Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
“Gov. Quinn said Thursday he would rather face defeat in his bitter gubernatorial primary against Comptroller Dan Hynes than encourage racial fissures the governor accused Hynes of fomenting with his Harold Washington attack ad,” the Sun-Times reports.
And then Quinn recalled something he told Bobby Rush the other day at the press conference he called to foment racial fissures in the gubernatorial primary.
Posted on January 29, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
Pat Quinn was asked on Good Day Chicago this morning about the Tribune’s report that he’s been making money off his old U.S. Senate campaign fund by loaning the fund his own money and then raising money from contributors to replace it while charging interest on his “loans.”
Legally you can’t use money from a fund like this for personal use, so Quinn is essentially running a money-laundering operation; contributors can’t directly give money to an office-holder to use for personal expenses so Quinn washes the money through his loans.
Posted on January 28, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
“Even as he runs to hold on to his job in Tuesday’s primary, Gov. Pat Quinn is still raising money for a U.S. Senate campaign he lost in 1996,” the Tribune reports.
I guess he’s still paying off an old debt.
“The continuation of the ‘Pat Quinn for U.S. Senate’ fund, 14 years after his Senate race was done, is unusual even in the heard-it-all world of campaign finance.”
It is?
“Quinn has kept the fund alive by pumping in a series of personal loans and then soliciting political donations so he can pay himself back, at interest rates approaching 10 percent. The end result is that Quinn has made at least $24,000 in interest from the campaign fund he controls, according to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.”
Wait, what?
Posted on January 27, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
Pat Quinn is a schmuck.
That was my overriding reaction to last night’s joint appearance by Quinn and gubernatorial primary rival Dan Hynes on Chicago Tonight.
Also: rude, whiny, disingenuous and grating.
Posted on January 26, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
1. The arrogant and ignorant delusions of oldstream media.
2. “The union that represents Chicago’s teachers on Friday said school leaders were hypocritical for slashing the budget and laying off staff members while board presidents were using taxpayer credit cards to charge thousands of dollars in meals, travel, gifts and artwork,” the Tribune reported on Saturday.
“The Chicago Teachers Union’s criticism follows Tribune disclosures detailing the spending habits of Mayor Richard Daley’s last two board presidents, Rufus Williams and Michael Scott. Scott committed suicide last fall. The credit card expenditures were in addition to the yearly spending allowance each man received – $19,200 for Williams and $36,000 for Scott in public money.”
Posted on January 25, 2010
By Natasha Julius
Sure, we’ll watch the stories for you this weekend. It’s not like there are any massively compelling football games scheduled or anything.
Market Update
Stocks suffered a third consecutive day of losses as markets absorbed the news of a planned merger between Bad Taste, Bad News and Bad Judgment. Analysts point out it’s consumers who will lose out in the long run.
Posted on January 23, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
Wow.
That was my reaction when I saw this:
Devastating.
Posted on January 22, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
“In his rise to the pinnacle of Illinois politics, House Speaker Michael J. Madigan built a reputation for wielding control over every bill, every budget line and every Democratic representative elected to oversee them,” the Tribune reports this morning.
“Away from the public eye, the state’s ultimate power player enjoyed a similar rise in his private career: rainmaker for one of Chicago’s most successful property tax law firms.
“In a first-of-its-kind examination, the Tribune found these two careers repeatedly intersect, and in some cases Madigan took public actions that benefited his private clients.”
I’m grateful for the Tribune’s fine report, but I wonder: Why is this a first-of-its-kind examination? Or, to put it more clearly, why has Michael Madigan gotten such a free ride for all these years?
Posted on January 21, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
I was unexpectedly called upon to work the door at the Beachwood Inn last night, so I haven’t had time to fully digest Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts and I missed the Quinn-Hynes debate. I still have a few items on each today, but I’ll have more tomorrow.
I’m also taking a brief guest bartending slot on Friday night (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) to train in for real shifts down the road, so stop in and remember to tip generously. It beats writing for NBCChicago.com. And maybe every journalist ought to have a side gig at a bar. Call it the new business model.
Posted on January 20, 2010
By Steve Rhodes
1. “[T]he benefits of the Recovery Act in Illinois have been narrowly concentrated,” Crain’s reports. “As of Dec. 15, the state had received $2.48 billion – less than half its total $6.43-billion award – creating or saving about 24,448 jobs, according to federal figures. But that stimulus money represents less than half of 1% of the state’s gross domestic product of $633.7 billion in 2008. And the jobs saved also represent less than half of 1% of the state’s total workforce of 6.6 million. Overall, in sectors outside infrastructure – even those that directly supply builders – the benefits have been scant and the effect on employment negligible.”
Posted on January 19, 2010
