By Natasha Julius
Just a thought, but if you’re really concerned about waste and largesse, maybe World Youth Day shouldn’t last a week.
Market Update
Talk is still cheap, but it’s getting more expensive.
Posted on July 27, 2013
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
Posts on the CPS budget, Wrigley Field, and Alfonso Soriano still to come. Plus, rumor has it the Beachwood Bookmaking Bureau will be updating its Political Odds later today.
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More Mell
Please see the updated The [Deb Mell] Papers now with material from the Beachwood vault and a comment from one of the other candidates whose last name was not Mell.
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Torture City, USA
“It was almost 30 years ago when five Chicago police detectives working under disgraced former Cmdr. Jon Burge burst into Jerry Mahaffey’s South Side apartment to question him in the home invasion, rape and slaying of a Rogers Park couple and near-fatal beating of their son,” Jason Meisner reports for the Tribune.
“When Mahaffey denied knowledge of the attack, one detective punched him in the nose and another threw him into a wall and put a gun to his head, according to a court records. The detectives allegedly pummeled Mahaffey, nearly suffocated him with a plastic garbage bag and threatened to put his children in an orphanage. Mahaffey eventually confessed, was convicted and is serving life in prison.
“On Thursday, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission found credible evidence that Chicago detectives had tortured Mahaffey – as well as four others sentenced to lengthy prison terms – into confessing to murder. Each of the five cases will now be assigned to a Cook County Criminal Court judge to decide whether a new trial is warranted.
“The commission has found 17 credible instances of torture since it began inquiries in 2011, and investigations into more than 100 additional claims continue, said David Thomas, the commission’s executive director. New claims continue to come in ‘at a fairly steady trickle,’ he said Thursday.
“Four of the five cases filed Thursday involved Burge or detectives who worked on his infamous ‘midnight crew.'”
Posted on July 26, 2013
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
I’ll deal with the CPS budget and Wrigley Field in separate posts later. So what else is going on?
The [Deb Mell] Papers
Has she ever truly earned any job she’s had? Let’s take a look.
Tik Tok
“Bug experts say they’re seeing an increase in the number of ticks crawling around Illinois this summer,” AP reports.
“Several species of the blood-sucking bugs are found in the state, but entomologists tell the Belleville News-Democrat that they’ve seen a particular rise in the American dog tick this year. The species can host the Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
“Meanwhile, the Lone Star tick has been spotted in portions of southern Illinois. The pest also carries the disease, along with the rare Heartland virus.”
Posted on July 25, 2013
The [Wednesday] Papers
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
News you can abuse . . .
“United Continental Holdings, which operates United Airlines, this week finished its massive three-year move into Willis Tower, becoming the biggest tenant in Chicago’s biggest skyscraper,” the Tribune reports.
I guess United’s friends kept making excuses.
Posted on July 23, 2013
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
The Papers will return on Tuesday, as will The Cub Factor.
Elsewhere on the site today:
Posted on July 22, 2013
The Weekend Desk Report
By Natasha Julius
Sometimes, in their zeal to save as many as possible, the bravest among us cause unimaginable tragedy. And then there’s this bullshit.
Market Update
You know it’s bad when even your broke is broken.
Posted on July 20, 2013
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Citing a $1 billion budget deficit, Chicago Public Schools will lay off more than 2,000 employees, more than 1,000 of them teachers, the district said Thursday night,” the Tribune reports.
“About half of the 1,036 teachers being let go are tenured. The latest layoffs, which also include 1,077 school staff members, are in addition to 855 employees – including 420 teachers – who were laid off last month as a result of the district’s decision to close 49 elementary schools and a high school program.”
How much more trauma can the system take? It’s as if CPS is in a state of total meltdown.
Posted on July 19, 2013
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Former US president praises NSA leaks & Snowden: almost zero US media coverage,” Glenn Greenwald tweeted this morning.
Oh, but it’s worse than that.
“America has no functioning democracy,” Jimmy Carter said Tuesday in Atlanta.
I found out via Der Spiegel.
A search of the Tribune and Sun-Times websites this morning turned up nada.
Posted on July 18, 2013
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“It’s Rio déjà vu all over again,” Robert Channick writes for the Tribune.
“Chicago has lost its bid to host the summer X Games, ESPN’s made-for-TV extreme sports competition. ESPN announced Wednesday that Austin, Texas will host the summer X Games for four years beginning in 2014. The four finalists were Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., Austin, Texas, and Detroit.”
Yeah, Austin seems like the natural choice there – especially given this:
Posted on July 17, 2013