Anonymous Coward
on 07 Jul 09Apparently, Denmark is a utopia! Let’s all move there!
JF
on 07 Jul 09Actually I think putting the office holders name on things is a good thing. It prevents them from hiding behind a bureaucracy. If you don’t like that website/bridge/park sign, you know exactly who is to blame.
They tend to only put their names on the things you’ll tend to like like open-road tolling (in Illinois). Unfortunately there’s not a structure for “Government Waste” or “Excess Taxation” or “This Policy Promised a Lot but Delivered Nothing.”
Benjamin
on 08 Jul 09Life is easy for me because I hate all politicians and damn near everything they do. I choose liberty.
Mark
on 08 Jul 09@JF
Jason is right, they DO tend to place their mugs only on new/likable things. In fact, leaders on both ends of the political spectrum tend to focus much attention/dollars on new projects/structures, etc, because of their newsworthiness; no one gets publicity or news coverage for spending budget funds repairing dangerously-compromised bridges or for renovating an old abandoned building and converting it into a Y. Those things have little value for our blood-hungry/new-hungry public appetites.
Matthew Riley MacPherson
on 09 Jul 09I work in government (as a web developer) and I totally agree with what you’re saying. While there’s going to be some overlap between politicians and government (obviously), where I work there’s a clear understanding that the government site is not a politic party’s site, and both the party in power and our agency totally get and respect that.
Again, if a politician launches a project, they’re going to be at the press conference and they’re gonna be in the photos from that event. And that’s what makes sense to display a lot of the time. But having your elected officials as part of a license plate or a website banner (unless its their website) is pretty ridiculous, and I’d be peeved too.
sam
on 13 Jul 09yeah it’s all shit
This discussion is closed.