By Steve Rhodes

For completists, there was no column on Friday.
“A woman doing landscaping on her suburban Chicago property unearthed the bones of a man who died 800 to 1,000 years ago,” AP reports.
“The Lake County News-Sun reports that the woman was digging in Antioch Township near Fox Lake in September when she unearthed some bones. She called authorities when she found a jaw that looked human. The newspaper said the woman didn’t want to be identified.
“Crime scene investigators, anthropologists and other experts secured the area and recovered 75 percent of the skeleton of a man of about 20 to 30 years old who died at least 800 years ago.”

Read More

Posted on November 17, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

1. Remembering Roy Clark.
“Country star Roy Clark, the guitar virtuoso and singer who headlined the cornpone TV show Hee Haw for nearly a quarter century and was known for such hits as ‘Yesterday When I Was Young’ and ‘Honeymoon Feeling,’ has died,” AP reports. “He was 85.”
Clark has appeared just once on the Beachwood, in The Beachwood Country All-Stars.
↓
“It’s fast cars and whiskey, long-haired girls and fun for all concerned.”

Read More

Posted on November 15, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

For completists, there was no column on Tuesday.
Susana Mendoza made it official this morning and announced she is a candidate for mayor.
Me, on September 5:
“Before I heard that Toni Preckwinkle was making calls to gauge support, I made the case to a friend that former city clerk and state legislator Susana Mendoza, now the state comptroller, would become the immediate frontrunner if she jumped in the race.”

Read More

Posted on November 14, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

For completists, there was no column on Friday, nor a Weekend Desk Report.
“A federal agency’s proposal to build an extension of a national veterans cemetery in Chicago’s northwest suburbs is drawing concerns from one local official about periodic rifle volleys expected at the site,” AP reports.

Read More

Posted on November 12, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

“A white kid had to be tough, confident and maybe a little nuts to venture into the South Side blues clubs in Chicago during the heyday of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf and try to go toe to toe with the masters,” Greg Kot writes for the Tribune.

But the late Paul Butterfield had attitude to burn and a reverence for the blues that cut deeper than any fear he might’ve had. The blues masters gave him a shot, and they realized the kid not only had guts, he had chops. No one played blues harmonica quite like ‘Butter.’

Read More

Posted on November 7, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

Campaign notebook:
“But even if the House voted to impeach, Trump needs only 34 Senate Republicans to keep his office. (It takes 67 votes to remove a sitting president.) Trump’s standing with Senate Rs is sky high, especially after last night,” Axios notes.

Read More

Posted on November 7, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

All the Election Day action will be on Twitter today; follow along!
–
Current Democratic Mood.

Read More

Posted on November 6, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

“Since tomorrow is political journalism’s Game Day, we talked with three of the cable stars of election night about how they prep,” Axios reports.
Game Day for political journalists? In a sense, because we get a “final score.” But really? All journos really do on Election Day – at least television anchors – is sit around and try desperately to fill time until results roll in. It’s not exactly heavy lifting. For journalists doing their job right, the tougher part is the reporting that precedes Election Day.
But yeah, I guess in a narrow sense it’s Game Day. For everyone.
Except, also, it’s not a game.

Read More

Posted on November 5, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

For completists, there was no column on Friday.
“The Field Museum is a place of learning, but [Thursday], the museum learned a lesson of its own about offering deals to election voters,” RedEye reports.
“Deals and discounts for people who can flash ‘I voted’ stickers or wristbands are common, but they’re technically not legal. So while you might see smaller, scattered deals on food or drink throughout Chicago, the Field Museum’s offer for free admission to anyone who votes caught some unwanted attention from a local official. The museum had to revoke the offer.

“The intention is golden. But under the law, you can’t offer anything of value in connection with registering to vote or voting,” Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“Later Thursday afternoon, the Field Museum decided to go gratis for Tuesday, Nov. 6, anyway, offering free admission for all Illinois residents, regardless of whether or not they vote.”

Read More

Posted on November 3, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

Ugh, sometimes I feel like this site and this column have become so lame, I mean, I know we’re far from the glory days, but I try to maintain some level of respectability. And the truth is, I still think a lot of what I do in this column is underappreciated – though shoutout to the fine folks who recently contributed donations to help keep me going. I can’t thank y’all enough.
All of which is to say that I had a doctor’s appointment today and I just got back – it’s about 3 p.m. – so I’m just going to post the bottom half of stuff and start working on tomorrow’s column, when I can hopefully deliver some meat.
*
Why did my doctor’s visit take so long? Well, they had to draw blood, and the (awesome) nurse couldn’t find a vein, which got me talking about my fascination with Intervention and the veins of junkies (which is not me, by the way), and then they didn’t want to poke the fuck out of me so they sent me to the hospital to have their lab take the blood instead. And boy did they take it. Filled up a half dozen vials, I bet. “Is this thing still going?” I said when I realized there was still something stuck in my arm. “Yeah, they ordered a lot of tests.” (Don’t tell mom.)

Read More

Posted on November 1, 2018