Abdul At His Best, Or Worst

WIBC's radio talk show host Abdul-Hakim Shabazz doesn't disappoint when it comes to stirring up controversies. A Twitter post yesterday about the guys he paid to shovel his snow who speak English as a second language was either humorous or offensive depending on your perspective:

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz ‏@AttyAbdul 20h Guys came by & offered to shovel snow for $20. English wasn't their 1st language. I offered $10 and promise not to call INS. America rocks!

kiptew ‏@kiptew 20h @AttyAbdul positive proof you r a complete tool

 

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz ‏@AttyAbdul 20h @kiptew And as we say in the hood, "don't hate the player, hate the game!"

kiptew ‏@kiptew 20h @AttyAbdul not when a tool makes the rules...

 

Watch Dog ‏@uselessnote 20h @AttyAbdul You seriously just dissed someone offering help because of their language skills & ASSUMED their illegal immigrants? #jerk

 

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz ‏@AttyAbdul 20h  @uselessnote They took the $10

 

Watch Dog ‏@uselessnote 20h @AttyAbdul Remember that the next time someone disses you based solely upon your skin color.  

 

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz ‏@AttyAbdul 19h @uselessnote Happens all the time. Welcome to America and real life. Deal with it.

 

Why do I think if a white radio talk show host had made the same comments he would be in a heap of trouble right now? By the way, Abdul, the INS hasn't been known by that name since the passage of the Patriot Act back in 2002 at which time it was replaced by the newly-created Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS")

UPDATE: Abdul's response via Twitter:

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz ‏@AttyAbdul 2h

Free publicity from the guy who hates me the most in Indiana. Score one for me!!!

 

I really don't hate you, Abdul, although I suspect there are plenty of people who do. If you want to chalk this one up as a victory for you, then have at it.

Journalism For Sale

Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

Indianapolis Star political columnist Matt Tully had his first in what are going to be a series of columns on the problem with conflicts of interest at the State House. Here's a small bit of what he wrote in last weekend's column titled, "Conflicts rampant at Indiana State House":

Walk the Statehouse corridors when the General Assembly is in session and among the most common sights is the presence of former lawmakers and legislative staffers, now working as paid lobbyists. They fill the halls outside the House and Senate chambers, looking for help from lawmakers with whom they once served. The lobbying industry spends millions to shape public policy; the state’s casino industry alone spent at least $5.8 million to lobby 150 lawmakers over the past five years at the same time it repeatedly sought legislative changes that would save the industry far more money. High-ranking operatives in both major political parties also work as Statehouse lobbyists, seeking to influence the same members they help get elected. And many lawmakers, like Holdman, don’t shy from participating in debates over bills despite having close ties to the businesses or industries affected by the legislation.

Perhaps the most perplexing aspect of the culture of coziness is that it is often not a secret -- it’s tolerated and even applauded . . .

Tully won't get any arguments with me over the problem we have with too many of our elected officials becoming way too cozy with the people who lobby them on behalf of special interest groups and some lawmakers inclination towards engaging in self-dealing. The problem I suspect Tully won't write about, however, is the coziness with which too many of his fellow journalists have with lobbyists and special interest groups. Tully's editors allowed one of its regular guest columnists, ex-radio talk show host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, to reprise his column with one titled, "Why Matt Tully is wrong about the General Assembly," in which Shabazz suggests that the only reason conflicts of interest exist at the State House is because our state lawmakers are part-time, unlike the Illinois General Assembly where lawmakers are paid to work full-time and dozens have still been sent to the clink over the past several decades:

Randolph Denies Role In IndyUndercover

Former Star columnist Ruth Holladay is determined to uncover the identity of the persons behind IndyUndercover. Radio talk show host Abdul Hakim Shabazz' role in the now-defunct blog is a foregone conclusion. As Fox 59's Russ McQuaid learned, a search warrant was issued against his home computer based upon responses city police obtained from Internet service providers identifying Shabazz. Indianapolis police undertook an investigation to discover who had leaked the identity of a confidential police informant in this summer's arson investigation on the IndyUndercover blog. But questions about the involvement of City-County Councilor and almost-2007 GOP mayoral candidate Ike Randolph have remained unanswered. I think Ruth Holladay got her answer to that question today.

As I previously reported, someone began anonymously forwarding to me e-mail exchanges between Abdul Hakim-Shabazz and Ike Randolph. The first such e-mail I received was actually an e-mail Randolph sent to close supporters announcing his intention to seek the GOP nomination for mayor. I assumed the e-mail was forwarded to me by the recipient to get the word out about his campaign. I quickly posted the news on my blog. The Star's Matt Tully had already been in communication with Randolph and noted a couple of days later that my post had pre-empted his planned column that week about Randolph's candidacy. I became suspicious about the source of the e-mail later, however, when I was anonymously sent an e-mail exchange between Shabazz and Randolph, which Ruth Holladay recently inquired of me. She has posted that e-mail in her post today on this subject. The e-mail purported to be a message from Shabazz to Randolph as follows:

hey,
check indyuncover when you get home. i've got the draft for the (unveling). i also found out how to change the time of the postings, that could come in handy later.
chat soon.
ahs

The unveiling referenced in the e-mail appeared to relate to the planned uncovering of the identity of the person behind IndyUndercover. As we later learned, that turned out to be a post announcing that Indianapolis' law enforcement officers, collectively, were the persons behind IndyUndercover. I chose not to divulge the contents of the e-mail on my blog and, instead, questioned both Randolph and Shabazz about it. I believed the e-mail was either spoofed, or someone was illegally accessing one of the two men's private e-mail accounts. Shabazz denied he authored the blog, although he freely admitted he knew a group of law enforcement officers who were behind it. He laughed off the e-mail I showed him as I recall. He said the e-mail account identity shown for him was not one he used. I met with Randolph, at his request, after I met with Shabazz. He, too, denied any involvement. He had already viewed the e-mail I showed to Shabazz when I met with him. He noted that he was on vacation in Mexico at the time the e-mail in question was sent, and he didn't have access to his e-mail at that time.

Shabazz has subsequently acknowledged a more direct role in the blog. He has said he inspired a group of law enforcement officers to start up the blog as an outlet to vent their misgivings about the Peterson administration and Sheriff Frank Anderson. He has also acknowledged exchanging information with them on occasion, but he insists he didn't author any of the blog's posts. In an interview with Ruth Holladay earlier today, Randolph admits he knows at least one police officer behind the blog, but he denied any direct involvement. Randolph actually goes further than Shabazz and admits he received the e-mail in question from Shabazz, but he says Shabazz sent out the e-mail as a ruse to smoke out whoever Shabazz believed was gaining unauthorized access to his e-mail. Holladay writes:

I talked to Randolph today about that email, which I've seen. He acknowledged he received it from Abdul, but he denied being connected to Indy Undercover.

"No. Period," he said. "I do know a police officer who is part of the group that started it. I never pressured him. I don't think he did it all. There may have been as many as 12 (officers) involved."

As for the email, Randolph said Abdul called him a year and a half or so ago. "He said, 'Someone is jacking around with my computer. Here is what I want you to do. I'm gonna email you that I've got a new posting.'"

The ruse, according to Randolph, was that Abdul would use the words "indy undercover" as "a bait," to see "if the cops are monitoring me (Abdul)."

"I said, 'yeah, send it to me," said Randolph. "He (Abdul) believed his computer was being bugged. It was a test. It was just a passing thing."

Randolph said he was at the firehouse when Abdul contacted him. "I sent it online, I got on the Internet. We used the word 'indy undercover' in the email, just to see what would happen."

When I read Randolph's exchange with Holladay, I was a bit taken back by it. As I stated earlier, Randolph told me he was in Mexico on vacation with his family at the time the e-mail in question had been sent and did not have access to his e-mail account. Now, he says he was at the firehouse when Shabazz contacted him about sending the e-mail and the word "indyundercover" was intentionally included in the e-mail's subject heading. Call me cynical, but someone isn't getting his story straight on this one.

Does it really matter who is behind IndyUndercover? From a personal standpoint, it matters a lot to me because I have twice in the past been falsely accused of authoring the blog. The second time I was fingered by Jacob Perry after the IndyUndercover blog outed him as the Scribe who authored Circle City Pundit blog. Perry lashed out at me and blamed me for outing him on IndyUndercover in a defamatory screed on his blog. I really don't have any sympathy for Perry, but if the blog's authors thought it was okay to out Perry, then the bloggers at IndyUndercover shouldn't be heard to complain when they are outed by others. And lest we forget that it was Shabazz himself who publicly tied himself to the blog when he announced on his other blog, Indiana Barrister, police were attempting to serve a search warrant on him. After Russ McQuaid's report, additional questions were raised about whether Shabazz had been entirely candid on this matter.

In the larger sense, IndyUndercover has become the face of Indianapolis' law enforcement community, good or bad. At times, some of the blog's postings earned it a reputation as being racist, sexist and anti-gay. The negative aspects of the blog arguably damaged law enforcement's reputation in some corners. Many people would be shocked to learn that two, prominent African-Americans were behind the blog, one a journalist and the other a public employee and elected official.

There are other implications if Shabazz and Randolph are the persons behind the blog. Randolph is an elected official and a full-time firefighter, allowing him to draw two public salaries. It raises serious questions about whether he was using a city-furnished computer and Internet access to perform work on the blog on the taxpayer's dime, which I assume violates the city's computer use policy for its employees. Journalistic integrity comes to mind in Shabazz's case, but it also raises questions about the involvement of one of his employer's, a law firm at which the Marion County GOP Chairman is a partner, which could also indirectly implicate the county party. I hasten to add that IndyUndercover existed before Tom John became the county's elected chairman.

Let me be clear that on the whole I believe the IndyUndercover blog played an important role in helping bring matters to public light which needed the light shined on them. As someone who has operated my blog in full public view, I have no problem with the IndyUndercover's authors identity being revealed for all to see. Let the chips fall where they may.

Indianapolis Bar Association Responds To Shabazz' Attack On Judge Rosenberg

Fortunately, somebody is finally taking to task the irresponsible pronouncements of controversial radio talk show host Abdul-Hakim Shabazz. Responding to Shabazz' unsubstantiated allegation that Judge Louis Rosenberg had engaged in impermissible ex parte communications with Democratic Party officials concerning the ongoing Charlie White election controversy, the Indianapolis Bar Association released the following statement:

Indianapolis, IN, April 28, 2011: On behalf of over 5,000 lawyers, judges, and legal professionals, the Indianapolis Bar Association on occasion finds it appropriate to speak when the integrity of the legal system or those who administer, support and defend it are unfairly called into question. The April 27, 2011 blog post by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz titled “Treacy v. Parker?”, has made unsubstantiated allegations that call into question the actions of a sitting judge and the integrity of the legal system as a whole. The Marion County Circuit Court judge in the matter involving the case of Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White is bound by the rules of judicial conduct in that and any other case. While we understand the importance of a free debate in political matters and policy issues of public concern, including those that may take place on the Indiana Barrister blog, parts of this April 27 blog post suggest without evidence that the judge has violated his duties. The legal system, its participants and the public benefit from commentary on politics that is free from baseless allegations of this nature. We also note that since Abdul Hakim-Shabazz is an attorney who has chosen a name for his blog that references the legal profession, it would have been our hope that his respect for the legal system would have outweighed any interest in publishing sensationalized, unfounded and unattributed allegations about the judge. The IndyBar reiterates its support for a vigorous public discourse about the legal system and judiciary, but encourages those who comment publicly to do so responsibly.

Shabazz' posted his unsubstantiated allegations against Judge Rosenberg not only on his Indiana Barrister blog but also the Capitol Watch blog of WRTV News where he serves as a political commentator. I still see no reporting there in response to the serious allegations he alleged in his blog posting against Judge Rosenberg. For his part, Shabazz posted the following characteristically flippant response to the IBA's letter:

 I received a copy of the following statement in my e-mail tonight from the Indianapolis Bar Association. The organization took issue with my recent blog post Treacy v. Parker? As a big believer in free speech, I have no problem with the Bar Association criticizing yours truly.


I stand by my blog post. This blog has always been about open debate and respecting honest dissenting opinions and that’s not going to change anytime soon. Like the title says, I’m a big boy and I can take the criticism. It comes with the territory. I’ve always said if you can’t take the heat, find another cook.

I think it's time for Shabazz to put up or shut up. I'm a big believer in the fundamental constitutional right to free speech as he is as a daily blogger, but I think one should tread very lightly when it comes to impugning the professional integrity of one of our judicial officers, particularly when one is an officer of the court. I often have disagreements with the decisions judges make, but I try to restrain my feelings and avoid character assassination, which is essentially what his allegations against Judge Rosenberg amounted to. I don't think he should have made the allegations he made against him unless he was willing, as an officer of the court, to back them up with a complaint to the Commission on Judicial Qualifications.

Abdul's Sexist Remarks In Star Column Rebuked By Readers

I mentioned last week that I was surprised that the Star's editors allowed Abdul Hakim Shabazz to make the sexist comments he did about Democratic mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy in his monthly column mislabeled, "Forget battle scars, move on." I was more surprised by the lack of Democrats coming to Kennedy's defense. Apparently, at least a couple of the Star's readers have made their displeasure with his column known to the editors. These two letters to the editor appeared in today's newspaper:

I found Abdul-Hakim Shabazz's Dec. 14 column, "Forget battle scars, move on," offensive. He pumped himself up at the expense of Democratic mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy. It is mean-spirited to attack a losing candidate in a personal way after the fact. I don't use the word sexist lightly, but his analogy in referring to Kennedy as "a girl you dated in college who was miserable at the party" was just that. To refer to a professional and serious woman in this way is the definition of a sexist comment. This column was self-serving and arrogant.

Carlie Anderson, Indianapolis

I was offended by Abdul-Hakim Shabazz's Dec. 14 column, "Forget battle scars, move on." Although aware that he tends toward punditry over analysis, I didn't expect Shabazz to resort to demeaning language about individuals and policies he disagrees with. A silly smoking ban? A "girl you dated . . . who was miserable at a party"? Such language is schoolyard name-calling, not well-founded political insight.

The characterization of mayoral candidate Melina Kennedy, who won 47 percent of the vote, as "still in denial about her loss" baffles me. Is there a specific incident to which Shabazz is alluding? It is he who is assailing personality and character five weeks after the election with no apparent motive other than to say, "I told you so," and to twist the knife into the battle scars his screed has reopened.

Natalie Auberry, Indianapolis

Put Up Or Shut Up, Abdul

Abdul Hakim Shabazz is up to his old tricks again. After coming under fire in the blogosphere for his coverage of last week's Revolt At The Statehouse rally, Shabazz is blogging about someone anonymously sending a threatening e-mail. Shabazz, without posting the actual contents of the e-mail or the address used to send it, throws out a few words often used by those who organized last week's rally. Shabazz' motivation is clearly to implicate someone involved in organizing the rally without directly saying so. Shabazz also sent an e-mail to several people on Friday making the same claim prior to posting the e-mail threat claim on Indiana Barrister and his WRTV blog.

Abdul should either put up or shut up. If the threat is real as Abdul claims, then he should provide the full text of the e-mail, as well as the address used by the sender. Further, he should report the threat to law enforcement if that is what it really is, although he's now hedging on that assertion. "I don’t think the person was promising physical harm," Shabazz writes in a comment on his post. "I just thought it was odd that someone thought they could threaten their way into favorable press."

Abdul has a long history of deception. This is the guy who shortly after the 2007 election claimed he was the target of a witch hunt being carried out by the Indianapolis police department at the direction of the Bart Peterson administration. Abdul claimed he was being falsely linked to the anonymously-written, now-defunct IndyUndercover blog. Abdul suggested to his readers that police were targeting him because he was looking into child molestation charges against an influential Democrat. Later, we learned that the investigation had actually been triggered after the blog outed a confidential police informant in an arson investigation. The confidential informant was female who was 8 months' pregnant at the time and had to be relocated for her own personal safety following the disclosure. Blogger Ruth Holladay obtained a copy of the affidavit police filed in the case to obtain a search warrant. She wrote at the time:

A four-month investigation followed, in which police, possibly with the aid of federal officials, began peeling back the identity of IndyUndercover through various e-mail addresses and Internet providers: Yahoo, Google, EOS and finally Bright House.

The trail ultimately led to Abdul Shabazz, according to the affidavit, which also lists Shabazz' Downtown address and phone number. Boomershine identifies Shabazz in the warrant as the IndyUndercover blog's moderator.

Judge David Altice of Marion Superior Court Criminal Division signed the search warrant. Prior to that, throughout August, Grand Jury subpoenas were issued to Google, Yahoo, etc., in the painstaking search to trace the blog back and discover who was running/writing on it.

Abdul had on numerous occasions denied he was behind IndyUndercover. He even suggested e-mails that I had been sent and which I produced to him had been spoofed to make it appear he was behind the blog. That didn't stop him from fanning suggestions to other bloggers that I was behind the blog, which led to two published posts by different bloggers falsely accusing me of being behind the anonymous blog. So am I skeptical about Abdul's claim surrounding the threatening e-mail? Can a tiger change its stripes?

Burton Supports Birth Certificate Requirement For Presidential Candidates

There are only two requirements to be eligible to serve as president of the United States under Article II, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution: you must be at least 35 years of age; and you must be a natural born citizen. There is no federal law, however, that requires a presidential candidate to prove he or she meets those two constitutional requirements. Presidential candidates who file statements of candidates with the FEC and respective state election authorities need only file an attestation requirement that he or she satisfies the constitutional requirements. In practice, state election authorities have bounced from state election ballots in the past third party candidates who failed to meet one of the requirements, but no major party candidate has been similarly denied access to the ballot despite issues raised about their eligibility. To remedy this gap in enforcement of the constitutional requirements, U.S. Rep. Bill Posey (FL) earlier this year filed HR 1503, which would require presidential candidates to file with the FEC a copy of the candidate's birth certificate, together with any other evidence as may be necessary to establish the qualifications for eligibility under the Constitution. U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (D-IN) has signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Radio talk show host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, who is doing the bidding of Burton primary opponent and Ice Miller lobbyist Luke Messer, instinctively seized on Burton's co-sponsorship of HR 1503 as something to be mocked. "In other words, Burton has joined the Obama 'not really a citizen and why won’t he show us his birth certificate even though if we saw it we would call it a fake' crowd," Shabazz opined. You and I already know what a hypocrite he has become. Contrast his latest comments with his view on Indiana's Voter ID law. Shabazz thinks citizens casting votes in elections should be subjected to greater evidentiary requirements than presidential candidates' evidentiary requirements. "There's always some incidental costs to voting — you can't come to the polls naked," an Indianapolis law professor, Abdul Hakim-Shabazz, who served on the task force that wrote the rules, says. "The remarkable thing is that for all the talk of disenfranchisement, Indiana has had seven elections since, and those challenging the law have yet to turn up a plaintiff who credibly can say the law stymied him," Mr. Hakim-Shabazz says. No, he is not an Indianapolis law professor, but you get the point.

If you want to get a license to drive in Indiana, the requirements imposed by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles are even greater. The BMV requires you to produce the following: one document proving your identity; one document proving your social security number; one document proving your lawful status in the U.S. (e.g., birth certificate, U.S. passport, consular report of birth abroad or green card); and two documents proving your Indiana residence. Yes, we impose tougher document requirements on driver's license applicants than we do presidential candidates.

The irony is that those same BMV workers who issue driver's licenses also register new voters. During a meeting of the Indiana chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association with BMV officials this week, local immigration attorneys, including me, discussed with BMV officials the problem with workers registering non-citizens to vote, which proves quite problematic when an immigration attorney later petitions to make the permanent resident a naturalized citizen. The problem is that BMV workers are not properly trained to ask only U.S. citizens to register to vote. The documentary evidence the license applicant furnishes to them establishes whether they are a U.S. citizen. Nonetheless, BMV workers frequently ask and register non-citizens to register to vote. The Secretary of State's office has no procedures in place to detect these problems, allowing non-citizens to vote in Indiana elections. The BMV thinks the applicant should know whether they are qualified to register, but you have to remember that there are sometimes language barriers and BMV workers do not show the applicants the list of requirements before registering them to vote (i.e. U.S. citizen, resident of Indiana and at least 18 years of age).

So when you really think about it, the legislation Dan Burton is co-sponsoring is quite sensible. It's amazing that such a requirement has not been imposed before. Shabazz can go ahead and make fun of Burton all he wants on this one, but I suspect he won't be scoring points for Burton's opponents. They would all be better off if Shabazz just kept his mouth shut and didn't meddle in this election like he did the recent Senate District 30 GOP caucus race.

Why Is Abdul-Hakim Shabazz So Interested In Rev. Charles Harrison's Independent Mayoral Campaign?

There is probably no other local figure more despised in Indianapolis' African-American community than radio talk show host Abdul-Hakim Shabazz. People are still scratching their heads as to why Emmis Communications' WIBC-FM provides air time to the ethically-challenged political commentator booted from his former morning talk show gig at WXNT-AM, who once anonymously authored and published the controversial IndyUndercover blog and lied about it. We are well past the point where people know his political views are entirely driven by whoever is paying for his words, which consists primarily of people within the corrupt local Marion Co. Republican Party.

Shabazz stepped aside briefly from his agitator role as of late promoting Bill Levin's First Church of Cannabis to propagate some real whoppers this week regarding news that an out-of-state firm with ties to the Republican Party had been paid to procure enough signatures to place Rev. Charles Harrison on Indianapolis' municipal ballot this year as an independent mayoral candidate. Shabazz' musings were as incredulous as Rev. Harrison's claim that he has no idea who was behind the petition drive to place his name on the ballot and create a website, RunRevRun.com, to promote his candidacy.

Shabazz would have his readers believe that local Democrats commissioned a poll in the mayoral race that shows their party's mayoral candidate, Joe Hogsett, with only a single-digit lead over the relatively unknown minister of the Barnes United Methodist Church, a small black church on the city's north side. Shabazz, of course, had no specific numbers to report, just pure "gossip, rumor and innuendo" as he describes his own musings. Shabazz, who supports the election of Republican Chuck Brewer for mayor, made no mention of Brewer's showing in the poll. Are we to conclude that Brewer actually polled below Harrison in this supposed poll?

To the extent Harrison is known by Indianapolis voters, it is as the titular leader of the Ten Point Coalition. You may recall that one of the Ten Point's employees, Byron Alston, was charged with income tax evasion and perjury charges last year. When local law enforcement officials raided Alston's home earlier last year, Rev. Harrison accused them of engaging in a political witch hunt led by the Democratic-controlled prosecutor's office because of the group's support of Mayor Ballard's re-election campaign. Alston's case, incidentally, is scheduled to go to trial next week. Harrison's comments were intriguing given that his nonprofit organization could not legally endorse and provide political support to any political candidate.

The second big whopper Shabazz reported was a claim that Democratic leaders have approached United Methodist Church officials in an effort to get Rev. Harrison fired from his job as minister of the Barnes United Methodist Church. Hogsett is a member of the Roberts Park United Methodist Church downtown and was implicitly linked to those efforts. Shabazz would have people believe Hogsett and Democrats are in full panic mode at the prospect of a Rev. Harrison candidacy. And if you believe this meme, I've got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you.

More On Ballard Appointments

The Star's Brendan O'Shaughnessy reports that Mayor-elect Greg Ballard will name Paul Okeson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Todd Rokita, as his administration's chief of staff. Marcus Barlow, currently spokesman for the state's Family & Social Services Administration, will become his communications director. Radio talk show host Abdul Hakim-Shabazz also reports this morning that Chris Cotterill, who is currently in charge of the Indiana Office of Technology, will become the city's corporation counsel. Cotterill has been admitted to practice law for five years according to the Indiana Roll of Attorneys. Also, John Cochran, an attorney at the law firm of Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John and Ballard's second campaign manager, will serve as a special assistant to the mayor. And small business owner Greg Wilson will direct the city's minority business development efforts, while Carolyn Smith will direct Latino affairs.

In an interview with Shabazz this morning, Rev. Olgen Williams, Ballard's choice to serve as Deputy Mayor in charge of neighborhoods, defended himself from news first broken on the Accidental Mayor site that Marion Co. Treasurer's Office records show Williams and his wife pay no property taxes on their home. If I understood Williams' explanation, he took advantage of a tax exemption available to disabled veterans for the first time and, when added to his other exemption, it reduced his tax bill to zero. Williams, who currently serves as executive director of Christamore House, earlier in life served one year in jail for a theft which he committed while he was working as a postal worker. Williams said he stole the money to help feed a drug habit he developed in his early 20s. Williams described himself as a "hater" and a "revolutionary" during that period of his life during his interview with Shabazz this morning. In recognition of his many years of community service and staying out of trouble. President George W. Bush pardoned Williams in 2002, which allowed him to run for the IPS school board. In today's Star, Williams said he would like to continue serving on the IPS board while working as Deputy Mayor, but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be kosher.

Yesterday, I noted that Mayor-elect Paul Ricketts' swearing-in ceremony would feature as its master of ceremonies Abdul Hakim-Shabazz. The part-time stand-up comedian, who resides in Springfield, Illinois, said on air this morning he will also serve as master of ceremonies at Mayor-elect Greg Ballard's swearing-in event next Tuesday. Shabazz recently sparked controversy when he announced Indianapolis police had attempted to execute a search warrant at his home to obtain his home computer and laptop. As it later turned out, a probable cause affidavit prepared by police indicated that police were investigating the leaking of the identity of a confidential police informant in last summer's arson investigation on the city's southside, and that, according to Internet service provider documents, Shabazz acted as the moderator for the IndyUndercover blog, which outed the informant's identity. According to the affidavit, the 8-month-pregnant informant was compelled to relocate because she feared for her personal safety.

The blog, before being deleted from the Internet just weeks ago, often featured very colorful but pointed criticism of Marion County Democrats. Democrats were often referred to as "Democraps." Sheriff Frank Anderson was dubbed "Bling Bling", and CCC President Monroe Gray was called "Sweet Pea." A photo the site showed depicting Mayor Peterson, Anderson and Gray in monkey suits drew a rebuke from then-mayoral candidate Greg Ballard. Shabazz maintains he didn't run the blog, but admits he suggested the idea to a group of disenchanted police officers. [Correction: Abdul e-mailed me to note that the controversial monkey suit photo originated on the Bart Lies site and not IndyUndercover.]

UPDATE: Rev. Olgen Williams has announced he will resign his seat on the IPS board next week. He is required to resign it by law when he assumes his new job as Deputy Mayor. Also, a note on Chief of Staff appointee Paul Okeson. His most recent job is with Bernardin, Lochmueller and Associates, an Evansville-based engineering firm. The firm has strong ties to the Peterson administration, holding several contracts with the Department of Public Works. A recent newsletter put out by the firm featured a photo of Mayor Bart Peterson appearing at an open house for its new offices in Indianapolis. If that isn't enough to infuriate you, how about the fact that Okeson lives in Fishers. That's right, the administration's chief of staff is not even a resident of the City of Indianapolis.

Shabazz Appointment Bringing More Negative Media Attention To Ballard Administration

The bone-headed decision of Mayor Greg Ballard and Public Safety Director Frank Straub to appoint controversial radio talk show host Abdul Hakim Shabazz to a newly-created Public Safety Board earns more bad press for the Ballard administration. This weekend's "Beyond The Ballot" column (formerly known as "Behind Closed Doors") in the Star discusses the appointment and Democrats' reaction to it:

The city's newly formed public safety advisory committee already is raising some political eyebrows.

Public safety leaders from the city's Republican administration announced the group on Wednesday. Shortly thereafter, local Democrats began questioning why two Republican City-County Council members were in the group but council Democrats, were not represented.

They also criticized the choice to appoint Abdul Hakim-Shabazz--not because he's a media personality, who tends to support Republican viewpoints, but because he still has residency in Illinois, not Marion County.

"The whole thing is bothersome," said Joanne Sanders, the council's Democratic minority leader. "I want to be as supportive as possible of Public Safety Director Straub, but this flies in the face of my support when my caucus is ignored and we're appointing people who don't claim residency in Marion County."

The residency issue is particularly bothersome, Sanders said, because city code stipulates that some public safety boards, such as the merit board, have members who reside in the county.

Straub said the advisory group is not a board with binding authority, but an informal kitchen cabinet. He said he chose the members, not on the basis of politics or residency, but to get a diverse swath of the community to provide him with advice and challenge him on issues . . .

"This is me getting together with friends to get advice," Straub said. "In an effort to be tranparent and show the public that we understand there needs to be other people giving advice and counsel, we announced who this group was--that's what this is all about."

For unrelated reasons, Shabazz, who has lived here since 2004 but doesn't own a house, said he likely will establish Indiana residency in the next year. But he didn't take the criticism to heart.

"It would be a legitimate concern if I had just fallen off a turnip truck and had no clue," he said. "But I understand the city better than most of them do, so I don't feel so bad."

Cocky and arrogant as usual, Shabazz continues to inflict more damage on Ballard every time he opens his mouth. The Star, like most of the mainstream media, tend to forget Shabazz' role in running the IndyUndercover blog during the last mayoral election under the alias Sgt. Joe Friday. IMPD initiated an investigation into the blog after it leaked the identity of a confidential police informant in an arson case, and in doing so, placed a pregnant woman's life in danger.

I think Straub hit the nail on the head when he said why people like Shabazz were appointed to the advisory board. They are "friends." He's not looking for advice from ordinary citizens who have been the victims of crimes or police misconduct. The Ballard campaign committee has no doubt promised both Shabazz and Amos Brown, another appointee, it will buy political ads for airing during their respective daily talk shows. Councilors Angel Rivera and Ben Hunter, who also serve on the board, are in Mayor Ballard's back pocket. Rivera works for a minority contractor that's always looking for government contracts. Melissa Proffitt Reese's law firm, Ice Miller, does legal work for the City, and she's traveled on overseas junkets with Ballard in the past. The other appointees to the board are typical obligatory pandering to racial and ethnic groups. It's a total farce and just another reason we must do everything we can to toss Ballard out on his ass in next year's election.

Abdul Hakim-Shabazz Has Hit Rock Bottom

After the entire IndyUndercover blowup after last year's election, expectations for radio talk show host and blogger Abdul Hakim-Shabazz have fallen pretty low. The self-described "premier blogger" in Indiana uses the excuse of Internet blogosphere rumors today as an excuse to propagate a baseless rumor the campaign of Andre Carson has been spreading about Republican Jon Elrod for the past two months. The Carson campaign figured out it had a big problem on its hands because of the eulogy Andre Carson and his family allowed to be offered at their grandmother's funeral, the late U.S. Rep. Julia Carson, by controversial Nation of Islam Leader Louis Farrakhan and the endorsement Farrakhan offered of Carson's candidacy to take his grandmother's seat in Congress. Farrakhan has called white people the "devil" and referred to Jews and gays as "evil", among many other racist, bigoted and anti-Semitic comments.

Shabazz, who like Carson is a fellow Muslim, remained silent as the entire Farrakhan controversy unfolded. When he did finally speak out on the subject, it was to defend Carson. Never once did he call on or ask Carson if he would repudiate the endorsement of Farrakhan as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama was forced to do by NBC's Tim Russert this past week. Interestingly, Shabazz waited to spring this Internet rumor spread by the Carson campaign until just moments before Elrod appeared on his show for an interview, feigning disgust that anyone would stoop to the level of spreading this unfounded rumor about Elrod instead of talking about the real issues. Shabazz' real motivation was to give currency to the rumor in the final days of the special election campaign. Readers should take note that in several leading Muslim countries where Carson's and Shabazz' religious faith is the only permitted religion people are free to practice, the rumor being spread about Elrod by the Carson campaign would be enough to land Elrod in jail and end with him being executed in a public square as his punishment. Thanks for nothing, Mr. Shabazz.

Amos Is Right

It is not often that I find myself in agreement with radio talk show host Amos Brown, but he has a point concerning recent discussions about money being spent in the 2010 and 2011 budgets of the City-County Council for redistricting. Brown took issue this past week with comments a competing radio talk show host, Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, made about the intention of Republican councilors to redistrict prior to the 2011 municipal election. Amos Brown correctly pointed out that what Shabazz suggested Republicans plan to do is a clear violation of state law in his column in the Indianapolis Recorder this week:

Is the City-County Council’s Republican majority attempting to redraw Council districts before 2010 Census data is released?

If not, why have Council Republicans increased their 2010 budget by $290,000 to cover “professional services” to redistrict? An August 11 budget hearing revealed that and an additional $290,000 would be spent in 2011 for redistricting.

Then WRTV/Channel 6 commentator Abdul Hakim-Shabazz posted on the station’s Capitol Watch Blog that 2010 Census data would be available in December 2010 and that the Council would redistrict by February 2011.

Shabazz’s pronouncements were flat false.

I called out Shabazz on his falsehoods, but neither he nor Channel 6 has corrected the errors of fact.

And the facts, from Marion County Clerk Beth White and Leslie Barnes at the Indiana Election Division are these.

State law requires the City-County Council to redistrict two years after a decennial Census is taken. That would be in 2012.

State law also prohibits the City-County Council from doing any redistricting between November 2, 2010 and November 8, 2011. The only time next year the Council could redistrict is before November, and the only data available would be from 2000.

So, since the Council cannot redistrict next year why is this money being spent? With city/county finances tight, spending $290,000 in 2010 and spending most of that amount in 2011 is wasted money and effort. The Council can wait until mid-2011 to start spending on redistricting; allocating the funds in the 2011 and 2012 budgets.

The current Council shouldn’t even think of redistricting with 10-year-old data. That would be the height of stupidity and arrogance.

I checked the state statute governing how the 25 City-County Council districts are to be redistricted each decennial. I.C. 36-3-4-3(a) provides:

Sec. 3. (a) The city-county legislative body shall, by ordinance, divide the whole county into twenty-five (25) districts that:
(1) are compact, subject only to natural boundary lines (such as railroads, major highways, rivers, creeks, parks, and major industrial complexes);
(2) contain, as nearly as is possible, equal population; and
(3) do not cross precinct boundary lines.
This division shall be made during the second year after a year in which a federal decennial census is conducted and may also be made at any other time, subject to IC 3-11-1.5-32.

The other statute mentioned in this law, I.C. 3-11-1.5.32, says that a "legislative body of a municipality may not change the boundary of a district established . . . after November 8 of the year preceding the year in which a municipal election is to be held and before the day following the date on which the municipal election is held except to assign territory to a municipal legislative body district in an annexation ordinance." This statute closes any window between the time census data is obtained and the time period for filing for municipal office for purposes of adopting a new redistricting plan.

Under federal law, the Census Bureau is supposed to deliver the final census report to the President by December 31, 2010. Shabazz suggested that Republicans would get the census information and redraw the district boundaries in approximately a 30-day window before candidates filed in February, 2011 to run for the City-County Council. The state law clearly provides that the redistricting could not take place until 2012, the second year after the federal decennial census is conducted.

It bothers me that the Republican-controlled council is budgeting $290,000 for redistricting in the 2010 budget when it won't even have any census data with which to work. It plans to spend another $290,000 in 2011; however, the state law would not allow the redistricting plan to be adopted until 2012 at the soonest, a year following the Indianapolis municipal election. The next municipal election does not take place until 2015. It looks to me like the Republicans will be wasting money on redistricting work in the 2010 and 2011 budgets, particularly if the Democrats win back control of the council in 2011. You can bet that they will throw out whatever work the Republicans had done and hire new consultants and lawyers to draw their own districts. In these tight budgetary times, it simply does not make sense to spend money that absolutely doesn't need to be spent.

IMPD Officer Shot And Killed While Responding To Domestic Disturbance On City's Northwest Side

A 41-year old IMPD officer tragically lost his life early this morning while responding to a domestic disturbance on the city's northwest side. Police tell WRTV that Officer Rod Bradway, a five-year veteran of the police department, died from gunshot wounds to the head and chest after he forcefully entered an apartment at the Eaglepointe Pointe Apartments to assist a woman he heard screaming for help inside the apartment. According to police, the suspected shooter was also shot and killed during the confrontation. "He did what we were taught to do," IMPD Chief Rick Hite said. Public Safety Director Rick Hite called Bradway's killing "an attack against what is right in our city." Mayor Greg Ballard, who is out of the country on his ninth overseas junket to Cologne, Germany, was not immediately available for comment.

While Mayor Ballard may be out of the country during this tragedy, it hasn't stopped him from using his hacks to exploit the tragic shooting to make the case for Mayor Ballard's call for higher taxes to boost IMPD's budget. Ballard's paid media hack, Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, who is substituting this week for WIBC's morning radio show host Steve Simpson, immediately pounced on the shooting to push the Mayor's call for hiring more police officers, blaming Officer Bradway's shooting on a police understaffing problem despite there not being once scintilla of evidence that IMPD's staffing had anything to do with this senseless killing. Taking a swipe at those who oppose Ballard's budget priorities, Shabazz suggested the shooting might motivate Ballard's detractors to sit down and start "a grown-up conversation." Shabazz continued the meme during a call-in interview with Councilor Ben Hunter, who said he was called by the city and notified of the officer's shooting death early this morning. Hunter echoed Shabazz' comments about IMPD being understaffed.

This is the last thing we should be discussing during this tragic moment, but since the mayor's hacks have opened up that discussion, let's have an honest discussion about the real reason IMPD is understaffed if that's where we want to lay the blame for Officer Bradway's shooting death. In 2007, former Mayor Bart Peterson and the Indianapolis City-County Council enacted a 65% increase in the county option income tax, a so-called public safety tax to fund IMPD at the appropriate levels, which then-mayoral candidate Greg Ballard opposed. Despite being promised at least 100 more police officers with the more than $90 million annually raised from that tax increase, there are fewer police officers today than there were when Mayor Ballard took office in 2008. Why? Because Mayor Ballard's priority one has not been public safety as he promised. Ballard has chosen his true priorities by diverting hundreds of millions of your tax dollars to finance crony capitalism for pay-to-play club members who bankroll his campaign committee like those who are now partying with him at the Rhineland Oktoberfest in Cologne. Somebody has to pay for all the private development projects he has been funding through generous tax abatements and the continuation and expansion of the TIF slush funds, which now consume 15% of the city's property tax base, not to mention the additional subsidies for the billionaire sports team owners. It is insulting and beyond reproach for these cold and calculating individuals to exploit this tragedy by blaming Indianapolis taxpayers for paying too little in taxes as the cause of Officer Bradway's death.

UPDATE: Apparently Mayor Ballard figured out that he had a real political problem on his hand being out-of-the country on yet another junket during this tragic event. His office just put out a statement saying that he has canceled the remainder of his overseas junket to Germany and is returning to the city:

“The City of Indianapolis lost a decorated hero, husband and father today.  Officer Rod Bradway gave his life protecting the people of our community by charging ahead to confront the unknown.  I ask the citizens of Indianapolis to join me in keeping Officer Bradway’s family, friends and brothers and sisters in IMPD in their thoughts a prayers.”

Due to the tragic events of this morning, Mayor Ballard will not participate in the Indy Chamber Leadership Exchange in Cologne, Germany.  He is currently making arrangements to return to Indianapolis. Details will be provided at a later time.

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz also sent his regards in an e-mail: "Nice to know you listen!" Well, it's nice to know you're still my most avid reader after all these years, Abdul.

WTHR has identified the suspect who was shot and killed during the shooting as well as 24-year old Steven Byrdo, who is believed to have been the boyfriend of the woman who lived in the apartment. Twitter comments from various reporters claim Byrdo had prior arrests for dealing marijuana.

UPDATE II: More details are emerging. The Star reports that Byrdo had held the woman at gunpoint inside the apartment for nearly three hours before Officer Bradway stormed into the apartment and shots were exchanged. An officer who accompanied Bradway shot and killed Byrdo.

. . . The man who shot and killed Bradway was hiding behind a door the officer kicked in when responding to the woman’s screams for help, police said.

Bradway had been talking to the suspect for several minutes, homicide Detective Thomas Lehn said. When Bradway charged in, the woman, who had been held at gunpoint for three hours, screamed to warn the officer that the suspect was behind the door.

"When the officer ran through the door, (the suspect) reached out, pointed the gun and shot him in the side," Lehn said.

In the chaos Bradway had little time to react, Lehn said.

Lehn said a second officer rushed in and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, fatally shooting him.

"There are bullet holes everywhere,” Lehn said.

Lehn said at least 15 shots were fired, six by the suspect.

Earlier in the morning the woman had run out onto the balcony before the suspect fired a shot and yanked her back in, Lehn said . . .

The Star is also reporting that Byrdo had been released from prison in June after being sentenced for convicted dealing cocaine in January. He was also sentenced for similar crimes in July, 2011.   Byrdo had other previous arrests, including public intoxication, disorderly conduct, dealing and possession of marijuana, and carrying a handgun without a license.

The infamous Star columnist from Cleveland wants you to know that Officer Bradway's death was caused because you're not paying enough in taxes to properly staff IMPD. The hell with the facts which prove unequivocally that having 300, 400 or 500 more police officers would not have prevented this senseless shooting. She wasn't around when your income taxes were hiked 65% a few years ago to fund public safety, and she isn't about to perform any due diligence to understand what happened with all of those new tax dollars that finds us with fewer police officers than before that gigantic tax increase. These commenter in response to her column on the Star's website hit the nail on the head:

The loss of this hero has nothing to do with politics, budgets, etc. Ask any officer and they will tell you that a domestic is the worst call to go on because you never know what you will encounter. You can't go in guns drawn like a robbery in progress or shots fired and events with a domestic can escalate quickly. Also, please don't turn this into a gun possession either. Criminals will get guns as shown by this individual regardless of the laws. This is about a hero, a father, a husband that gave his life doing his job and they deserve our respect every day and has nothing to do with anything other than good people and bad people.  

Leonard Strickland

If the columnist had read the story and knew exactly what happened, she'd know that politics and budgets had absolutely nothing to do with this. Instead of retreating or waiting around for additional resources to show up, this brave officer knew time was of the essence and did what he did, knowing what was on the other side of the door. The City-County Council could have approved the request to hire 80 officers or 8,000 officers, nothing would have changed the outcome of this horrific situation. There's nothing wrong with debating or writing about the police budget or politics, but to parlay this tragedy while the body is still warm is truly sickening in every sense of the word.

Axl E. David 

Arson Investigation Triggered Search Warrant Against Abdul

Fox 59's Russ McQuaid reported on the TV news station's 10:00 p.m. broadcast last night that the leaking of the identity of a confidential police informant in last summer's arson case is what triggered a search warrant being issued against radio talk show host and blogger Abdul Hakim-Shabazz. You may recall Indianapolis had a string of arsons last summer mostly on the city's near southeast side. According to McQuaid's report, the identity of a confidential police informant surfaced on the IndyUndercover blog site last June. That triggered the request for a search warrant being requested by Indianapolis police to search the computer of Shabazz, long-suspected of being behind the IndyUndercover blog. Four hours before police were prepared to act on the search warrant, someone tipped off Shabazz who quickly lawyered up. In the end, the search warrant never got executed.

The public learned of this incident because Shabazz posted about it on his blog, Indiana Barrister, this past month after the election. Shabazz did not, however, reveal the fact that the search warrant pertained to the arson investigation and the leaked identity of a confidential police informant. Instead, he mentioned the fact that he was looking into a reported investigation by police of a prominent local Democrat at the time of the search warrant, and that police suspected he was behind IndyUndercover. Shabazz acknowledged he had a role in encouraging local police to start up the blog, but he denied being involved in its day-to-day operations. It is unclear why the search warrant issue didn't surface until five months after the post first appeared on IndyUndercover.

McQuaid interviewed Indiana University Law School Professor Henry Karlson, a criminal law specialist who is often a critic of police, about the story. Karlson did not believe anyone committed obstruction of justice by tipping off Shabazz in advance about the search warrant. Karlson insisted the search warrant was illegal on its face. McQuaid has a copy of the search warrant, which he shared with Karlson. There is no posted story on Fox 59's website, accompanying the video which ran with the story and can be viewed on the Fox 59 website. Hopefully, Fox 59 will post a copy of the search warrant on its site later.

There is an interesting aspect of this story that deserves a closer look. City-County Councilor Sherron Franklin, who is an IMPD officer, worked on the arson investigation, at least earlier this summer. You may recall police apprehended a suspect, but the arson continued after he was in police custody. She is quoted in at least one news media report defending police handling of the case. IndyUndercover has been a big supporter of Franklin's, openly urging her re-election at the same time the site actively supported the election of Republican Greg Ballard over Mayor Bart Peterson. The site sprung into existence after police dissatisfaction grew over the merger of city police and county sheriff's departments. Franklin voted against the police merger when it came before the council.

It is also interesting that Fox 59 appears to be the only local news media source which followed up on Shabazz' public discussion of the search warrant. Shabazz has an affiliation with WRTV Channel 6 news. Why didn't WRTV look further into the story?

Fellow blogger Ruth Holladay interviewed Shabazz over the weekend about the demise of IndyUndercover. She describes Shabazz as "cagey" as ever concerning his alleged role in the blog. It doesn't look like Shabazz is going to discuss McQuaid's story on his radio talk show this morning either. At least, I haven't heard him mention it yet.

Patrice Abduallah Never Lived In District 15

Adding more fuel to the swirling controversies this election season is a bomb shell report by Abdul Hakim-Shabazz that District 15 Councilor Patice Abduallah never lived in his district. Abduallah resigned his seat in August after Advance Indiana reported on the fact that he was not currently living in his district. At the time Abduallah resigned, Marion Co. Clerk Beth White's office acknowledged it knew last January when Abduallah filed his statement of candidacy declaring his address on Warman Avenue, outside his district, he didn't live in District 15. Now, Shabazz discloses that an official address list prepared for City-County Council members in December, 2003 listed a home address on Wheeler Avenue for Abduallah, in addition to his Sheffield Avenue address in the district--a home which was in such a state of disrepair it could not have been occupied as a residence.

A person with first-hand knowledge recounted to me an occasion last year when this person gave Councilor Abduallah a ride home one evening. The home, according to this source, was located in an area on the city's northeastside, far away from Abduallah's district. According to his source, the residence is where Helen, Abduallah's significant other or wife, resides. It's odd because nobody can seem to agree whether Abduallah was married to Helen or just living with her. The Wheeler Avenue address on the official council document is located in Councilor Oliver's district.

So why does this matter now? A taxpayer lawsuit, upon which there was a hearing before the Indiana Tax Court this week, is considering, among other things, whether Marion Co's income tax increase is invalid because Abduallah's vote provided the 15th vote needed to pass it. Plaintiffs argue that, because Abduallah acknowledged in a public document he had vacated his district prior to the tax increase vote, he could not legally cast a vote as a member of the council. Interestingly, Fred Biesecker, an Ice Miller attorney working for the City, for the sake of argument conceded Abduallah had vacated his district prior to the vote and that officials in Beth White's office knew this. Biesecker's argument is that it was essentially "harmless error." He says the vacancy can't become official until a citizen challenges it, even if people in the Clerk's office knew he no longer lived in his district. This outcome is necesssary, he argues, because of the resulting chaos and confusion which would ensue if Abduallah's tax increase vote and other ordinances which passed by only one vote with his support were invalidated.

My whole point all along has been the fact that Beth White's office knowingly allowed Patrice Abduallah to defraud his constituents by falsely claiming to be a resident of District 15. This whole story grows by leaps and bounds now that we know the City-County Council has known all along Abduallah never lived in his district from day one. My district essentially had no true representative on the council the last four years. This is also further evidence that Andre Carson's presence on the council now is illegitimate. The Democrats have been defrauding the voters of my district for the past four years. They were then allowed to conduct a caucus meeting at which Carson was chosen to take Abduallah's place on the ballot, even though the deadline for filling vacancies has already passed. Note, Beth White's office refused to allow an independent candidate to file for the office at that late date. Adding further insult to injury, Democrats allowed Abduallah to vote in the caucus at which Carson was chosen. He could not have been legally holding down the precinct committeperson position to which he had been elected under false pretenses.

Republicans should have legally challenged Carson's placement on the November ballot, but since they seem determined to ensure a Democratic-council majority, they did nothing. The irony is that Abdul Hakim-Shabazz is "of counsel" with Marion Co. GOP Chairman Tom John's law firm. If Shabazz has had this document proving Abduallah never lived in his district all along, why wasn't it used by John to prevent Carson's placement on the November ballot? And by the way, Tom John knew before the deadline for appointing a Republican candidate for District 15 there was a question over Abduallah's residency.

CIB's Barney Levengood Paid $221,000

The hits just keep on coming as the City of Indianapolis continues to seek a $48 million a year bailout from the state, financed through higher taxes and more state subsidies. The IBJ's Cory Schouten takes a closer look at the CIB's payroll. Previously, WTHR's Mary Milz pointed out that big pay raises had been doled out to the CIB's key personnel within the past year, except for its CIB executive director, Barney Levengood, and 3% raises had been approved acrossed the board elsewhere. It turns out Levengood didn't need a pay raise because he's one of the highest paid public officials in the State of Indiana, making over $221,000. Levengood also padded the CIB's budget with 30 new employees. Schouten writes:

He’s also become one of the state’s highest-paid public employees. Levengood, 54, earns a salary of $221,325—more than the governor and the mayor combined. He also gets a $500-per-month car allowance.

Some observers are wondering whether that’s too much, particularly considering that CIB is pleading for new taxes to keep it afloat. The quasi-governmental board is facing a $47 million annual deficit.

Before asking the mayor and state legislators for a bailout earlier this year, Levengood added 30 employees, boosting CIB’s head count to 172—a 20-percent increase. He also handed out 3-percent raises to most employees, and
some got much more; stadium director Mike Fox’s salary jumped 36 percent, to $128,242 . . .

Levengood said he hadn’t realized the full extent of the CIB’s budget troubles when he approved the raises.

“In hindsight, this may have not been the best decision but we honestly didn’t believe there would not be a solution,” he wrote in an e-mail. “We wanted to continue to operate and still do today as if we are a viable organization.”

Levengood didn't realize the full extent of the CIB's budget troubles when he approved the raises? Hmmm. CPA and veteran CIB member Pat Early has no problem with that:

Early said Levengood is not to blame for the CIB budget mess. The board has been operating with deficits every year since 1999, but Early said those shortfalls never made much of a dent in CIB’s reserves until now.

And he defended Levengood’s decision to give the CIB staff raises in January. Levengood didn’t get a raise this year, but last year he got an 8-percent boost. (The board sets the salary for the executive director, who determines salaries for the rest of the staff.)

“I’ve worked with Barney for 17 years,” Early said. “He picks up paper clips off the floor instead of buying a new box. He’s as fiscally responsible a manager as we possibly could have.”

A spokesman for Mayor Greg Ballard, who appoints six members on the nine-member board, said he would defer to the judgment of the Capital Improvement Board on whether salaries are appropriate.

The job is complex and challenging and requires a well-paid leader, Early said. “You can get someone to do brain surgery for less than a brain surgeon makes,” he said, “but you just might not be happy with the result.”

I've become convinced that it could be reported that the CIB has been secretly killing babies for the past ten years and it wouldn't make a dime's bit of difference in this bailout debate. Our elected officials received their marching orders from their true masters long ago that they would finance this bailout by hook or crook. What the taxpaying public thinks or what the facts show mean little to our out-of-touch elected officials.

Elsewhere in the IBJ, propagandist in chief for the downtown elites, Bill Benner, pens a column telling us just how bad things would turn for the worst if, God forbid, our beloved Pacers moved out of town. Benner picked up on blog reports about a rumor the team could be bought and moved to Vancouver, although Benner is sticking to the party line that these team owners never threaten to leave town if city leaders to fork over to them their ever increasing demands:

As I drove to work May 12, I listened as local talk-show radio host, WXNT-AM 1430’s Abdul Hakim-Shabazz seized on a blog report that the owner of the National Hockey League Vancouver Canucks was considering a bid to purchase the Indiana Pacers and move them to the Canadian city.

There was nothing to confirm that the report was credible and, we must emphasize, Pacers co-owner Herb Simon has been steadfast in his stated desire to keep the franchise in Indianapolis.

Nonetheless, Hakim-Shabazz used the report to pose a question to his listeners: If the Pacers left, would they even be missed? Most replied they would not.

Now I listened to perhaps only a half-dozen callers before I reached my destination, and it would be nonsense to suggest they were a representative sampling . . .

About an hour after Hakim-Shabazz’s radio show concluded, Streett got a call from his boss, Shepherd Executive Director Jay Height. Height told Streett the Pacers had called, and needed someone from Shepherd to be at Conseco Fieldhouse by 11:30 that morning. Height wasn’t given a reason, just told to have someone there, and he asked Streett to go.

Streett knew that the Pacers had called a news conference to announce that forward Danny Granger was to be named the NBA’s most improved player.

What he didn’t know was that the award is sponsored by auto manufacturer Kia, and that a vehicle—either a Borrego SUV or a Sedona minivan—would be awarded to the charity of Granger’s choice.

Granger had selected Shepherd Community Center. So, much to his surprise and delight, Streett was handed the keys to a new minivan at the news conference.

“This is a tremendous gift,” said Streett, still looking a bit shocked. “Transportation is one of our biggest issues. This is a real blessing to us.” .
. .

So, back to Hakim-Shabazz’s question: Would we miss the Pacers if they left?

Perhaps not. But don’t tell it to Tim Streett who, courtesy of Danny Granger, walked out of Conseco Fieldhouse with keys to a new vehicle that can provide a lift in ways beyond mere transportation.

What a real tear jerker, Bill. How do you look at yourself in the mirror spewing such bullshit on a daily basis as part of your job? This is how these guys operate. They plant a story in the media that a professional sports team, which just happens to be seeking an additional $15 million a year subsidy from the taxpayers, may be bought and moved to another city. Remember Jim Irsay's Colts and the LA rumors? The team naturally denies the rumor, but their paid mouthpieces make sure it gets circulated far and wide in the community to scare key leaders into taking the desired action. Your propaganda won't fly here, Bill. You should go back to doggie school and learn some new tricks, Rover, or excuse me, Bill.