Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
The geniuses at the Sun-Times wonder why so many folks have left Chicago over the last decade – you know, given our beach volleyball and great theater.
Well, let’s turn to the Chicago Reporter’s Megan Cottrell for some help:
Posted on March 28, 2011
By Natasha Julius
We’re back from our vacation to the Forest Preserve. Now it’s time to work.
Market Update
All financial markets disintegrated late Friday evening as we learned the shocking truth that Eight is Bigger than Ten, invalidating basic arithmetic.
Posted on March 26, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
“In 2009 the Whitney Young boys varsity basketball team had one of its best seasons, winning the Class 4A state title with a squad that included seven players who joined college programs,” the Tribune reports.
“But the team wasn’t even supposed to be in the playoffs, the Tribune has found. After its coach, Tyrone Slaughter, was found to have violated Chicago Public Schools recruiting rules, district regulations called for the team to be banned from the postseason, but officials failed to enforce that penalty.
“Slaughter received a six-game suspension and then went on to break recruiting rules again. In February he was suspended for 10 days by the Illinois High School Association after he held a team practice at a suburban middle school 23 miles from Young.”
And he still has his job?
Yup, sports sure teaches character.
*
But this is my favorite part:
Posted on March 25, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
“When an admitted al-Qaeda operative planned his itinerary for a Christmas 2009 airline bombing, he considered launching the strike in the skies above Houston or Chicago, The Associated Press has learned. But tickets were too expensive, so he refocused the mission on a cheaper destination: Detroit.”
Poor Detroit. (No pun intended.)
Posted on March 24, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
The Papers won’t be appearing today, but will return tomorrow.
But you can busy yourself for at least a little while with these two new offerings:
* In Praise Of Pinetop Perkins. In light of Pinetop’s passing this week, we’re reposting this piece from 2008.
* Fantasy Fix: What’s So Special About Carlos Zambrano? The answer: He goes both ways.
Posted on March 23, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
1. Now we’ve gone and done it. (It’s not us – at least I know it’s not me – but we can take credit for inspiring it.)
2. New York to Chicago: Football to golf.
3. Chicago To St. Louis High-Speed Rail Line To Get Funding Boost.
Question: Why would I want to get to St. Louis faster?
Posted on March 22, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
“An Illinois-based Air National Guard unit that specializes in refueling aircraft in mid-air is being deployed to help establish a no-fly zone over Libya, state military officials said Sunday,” the Sun-Times reports.
“The 126th Air Refueling Wing, which is based at Scott Air Force Base in southwest Illinois, and its subordinate unit, the 906th Air Refueling Squadron, will be part of United Nations-backed effort to establish a no-fly zone.”
Links courtesy of The Beachwood Linking The News Project.
Posted on March 21, 2011
By The Weekend Desk B Team
While our very own Natasha Julius is out on a secret mission we can’t totally swear doesn’t involve Libya, we’ll keep an eye on the news so you don’t have to.
Anita’s Angle
“Seven years ago, Cook County prosecutors decided not to charge anyone in the violent death of David Koschman, saying it was because the Chicago Police Department didn’t know for sure who had pushed or punched the 21-year-old from Mount Prospect during a drunken confrontation after a night of bar-hopping on Rush Street,” the Sun-Times reports.
“Now that the police say they know who did it – Richard J. ‘R.J.’ Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Daley and White House Chief of Staff William Daley – Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez says there still isn’t enough evidence to file criminal charges.”
Posted on March 19, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
1. Banned in Illinois: These license plates.
2. Top 10 Airlines in the World: None of them are American.
3. “Charlie Sheen’s unusual phrases are spurring a race to the U.S. Trademark office by entrepreneurs hoping to cash in,” the ABA Journal notes.
For example, one nutritional supplement maker is apparently planning to market Adonis DNA.
Posted on March 18, 2011
By Steve Rhodes
“A man who says he was beaten into confessing to a double murder by detectives under disgraced former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge was ordered released by a Cook County judge on Wednesday, the same day Burge reported to federal prison,” the Tribune reports.
There isn’t much justice in this world, but what little there is sure is sweet.
Posted on March 17, 2011
