Life in "Progress" City

The city of Cincinnati is rampant with criminals roaming the streets, so when a couple of republicans are trying to do something like using "stimulus" money for home incarceration systems you'd think they might get at least a vote on the program.

Not in "Progress" City, where we'd rather use the funds for a diversity festival rather than keeping the citizens safe from miscreants.

A plan to buy ankle monitoring systems for criminals released early from jail likely will die without a hearing - because the mayor sent it to a committee that doesn’t meet soon enough for the city to apply for money to lease the monitors.

The issue drew the most heated words between council members in months. Councilwoman Leslie Ghiz, who pitched the idea with Councilman Greg Harris, announced she would be voting against all stimulus requests until her motion to lease the monitoring units got a vote. Laketa Cole fired back later, saying Ghiz and Harris were having a “temper tantrum because they can’t get their way.”

Cole emphasized her point by asking City Manager Milton Dohoney how much money the city already spends on public safety. He said 63 percent of the city’s general fund is spent on public safety. The general fund budget is about $375 million.

Ghiz blamed Mayor Mark Mallory for what she predicted will be the death of the idea to lease 75 monitors. He sent the legislation back to the finance committee, where he had originally assigned it but where it had not yet been heard. She and Harris got a hearing Tuesday in the law committee, where the idea passed. But Mallory said the issue never should’ve been heard there and sent it back to finance.

The finance committee doesn’t meet until May 18. That’s the same day the application for stimulus money is due, not leaving enough time for it to pass through committee that day and be voted on by the full council. Mallory could still allow it to be voted on at council’s meeting next week, but Ghiz doesn’t expect that to happen.

Now here is my challenge. Go through this article and tell me the party affiliation of each of the people named.

It won't take long before you figure out the party who supports criminals and the party who doesn't.

What's so "progressive" about protecting criminals?

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