Chicago -
The Weekend Desk Report may not appear because the Weekend Desk is snowed in and in search of stray pieces of furniture to secure its spot should it dig itself out. Stay tuned for further developments, and in the meantime you can re-read The [Friday] Papers if you like or check out our other fine sections —>>>
Posted on January 10, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
BREAKING 10:26 A.M.: Governor Impeached. More below.
BREAKING 1:10 P.M.: Illinois Supreme Court Backs White On Burris. More below.
BREAKING 2:53 P.M.: Blago Speaks. More below.
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As I’ve already noted, some commentators – including Eric Zorn – have advised seating Roland Burris in the U.S. Senate in order to make this mess go away, based in part on the belief that “he’ll be a reliable Democratic vote” and will have no chance at winning re-election in 2010 anyway.
I beg to differ.
Posted on January 9, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
NEW MATERIAL IS BEING ADDED AT THE BOTTOM AS WE GO TODAY.
To all the pols out there, now is a good time to do your dastardly deeds or dutifully dispense bad news that will get buried because Roland Burris is still the biggest story out there and it’s swamping everything else.
And I’ll get to today’s (many) golden nuggets soon enough, but first a little news about City Hall.
“Charity Begins At City Hall For Mayor’s Pal,” the Sun-Times says on its front page today. “City spent $13.5 million to move homeless shelters so Michael Marchese could build luxury condos.”
That sounds about right.
Posted on January 8, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
Oh crap, everything’s all screwed up today. Here’s a column-in-progress in reverse order.
BREAKING: Conflicting reports on the Senate agreeing to seat Burris. More to come.
In the meantime, check out these wonderful offerings —>>>
UPDATE: 10:06 A.M.: Harry Reid’s office is denying an AP report that Senate leaders have agreed to seat Burris.
Meanwhile, President-Elect Barack Obama just said “I know Roland Burris. I think he is a fine public servant.”
Really?
Posted on January 7, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
Roland Burris said it again on Monday, and the media repeated it over and over: “What’s been done here is legal.”
It’s an argument that seems to be silencing critics who would rather not see Burris seated in the U.S. Senate – meaning just about everyone. But it misses the point.
No one has argued that the appointment was illegal. Not a single person, as far as I can tell. Because it’s not. It’s an outrage, and it is the result of a tainted process – and therefore Burris is tainted – but it’s not illegal.
That’s not where the (legal) argument lies. It lies with the options available to the current members of the U.S. Senate, including the very real question of whether they can – and should – refuse to seat Burris.
Posted on January 6, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
Programming Note: I know this column has been getting posted late in the morning through much of the holiday season. Starting tomorrow I hope to be back on a more normal schedule in terms of getting this and other fresh Beachwood material posted before you even wake up – or at least before you get to work – because we’re all about customer service here at Beachwood HQ.
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1. “We are the senator.”
By “we,” Roland Burris means him and his ego, which has a separate crypt for when it dies.
Posted on January 5, 2009
By Natasha Julius
The inescapable truth of the Winter Classic is that, underneath all the pageantry and pomp, it’s still an adversarial event. One team will win, one team will lose, and the subjective experience of the viewer will be shaped by their allegiance. No critique can be considered impartial because, let’s face it, you wouldn’t be sitting outside for three-and-a-half hours freezing off your tender bits if you weren’t emotionally invested in the outcome. So let’s expose the implicit editorial slant straight away. Your reviewer is a life-long worshipper of the winged wheel and, as such, enjoyed the game itself immensely.
Posted on January 2, 2009
By Steve Rhodes
1. Roland Burris is nuts too.
2. Alternate career moves: Roland and Rod in the Mornings.
3. A Top 10 Top 10 List.
4. Rod’s Resolutions.
Posted on December 31, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
BREAKING: Blago to name Burris to U.S. Senate; Reid says no.
* Governor schedules 2 p.m. press conference. Can General Assembly indict and convict by then? Keep in mind, he usually runs late!
* Governor to name replacement for Obama as president-elect at 4!
* Roland Burris totally a chump, sources say.
* Burris in the Beachwood: Links to Burke, Cellini, Deutsch, Cacciatore.
* Hazy memory of thought upon meeting him: Nice guy, but what a zero.
* Laura Washington, Nov. 10: “[Washington] reports that Roland Burris is throwing his hat into the ring to replace Obama in the U.S. Senate.
“I can think of one reason it shouldn’t be Burris,” she wrote. “We already have an oversupply of egomaniacal blowhards in the Senate.”
* From the Beachwood, Dec. 11, 2008: “It’s true that Obama did not support Blago in the 2002 primary; he switched over in the general election. In the primary he backed Roland Burris. Roland Burris?”
* Via the BGA: Since 2002, Burris & Lebed Consulting has contributed (by my possibly faulty math) $10,796.23 to Friends of Blagojevich. Wow, that Senate seat is really going for a discount now that it’s tarnished.
* New Wikipedia entry for Burris just up.
* Experts debate: Is Roland Burris insane? Madigan considers court motion to remove him.
* Burris was reportedly awakened by a phone call at 6 a.m. and asked if he’d like to be a U.S. Senator. At first he replied, “Is this a joke?” “No,” he was told, “it’s the governor.”
* Journal of Self-Involved Psychology to devote next issue to whether Burris or Blago is now the most selfish and deluded pol in the state.
* Maybe Blago was just trying to find someone to share a press conference with who appears less competent than he does. Because Burris is making a hash of this.
* U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-AT&T) is now at Burris’s side. He just thanked God for the decision by Blago. God reportedly called Rush at 6 a.m. and told him he helped make the appointment. At first Rush replied, “Is this a joke?” And then the voice in his head said, “No, it’s God.”
* Dane Placko: “Disarray is a good way to describe this news conference.”
BREAKING: Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn now holding his own press conference.
* Will name Lt. Sen. to vacant seat.
* Says that Burris said on Dec. 13 that Blagojevich should step down.
Continuing Coverage!
* Tom Cross on Fox News Chicago: “He’s the governor who just keeps on giving. It’s astonishing.”
* Memo to James Warren, now talking on MSNBC: Can we please put a moratorium on pundits who always tell us to “Step back and take a deep breath” whenever something breathtaking happens?
The [Tuesday] Papers
Now would be an excellent time to revisit our “Take Me Outside To The Hawks Game” piece, by the Beachwood Winter Classic Affairs Desk. Then come back and read the rest of this column.
Welcome Back!
Wasn’t that funny? Way funnier than the frickin’ Tribune Company. Now would be an excellent time to read “The Year The Tribune Company Became A Joke.” Then come back and read the rest of the column.
Welcome Back!
Is that lame or what? It’s almost hard to believe the folks behind that nonsense are in control of one of the nation’s most significant media companies – and that they eat a whole lot better than I do!
It’s really not fair.
Posted on December 30, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
I’ll continue to post throughout the site this week, though I likely won’t post Papers columns on Thursday and Friday.
Bye Bye Babich
“Lovie didn’t deserve to go to the playoffs,” our very own Jim Coffman writes. “Neither did his errand boy/defensive coordinator Bob Babich. Together they have presided over the precipitous decline of a great defense during the past couple of years, capped off by yet another lousy performance against a mediocre quarterback during a must-win game. It is a defense that – despite its highly paid status (only the Baltimore Ravens spend a higher percentage of their payroll on the defense) – no longer has anything special on which to hang its hat. Nothing except for the knowledge that harsh conditions in Chicago will almost always help out for at least a game or two late in a given season, that is. And that is pathetic.”
Posted on December 29, 2008
