Six children die in Chicago fire, building owner a major Ald. Joe Moore contributor

Early Sunday morning a deadly fire swept through an third floor apartment in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood, the city's highest fire death toll since 1964. Six children, all from the same family, died.

The electricity to the unit had been shut off for weeks, and according the Chicago Fire Department officials, the unit didn't have working smoke detectors.

At night, family members used candles as lighting, and it's believed a candle caused the deadly blaze.

The Rogers Park building is located in a rough corner of Alderman Joe Moore's 49th Ward, the North of Howard neighborhood.

Here's what Moore said yesterday about the fire, courtesy of NBC 5 Chicago:

I did conduct a visual inspection of a couple of the other units in the building today, they were equipped with smoke detectors, hard-wired. So, I believe the fire department's finding of there being no smoke detectors in that apartment were preliminary.

But the fire department said there weren't working smoking detectors. Who would you believe?

Craig Gernhardt who writes the excellent Morse Hell Hole blog, doesn't believe Moore:

Lie, lie, lie. Then lie some more. This is just another example why the man sitting in the 49th ward Alderman's seat has to go. He's out of touch with his community.

Didn't the Alderman know you need electricity to make these hard-wired smoke detector's work?

Jay Johnson, the owner of the "Death Trap on Marshfield" is a frequent Alderman Moore campaign contributor and has been notified of the tragedy. Mr. Johnson blames the Ramirez family for this tragedy on the news programs. Mr. Johnson also sits on Alderman Moore's rubber stamp - local 49th ward, "community" Zoning And Land Use Advisory Committee. (ZALUAC). He must have known the electricity was turned off to the 7706 North Marshfield #3 unit. (My note, the address of the apartment building where the tragic fire occurred). ComEd is required to tell the property owner when they shut off power to a unit.

More on Moore and his money, again from Morse Hell Hole:

Joe Moore can afford to be "generous" toward the Ramirez family - he's gotten at least $8000 in campaign donations from Jay Johnson. What kind of credibility is this investigation going to have?

I think Joe's campaign fund should donate at least $8000 to the Ramirez family fund, although at that point it would only be breaking even.

Donations from Jay Johnson to Joe:

Cornerstone Residential GR LLC dba CIG Management 350 W. Erie
Ste 100
Chicago, IL 60610 $1,000.00
2/11/2005 Individual Contribution

CIG Management LLC c/o CIG Management to Citizens for Joe Moore

$1,500.00 6/14/2002
$500.00 11/13/2001
$500.00 3/25/2004

Cornerstone Residential Group LLC dba CIG Management LLC

$1,500.00 1/24/2003
$1,500.00 1/24/2003

$1,000.00 2/11/2005

Morse Urban Development to Citizens for Joe Moore
$500.00 4/12/2000

Moore, of course, is doing his best to getting his name out nationally leading the Chicago front on the Democratic Party's jihad against Wal-Mart, as well as his idiotic bill banning foie gras from Chicago eateries.

Moore, however, has a lot of explaining to do in regards to what's happening in his 49th Ward.

CORRECTIONS 2:15PM CDT: Only five of the victims were from the same family, the sixth was a friend.

The information on Jay Johnson's donations to Moore did come from Morse Hell Hole, but from the comments section. That contribution came from another North Side blogger, Rogers Park Rake.

Related posts: Ald. Joe Moore, retail genius

Ald. Moore: Putting the unions' money where his mouth is

Mayor Daley says phooey on Chicago foie gras ban

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