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The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

1. The Only Honorable Excuse For Attending This Event Is If You Were Wearing A Wire.
“They turned out in mass for [Ald. Ed] Burke’s annual holiday fundraiser supporting one of his political committees, just five days after federal investigators raided the alderman’s City Hall and 14th Ward offices,” the Sun-Times reports.
“Hundreds arrived at the ritzy hotel more than a half hour early to wait in a long receiving line to demonstrate their support for Burke, who already has more than $12 million in the three campaign funds he controls.
“An organizer confirmed more than 1,000 people showed up for the $150-per-ticket affair, their biggest crowd in 10 years – taking in more money at the door than at any previous Burke fundraiser.”
The money quote, from a “would-be” judge:

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Posted on December 5, 2018

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

1. Nation’s First Teachers’ Strike at Charter Network Begins in Chicago.
“Over 500 educators in Chicago began the nation’s first strike at a charter school network on Tuesday, shutting down 15 schools serving more than 7,000 children. Teachers for the Acero Schools network rallied at local schools to call for higher pay and smaller class sizes, among other demands,” the New York Times reports.

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Posted on December 4, 2018

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

1. Chicago’s Sexually Dimorphic Jumbo Yellow Perch.
“The run of yellow perch on the Chicago lakefront has been jumbo in more ways than one,” Dale Bowman reports for the Sun-Times.
“So I asked Vic Santucci, Illinois’ Lake Michigan Program manager, if targeting jumbos would impact the fishery.

“As you know, there is sexual dimorphism in yellow perch, where females tend to grow faster and reach a larger ultimate size than the males,” Santucci e-mailed. “Because the largest perch in the population tend to be females, anglers targeting `jumbo’ perch are probably harvesting more females than males. However, I don’t believe the targeting and harvest of jumbo perch is having a negative effect on the perch population or fishery in Lake Michigan for a couple of reasons:

If you really want to know those reasons, click through. I’m good.

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Posted on November 28, 2018

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“The race to become Chicago’s next mayor is on its way to becoming one of the most crowded in the city’s history, as 21 candidates filed nominating petitions by Monday’s deadline to appear on the Feb. 26 ballot,” the Tribune reports.
And yet, when one surveys the field, one thinks we could surely do better. But no, this is the best Chicago can do. This is who we are.

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Posted on November 27, 2018

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

There’s always a past.

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Posted on November 20, 2018

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Chicago is in for ballot bedlam starting on Monday, when an anticipated 16 candidates for mayor will begin submitting the required nominating petitions to qualify for the Feb. 26 city election,” the Tribune reports.
“The arcane process, in which each hopeful turns in thousands of voter signatures, will kick off a month-long period of legal wrangling, with mayoral contenders challenging one another’s petitions in a series of aggressive attempts to narrow the large field.
“To appear on the ballot, each candidate is required by law to submit 12,500 signatures from registered Chicago voters. The rule of thumb, however, is for a campaign to collect three times that number because challengers can use charges of forgery, fraud and more minor technicalities to invalidate signatures and knock opponents out of the race.”
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Why is that the rule of thumb?

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Posted on November 19, 2018

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