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The [Friday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“A federal judge blasted the Chicago Police Department and Cook County state’s attorney’s office on Thursday for mishandling the investigation of David Koschman’s death but dismissed the lawsuit his mother filed alleging an ‘official cover-up’ had long kept former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew Richard J. ‘R.J.’ Vanecko from being charged,” the Sun-Times reports.
“U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer said she had to dismiss Nanci Koschman’s lawsuit because the statute of limitations had run out.”
Isn’t the lesson, then, that if you can cover up wrongdoing long enough, you’re in the clear?

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Posted on August 29, 2014

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“A federal judge is hearing arguments Thursday to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit Nanci Koschman has filed accusing police, prosecutors, City Hall of engaging in a longrunning ‘official coverup’ to keep former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s nephew Richard J. ‘R.J.’ Vanecko from being charged in the 2004 death of her son David Koschman,” the Sun-Times reports.
“Nanci Koschman’s lawsuit accuses Vanecko of wrongful death. She also is suing the city of Chicago, former police Supt. Phil Cline and 20 other current and former cops, saying they violated her son’s civil rights by botching two investigations into his death. Other defendants include Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, former State’s Attorney Richard Devine and three unnamed Daley ‘family members or associates.’
“All of the defendants have said in written court filings they should be dropped from the suit, arguing in part that Koschman waited to long to sue.”
Isn’t that an admission that the cover-up worked? I mean, that’s why Koschman is suing. If the case was handled properly in the first place, there wouldn’t be a need to sue now. But it wasn’t, and due to the continuing efforts of those parties to stymie any investigation, the facts have only trickled out recently. Plus, she lost her son. Show some damn respect and end her nightmare.

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Posted on August 28, 2014

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

The Papers will hopefully return tomorrow, I’m just getting crushed this week. But we do have a full site otherwise, chocked with goodness.
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The Cub Factor: Inside Tarpgate
If Gordon Wittenmyer truly got the story wrong, which I doubt, prove it and demand a retraction. But don’t try to spin it away.
Exclusive! Rahm Yuks Up O’Connor Kerfuffle With Fallon
Another Beachwood Special Report.

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Posted on August 27, 2014

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“In early 2011, as the Chicago Police Department began re-investigating a homicide involving a nephew of Mayor Richard M. Daley, a high-ranking cop had a secret meeting with the retired detective who didn’t solve the case seven years earlier, according to records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.”
The conspiracy continues to unravel.

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Posted on August 25, 2014

The [Friday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Gov. Pat Quinn failed to rein in patronage abuses at the state transportation agency after replacing now-imprisoned Rod Blagojevich, and Quinn’s directors repeatedly hired politically connected workers in violation of the rules, the state’s top ethics investigator found,” the Tribune reports.
“Hundreds of people were hired into a special ‘staff assistant’ position without having to go through strict personnel procedures under rules designed to keep politics out of most state hiring, according to a confidential report by Executive Inspector General Ricardo Meza obtained by the Tribune.”
I wonder if Bruce Rauner will wear his Wranglers to his inauguration.

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Posted on August 22, 2014

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Hostess Brands said Wednesday it will close its Schiller Park bakery, where Twinkies and other iconic sweets have been produced for 84 years, affecting about 400 employees,” the Tribune reports.
“Union officials said they were notified of the closure on the same day they were set to start negotiating a new labor contract. About 280 of the workers had voted to unionize in May.”
When I first saw this article, I thought about the times I toured that Twinkie plant, for this Tribune story. And the time I wrote about the Twinkie for the Baltimore Sun. And, earlier in my career, the time I toured the Twinkie-less Hostess plant in Waterloo, Iowa. That story is not online.
And here’s something I learned: The jobs that produce iconic products generally aren’t iconic in and of themselves. They are jobs – usually as dirty and frustrating and dull as everyone else’s jobs. They are jobs that produce some element of magic, thanks in large part to marketing, but jobs nonetheless.
I should’ve been thinking about the workers, then. I really wasn’t until I read today’s article.

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Posted on August 21, 2014

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s mental health care policies went on trial at City Hall Tuesday, with critics saying many patients ended up homeless, jailed or dead after the mayor closed half of the city’s clinics, while city officials maintained that care for the mentally ill actually has been expanded,” the Tribune reports.
Well, those are certainly two diametrically opposed views. And one of them basically calls the mayor a murderer. Is there any evidence to support either side? Let’s read on.

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Posted on August 20, 2014

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