Chicago -
By Natasha Julius
Eh, you know how it is. Everything is looking up, but come the work week we’re still stuck with this mess.
Market Update
Doesn’t matter. Turns out free markets and small governments only work when you really believe in them.
Posted on April 4, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
1. Lead of the Day.
“For restaurants opening in downtown Chicago, 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly is the maitre d’ showing them to their business license. For bars, he is the bouncer, showing them to the curb,” Steven Dahlman writes at his Marina City Online.
*
From the article:
“Since January 1, 2012, 453 retail food establishment licenses were issued in the 42nd Ward. During that time, only 12 tavern licenses were issued and Reilly arguably thinks that is 12 too many.
“‘I haven’t approved a tavern liquor license or given a letter of support for one for several years,’ he said on Tuesday. ‘We want to see restaurant licenses issued. They do provide good, well-paying jobs and they provide a benefit and amenity for the neighbors. What we don’t need are more taverns that cater to the suburban 20-year-olds that use our neighborhood like a toilet bowl.'”
Posted on April 3, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
In case you missed it, and I doubt any readers have, here is that column about Phil Ponce for Crain’s that I mentioned was on its way yesterday. Please share and comment if you haven’t already.
Posted on April 2, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
I have to go teach today and I just filed an Op-Ed for Crain’s about Tuesday night’s debate fiasco (should be posted this afternoon) and you can also see @BeachwoodReport for real-time commentary.
So no Papers today.
Posted on April 1, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel and challenger Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia will meet Tuesday for their final scheduled one-on-one debate before the runoff election, following previous events that have grown contentious as the candidates try to land blows and build momentum before April 7,” the Tribune reports.
“The 7 p.m. debate on WTTW-Ch. 11’s Chicago Tonight program will mark the third time Emanuel and Garcia have debated head-to-head since nobody was able to get a majority of the votes in the first-round mayoral election in February, forcing the two into a runoff.”
If even a single question asked tonight is a question that’s already been asked, I’ll consider the charade a failure. I don’t have much hope.
Posted on March 31, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
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.”
Posted on March 30, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
“Last week Michigan became the latest state to opt out of the federal Smart Snack standards,” WBEZ reported this week.
“The rules regulate what can be sold in school fundraisers and vending machines that help schools pay the bill. More than 22 states have pushed for some kind of exemption from these rules since they went into effect last July. So just how stringent are they?
Posted on March 28, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
“Rahm Emanuel and Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia clashed in an argumentative second debate Thursday night, a face-to-face meeting in which the challenger tried to put the mayor on the defensive by mocking his leadership of Chicago,” the Tribune reports.
Not only that, but the consensus seems to be that Chuy won.
Posted on March 27, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
Obama’s torturous consistency and other discontents.
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Lydia Loveless vs. Taylor Swift
Which is America’s real sweetheart?
Newspapers Dumber Than Readers, Internet
Still angry about loss of hegemony.
Posted on March 26, 2015
By Steve Rhodes
“The word ‘entitlements’ is often used by politicians and pundits to describe government programs and tax money targeted to help the poor, children, the elderly and minorities,” Phil Kadner writes for the Daily Southtown.
“But former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock, R-18th, is only the latest in a long line of elected officials forced to resign, or be sent to prison, because they thought they were entitled to more than a good salary and benefits at the public’s expense . . .
“I wonder if any of these people ever tried to personally place a telephone call to a government agency to get help like a regular person, without the assistance of an aide or their official title to get special treatment. Have they even tried to find a telephone number that connects them directly to some government employee who can answer a question?
“Of course, they wouldn’t stoop to wasting their time on such matters. They have more important things to do.”
Posted on March 25, 2015
