By Natasha Julius
Wow, the completely fake Weekend Desk totally had us fooled.
Market Update
Looks like mortgages aren’t the only things under water in the suburbs.
Posted on July 23, 2011
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
Simply not true, as I show here and others have shown elsewhere.
Posted on July 22, 2011
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Message control has emerged as a dominant theme in the first two months of Emanuel’s reign,” the Tribune reports. “The mayor is trying to burn an image into the public’s mind that he’s the new guy in charge, is hard at work and has the guts to make the difficult decisions.
“Emanuel, who holds a master’s in communications from Northwestern University and arguably earned a Ph.D. in political spin working for the Clinton and Obama White Houses, is employing a slew of tactics, some well-worn, to shape the city’s perception of him . . .
“But Emanuel has taken it to a level new for Chicago as his aides stage events and push certain story lines. Sometimes the details tell a different story than the one Emanuel offers.”
Posted on July 21, 2011
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
Megan McDonald, revealed Tuesday as the high-ranking city official who resigned in May after allegedly refusing to cooperate in a criminal inquiry, finally spoke up when she returned Carol Marin’s phone call and gave “her side of the story,” but her side is still entirely unsatisfying.
A man is dead, Megan. Do you care?
Or is loyalty to the Daleys – sort of like loyalty to a gang that demands no snitching – more important?
Let’s take a look.
Posted on July 20, 2011
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“It’s been hot – and it’s going to get even hotter in the days ahead,” Tom Skilling writes at the Tribune’s Chicago Weather Center. “Summer’s warmest spell of weather to date is showing NO sign of breaking down or retreating, at least through the coming weekend.”
Uh-oh, capital letters!
Why, Tom, why?
Posted on July 19, 2011
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“As the temperature pushed into the mid-90s and the heat index hit 100 degrees on Sunday, ComEd restored power to the entire Chicago area,” ABC7 reports.
“ComEd got the electricity going just before extreme heat hit the area. Chicago’s North Avenue Beach was packed with people trying to stay cool Sunday afternoon.”
Wait a second. You mean City Hall didn’t shut down North Avenue Beach because of the heat?
Posted on July 18, 2011
The Weekend Desk Report
By Natasha Julius
Now that the Minnesota shutdown is over, can we get back to ignoring the loonies from that state ?
Market Update
As the Arab Spring yields to the News Corp Summer, it’s looking like a rough week on the Billionaire Tyrant exchange.
Posted on July 16, 2011
The [Friday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“In year seven, does the Pitchfork Music Festival mean anything?” Jim DeRogatis writes. “Or is it just a very well-marketed brand catering to a different demographic than the Vans Warped Tour, the Grant Park Lollapalooza, the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, or the Red Bull Riot Fest, but fundamentally the same business proposition: Collect their not-cheap tickets, pack ’em in, sell ’em a lot of crap, and entertain ’em. Ca-ching!
“I suppose we’ll find out over the next 72 hours. At least, I hope we will.”
Posted on July 15, 2011
The [Thursday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
1. Wouldn’t it be more productive to just bank the $6 million?
2. This list is missing crooked city workers.
Posted on July 14, 2011
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
1. The Procrastinator’s Guide to Last-Minute City Sticker Purchases.
2. A Textbook Lesson In How Politics Really Work.
3. “Grammy Award-winning R&B artist R. Kelly is facing a $2.9-million foreclosure suit on his Olympia Fields mansion,” Chicago Real Estate Daily reports.
A “Trapped in the Closet” joke would be too easy, right?
Posted on July 13, 2011