By Steve Rhodes

“A coalition of 16 parent groups Monday demanded a meeting with Mayor Rahm Emanuel to go over the real research on a 7 1/2-hour school day, and not the ‘misinformation’ they charged district officials with spreading,” the Sun-Times reports.
“‘They are either misinformed or deliberately misleading the public,’ said Jonathan Goldman of the new Chicago Parents for Quality Education coalition.”
For a guy who likes to portray himself as the Moneyball Mayor – with a coterie of data geek acolytes more interested in promoting the city than probing it – who is the city’s Rational Man intent on screening out the “noise” of anyone who dares ask a question, Rahm Emanuel sure can’t keep his facts straight. Maybe because it’s simply not who he is.

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Posted on April 10, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

What was most remarkable about Cook County judge Michael Toomin’s ruling late Friday appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the David Koschman case wasn’t Toomin’s decision itself, as surprising as that was for denizens of Chicago politics, but the forcefulness of Toomin’s statements.
“In his ruling Judge Michael Toomin said statements from police and prosecutors that Vanecko acted in self-defense weren’t reliable because authorities never interviewed him,” the Tribune reported.
“The conclusion that must be drawn (is that) this was a defense conjured up by police and prosecutors, made of whole cloth,” Toomin said.

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Posted on April 9, 2012

By Natasha Julius

Pardon us, but we have a dance to get to.
Market Update
It seems a certain fragile recovery has been dealt a blow this week. And, frankly, it’s not really coping well.

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Posted on April 7, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

“Tony Campana walked into the Chicago Cubs’ clubhouse at Wrigley Field at 7:45 a.m. Thursday, excited about his first major league Opening Day,” the Des Moines Register reports.
“He was pumped until Cubs manager Dale Sveum called him into his office two hours later.
“By noon he was on a plane for Des Moines and the Iowa Cubs. By 3 p.m., he was taking early batting practice, and four hours later, he was among the stars in a 5-3 Pacific Coast League victory against Round Rock.
“The scrappy left fielder had two hits, scored two runs and stole a base before a crowd announced to be 8,005, the fourth-best Opening Day crowd in Iowa franchise history.
“He wasn’t alone in the star department. Brett Jackson had two hits, drove in two runs, scored twice and stole a base, and starting pitcher Randy Wells got the victory.”
Not a bad starting lineup for the I-Cubs, either.

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Posted on April 6, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

“After weeks of disagreement, the city of Chicago and anti-war demonstrators settled Wednesday on an alternate route for a protest march on the first day of the NATO summit in May,” the Tribune reports.
“The agreed-upon route calls for the march to begin at 2 p.m. at the Petrillo Music Shell along Columbus Drive in Grant Park. It will proceed west along Jackson Boulevard to State Street, then south to Harrison Street, back east to Michigan Avenue and then south again. At Cermak Road, the march will turn east again to Indiana Avenue, and then turn south another block to McCormick Place.”
That route is likely to be truncated, however, once the Secret Service establishes its security perimeter. Protesters may challenge that perimeter in federal court, but Rahm Emanuel succeeded on his end by moving the start of the march from here to here.

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Posted on April 5, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

If Rod Blagojevich was innocent, as some still insist, then what of all the others who have or will be going to prison for their participation in his schemes?
Two of Blago’s chiefs of staffs – John Harris and Lon Monk – have now been sentenced; eight former members of Blago’s inner circle were ultimately found guilty while brother Robert escaped a second trial due to prosecutorial strategy and wife Patti escaped indictment due to prosecutorial charity.
And yet, Patti is still full of complaint.

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Posted on April 4, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

Let’s try to catch up on the news in no particular order.
1. The 25 Douchiest Bars in Chicago.
2. The douchiest mayor in America.
3. One helluva douchy columnist.

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Posted on April 3, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

Due to circumstances slightly beyond our control, the Beachwood will not appear today but will return on Tuesday.
–
The Weekend Desk Report
Nope, it wasn’t us.
Market Update
It was a sensational quarter on the stock markets. At least, it will be until we factor in all those refunds.

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Posted on April 2, 2012

By Natasha Julius

Nope, it wasn’t us.
Market Update
It was a sensational quarter on the stock markets. At least, it will be until we factor in all those refunds.

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Posted on March 31, 2012

By Steve Rhodes

“With a record $540 million Mega Millions jackpot in play, Illinois picked the right week to become the first state in the nation to sell lottery tickets online,” AP reports.
“It took only three minutes for the first online lottery ticket to sell once the system went live at 7 a.m. Sunday. By Thursday evening, more than $425,000 worth of tickets had been sold online, and officials expected sales to increase by the hour as people take their shot at Friday night’s record prize.
“Internet sales on Thursday alone amounted to just more than $64,000 by evening, while the day’s retail sales topped $3.2 million.”
I don’t doubt that selling lottery tickets online will increase sales by exploiting the suckers-too-lazy-to-go-to-the-store demo, but this report is missing some important comparisons. For example, a certain level of online spending will simply replace retail spending – it isn’t all new.
And I’m not at all sure we should be happy that the state has found another way to essentially steal money from its citizens. The house always wins – and when the house is in effect the taxpayers the house always loses too.

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Posted on March 30, 2012