Free Republic

Chicago dog owners who tether their pets for hours on end without food or water would be reined in -- with a two-hour limit -- under a crackdown proposed Wednesday by the City Council's most powerful alderman. "If dogs are tethered in this way, it makes them more likely to bite humans and makes them mean," said Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th). "It's a question of cruelty to the animals. It's a question of responsible care of animals. If people own pets, they ought to treat them responsibly." The Burke-championed ordinance introduced at Wednesday's City Council meeting would...

Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel Wes Hanscom told a City Council panel that City Hall is preparing to sue ticket resellers who make a killing on the Internet but leave taxpayers in the lurch. The crackdown can't come soon enough for Finance Committee Chairman Edward M. Burke (14th). He believes that as much as $16 million in amusement taxes is slipping through the city's fingers because of growing Internet purchases. $4.2 mil. loss on Sox postseason? "One registered ticket broker paid $140,000 in amusement tax on White Sox postseason. EBay, it is estimated, is 20 times the size of that broker....