By Steve Rhodes

Pat Quinn is a fraud. At least Scott Lee Cohen tried to tell the truth.
“With Illinois in a financial crisis, Gov. Pat Quinn repeatedly touts his membership in Super 8 hotel’s VIP club as testament to his frugality,” the Daily Herald reports. “But Quinn didn’t like being asked by the Daily Herald for a copy of his membership card.
“‘Most people when they hear somebody say something that’s from the governor of Illinois, they believe them,’ Quinn said after taking the card out of his wallet for a reporter at the state Capitol Wednesday.
“The problem is, however, that the Daily Herald has found Super 8 VIP cards like Quinn’s were discontinued more than five years ago.

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Posted on February 22, 2010

By Natasha Julius

Look, this may not be pretty. But it’s got to be better than certain international sporting events we could mention.
Market Update
Of course Gold is still the market standard, but in a recession it seems even Bronze is worth bitching about.

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Posted on February 20, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

No column today, but if you read nothing else read this by our very own Drew Adamek:
Work Weirdos: A List.
Also, our man on the rail Thomas Chambers on the latest nonsense from the tracks:
Santa Margaritaville.

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Posted on February 19, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

So much material, so little time.
1. The new Filter is an awesome space, easily better than the old one. But doling out free Wi-Fi in 60-minute increments via temporary passwords is a pain in the ass. I understand the rationale, but man up.
2. I wonder if people who work at Burger King’s corporate headquarters are bummed out because they don’t work at McDonald’s. Same with Pepsi and Coke. I mean, wouldn’t you rather work for No.1 – especially given that McDonald’s and Coke are vastly superior products? Similarly, does anyone working at Microsoft truly think it’s a better gig than working at Apple? Yahoo vs. Google? Just sayin’ . . .

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Posted on February 18, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

A series of semi-random thoughts . . .
*
I found myself standing across the street from Bank of America downtown yesterday staring at its waving flag and thinking that we should organize a spit-in.
*
So our governor for the next four years is going to be either Pat Quinn or Bill Brady, and one of our senators for the next six years is going to be Mark Kirk or Alexi Giannoulias. I don’t like living here anymore.

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Posted on February 17, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

1. Daily Olympic coverage from the Beachwood Olympic Bureau!
2. “On Friday February 12th I was asked to comment for a CBS 2 Report on the sentencing of Chicago Police Officer Gerald Callahan,” my friend Tracy Jake Siska writes. “Try as I might I failed to get across what I believe the main point that needs to get communicated to policy makers and community members about the sentencing of Callahan. I will use this blog to explain my point here.”

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Posted on February 16, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

Don’t you think it’s time to make our elected officials full-time employees prohibited from outside employment?
Or maybe we should just ban the Burke family from elected office.
Not only is Ald. Fast Eddie Burke a lawyer on the side who represents clients before the county tax appeals board, but his brother Dan is a state legislator who is a – wait for it – lobbyist – on the side. (Ed Burke also slates judges for the Democratic party while his wife was scammed into a seat on the state supreme court, but let’s set that aside for today.)
“[Dan] Burke, 58, is one of several elected officials in the Chicago area who also work as lobbyists,” the Sun-Times and the Better Government Association report.

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Posted on February 15, 2010

By Natasha Julius

Much like Pete Townshend’s gut, we’ve been caught up in the windmill of this week’s major stories.
Market Update
Despite blustery proclamations to the contrary, analysts warn the Human Spirit may still take a pounding in the coming weeks.

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Posted on February 13, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

“House Speaker Michael Madigan swatted down a Republican effort Thursday to uncork stalled ethics legislation that would weaken his grip on power and curtail campaign donations from political parties and other legislative leaders,” the Sun-Times reports.
Huh, that’s funny. Just a few days ago Madigan was calling Republicans “non-participating do-nothings.”

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Posted on February 12, 2010

By Steve Rhodes

“After criticism for failing to properly vet Democrat Scott Lee Cohen, House Speaker Michael Madigan filed legislation today to amend the state Constitution to abolish the lieutenant governor’s office,” the Sun-Times reports.
Too bad Madigan didn’t file legislation to abolish sophistry. To wit:
* From the press office of Gov. Pat Quinn, who opposes abolishing the office: “Gov. Quinn knows the office can serve as a strong voice for everyday people, including veterans, service members and their families.”
You mean like the Illinois Department of Veteran’s Affairs?

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Posted on February 11, 2010