By Steve Rhodes
Yes! Yes! This is what it’s all about. It’s like, there’s too much cool stuff to keep track of.
Posted on September 4, 2015
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
It was quite news day yesterday and there’s a lot to get to, but I have to get to a meeting this morning first. For now:
* Hey Ya: Young Poets Break It Down.
* Former Minnesota Governor Talks 2016 With Henry Rollins.
* AAHH! Fest A No-Go, Mystery Train A Mystery & Chicago’s Punk Astronomer.
* When What’s Happening!! Happened.
* Sony Softened Concussion To Placate NFL.
* The World’s Wooliest Sheep.
Posted on September 3, 2015
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday accused Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration of ‘walking away from the children of the city of Chicago’ by making it harder for low-income families to qualify for inexpensive child care, while announcing he had set aside $9 million to keep the service in place for some of the kids,” the Tribune reports.
“Rauner aides put in place new rules this summer that mean many families that used to be eligible for the state-subsidized Child Care Assistance Program no longer are. It was one of numerous cuts the Rauner administration said it made given the lack of a state budget amid the Springfield stalemate.
“Emanuel estimated the change affects about 9,000 children in Chicago, roughly 90 percent of those who used to qualify. The mayor said his administration had ‘scraped together’ $9 million to keep child care programs running for 5,000 kids who lost their eligibility, but called on Rauner to reconsider the new standards.”
Grown men playing games with children.
Posted on September 2, 2015
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel faced a largely hostile crowd Monday night as he held his first public budget meeting in four years, with protesters who want to reopen a Bronzeville high school taking another opportunity to showcase their cause,” Bill Ruthhart reports for the Tribune.
“For 90 minutes, individuals in the crowd of about 750 people at Malcolm X College on the West Side each got one minute to ask questions of, or direct comments at, Emanuel and his top City Hall aides before they unveil a 2016 spending plan on Sept. 22.”
1. That’s a lot of people; I could be wrong, but it strikes me as much larger than the crowds at Richard M. Daley’s public budget hearings.
2. There has to be a better way than giving people one minute to ask questions or make comments; that just illustrates how these hearings are simply theater designed to give the illusion that the mayor is actually interested in other people’s ideas – and actually listening. I’d be interested to learn on September 22 if a single idea in the budget came from one of these meetings (there are two more) – or from the citymade hashtag #chibudget2016.
Posted on September 1, 2015
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Rod Blagojevich was really hoping a federal appeals court last week would put a hold on his resentencing, but the court said forget that,” the Sun-Times editorial page says.
“So before Judge James B. Zagel hands down a new sentence, which could come any day, allow us to say it short and sweet one last time: Give Governor Goof a fairer shake.”
Uh-oh. Here we go. Rod Blagojevich was just a “goof” who deserves a “fairer shake.” OK.
Posted on August 31, 2015
The Weekend Desk Report
By Steve Rhodes
The corpse flower at the Chicago Botanic Garden is behind blooming schedule, possibly because of overcast weather.
We think instead that our new friend Spike has synced its rhythms to Chicago and is waiting to stink up the joint at a most opportune time.
Such as:
Posted on August 29, 2015
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
1. The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #66: Fall Guys And Rape Culture.
The entitled Derrick Rose. Plus: UniCubs and Lollipops; Insane Clown Bullpen; The Team Without Jade; The Quality Fifth Start; 0-16; The White Sox Have A Core Four!; The Chicago Fire Did Something This Week; So Did The Chicago Sky.
Posted on August 28, 2015
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
There’s just too much stupidity going on today for me to process. I’m gonna take the day to figure it out. Meanwhile, here’s some other things.
Posted on August 27, 2015
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Little-Noticed Pension Perk For Teachers Widespread In Illinois,” the Tribune reports.
That’s an interesting way to frame the article.
First, “Little-Noticed” implies something sly, but the “perk” you are about to learn about is quite well-noticed to administrators, teachers, districts and municipalities. It’s only little-noticed insofar as every sentence in a labor agreement is little-noticed by you and me unless we’re trying to actually notice it.
Posted on August 26, 2015
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
A comment from our very own Scott Buckner responding to the “Compensating Workers” item in Monday’s column:
Not only will workman’s comp rates be lower in Indiana, it stands to reason industries moving to Indiana also save a nice chunk of change on their unemployment insurance rate being a bit less than Illinois’ rate.
So workers get even more of a lion’s share of the screwage in a bigger variety of ways, especially if they go with their jobs to East Chicago: 1) Eligible for less workman’s comp, 2) Eligible for less unemployment payment (since you file with the state in which you work), 3) You also have to pay an Indiana income tax, since you work there, and 4) A small fortune to gas up the car now, since public transportation between Bedford Park and East Chicago is non-existent. And that’s provided they all have cars in the first place.
I’m just convinced now more than ever that business exists solely to fuck everybody, and then find new and exciting ways to fuck everybody even more.
Posted on August 25, 2015