The End

It's been a year since we began our effort to get Jim Houlihan out of that office. I want to think that our efforts helped to get Joyce Pierce to plead guilty and to get Houlihan to decide not to run again. We want to thank everyone who sent us bits and pieces of information. Although we didn't use most of it, we do have it and will use it if we ever have to. There will be a new Assessor soon. We expect a clean house will be the order of the the first day. Burden, Benoit, Messina, Cusak, Anderson and a few others will be going back to where they came from. If they had any decency, they would resign now.

Letter from an Illinois Jail

We have obtained a letter that was recently sent by Joyce Pierce to a friend of hers. We are publishing excerpts of it in the comment section below. The public needs to know what this woman is feeling. This is our last post for awhile. We will soon be leaving for the clean air and waters of the North Woods. Will be back in September. That should be enough time for prosecutors to begin their thing.

Hector Cirilo

Many Assessor's employees have written in and asked why this blog never mentioned Hector Cirilo, so here goes. Cirilo is an 8th grade graduate and is sponsored by Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado. Cirilo was Joyce Pierce's supervisor at the time the theft was occurring. His punishment for overseeing the theft of at least $170,000? A promotion to Director of Human Resources at a salary of over $100,000 per year. Proof positive as to the caliber of Houlihan's cabinet and that political patronage is alive and well at the Cook County Assessor's office.

The Joyce Pierce Affair, Summarized

The facts in this case have been very confusing. What exactly happened? Joyce Pierce was the director of the Freedom of Information Department at the Cook County Assessor's Office for a period of about 4 years. Anyone who wanted a copy of government records could come in and pay via check or cash. Joyce was supposed to deposit everything at the end of each day. She deposited the checks but forgot to deposit the cash. The cash would up in Joyce's personal account at Bank One where it was used for shopping, automobiles and her daughters tuition. During the summer of 2007, the county auditor began asking questions and the scam was over. The auditor figured over $170,000 was missing and Joyce was arrested. Jim Houlihan reimbursed the county $170,000, fired Joyce, got her a lawyer, got her a job at the state of Illinois the following week and got her daughter a political job on April 6, 2009. On April 29, 2009, Joyce plead guilty and was sentenced to 4 years in the state penitentiary. It was just a theft. What's the big deal? It was a theft from a government agency by a high ranking employee of that agency. That is a big deal in terms of preserving the public trust. It is also indicative as to how things are run at that agency and suggest that there may be quite allot more corruption occurring there. To complicate matters, there were rumors, collaborated by Joyce, that she was (and may have been until last week) having a love affair with Cook County Assessor James Houlihan. It has been suggested that the love affair was so hot and heavy that Joyce thought that she was not subject to whatever internal office controls which may have been in place. (It was established that there was a complete lack of oversight and Joyce was able to come and go from the Assessor's office, all day long.) Could it be that Joyce came to think of the cash as a gift from Houlihan? A sort of tip for her services? It has also been suggested that some of the money may have been used by Joyce and Houlihan to finance their weekly meetings at the Ramada Inn - Hyde Park. Due to the lack of a serious investigation, these facts were never fully established.

Joyce Pierce has plead guilty!

4 years in the state penn.

Cook County Assessor or Illinois Governor?

Cook County Assessor Houlihan has a press conference last week and tried to take advantage of the T.E.A. protest by announcing his own proposals to tax the State of Illinois. Poor guy didn't get that much press coverage so here he comes this morning via a Chicago Tribune Editorial about how wonderful the assessor is and how thoughtful his tax proposals are, implying that he would make a fine governor. We disagree. We think he should let the business of formulating statewide tax policy continue to be vested in the legislature and that he should instead, try to focus on the job he was elected to do, namely to assess Cook County real estate. It seems to us that if he would only begin to do his job, the Cook County Assessor's office would begin to stop unraveling. Currently, his office is involved in at least one federal investigation, he is involved in a sex scandal which is about to go to trial, several of his top deputies are involved in sex scandals, there is a shower scandal, documented instances of his employees fixing tax assessments and documentation suggesting that a crime syndicate family is fixing tax assessments to order. We think he has his hands full with his own office and put very little validity in his proposals. The only reason the Tribune puts any stock in Houlihan at all is so that they too can get their tax assessments fixed.

Relevant Personality Disorders

Histrionic personality disorder (HPD) is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriate seductiveness, usually beginning in early adulthood. The essential feature of histrionic personality disorder is an excessive pattern of emotionality and attention-seeking behavior. These individuals are lively, dramatic, enthusiastic, and flirtatious. They may be inappropriately sexually provocative, express strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and be easily influenced by others. People with this disorder are usually able to function at a high level and can be successful socially and professionally. People with histrionic personality disorder usually have good social skills, but they tend to use these skills to manipulate other people and become the center of attention. [1] Furthermore, histrionic personality disorder may affect a person's social or romantic relationships or their ability to cope with losses or failures. People with this disorder may seek treatment for depression when romantic relationships end, although this is by no means a feature exclusive to this disorder. They often fail to see their own personal situation realistically, instead tending to dramatize and exaggerate their difficulties. They may go through frequent job changes, as they become easily bored and have trouble dealing with frustration. Because they tend to crave novelty and excitement, they may place themselves in risky situations. All of these factors may lead to greater risk of developing depression. The cause of this disorder is unknown, but childhood events such as deaths in the immediate family, divorce of parents and genetics may be involved. Histrionic Personality Disorder is more often diagnosed in women than men; men with some quite similar symptoms are often diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.[2] However, Psychiatrist Dr. Rhoda Hahn supposes that it may be more often diagnosed in women because attention-seeking and sexual forwardness are typically considered to be less socially acceptable for women than for men, and, as suggested by Jonathan Oore, a more efficient means of initial social advancement. The symptoms include: Constant seeking of reassurance or approval. Excessive dramatics with exaggerated displays of emotions. Excessive sensitivity to criticism or disapproval. Inappropriately seductive appearance or behavior. Excessive concern with physical appearance. A need to be the center of attention (self-centeredness). Low tolerance for frustration or delayed gratification. Rapidly shifting emotional states that may appear shallow to others. Opinions are easily influenced by other people, but difficult to back up with details. Tendency to believe that relationships are more intimate than they actually are. Making rash decisions. Threatening or attempting suicide. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the diagnostic classification system used in the United States, as "a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy." The narcissist is described as turning inward for gratification rather than depending on others and as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power and prestige.[2] Narcissistic personality disorder is closely linked to self-centeredness. A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: has a grandiose sense of self-importance is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love believes that he or she is "special". requires excessive admiration has a sense of entitlement is interpersonally exploitative lacks empathy is often envious of others or believes others are envious of him or her shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes. WIKIPEDIA

Psychosis

Psychosis (from the Greek ψυχή "psyche", for mind or soul, and -οσις "-osis", for abnormal condition), with adjective psychotic, literally means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality". People suffering from psychosis are said to be psychotic. People experiencing psychosis may report hallucinations or delusional beliefs, and may exhibit personality changes and disorganized thinking. This may be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out the activities of daily living. Intoxication with drugs that have general depressant effects on the central nervous system (especially alcohol and barbiturates) tend not to cause psychosis during use, and can actually decrease or lessen the impact of symptoms in some people. However, withdrawal from barbiturates and alcohol can be particularly dangerous, leading to psychosis or delirium and other, potentially lethal, withdrawal effects. Some studies indicate that cannabis use may lower the threshold for psychosis, and thus help to trigger full-blown psychosis in some people. Early studies have been criticized for failing to consider other drugs (such as LSD) that the participants may have used before or during the study, as well as other factors such as pre-existing ("comorbid") mental illness. However, more recent studies with better controls have still found a small increase in risk for psychosis in cannabis users. It is not clear whether this is a causal link, and it is possible that cannabis use only increases the chance of psychosis in people already predisposed to it; or that people with developing psychosis use cannabis to provide temporary relief of their mental discomfort. A fact is that cannabis use has increased over past few decades but declined in the last decade, whereas the rate of psychosis has not increased. This suggests that a direct causal link is unlikely for all users. Alcohol is also a common risk of causing psychotic disorders or epsiodes. Research has shown than alcohol abuse causes an 8 fold increase in psychotic disorders in men and a 3 fold increased risk of psychotic disorders in women.[65][66] Alcoholic psychosis is sometimes misdiagnosed as a mental illness such as schizophrenia. It is also important to this topic to understand the paradoxical effects of some sedative drugs.Serious complications can occur in conjunction with the use of sedatives creating the opposite effect as to that intended. Malcolm Lader at the Institute of Psychiatry in London estimates the incidence of these adverse reactions at about 5%, even in short-term use of the drugs. The paradoxical reactions may consist of depression, with or without suicidal tendencies, phobias, aggressiveness, violent behavior and symptoms sometimes misdiagnosed as psychosis. However, psychosis is more commonly related to the benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. WIKIPEDIA

The Joyce Pierce Case

Was continued to April 29, 2009. We will be there. Meanwhile negotiations are continuing. Will Houli be called to testify? Will Ron Messina be called to testify? By the way, did I mention that Ron Messina has quietly gone back on the Assessor's payroll. Interesting. Will Blago explain how both Messina and Pierce happened to get hired at the State of Illinois on the same day? What does Houli know? What did Houli do for the Blagos in return? What does Kevin Burden know about this?

Cocaine Abuse

The immediate craving of the addict for more soon after use is due to the short-lived high that usually subsides within an hour, leading to prolonged, multi-dose binge use. When administration stops after binge use, it is followed by a "crash" (also known as a "come down"), the onset of severely dysphoric mood with escalating exhaustion until sleep is achieved, which is sometimes accomplished by taking sleeping medications, or sedatives, a popular one being Seroquel, or by combination use of alcohol and cannabis. Resumption of use may occur upon awakening or may not occur for several days, but the intense euphoria of such use can, as it has in many users, produce intense craving and develop rather quickly into addiction. The risk[1] of becoming cocaine-dependent within 2 years of first use (recent-onset) is 5-6%; after 10 years, it's 15-16%. These are the aggregate rates for all types of use considered, i.e., smoking, snorting, injecting. Among recent-onset users, the relative rates are higher for smoking (3.4 times) and much higher for injecting. They also vary, based on other characteristics, such as sex: among recent-onset users, women are 3.3 times more likely to become addicted, compared to men; age: among recent-onset users, those who started using at ages 12 or 13 were 4 times as likely to become addicted, compared to those who started between ages 18 and 20; and race: among recent-onset users, non-Hispanic Blacks are 7 times as likely to become addicted, compared to non-Hispanic Whites.[citation needed] Many habitual abusers develop a transient manic-like condition similar to amphetamine psychosis and schizophrenia, whose symptoms include aggression, severe paranoia, and tactile hallucinations (including the feeling of insects under the skin, or "coke bugs") during binges. WIKIPEDIA

Alcohol Abuse

In common and historic usage, alcoholism refers to any condition that results in the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages despite health problems and negative social consequences. Modern medical definitions describe alcoholism as a disease and addiction which results in a persistent use of alcohol despite negative consequences. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, alcoholism, also referred to as dipsomania described a preoccupation with, or compulsion toward the consumption of, alcohol and/or an impaired ability to recognize the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption. Although not all of these definitions specify current and on-going use of alcohol as a qualifier for alcoholism, some do, as well as remarking on the long-term effects of consistent, heavy alcohol use, including dependence and symptoms of withdrawal. Alcohol dependence has serious effects on physical and mental health. Alcohol dependence can lead to a wide range of neuropsychiatric or neurological impairment, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and malignant neoplasms. The psychiatric disorders which are associated with alcoholism include, major depression, dysthymia, mania, hypomania, panic disorder, phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, personality disorders, schizophrenia, and suicide, neurologic deficits (eg impairments of working memory, emotions, executive functions, visuospatial abilities and gait and balance) and brain damage. Alcohol dependence is associated with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and ischemic stroke, cancer of the respiratory system, but also cancers of the digestive system, liver, breast and ovaries. Heavy drinking is associated with liver disease, such as cirrhosis. WIKIPEDIA

Marijuana Abuse

Cannabis use has been assessed by several studies to be correlated with the development of anxiety, psychosis and depression, however, no causal mechanism has been proven, and the meaning of the correlation and its direction is a subject of debate that has not been resolved in the scientific community. Some studies assess that the causality is more likely to involve a path from cannabis use to psychotic symptoms rather than a path from psychotic symptoms to cannabis use, while others assess the opposite direction of the causality, or hold cannabis to only form parts of a "causal constellation", while not inflicting mental health problems that would not have occurred in the absence of the cannabis use. Studies have also shown links between heavy long-term use (over five joints daily over several years) and incidence of heart attacks, strokes, as well as abnormalities in the amygdala and hippocampus regions of the brain. WIKIPEDIA

Amused

We are amused at the great effort by members of Houlihan's brain trust to find out who the writers of this blog are. Too bad they don't put that kind of effort into their jobs at the county. And when you find us what are you going to do sue us? Last we heard, truth is defense. 

Nontheless we don't want the harassment. You need to back off or else somebody may start a blog about you. If you aren't bothered by the truth coming out then go ahead and ignore this post. Does Jim Houlihan want to test our assertions with the truth? Does Kathy Anderson want to test our assertions with the truth? What about Kevin Burden or Dan Benoit? We think not.

$5000.00

That's the amount that James Houlihan gave to the campaign of then States Attorney candidate Anita Alvarez. The donation was made on September 18, 2008. That's one day after we launched this blog. 

• Was the timing of the contribution inadvertent?  Probably.
• Is the contribution appropriate considering that Houlihan was then and still is, a suspect in the theft of over $170,000 from Cook County? No.
• Is the contribution appropriate considering that Houlihan may be called as a witness in a criminal case? No.
• Should Ms. Alvarez give the contribution back? Yes.
• Should Ms. Alvarez recuse her office from the prosecution of Joyce Pierce and make a motion for the appointment of a special prosecutor? Yes.
• Should Ms. Alvarez request the appointment of a special prosecutor for the purpose of investigating wrongdoing on the part of James Houlihan in his official capacity as Cook County Assessor? Yes.

The $33,488.27 shower

When you are cutting that check for your tax bill today, keep in mind that the Cook County Board appropriated $33,488.27 so that Kathy Anderson could have a shower in her ninth floor office. So much for the County Board not asking the question. The question which has been asked here before and the same question which is going to be asked over and over again. WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING IN HER OFFICE THAT SHE NEEDS TO TAKE A SHOWER BEFORE SHE GOES HOME?

The Joyce Pierce Affair

We don't want to beat a dead horse but have been wondering if anyone had heard anything about SA Alvarez has reopened the Houlihan-Pierce investigation. Alvarez had a press conference last week where she announced that she was appointing ace prosecutor Jack Blakey to head up the Public Interest Unit. We know who Blakey is and we know how serious he takes his reputation. Expect a no holes barred investigation as to what happened.

1/28/2009 Update Joyce Pierce's criminal case has been continued until April 2, 2009. It's expected that a trial will be heard that day. We will be there. No word on if new SA Alvarez has decided to reopen the investigation as to what really happened here. The questions are, How much money was really misappropriated? How did they arrive at the amount of $170,000.00? Where did the money go? Where did Houlihan get the reimbursement money? Why did Houlihan make the reimbursement? How did Joyce Pierce get another government job so quickly? Has Houlihan or any of his people had any contact with Joyce since her arrest? This case is a state of Illinois criminal case. Why was the FBI at Houlihan's house a few days after this case broke? We are off to the Superbowl and then will spend some time in Florida. (The benefits of retirement even if you didn't want to retire). While we are gone, we are going to open up the comment section for the public. Write whatever you want, just be responsible. Barbie and Pluto Posted by THE EVENUP TEAM; Pluto and Barbie at 1/28/2009 10 comments Links to this post 

1/19/2009 States Attorney Alvarez January 26 is the next day in court for Joyce Pierce. It’s also the first test for Anita Alvarez as Cook County States Attorney. Will Anita prosecute and uphold as the law or will she attempt to maintain the Cook County status qua? The choice is hers. Either way her decision will be a future subject of this blog. She will either be a hero or a villain. Joyce Pierce and Jim Houlihan had a hot love affair going on for some time. Her needs were at a level which couldn't’t be sustained for long by a public servant. Tuition, luxury automobiles, exotic vacations to the Bahamas’ and Jamaica. His needs were simpler than hers, but they cost money. Together they hatched a plan. There was an account they thought nobody knew about. An unaudited depository account for FOI receipts. Nobody knew how money the FOI department generated, therefore, no one would ever know. Together they decided to tap into the account. For three years it worked. There were plenty of lazy afternoons at the Fitzpatrick Hotel and the Hyde Park Ramada Inn. Most of the money never makes it to the account. When additional funds were required, Joyce simply cashed a check and drew on the funds she deposited earlier. Suddenly, the county auditor started asking questions and they were caught. Houlihan began the blame game and promptly fired Ron Messina (for failure to supervise Joyce) and Joyce in a very public manner. Privately, he got her a free lawyer, got both of them another job, paid back an estimated amount of money and met with SA Devine in an effort to stop a prosecution. Devine proceeded with the prosecution when he found out that the FBI had been at Houlihans house (on another matter). Next, Houli calls Blago and tells them he needs some favors in exchange for helping Patty B. He has two "idiots", (that's the word he used) Messina and Pierce, that need high paying jobs immediately (or else they may talk).As a result of that phone call, Messina goes on the state payroll the following Monday, as Executive Director of Property Tax Appeals Board with a salary of over $138,000 per year; and Joyce Pierce goes on the state payroll, the following Monday, as an account analyst at $112,000 per year. Houlihan continued to lobby Devine about sitting on the case until after the election and that’s exactly what has happened. Will Anita bring charges against Houlihan for official misconduct and theft? Which she investigate the circumstances surrounding just how Messina and Pierce wound up on the state payroll? Will she bring charges against Houlihan and Blago for trading state jobs in exchange for favorable tax reductions for Patty Balgo’s tax clients? Ms. Alvarez, every Cook County employee is watching this case. If you properly discharge your duties, a very definite message will be sent to any Cook County employees who are contemplating corruption. Posted by THE EVENUP TEAM; Pluto and Barbie at 1/19/2009 Links to this post

Enough to make Bill Clinton blush

Thats how many women Houli has done on his desk in his third floor office. This post is devoted to the Houlihan women. Write in and tell us about him. 

We couldn't even go on vacation without Houlihan and his Computer Systems department hacking into our blog. We had everything backed up just in case. May we suggest directing your efforts towards the betterment of the taxpayers instead. 

We are back

Took some time off for the holidays and visited Arizona and California. The people we met would never tolerate the likes of Blago and Houlihan. The time off was good and gave us some great ideas. 

We lost our partner Alex. His story was at least half the reason we did this blog in the first place. He was feeling some frustration with the speed we move.  He has decided to do his own thing.

The Houli - Blago Connection

During the summer of 2004, a longtime CCAO employee was not getting the respect he thought he deserved, so he asked his connected father-in-law to try to get him a high-paying spot with the state of Illinois. Months go by and he gets a phone call. Would he like to meet with Patty Blago? They meet for coffee. She has a little side business selling real estate and reducing taxes. She wants to get in position to "make some money" during the 2006 reassessment of the city. Her problem is that she hasn't a clue about assessments. Would this guy consider working for her in return for a % of the gross? The rest is history. 

The employee retires from the CCAO and is in position as a consultant, in time for the reassessment. He works out of his house and is free to pursue other tax clients but his one main client, the one he spends all his time on is Patty Blago. 

Since he is not a lawyer he is not able to file at the Board of Review or in court. Thus, a similar arrangement is set up with a law firm who's owners are related to a political operative, known very well by the governor. The deal is as follows; Patty Blago will bring in the business, via various means, the consultant will get 1/3 of the gross and the law firm will pick up where the consultant left off, and get 1/2 of the gross. (By the way, did I mention that the lawyers involved in this are very ethical and above any type of wrongdoing.) Everyone is happy, but as is always the case nothing goes according to plan. 

Late fall 2006, the cases start showing up at the law firm and they are suprised that there there is very little market value left to appeal. Seems that this "consultant" is doing a hell of a job and getting reductions that nobody else could ever get. The lawyers quickly conclude that the fix is in at the CCAO and stop investing too much time in the cases. 

The Feds have interviewed most of the parties involved and probably have a solid criminal case against a few of them. Will somebody talk? Will the consultant talk? What about the lawyers? What about Patty Blago? We think Houlihan is just another stop on the road to wherever the US Attorney is going.

Possible Topics

What topics will cause the CCAO to reform itself sooner rather than later?

Introduction

Jim Houlihan couldn't be doing what he is doing unless he had lots of help. This blog is dedicated to telling the story of Cook County Assessor James Houlihan and all those people he rewards with money and political power. We know things about Houlihan and his people that he thought nobody knew. It's all going to start coming out here unless the powers that be, clean the office up.  Members of the voting public, political community and the press will reading our blog. Everyone is invited to comment whenever they feel the urge. Our only request is that you keep your comments factually accurate.