By Steve Rhodes
1. Polls are a ridiculous waste of time and money. Discuss.
2. Richard M. Daley, Emperor of Dirt.
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Yep, the greatest mayor ever.
3. Dylan at the Riv.
4. “While leading mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel hits Hollywood to raise big bucks, mayoral hopeful Gery Chico is hosting a Hollywood party of his own,” Sneed “reports“.
“* To wit: Chico is tossing a campaign party at the Hollywood Grill, a 24/7 ‘greasy spoon’ diner in Wicker Park.
“* Quoth Chico: ‘I’m sure Hollywood is very exciting; I’d rather be in our neighborhoods.'”
Right. I’m sure Chico eats in our neighborhoods all the time.
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The Hollywood isn’t really a “greasy spoon” either. But nice try.
5. “Republicans have added over 675 seats to their ranks in this election, dramatically surpassing 1994 gains. This number could go even higher as the tallies in the undecided races are determined,” Tim Storey reports for The Thicket, a blog of the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“The success by Republicans at the state level could give the GOP a dramatic advantage in the redistricting cycle that will start in just a few short months. The Census Bureau will deliver data to legislatures in early February. There are many caveats when it comes to redistricting especially given the legal complexity of the task and the inevitable litigation. But Republicans are in the best shape for the decennial line-drawing that they have been in since the modern era of redistricting began in the 1970s.”
6. “Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko will be sentenced in January for his crimes under Rod Blagojevich, a federal judge in Chicago said Thursday – which makes it unlikely he’ll testify at the former governor’s retrial on corruption charges in April,” the Sun-Times reports.
“U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve set Jan. 28 for sentencing Rezko, who was convicted in June 2008 of shaking down people who wanted state business under Blagojevich’s administration.”
A) So much for all those pundits insisting that Rezko would (or should) testify at Blago 2.
B) Rezko (and pretty much the rest of Blago’s inner circle) was convicted of virtually the same thing Blago was charged with – “shaking down people who wanted state business under Blagojevich’s administration.” Are you telling me the evidence didn’t show that Blago was not only aware but complicit of this method of operation?
7. This nonsense is what constitutes a big front-page story for the Sun-Times. But let’s blame voters for being unserious.
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Yesterday, it was the pseudo-news of the Kirk-Giannoulias beer summit. In which reporters were not privy to their discussion. Which wouldn’t have constituted news anyway unless Alexi finally explained what happened on that trip to Florida to meet with Jaws Giorango.
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I guess they just can’t help themselves, because no one is forcing them to behave like children.
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And by “they” I mean the newspaper, not the pols.
8. Can we please have a moratorium on political photo ops from Manny’s Deli and the Billy Goat?
9. The Greens vs. WTTW.
10. “Electrical brain stimulation may Improve math skills,” the Tribune reports.
Can we sign up Bill Brady for the first test case?
11. “Beyond the tenuous connection to Chicago, where Winfrey’s Harpo Studios is based and her long-running show taped, it’s not clear how the Oprah plane will benefit the airline (in fact, it could easily turn just as many off – ‘The Farewell Season’?),” Abe Sauer writes for brandchannel.
“Indeed, if United really wanted to do a promotion having to do with Chicago and United, it would find a way to improve experiences at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, one of the most despised in the nation and recipient of only two of a possible five total marks in the most recent J.D. Power rankings for overall satisfaction, security and accessibility.”
12. Lookin’ At Lucky.
13. “That impossible dream can come true if you’re lucky enough to have a close Springfield connection, like Sen. Rickey Hendon, an assistant Senate majority leader and mayoral candidate,” Ruth Ratny writes at Reel Chicago.
“Disclosure of Hendon’s taxpayer-funded beneficence to his relatives became public last week when U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald subpoenaed state agencies seeking copies of contracts and other financial records related to nearly 50 non-profit agencies and more than a dozen individuals.
“A number of the agencies said they received grants with Hendon’s assistance and several individuals have ties to Hendon. Among those agencies was one run by his sister and her daughter.”
14. The Week in WTF.
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The Derrick Rose Dunk Everyone Is Talking About
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Explosive.
Posted on November 5, 2010