The [Monday] Papers

Everything I have to say about Bob Fioretti's endorsement of Rahm Emanuel over the weekend I said on Twitter - at least for now.

Let us turn instead to Chuy Garcia.

The Tribune today profiles Garcia's decade at the helm of a Little Village community development group.

The article's kind of so-so, but this struck me:

"Garcia declined to be interviewed for this story, withdrawing Friday from a commitment to discuss Enlace with the Tribune made earlier in the week by his campaign manager."

Not helping, Chuy.

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Also from the weekend:

Just tried to ask @garcia4chicago about Bobby Rush after @rainbowPUSH . Got a @RahmEmanuel style blowoff

— Lauren FitzPatrick (@bylaurenfitz) March 28, 2015

That's not the first time Chuy has done that, by the way.

I want Chuy to win - or, more like, I want Rahm to lose - but nobody should be mistaken about who he is: A Chicago politician. If anyone has forgotten what that means, Bob Fioretti reminded us yesterday.

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Anyway, the Tribune recounts how the community group Garcia led fell on hard times in 2008 and 2009 after the Wall Street financial scandals scuttled the economy.

The scandals, it should be noted, perpetrated by Rahm's greedy banking friends. Those are the dots to connect. Even then, Rahm's pals were getting rich - and have since gotten richer - at the expense of the neighborhoods.

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Okay, back to Fioretti briefly:

"When I met with the mayor, it was clear to me that he's a different person than he was before the last election, because I think he's heard what's happening throughout the city. I think he will be a different mayor in the next four years," Fioretti said. "I think he's a little more humble, no doubt about it. For him to ask for my endorsement, that's a lot different from the Rahm Emanuel I've known before."

Right. Rahm has changed. He'll listen more. His strengths are his weaknesses. He's more humble.

That's a story I read every year about Rahm, and it never sticks. Check the clips; it's a mantra wheeled out about once a year in a time of need.

And yet, he never changes. And why should we expect him to? The idea isn't to hope that Rahm suddenly adopts the opposite of every position he holds and becomes a nice guy who embraces democracy at the same time; the point is to elect the person who already most closely reflects your views, values, principles and is already a nice (enough) guy who embraces democracy.

Sheesh. You've never really seen it all in Chicago because money does wonders for cynics' imaginations.

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You never want to say you actually like an alderman in Chicago. At most, you may have an alderman you hate the least.

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The Beachwood Radio Hour
Still in production - gonna be a doozy!

Well, maybe not a doozy, I just got waylaid yesterday and didn't finish it.

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The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #44: Alice In Cubsland
Where Javy Baez stays up and Kris Bryant goes down.

Plus: Coach in Vegas; Our Elite Neighbors; We Hate Christian Laettner; McDonald McPunditry; Daft Town Chicago; Bulls' Secret Plan Coming To Fruition; Blackhawks' Secret Plan Not Coming To Fruition; DePaul's Third Strike; and The Chicago Fire Did Something This Week. (With Show Notes)

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SportsMonday: Drop It, DePaul
Men's basketball, that is.

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BeachBook
* AP Exclusive: Before Leak, NSA Mulled Ending Phone Program.

Because it didn't work - and because they thought Americans would be outraged if they found out about it.

* Obama's Claim That Keystone XL Oil 'Bypasses The U.S.' Earns Four Pinocchios.

He keeps repeating claims already shown to be wrong - which means it's not just a mistake; he's an out-and-out liar. But those paying close attention knew that a long time ago.

* People Hate The Tribune's Heidi Stevens' Hair.

I like it - not that it should be up for debate - and I've had many of the same issues with my own hair. Sometimes before TV appearances the makeup people would try to comb it, which only makes it worse and ridiculous. One time Joel Weisman of Chicago Tonight: Week In Review told me to take the appearance fee, which was then about a hundred bucks, and get a haircut. As if. It is what it is. Trust me, I wear the best version available to me - unless I want to look like a corporate tool whose mother still dresses him. I mean, many if not most of the haircuts of TV people and their guests as well as those who fill are newsrooms are just brutally awful, but fall within the acceptable range of mediocre mainstream mindsets. And the clothes? Geez. Really, people. Y'all got it backwards. You're the problem, not us.

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TweetWood
A non-Fioretti sampling.

Rahm Emanuel on quadrennial tour of black churches today.

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 29, 2015

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.@FAiRChicago @CitizenJac This appears to be false: "Emanuel countered that he has met with homeowners...'We have met'" @BillRuthhart

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 29, 2015

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More Accurate Rahm: I Led The Effort For A $13 Minimum Wage Five Years From Now Instead Of $15 Immediately. #AndBusinessDonorsHaveRewardedMe

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 28, 2015

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"I'm just saying, but we have airports named after, obviously, battleships," Emanuel said. | Obviously. Not! http://t.co/1BZrErb10W

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) March 29, 2015

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That time Bill Clinton ran ads citing that he signed DOMA and protected "religious freedom." http://t.co/M2qqW08HNd pic.twitter.com/w0hr6JPkGF

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) March 29, 2015

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