By Steve Rhodes

The mayor’s call for what would appear to be the highest property tax hike in city history is a bit of a mystery.
Times may be tough, but why this now?
From what I can tell, the mayor’s proposed budget isn’t designed to simply balance the books under tough conditions.
He’s also calling for new spending that would, according to Civic Federation President Lawrence Msall, amount to a $700 million increase in the city’s operating budget over the last two years.
And for what?

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Posted on October 11, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

“After weeks of worsening revelations about the Chicago Police Department’s elite Special Operations Section, a beleaguered interim superintendent finally the pulled the plug Tuesday, disbanding the scandal-plagued unit and sending most of the officers back to more strictly supervised assignments,” the Tribune reports this morning.
The move comes just 10 days after Mayor Daley said the department needed the unit to combat gangs, drugs and guns.

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Posted on October 10, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

The fallout from the Chicago Marathon continues along four lines of inquiry.
1. Did race officials screw up?
Yes. It’s obvious from the testimony of runners, observers, and volunteer workers that the water and Gatorade supply was inadequate, to say the least, no matter what excecutive race director Carey Pinkowski says.
And Pinkowski isn’t doing himself any favors speaking in such cold, mechanical tones, seemingly blaming runners for cooling themselves with the water they did find, and bringing a bottle of water to sip at his press conference on Monday. Hello?

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Posted on October 9, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

Scenes from a tragic Chicago Marathon.
* “Pablo Hernandez, 35, of Chicago, said all along the route he kept hearing officials yell, ‘Runner down! Runner down!'” the Sun-Times reports.
* “A fire official at 18th and Ashland said, ‘Hundreds of people are dropping all over the city.'”
* “‘Stop running, we’re all out of ambulances,’ Richard Harless, 30, of Washington, D.C., recalled a firefighter telling him at mile 16.”

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Posted on October 8, 2007

By Natasha Julius

LOOKING FOR OUR CUBS SONG? HERE IT IS . . . “PLEASE STOP BELIEVING!”
*
Catch up with the week’s Papers.
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Special Marathon Edition
This weekend, we turn our focus away from the main event in town and concentrate instead on the marathons that really matter. Our always-reliable Weekend Desk predictions will help you plan your upcoming wagers.

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Posted on October 6, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

LOOKING FOR OUR CUBS SONG? HERE IT IS . . . “PLEASE STOP BELIEVING!”
*
“If you saw just one moment, one play, from this game or this series, the full-count pitch from Ted Lilly to Chris Young in the second inning Thursday night would satisfy outcome and circumstance, pathos and bravado,” Nick Piecoro writes in the Arizona Republic.
“It was a snapshot moment in a series that feels decidedly one-sided, particularly after the Diamondbacks’ 8-4 triumph against the Chicago Cubs, a victory that gives them a 2-0 lead in this best-of-five National League Division Series.
“Young’s three-run home run barely had left his bat, the ball not even on its descent into the left-field bleachers, when Lilly yanked his glove off his right hand and fired it into dirt.
“Triumph and jubilation for the Diamondbacks, failure and frustration for the Cubs. The moment epitomized a series that could come to an abrupt end in Game 3 on Saturday, when the Diamondbacks will hand the ball to their most experienced pitcher, Livan Hernandez, a former World Series MVP.”

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Posted on October 5, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

“If the Cubs were expecting an air-conditioned version of their friendly confines Wednesday night, they must have been sorely disappointed,” the Arizona Republic reports.
“A rowdy Diamondbacks contingent made up the vast majority of the sellout crowd at Chase Field, and the video board even presented a spoof of a lonely Steve Bartman, the poor soul who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time four years ago at Wrigley Field.
“As it should, home-field advantage belonged squarely to the home team, and the Diamondbacks, exhibiting the same qualities that won them 90 games in the regular season, got great pitching, just enough offense and a thank-you-very-much pitching change to take command of this National League Division Series with a 3-1 win in Game 1 in front of a sellout crowd of 48,864.”

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Posted on October 4, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

Mara Georges is at it again.
Georges is the city’s corporation counsel and a favorite of Mayor Daley’s. And it’s no wonder why.
“The City of Chicago’s top lawyer has denied at least one alderman’s written request to see a list of Chicago police officers who have the most excessive force complaints during the last five years, a move that critics say contradicts what the lawyer told federal judges this summer,” the Tribune reports this morning.
“Corporation Counsel Mara Georges recently sent a letter to Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), denying her Aug. 23 request for an unredacted list of Office of Professional Standards complaints.
“In July, when the city was arguing in federal court to keep the documents secret, Georges assured the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals that aldermen would have access to the confidential records.
“‘We have agreed to make the confidential documents available to any City Council member who requests them,’ Georges declared in the city’s July 13 emergency motion seeking a stay of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow’s order to unseal the records and make them available to the general public.”
Now, Georges is arguing that the very stay that was granted when she made that promise prevents her from . . . keeping her promise.

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Posted on October 3, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

“If you want to know why there are so many Cubs fans living in the Valley, all you need to do is go to Luke’s of Chicago on 16th Street and Indian School Road,” the Arizona Republic reports today.
“It’s a place that sells Italian beef and Polish sausages so good you can practically hear the El rumbling over your head when you take a bite.
“And business is brisk because for decades people have been leaving Chicago and moving to Arizona for good weather and economic opportunity.

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Posted on October 2, 2007

By Steve Rhodes

1. Now we know why Rex Grossman was our quarterback.
2. Maybe Kyle Orton is our quarterback.
3. Can Devin Hester play quarterback? He’s got the turnover part down. Still, we could run the option with him.

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Posted on October 1, 2007