Chicago -
By Natasha Julius
While you’re sweating it out around the barbecue this weekend, remember to pour out a little Budweiser in memory of . . . well, Budweiser.
Market Update
It’s gotten so bad, apparently, we’re now actively whoring out our natural wildlife refuges. Well, you know, more than usual.
Posted on May 24, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
There will be no Papers today nor on Monday due to the long holiday, but our very own wonderful and witty Natasha Julius will be back to file The Weekend Desk Report on Saturday and I’ll be posting occasionally at Division Street throughout the weekend.
I am pleased to introduce a new feature today called Song of the Moment. Our first entry is “Iron Man”.
And don’t forget, there’s still one day left to International Pickle Week. Go for it.
Posted on May 23, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
1. The governor advertises for a new press secretary and the smart asses weigh in. I wish I had gotten there first.
2. Can’t Dick Mell just rewrite the law for Drew Peterson?
3. Another great lesson for the kids out there. Will the new Children’s Museum have an Astroturfing exhibit?
(UPDATE: More here . . . read the comments.)
Posted on May 22, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
In just the latest example of how the Obama campaign has controlled the delegate narrative, the Sun-Times proclaims on its front page today “Yes, He Did: Obama reaches major milestone by snagging majority of pledged delegates.”
Similarly, the Tribune – and other papers – noted the “milestone.”
But is it really a milestone?
Earlier in the campaign, when it became apparent that neither candidate would win enough pledged delegates to reach the number needed for nomination, the Obama campaign pressed the notion that it was the Clinton campaign aiming to “take away” the nomination through superdelegates, conveniently ignoring the fact that it, too, would need superdelegates to win.
Posted on May 21, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
“The controversial Chicago Children’s Museum plan for a new building in Grant Park probably will be pulled off the agenda at Tuesday’s meeting of a City Council committee, the panel’s chairman said Monday,” the Tribune reports.
Why?
“[Zoning Committee Chairman Bill] Banks said aides to Richard Daley, a supporter of the museum’s plan, told him that several members of the committee cannot attend the meeting on Tuesday. Three of the 14 aldermen on the committee are at a real estate convention in Las Vegas.”
Posted on May 20, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
PROGRAMMING NOTE: I’m scheduled to appear on the NBC5 morning news at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. We’ll be talking about the Kentucky and Oregon primaries, and Hillary Clinton’s potential exit strategy. Please tune in!
Beachwood Baseball
The Cubs and White Sox are both in first place this morning. Is it gonna happen?
No.
* There is a streak that has lasted even longer than that championship drought we hear about every once and a while on the North Side, our very own Jim Coffman writes in SportsMonday.
* Someone is missing from the White Sox’ All-Star picture, our very own Ricky O’Donnell writes.
* No troughs on the rooftops, our very own Marty Gangler writes in The Cub Factor.
Your City Council Not At Work
An investigation by Chicago Talks and published jointly with The Beachwood Reporter shows that the Chicago City Council’s committees frequently meet without quoroms and conduct business anyway, a clear evasion of the law that could make the full council’s actions subject to legal challenge.
Similarly, our investigation found that Chicago City Council committees frequently fail to keep minutes of their meetings – and sometimes even basic information such as which members were actually in attendance.
Posted on May 19, 2008
The Weekend Desk B Team
Natasha Julius is on assignment in Daley Bicentennial Plaza watching for bulldozers. The “B” team is here to set up your weekend.
Fall Off The Earth, Boy
The countdown has begun to one of the lamest pseudo-celebrity weddings ever! Who would’ve thought a poor North Shore hoodie would wind up marrying a talentless lip-synching twit whose plastic surgery-altered face is due to explode in three years? All of America cares!
Guantanamo Gaughan
The Cook County judge presiding over the R. Kelly trial denied a media request for access to sealed documents in the super-secret proceeding, fueling speculation that he’s angling for a federal appointment before George W. Bush leaves office.
Posted on May 17, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
The Chicago Plan Commission approved what appears to be one of the most unpopular civic proposals in city history last night by a 13-2 vote. The dissenters: Doris Holleb and Lyneir Richardson.
I will have a beer in honor of each of them tonight at the Beachwood – and maybe a beer in dishonor to each of the others.
Then I will be up early in the morning to appear on a Society of Professional Journalists panel on citizen journalism, at DePaul. The panel starts at 8:30 a.m. in Room 161 of the Schmitt Academic Center.
If you’re up early – or just getting in – come on by.
Posted on May 16, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
“The alderman whom Mayor Daley derisively calls Joe ‘Foie Gras’ Moore (49th) now knows how the geese and ducks feel,” Fran Spielman deftly writes this morning.
“Two years after the City Council banned the liver delicacy made by jamming a steel pipe down a bird’s esophagus, Daley essentially did the same to Moore on the City Council floor.
“By a vote of 37-6, the foie gras ban that Daley claims made Chicago an international laughingstock was repealed, thanks to a legislative end-run that set a new standard for violating protocol and rolling over the opposition.”
I’m not so sure about that, given the midnight raid on Meigs Field, which would have resulted in impeachment hearings in a saner political environment than Chicago’s.
But the point is well-taken.
Posted on May 15, 2008
By Steve Rhodes
1. “A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.”
He will do community service on a garbage scow instead of going to jail.
2. “An Australian man has been fined after buckling in a case of beer with a seat belt but leaving a 5-year-old child to sit on the car’s floor.”
A) Good. Everyone knows you should use a car seat to secure a case of beer.
B) Good. That beer should have been in a cooler.
C) Um, anyone know what happened to the beer?
3. “City Council Moves Toward Ousting Mayor.”
If only we were another Detroit.
Posted on May 14, 2008
