Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
“Mayor Rahm Emanuel easily won approval Wednesday for two measures that will tighten parade rules, increase fines for violating the restrictions and give him unfettered power to spend money on two international summits coming to Chicago in May,” the Tribune reports.
My take: City Council Demands You Shut Up And Sit Down, Just Like They Do.
Posted on January 19, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
“One of the three senior citizens about to go on trial for allegedly plotting an armored car robbery and break-in at the home of a deceased mob boss pleaded guilty this morning – and another one was set to plead,” the Tribune reports.
“[The] third defendant, Arthur Rachel, has decided to go ahead with the trial and fight the charges against him.”
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“The three defendants, all in their 70s, were charged with racketeering and conspiracy in connection with allegedly plotting an armored car robbery and a break-in at the home of dead mob boss Angelo LaPietra. Prosecutors said the trio hoped to find a hidden stash of valuables in the house.
“[Joseph] Scalise and [Arthur] Rachel, both reputed Chicago Outfit members, are well-known for robbing a London jeweler in 1980 of the 45-carat Marlborough Diamond. They served 13-year prison terms, but the diamond was never recovered.”
Posted on January 18, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
“Kraft Foods plans to cut 1,600 positions from its North American division this year as it prepares to split into two companies, the Northfield-based packaged foods giant announced Tuesday,” the Tribune reports.
“As part of its restructuring, Kraft will shut down its center in Glenview, which is home to the company’s test kitchens.”
That’s a bummer. Test kitchens are cool.
From a 2006 Tribune Q&A with a Kraft test kitchen manager:
Posted on January 17, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
Just like they do with John Lennon, a lot of folks today who despised him in his time – or would have – will speak glowingly of Dr. Martin Luther King today. I have no patience for such posers.
If King were with us today, for example, have no doubt that he’d be with Cornel West, not Barack Obama; the difference being that, unlike West, King would not have been fooled in the first place.
Posted on January 16, 2012
By Natasha Julius
We’re back and we’re 100% family fucking friendly now.
Market Update
It turns out the S&P credit rating system is almost as serpentine and confusing as the sizing for a nursing bra. Which suggests certain Eurozone economies are failing strategically so that their contents can be sucked dry more efficiently.
Posted on January 14, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
At first I thought this was big news:
“Insurance brokerage Aon Corp. plans to move its corporate headquarters from Chicago to London to improve its access to emerging markets and increase its financial flexibility,” Crain’s reports.
Now I’m not so sure.
“But Aon will add 750 jobs to its offices at the Aon Center in the East Loop, a spokesman says. Those jobs will be a combination of new positions and transfers from elsewhere in the U.S., he said.
“The company said Chicago will remain its headquarters for the Americas.”
So should the headline be “Aon’s International Executives Moving To London?”
Posted on January 13, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
How is Obama like a wayward son? He only comes home when he needs money.
I stole (and adapted) that from somewhere lost to my memory, so don’t accuse me of plagiarism.
And Obama, we’ve already heard your joke wondering if anyone’s mowing the lawn at the Hyde Park mansion your self-described political godfather and convicted con man Tony Rezko helped you buy. Get some new material. Like maybe about how nobody’s looking out for civil liberties while you’re gone.
Posted on January 12, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
Tom Skilling’s forecast predicts a high of 52 today and a low of 9 tomorrow. I uselessly call on the news to act like we’ve lived here before.
Now on to the news.
Alexi’s Authenticity
From Alexi Giannoulias’s dormant U.S. Senate campaign website:
“This election presents a stark choice between Congressman Kirk, a Republican politician who has abandoned small businesses in favor of catering to big Wall Street interests, and Alexi, who is a proven fighter for our businesses and communities.”
From today’s Crain’s reporting that Alexi has accepted a job working for and catering to Wall Street interests:
Posted on January 11, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
1. Bill Daley is returning to Chicago to:
A) Work on comprehensive parking meter lease reform.
B) Pretend for the umpteenth time that he’s running for governor or U.S. Senator.
C) Lay the groundwork for Patrick Daley’s mayoral campaign.
D) Enjoy the Midwest’s crisp, refreshing air.
2. The governor got the PR hit this morning that he negotiated with legislators in return for signing a corporate tax giveaway under cover of darkness.
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“Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday signed legislation that expands the state’s earned-income tax credit. It’s now 5 percent of the federal credit, would climb to 7.5 percent next year and 10 percent the year after,” AP reports.
“State officials say it translates into about $100 a year per family.”
*
The rich get cake; the poor get crumbs.
3. Apparently you won’t have to show ID to buy Drano after all; the last thing legislators want to do is make it more difficult to flush your money down the drain.
Posted on January 10, 2012
By Steve Rhodes
“A troubled Cook County program put faulty camera equipment in police cars, wasting perhaps millions of federal dollars, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general said in an audit released this morning,” the Tribune reports.
“Sen. Mark Kirk and U.S. Rep. Michael Quigley scheduled a press conference for later this morning to call for an FBI investigation over ‘potential criminal misuse of federal funds’ on ‘equipment that does not perform as intended’ in the program, known as Project Shield.
“The U.S. report found that Cook County did not adequately plan or manage the $44 million project to ensure that equipment worked properly and could be operated in an emergency situation.”
Posted on January 9, 2012
