By Steve Rhodes

Sometimes juries get it wrong.
Think about the dozen people sitting closest to you at work. Or at the bar. Or picked at random out of the phone book – which is pretty much how juries get picked.
It’s amazing they ever get it right.
So the Blago pundits can blather – have we ever seen a more embarrassing display of know-nothingness disguised as expertise? – about all the reasons this jury returned the verdict (or non-verdict, mostly) that it did, but I find it hard to suddenly blame the government for the case it put on.

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Posted on August 18, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

BREAKING! The Blagojevich jury just asked for a pitcher of water. Good for the government? Stay tuned for updates all day and a special panel on Chicago Tonight this evening.
–
1. “CPS To Hold Public Budget Hearings This Week.”
Will ignore public the following 51 weeks.
2. “CTA: About One Bus Collision A Day in 2009.”
Worst offender identified.

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Posted on August 17, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

The Beachwood will return in full on Tuesday after I become reacclimated from my trip to Bizarro Chicago. Example: None of the grim-faced Chicagoans give ground on the jam-packed El to O’Hare. On the jam-packed light rail from the Minneapolis airport to Target Field: “Oh, come on in, we’ll make room!”
*
We do have two new pieces for today.
– Things The Blago Jury Does Agree On. According to sources.
– Things That Make Me Happy. Another list by Drew Adamek.
See you Tuesday.

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Posted on August 16, 2010

By Natasha Julius

You stay inside and drink some nice lemonade. We’ll head out and man the beats for you.
Market Update
This week saw an unexpected bull run on the Hypocrisy market as earnings reports showed the primary throwers of stones actually live in glass houses.

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Posted on August 14, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Thank God there wasn’t a verdict yesterday and won’t be one today – I’ve got a busy morning and then I’m going out of town for the weekend. No time to dally.
Dally.
Anyway . . .
“If anyone’s entitled to laugh like a hyena over the troubles of Rod Blagojevich, it’s Paul Vallas,” a columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News writes this morning.

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Posted on August 13, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Yes, there may be a verdict today.
Or maybe not.
The jury sent the judge a note.
Nobody but the jury really knows what it means.
So relax.
Speculation is not news.
We’re adults.

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Posted on August 12, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

“Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he wants the open-admissions policy at the city’s colleges to be thrown out,” WBEZ reports. “Daley says about $30 million is spent on special classes for students who are lagging behind.”
Students who are lagging behind because they attended Chicago Public Schools.

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Posted on August 11, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Now is about the time to start thinking about the Blagojevich jury coming in. All this media wrangling about how long they’ve been out has been nonsense. Did the pundits expect the jury to return a verdict within a couple days? There are 120 pages of jury instructions alone! It probably took a couple days just to organize themselves. Think about it: 28 counts between two defendants in a seven-week trial with reams of documents and hours of tapes.
Not only that, but the trial of a former governor. You better be thorough; if the jury came back inside of a week you’d wonder if their verdict would have any credibility. Past corruption trials tell us that these juries are serious about their work; they must look at every charge, the evidence from the prosecution and the defense, and the law. In this case, they must determine – among other things – if a conspiracy was “furthered.” And they must be able to show the public that they’ve done their due diligence.

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Posted on August 10, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

1. Gov. Quinn inspires us with his reformist leadership once again.
2. “Pat Quinn the Democratic incumbent and a friend for 25 years has become a disappointment since he took over from the disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich,” writes longtime social services advocate Doug Dobmeyer. “Unfortunately Pat has moved away from previous positions that had formed our friendship. He’s just another Springfield politician now.”

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Posted on August 9, 2010

By Natasha Julius

Apparently the North Side is being stalked by wild animals again, but that won’t stop us watching the key stories for you.
Market Update
The assets of the blue chip Alphabetic Grading System suffered heavy hits this week when it was revealed they had been repeatedly short-sold. Taking into account the arbitrary manner in which top assets have been distributed, Fitch Ratings has downgraded AGS’s rating from “Super Fantastic Plus” to just plain “Super Fantastic.”

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Posted on August 7, 2010