By Steve Rhodes

“Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration on Monday produced a letter showing it knew about questions surrounding Amer Ahmad and a controversial government contract in Ohio before the mayor hired him as Chicago’s comptroller in April 2011,” the Tribune reports.
“The letter was released as the administration attempted to show how it vetted Ahmad, who pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court to a kickback scheme stemming from his tenure as Ohio’s deputy treasurer. Ahmad, 38, abruptly resigned from his City Hall job nearly a month ago.
“The administration has said Emanuel didn’t know about Ahmad’s federal problems until the former aide was indicted last week.”
Unlikely, given Emanuel’s obsessiveness about political gossip.

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Posted on August 20, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

It’s 2:30 p.m. and I just finished The Cub Factor. That means a Papers column today is unlikely.
A bunch of other stuff:

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Posted on August 19, 2013

By The Weekend Desk B Team

* Rahm to call in Air & Water show planes to finish the job.
* CBS = CPS.
* Quinn Signs Puppy Lemon Law.
Does he qualify?
* Chicagoland Freshman Scores Free Tuition With Half-Court Shot.
Unfortunately, it’s to Hamburger University. Should’ve studied, kid!

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Posted on August 17, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“When Amer Ahmad abruptly resigned as city comptroller about three weeks ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel heaped praise on his hand-picked aide for helping him ‘reform government’ in Chicago,” the Tribune reports.
“On Thursday, Ahmad was indicted in Ohio on federal corruption charges in what prosecutors described as a more than $500,000 kickback scheme involving state investment business while he served as deputy treasurer and chief financial officer there.”
Well, in Chicago that kind of piddly-ass scheme would represent “reform.”
Come back when you’ve learned to play in the big leagues, Amer!

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Posted on August 16, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

On behalf of the orphans and widows: The [Jacksons Are Going To Jail] Papers.
More Metra Board Games
“Metra board member Stanley Rakestraw has been asked to resign, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office said late Wednesday, following inquiries by the Tribune about Rakestraw’s eligibility and residency,” the paper reports.
“State law requires that Preckwinkle’s appointee to Metra live in suburban Cook County, but Tribune reporting determined that Rakestraw lives in a luxury condo in Chicago.”
Of course he does.

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Posted on August 15, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“A traffic camera company that lost its Baltimore contract earlier this year after acknowledging that its faulty equipment resulted in thousands of erroneous speeding tickets was named Tuesday as the preferred bidder to take over Chicago’s scandal-ridden red light camera program,” the Tribune reports.
A disqualification is in the eye of the beholder; this is Chicago.

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Posted on August 14, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

The Papers is away on business today but will return tomorrow.
But please enjoy:
* Chicagoetry: Death of a Blind Woman’s Cat (Free Sons).
* When The U.S. Kills Innocent Yemenis.

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Posted on August 13, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

“As Mayor Rahm Emanuel rolls out his long-delayed speed camera plan, new numbers his office released suggest that drivers who speed in Chicago could rack up way more in fines than a cash-starved City Hall initially projected,” the Tribune reports.
“The mayor had hoped to bring in $30 million this year. But results from a monthlong test of the automated camera system indicate the city could reap well into the hundreds of millions of dollars in the program’s first year.”
Well, as I’ve suggested before, we should all not speed just out of spite.

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Posted on August 12, 2013

By Natasha Julius

Any time you hear about reforms arriving ahead of schedule, this guy’s lawyers are usually involved.
Market Update
A Way made its initial public offering this week. Sadly, it seems A Will is too chickenshit to do the same.

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Posted on August 10, 2013

By Steve Rhodes

When I first saw the Sun-Times headline “Federal Prosecutor Refuses To Say Whether Obama Pal Whitaker Is A Target” (since changed – but not everywhere) on Thursday afternoon, I thought “Ha! I told you so!”
But I was also puzzled that such a refusal would make for a headline in a Chicago newspaper.
As the Tribune reports, “That’s a standard response from a U.S. attorney.”
U.S. attorneys generally don’t like disclosing who is or isn’t a target of their investigations – at least until or unless it becomes strategically beneficial to leak such information. It’s not a headline, that’s for sure.

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Posted on August 9, 2013