I grew up hearing, “Bozo’s Circus is on the air!” every day at noon. I had either a bologna and cheese, tuna fish or BLT sandwich in front of me, along with a nickel bag of Yo-Ho potato chips. Channel 9 at noon had a captive audience of school children, and when the Grand Prize Game was over, it was the signal to return to school.
When that show went off the air, it was the end of an era, a lost piece of history that would forever be a memory until … the election of Chicago’s current mayor, along with his band of 50 merry aldermen and a bunch of other minions in his administrative sideshow. I’ve given our current mayor the moniker of Bozo Brandon (BB). His administration team is an absolute circus of ineptness.
When BB appointed David Brown as head of the police department, I thought that was one of the worst decisions he could have ever made. Brown mumbled his way through interviews. He wore dark-tinted glasses that reminded me of people who try to hide their eyes from scrutiny. Who can forget, when in his most illustrious moment, Police Superintendent David Brown referred to deceased officer Ella French as Ella Fitzgerald? That was an absolute embarrassment.
But wait, BB is now on the trail to outdo himself. His nomination of Pastor Ira Acree to the RTA board (which in effect is also CTA and PACE) is coming a close second and Acree has yet to get the seat officially.
For those who ride the CTA, it is a vital public service that has become increasingly worse over the years. All one has to do is stand downtown on the el platform at State and Lake trying to get home to the West Side. One could age a lifetime waiting on a Green Line train to show up while Brown Line train after Brown Line train come and go.
So to have someone from the West Side get on this board to address many of the worst ills with CTA service is imperative. Think about all the Westsiders who have gotten parking tickets for bus zone violations when the Lake Street bus no longer exists! Or the way the bus lane was added to Chicago Avenue forming a single lane for drivers when it’s really not needed west of Pulaski.
There was a time when a Black person who was nominated for a particular position would come in and display Black excellence. Their knowledge on a subject showed they were prepared to do the job. Pastor Acree has no transportation knowledge. So it was no surprise at his hearing to get on the board that he made the unfortunate comment that, as a man, he doesn’t use the CTA. “I’m fortunate to have a car.” What does that say to CTA riders? Women don’t matter and only punks ride the buses and trains?
Acree’s comment comes from the same playbook that BB uses all the time. The only difference is BB would have prefaced his comment with, “As a Black man living on the West Side of Chicago raising two boys …”
What is Acree going to bring to the RTA table other than being another political appointment? When Acree was made aware of the $730 million shortfall the RTA is under, his response was: “This is my first time hearing about a $735 million shortfall. So I wouldn’t want to respond to that today without doing the research.”
What happened to being prepared and doing research before showing up for the interview? Is there any other job that a candidate could come in so unprepared for and expect to get the position?
Not in the private sector or real world. But this is the circus, with BB’s office on the fifth floor at City Hall. The Grand Prize Game is being played and won by hacks. Bozo’s circus, folks, is again on the air!