Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
Bob at the Beachwood is preparing for the transition. Who will be chief of bartenders?
Paper Tigers
I have to vehemently disagree with Robb Montgomery, who picked Wednesday’s Sun-Times as the nation’s best front page of the day. A static portrait? My interpretation of that was that the Sun-Times was unable to deliver a photo from the Grant Park rally because Obama appeared after its lame deadlines.
Posted on November 6, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
Editor’s Note: No, the delay this morning is not due to an Obama hangover, unless my Internet Service Provider (Speakeasy) was being punished for failing to contribute to his campaign. Instead, my internet – and e-mail – service was down for an extraordinary long time due to “connectivity issues” in Chicago. I’m back online now and will start to catch up.
Posted on November 5, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
As I disclosed in this year’s Beachwood voting guide, I planned to write in Beachwood Inn proprietor Bob for president this morning.
But walking to my polling place this morning, I felt a nagging pull; the same one I’ve felt all along and I’m sure many Americans have felt.
Posted on November 4, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
It’s funny how the names are almost always the same – just in different combinations.
On Friday, the names were Bill Cellini, Ed Burke, Michael Marchese, Michael Madigan, Eddie Vrdolyak, Richie Stein and Richard M. Daley, among others.
On Sunday, in the Sun-Times, the names were Bill Cellini, Michael Marchese, Eddie Burke, Dick Mell, Tony Rezko and Richard M. Daley.
At least today Vrdolyak goes on trial.
Posted on November 3, 2008
Weekend Desk editor Natasha Julius remains on assignment in India. Stephanie B. Goldberg once again fills in with her Five Dumbest Ideas of the Week.
1. Don’t you just love Halloween? It’s a magical time when those costumed strangers who knock at your door just might be packing heat. Or that guy who’s lying in a pool of blood could be pulling your leg. It’s a time to test the limits of your dog’s affection while humiliating your partner at the same time. Best of all, it’s a time to display stunning originality in your choice of costume.
Posted on November 1, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
“William Cellini has spent four decades as Illinois’ ultimate insider, cozying up to Republicans and Democrats alike as he wielded power and influence while trying to stay out of the spotlight,” the Tribune reports.
“But the spotlight found Cellini on Thursday when a federal grand jury indicted the millionaire Springfield businessman and pulled him into the center of the ongoing probe of corruption in the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich.”
Posted on October 31, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
1. The rolling clown show.
2. Memo to mayor: Turns out maybe it could have been prevented. But you don’t look back. To be very frank.
3. New mayoral media stategy: Stop reading the papers!
Posted on October 30, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
“U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez personally lobbied Mayor Richard Daley to back a controversial multimillion-dollar development for a campaign contributor who had just lent the congressman $200,000 in a real estate deal,” the Tribune reports this morning.
“Now the congressman’s unusual gesture of support is under federal scrutiny as authorities investigate how developers overcame city planners’ objections to convert the West Side industrial site into a more profitable residential and commercial development.”
It just never ends, does it?
Posted on October 29, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
Programming Note: For those so inclined, you can hear me at 9 a.m. on Mornings With Ray Hanania at WJJG-1530 AM. If you miss it (sorry for the late notice!), Ray makes podcasts available here.
Torture Trap
“Back in Chicago, Burge Pleads Not Guilty.”
So he committed perjury again.
Posted on October 28, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
“With police hiring slowing to a crawl and Chicago homicides outpacing New York and Los Angeles, Police Supt. Jody Weis vowed Friday to deliver on a promise made and broken by at least four of his predecessors: beat realignment,” the Sun-Times reported over the weekend.
“‘They haven’t been moved around since 1978. That’s three decades of people making empty promises. Nothing against my predecessors, but at some time, you’ve got to look at a problem and say, I know I can’t make every one of the 50 aldermen happy, but we have to make sure we have the right resources in the right locations,’ Weis said. ‘I’m 100 percent committed to that . . . I know we’ll upset some people. But we have to have fair police service to every community’.”
Posted on October 27, 2008
