By Steve Rhodes
* The Beachwood is now the exclusive Chicago carrier of Ask Ellie! (See lower left rail.)
* Is adding Dear Abby to its lineup an effort by the Sun-Times to steal some of the Tribune’s oldest readers? What’s next, a bridge column?
* The Sun-Times editorial board, as it were, having fewer members than the Cubs have had playoff appearances, is a pushover. The new FOIA bill sucks, and I’ve never understood why the media in this state hasn’t made a full-court press for a real Sunshine Act.

Read More

Posted on June 1, 2009

By Natasha Julius
Well, damn, now that Venus is out we’ve got nothing better to do but watch the news this weekend.
Change Watch
Shares in Subliminal Oligarchy rebounded strongly this week when it was announced that Czar will remain its Commander in Chief.

Read More

Posted on May 30, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
“Reform met reality Thursday when self-styled outsider Gov. Pat Quinn cut a deal on the high-profile issue of campaign contribution limits that critics blasted as weak, ineffective and partly designed to benefit the governor himself,” the Tribune says on its front page today.
Jjust what does it mean when the paper declares that “reform met reality?” Is the Tribune acknowledging – despite its own high-profile campaign – that reform is not a realistic goal?

Read More

Posted on May 29, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
–
BREAKING 11:30 A.M.: Ald. Isaac Carothers to be charged in corruption case today.
–
Roland Burris has reportedly signed a deal to write his memoirs. I wonder if it’s a multi-book deal, because he’s told so many versions of how he got his Senate seat that they could fill volumes.

Read More

Posted on May 28, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
”The often leisurely game of baseball is filled with many small moments which catch a fan’s breath. There is, for example, that wonderful second when you see an outfielder backpedaling and jumping up to the wall and time stops for an instant as he jumps up and you finally figure out whether it’s a home run, a double or a single off the wall or an out.”
– Sonia Sotomayor
Unthinkable
Eric Zorn pretends liberals don’t do the very same thing to Supreme Court choices made by Republican presidents as he thinks will occur with conservative critics of Sotomayor.
See, that’s the problem with partisanship. Everything they do is heinous. Everything we do is blessed.

Read More

Posted on May 27, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
* Skokie is the new home of the National Whiffleball Championship. Team Beachwood?
* Jerry Springer deserves an Oscar because I couldn’t tell at all that he was just playing a character.
* This just in: Rod Blagojevich will argue in court that he was just playing the character of an Illinois governor.
* Kathy Posner also writes that CREDIT CARD COMPANIES ARE NOT BAD!!
* Maybe she’s just playing a character.

Read More

Posted on May 26, 2009

Programming Note: The Papers will return on Tuesday.
–
The Weekend Desk Report
By Natasha Julius
The Weekend Desk knows no holidays.
Change Watch
Despite a hostile takeover bid from former subsidiary Reality TV, it appears Reality has the backing of most investors this week. Analysts note that while Reality TV appears to have plenty of cash and a complete lack of shame, the cold, hard ring of truth makes Reality tough to take down.

Read More

Posted on May 23, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
1. Gaming board chief says video poker would be a big threat to problem gamblers.
Lawmaker are counting on it!
2. The view from CNET: “How would pot legalization affect Google?”

Read More

Posted on May 22, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
It’s funny how in a budget crisis the state will both expand and tax “sin.”
So a bill legalizing video poker moves through the General Assembly at the same time lawmakers consider boosting liquor taxes.
Please drink and gamble! And park illegally! We need the money!
Lobby Lout
“Joseph Berrios, a member of the Cook County Board of Review and father of state Rep. Maria Antonia Berrios (D-Chicago), was among those lobbying for video poker, on behalf of an industry trade group,” the Sun-Times reports.
He’s also the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party.
Get it, yet?

Read More

Posted on May 21, 2009

By Steve Rhodes
I found the best coverage of the Cook County sales tax vote yesterday in the Tribune’s editorial this morning.
See also: Great Moments In Cook County Board History.
*
But why isn’t there more heat on Michael Madigan?

Read More

Posted on May 20, 2009