The [Wednesday] Papers

"Taste of Chicago lost $1.3 million last year, leaving it deeper in the red after Mayor Rahm Emanuel raised the expectation that the venerable summer ode to overindulgence would begin to break even or turn a profit," the Tribune reports.

D'oh!

"The losses came despite Emanuel's moves to raise more money at Taste 2012 by charging attendees at the nightly concerts at the Petrillo Music Shell $25 for reserved seats and adding $40 daily gourmet meals prepared by local chefs alongside the traditional ribs-and-ice cream fare that has made the festival synonymous with Chicago summer for decades. The mayor also cut Taste from 10 days to five and moved it away from July 4.

"In 2011, Taste lost about $1 million, and afterward Emanuel said he wanted to plot a course toward profitability."

Here comes the spin:

"Since then, the administration has changed course, saying the focus is on safety rather than the bottom line. 'The whole thing is, we wanted to make sure it was the safest, most family-friendly event possible,' city spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez said Tuesday while discussing the Taste revenue numbers the city recently finalized."

For the whole story, including Rahm's initial declaration that his reformulated Taste was a rousing success, see the item Taste Truth Test.

Newspaper Addiction
"Heroin's rising popularity among suburban teenagers may have caught those who consider drug abuse an urban problem by surprise, but local parents, educators and public officials say they're coming to realize they aren't immune to the trauma of addiction," the Tribune reports.

Just like it did on February 7th ("Heroin is no longer an inner-city issue").

And last November 22nd ("[S]everal north suburban police departments are seeing an increase in heroin use").

And last November 8th ("[M]any parents have the impression that heroin use is an inner city problem").

And November 1st, October 25th, September 2nd . . . it's never-ending.

Here's a good one, from last March: "Groups in suburbs try to cope with Heroin Highway from city."

Or we could dip back into June 2011, when the Tribune declared "[T]he new face of the drug: Young white suburbanites."

In August 2010, it was "Suburbia's Heroin Addiction."

2009: "'Heroin used to be the drug that the black people on the other side of the tracks used,' said Will County Drug Court coordinator Julie Sterr. 'Now it's mostly white, middle-class high school kids.'"

Back in 2006, the Tribune did a Sunday magazine story "exploring heroin's reach into the suburbs."

In 2005, the Tribune reported that "The number of suburban heroin users began to increase in the 1990s."

Indeed. A 1995 Tribune headline: "Officials warn suburbs of more gangs, new drug threat."

Do reporters - and more importantly, editors - read their own papers? When does a trend stop being a trend and just become reality?

Deferred Reality
"It has been a dream of Dan Rutherford to make a run for governor," the Pontiac Daily Leader reports.

"It appears he may be ready to do so."

Yep, it certainly appears Rutherford may run.

"The Illinois State Treasurer told the audience Monday night at the annual Lincoln-Reagan Dinner that he may throw his hat into the ring soon."

He may decide soon.

"I'm not announcing tonight. None of you walked in this room and thought I was announcing tonight. You know I can't do it tonight, but I'm in for the governor's race for the state of Illinois and that's for doggone sure," Rutherford said to thunderous applause.

Wait. He just said he's in!

Rutherford stressed it was not his official candidacy announcement.

Oh, so he's not officially in. He's just actually in.

The media will be asked to participate in a ceremonial announcement at a later, more convenient date. And they will.

*

Alternate: "If there were still any doubts that state treasurer Dan Rutherford was running for governor, they were erased on Monday night when the Pontiac, Illinois, native declared 'I'm in' at the annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner."

*

And from now on, Rutherford should be described in all articles he appears in as a gubernatorial candidate. You don't have to wait for his approval on that.

Kim Kardashian Vs. The Bubble
In today's installment of QT.

UIC's Supercool 3D Cave
"You can just stare at science all day."

Gear Is Good
Warm fuzzy growls.

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