The [Thursday] Papers

1. The Cubs Are The Best Team In Baseball.

"In fact, when you look at this, it seems like it shouldn't even be a debate."

2. How The White House Lost On The Cadillac Tax.

"Not only was it slated to raise $91 billion over 10 years, but it also was supposed to ensure the law reined in health care spending and did not blow a hole in the deficit."

3. Case Spotlights Code Of Silence Among Chicago Police.

"At his trial on drug charges nearly a decade ago, Ben Baker told a seemingly far-fetched tale about a corrupt band of Chicago police officers who ran a South Side housing project like their own criminal fiefdom, stealing narcotics proceeds, shaking down dealers for protection money and pinning cases on those who refused to play ball."

I don't know why anyone familiar with Chicago - and life in America generally - would think that's far-fetched. Which is also part of the problem.

"A Cook County judge at the time said he believed the testimony of veteran Sgt. Ronald Watts and officers under his command, not Baker's accusations that Watts and his crew had framed him.

"But two years ago Watts was convicted [link mine, natch] on federal corruption charges after being snared in an FBI sting. Now, Baker is seeking to overturn his own conviction and 14-year sentence in a case that casts a spotlight on the police code of silence - a red-hot issue amid fallout from the dashboard camera video of Laquan McDonald's shooting."

Here's the key:

"In a court filing this week, his lawyers revealed dozens of pages of court and law enforcement records showing the Chicago police internal affairs division had been aware as far back as the late 1990s of corruption allegations involving Watts' team of tactical officers - yet did nothing about it.

"The filing also cites a whistleblower lawsuit filed by two Chicago police officers who allege they faced repeated retaliation after going to supervisors about their discovery of the police corruption in the Ida B. Wells public housing development. When their complaints fell on deaf ears, they worked undercover for the feds, helping nab Watts."

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"Meanwhile," the Tribune reports separately, "Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo told aldermen Tuesday that rank-and-file cops' morale is at an all-time low, and specifically pointed to Emanuel's talk of a code of silence in the department as something that has been 'very disturbing' to officers."

Dean Angelo is Today's Worst Person In Chicago.

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The Angelo quote comes from the Tribune story "Emanuel Greeted By '16 Shots' Chant About Laquan McDonald At Urban Prep Event," because the Tribune still stuffs distinctly different but tangentially related items into its old-fashioned story structures instead of fully committing to the superior world of digital journalism and breaking those stories up into blog entries (or something similar).

A reminder:

* The Truth About Urban Prep And Why It Matters.

* Same Kids, Same Building, Same Lies.

* Tribune Keeps Repeating Lie About Charter's "100%" Grad Rate.

* Fact-Checking Media's 100% Urban Prep Graduation Rate Claim.

* Urban Prep Charter Hype Redux.

4. Wheaton College Says View Of Islam, Not Hijab, Got Christian Teacher Suspended.

I'm not sure if that's better or worse.

5. CPS Borrowing Could Come At Steep Cost, Experts Say.

First, there's no "could" about it.

Second, you don't need experts to say so.

But . . . here's what caught my eye:

"Claypool on Tuesday said the district would cut one-third of its central office administrative staff to save about $50 million in annual expenses and free up $100 million more through 'nonpersonnel efficiencies' in areas such as procurement and transportation."

That is one magical central office.

And how are there always new "efficiencies" to be found in procurement and transportation? How inefficient can those areas be, time and time again? Did every previous CEO miss those inefficiencies even as they announced they had found savings through new efficiencies? Name those efficiencies!

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Pantera's Thickburger
Metal or not?

The Other Secret Torture Report
What our friendly Iraqi militias have been up to.

Rick Hahn To The Rescue
Theo still Best in Show, but South Side just got a little more interesting.

The Goonies Bears
In The Blue & Orange Kool-Aid Report.

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BeachBook

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TweetWood
A sampling.

An all-access exclusive. #Journalism https://t.co/N7iU396ZF0

— Beachwood Reporter (@BeachwoodReport) December 17, 2015

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BUT Southcom is sharply curtailing journalists' ability to cover what is going on inside the walls of Gitmo prison https://t.co/r6OyrVNTTw

— Charlie Savage (@charlie_savage) December 17, 2015

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HEY EVERYONE RAHM IS EXCITED! HIS AIDES SAY THEY HAVE NEVER SEEN HIM SO DETERMINED! HE LOOKS FORWARD TO CHALLENGE OF GETTING AWAY WITH IT!!!

— Nate_Rasmussen (@Nate_Rasmussen) December 16, 2015

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Reminder that believing whatever the government claims, laundered by the media, is bad for your intellectual health https://t.co/rW20M4JXTS

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 16, 2015

Remember when US Govt & media spent a week claiming Paris attacks were due to encryption - then it turned out they didn't use encryption?

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) December 16, 2015

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Good questions from @intelwire pic.twitter.com/9WaamXsm4z

— Andrew Kaczynski (@BuzzFeedAndrew) December 16, 2015

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Yes, important to note that @JesseRuizEsq departure leaves ZERO Latino representation on the Board overseeing a district w 46% Hispanic kids

— Lauren FitzPatrick (@bylaurenfitz) December 16, 2015

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The Beachwood Tip Line: Rep prep.

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