By Steve Rhodes

“With his burglary case stuck in the court system for the past two years, Reginald Brown has plenty of time to consider his future,” Steve Schmadeke reports for the Tribune.
“Sitting in a mental health unit at Cook County Jail, he gazes at a piece of paper with a cross colored on it that he taped to the bottom of the bunk over his own bed.
“It’s where I pray to God that something good will happen for me, that maybe this time I don’t have to go to prison,” he said in a recent interview.
“Brown, who says he has schizophrenia, is one of the mentally ill inmates swelling the jail’s population.”

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Posted on September 13, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

1. Rahm Denies Political Motives In Renaming Stony Island For Brazier.
Though he did say say something about never letting a street name go to waste.
2. World-Class City Combats Heat By Giving Students Toy Fans.
Meanwhile, kids at Lab School get Commando 8s.

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Posted on September 12, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“The National Security Agency for almost three years searched a massive database of Americans’ phone call records attempting to identify potential terrorists in violation of court-approved privacy rules, and the problem went unfixed because no one at the agency had a full technical understanding of how its system worked, according to new documents and senior government officials,” the Washington Post reports.
“Moreover, it was Justice Department officials who discovered the problem and reported it to the court that oversees surveillance programs, the documents show, undermining assertions by the NSA that self-reporting is part of its culture.
“The improper activity went on from May 2006 to January 2009, according to a March 2009 opinion by Judge Reggie B. Walton, who serves on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
“It was one of more than a dozen documents declassified and released Tuesday in response to lawsuits by civil liberties groups and at the direction of President Obama in the wake of the June disclosure by former NSA contractor Edward J. Snowden of the massive phone records collection.”

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Posted on September 11, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

Syria Briefing:
* Just last year, President Obama was relying on a secret Bush-era pact with Bashar al-Assad to conduct the nation’s dirty war.
* “Congratulations to brittle newsmatron Barbara Walters on landing a blockbuster exclusive with Syrian madman Bashar al-Assad, who is responsible for the wanton murder of 4,000 of his own men, women, and children,” Gawker wrote in 2011 – when the butcher was our friend. “Or as Walters put it, a ‘mild-mannered ophthalmologist.'”
* Vogue’s Puff Piece On The Assads Is Back Online.
* The author of the Vogue piece explains the debacle.

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Posted on September 10, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Monday will appoint an outspoken former alderman to represent Chicago on Metra’s board of directors as the commuter rail agency tries to bounce back from a summer mired in controversy,” the Tribune reports.
“During his time as 43rd Ward alderman from 1975-87, Oberman openly sparred with powerful mayors and became known as the council’s dean of independents. He advocated for ethical reform and sued to get basic budget information from the city.”
Yeah, but that was a long time ago. Oberman is hardly considered a reformer these days, though the Trib only hints at his assimilation into the Machine.

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Posted on September 9, 2013

By Natasha Julius

We could all benefit from breaking with the Old Style. Trouble is, the the alternative is usually not much better.
Market Update
The cost to reach Nowhere appears to have outpaced the rate of inflation significantly.

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Posted on September 7, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“Zvonko Busic, a Croatian nationalist who served 32 years in prison in the US for hijacking a plane and also planting explosives that killed a policeman, has committed suicide,” the Telegraph reports. “He was 67.
“Busic led a group of five who in 1976 hijacked a TWA plane flying from New York to Chicago with about 80 passengers and crew members on board, and also planted a bomb in a locker at New York’s Grand Central railway station that killed a policeman.”

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Posted on September 6, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

Syria Briefing:
* “Secretary of State John Kerry’s public assertions that moderate Syrian opposition groups are growing in influence appear to be at odds with estimates by U.S. and European intelligence sources and nongovernmental experts, who say Islamic extremists remain by far the fiercest and best-organized rebel elements,” Reuters reports.
* “In the more than two years this civil war has carried on, a large part of the Syrian opposition has formed a loose command structure that has found support from several Arab nations, and, to a more limited degree, the West. Other elements of the opposition have assumed an extremist cast, and openly allied with al-Qaeda,” the New York Times reports in a piece headlined “Brutality Of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma In West.”

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Posted on September 5, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“Illinois researchers are collaborating with scientists across the globe in a new project aimed at studying the universe and dark energy,” AP reports.
“The Dark Energy Survey involves at least 200 scientists, including some from the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago and Fermilab in suburban Chicago.”
Well, that makes sense since the source of so much of the universe’s dark energy is nearby.

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Posted on September 4, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

Ten for Tuesday.
1. AP: Illinois National Guard Soldiers Head To Afghanistan.
“The Illinois National Guard says about 20 soldiers from a specialized unit are getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan, where they’ll work alongside members of the Polish military.”

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Posted on September 3, 2013