Chicago - A message from the station manager
Column

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Nearly half of the people on the U.S. government’s widely shared database of terrorist suspects are not connected to any known terrorist group, according to classified government documents obtained by The Intercept.
“Of the 680,000 people caught up in the government’s Terrorist Screening Database – a watchlist of ‘known or suspected terrorists’ that is shared with local law enforcement agencies, private contractors, and foreign governments – more than 40 percent are described by the government as having ‘no recognized terrorist group affiliation.’ That category – 280,000 people – dwarfs the number of watchlisted people suspected of ties to al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah combined.
“The documents, obtained from a source in the intelligence community, also reveal that the Obama Administration has presided over an unprecedented expansion of the terrorist screening system. Since taking office, Obama has boosted the number of people on the no fly list more than ten-fold, to an all-time high of 47,000 – surpassing the number of people barred from flying under George W. Bush.”

Read More

Posted on August 6, 2014

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“The odds were undoubtedly stacked against state Rep. LaShawn Ford when federal prosecutors indicted him on felony bank fraud charges more than a year and a half ago,” the Tribune reports.
“The already sky-high conviction rate at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse rises to near 100 percent in recent years when it comes to public figures. The cases that are brought against elected officials are typically buttoned down tight, experts say. Little is left to chance.
“But in a highly unusual move Monday, prosecutors agreed to drop all 17 felony charges against Ford in exchange for his guilty plea to a single misdemeanor tax count.”
WTF?

Read More

Posted on August 5, 2014

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

I’ll be ignoring the Tribune until I figure out how to read their new website.
The Weekend In Chicago Rock
I wasn’t at Lollapalooza, but of the video I rummaged through, my favorite act of the weekend was Warpaint – followed quite closely by Meg Myers.
We’ve got those folks and 46 others today. Take yourself on a musical journey.

Read More

Posted on August 4, 2014

The [Friday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Bruce Rauner delivered another $1.5 million of personal funds to his Republican challenge to Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s re-election bid, bringing to nearly $10 million the amount he has tapped his wallet for since launching his campaign in March 2013, records showed today,” the Tribune reports.
“With his latest contribution, Rauner has given his campaign nearly $9.6 million. Rauner, an equity investor from Winnetka, is possibly the wealthiest candidate to seek statewide office in Illinois.”
Seemingly related:
“Rauner spokesman Mike Schrimpf refused to clarify where Rauner stands on the issue of corporate tax avoidance.
“But in an e-mailed statement he blamed Quinn for presiding over an uncompetitive economy.”

Read More

Posted on August 1, 2014

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

On Wednesday, the headline of a Tribune Op-Ed column claiming in all its hoariness that the city council was ready for reform naturally drew my grudging attention, mostly because I knew it wasn’t true and was both eager and frightened to see who had written it and how lame it would be.
I had a problem reading it, though, because I was laughing too hard at the byline: By Pat O’Connor and Joe Moore.
At the end of piece, the Tribune helpfully identified each author as aldermen. For some reason, Rahm Emanuel didn’t get a credit on the piece, though you can see his hand behind it if you read it backwards, in which case it just repeats “Fuck you, Lewis! Fuck you, Lewis!”
Anyway, the hilarity stems from the fact that O’Connor was Richard M. Daley’s floor leader and, now that we have to change the way we do business, is Emanuel’s floor leader. As such, O’Connor has been one of the biggest obstacles to reform in council history.
Meanwhile, Joe Moore must be giddy at how readily he’s been accepted at the big kids’ table, after years in the reform ghetto. Moore is now as eager a supplicant to the world’s greatest mayor as we’ve seen in these chambers, though Ameya Pawar is coming up fast on the outside rail.

Read More

Posted on July 31, 2014

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Progressive small-business owners in Chicago voiced their support Monday for raising the minimum wage, but most said the move would still cost them,” the Sun-Times reports.
“They agreed that neither they nor their employees can live on minimum wage, especially if they live in Chicago, and that it’s essential to have ‘happy’ employees. Satisfied employees are productive, more loyal, stay on the job longer and have no need to report to work exhausted because they’re working second and third jobs to pay the bills, said the seven small-business owners who spoke Monday at Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s invitation during a roundtable at Dimo’s Pizza in the Wicker Park neighborhood.”
Oh. So instead of the headline “Small-Business Owners Tell Emanuel They Back Minimum-Wage Hike,” the headline should have read “Seven Small-Business Owners Invited By Rahm Emanuel To Staged Media Event Tell Rahm Emanuel In Front Of The Media That They Agree With Rahm Emanuel.”

Read More

Posted on July 29, 2014

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Does Lisa Madigan have a race on her hands?” asks Sun-Times political reporter Natasha Korecki.
“A new poll looking at the contest for Illinois Attorney General shows the Democratic incumbent leading her Republican opponent Paul Schimpf by just 9 percentage points.”
Wow! That is news.
“The poll was paid for by Schimpf.”
Jesus H. Christ in a bucket! Are you kidding me?

Read More

Posted on July 28, 2014

1 … 149 150 151 152 153 … 409