By Steve Rhodes

“Megyn Kelly’s slow-motion exit from NBC News has turned into an all-out legal battle,” CNN reports.
“NBC is said to be reluctant to pay out the rest of her three-year contract, which is reportedly worth $69 million. And Kelly is said to be reluctant to sign away her rights to speak freely.
“Sources confirmed to CNN that one of the sticking points involves something called a non-disparagement clause, which would prohibit Kelly from speaking ill of NBC in the future.”
I’m not exactly a Megyn Kelly fan, but I hope – and we all should hope – she holds firm on the rejecting a non-disparagement clause. Silencing a former employee is bad enough, but when that former employee is, well, not exactly a journalist but a media person, it’s even worse. Shame on NBC – but then what else is new.

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Posted on October 31, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

Chicago journalist Jamie Kalven appears on the latest episode of Ken Davis’s Chicago Newsroom with a fairly stunning anecdote.
From Davis’s newsletter write-up:

Kalven tells that Toni Preckwinkle played a critical role in bringing the “sixteen shots” narrative into the public consciousness. He tells us that he’d asked her directly if she could find any details about the Laquan autopsy, which had been performed by the Medical Examiner’s Office, under her supervision. Here’s what he told us on this week’s show.
“I was actually going out for a run in the evening, a cold December night, snow falling and she drove up alongside me and beckoned me into her car . . . As I recall it she didn’t even say hello. She immediately said, “16 shots front and back,” and that was the first time I heard those words and it continued to reverberate. And then not too long after that I was able to FOIA the autopsy.”

That, my friends, is a moment – one I don’t remember having been previously disclosed.
It feels like we still don’t know everything about the Laquan McDonald case.

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Posted on October 30, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

For completists, there was no column on Friday. Weekend Desk Reports have also become sporadic. Sorry.
“This week for the first time, Illinois is issuing every public school in the state one of four designations: exemplary, commendable, underperforming, or lowest performing,” WBEZ reports.
“Hundreds of schools will be assigned those bottom two ratings of ‘underperforming’ or ‘lowest performing.’ But state education officials stress that the new labels aren’t a punishment, and struggling schools will get access to resources and extra help to improve.”
I also have a new rating system, and I label this plan “underperforming.”

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Posted on October 29, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

“A Chicago Reporter investigation has found a troubling pattern of Chicago police officers charging people they’ve assaulted with aggravated battery to a police officer, aggravated assault of a police officer, or resisting arrest. Defense attorneys call these ‘cover charges’ and say it’s a way to cover up bad behavior or justify their excessive use of force.”
For example:
“Had Laquan McDonald somehow survived the volley of 16 bullets fired by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, he would have been charged with aggravated assault of a police officer.
“The charges would have been based on reports from officers at the scene on the night of Oct. 20, 2014, who said McDonald raised the knife over his shoulder in ‘an aggressive manner,’ forcing the officer to shoot the 17-year-old in self-defense. Those reports were refuted by the infamous dashcam video and three of the officers who filed them are set to go on trial next month for conspiracy, obstruction of justice and official misconduct.
“That trial and Van Dyke’s conviction earlier this month for second-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm are exceedingly rare. Much more often, it’s the person on the other end of police force that ends up arrested, charged and convicted.”

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Posted on October 25, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

“A judge who was caught on video apparently dropping a handgun in a Chicago courthouse has been acquitted of carrying a concealed weapon in a prohibited area,” AP reports.
In other words, a judge who was caught on video apparently dropping a handgun in a Chicago courthouse has been acquitted of apparently dropping a handgun in a Chicago courthouse.
“Will County Circuit Judge Edward Burmila ruled Tuesday that it wasn’t clear from the surveillance video that the object that fell from Cook County Judge Joseph Claps’ jacket was a firearm.”
If it wasn’t a gun, what was it?

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Posted on October 24, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

Inbox, from phil@cfaevents:
“CFA Events has teamed up with businessman, television personality, philanthropist and Chicago’s own Marcus Lemonis for a multi-year sponsorship of the Chicago Thanksgiving Parade. As part of the Camping World Holdings family, the leading outdoor and camping retailer, the title sponsorship will be held by Uncle Dan’s Outdoor Store, a specialty retailer of outdoor gear, apparel and camping supplies.
“The Uncle Dan’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be broadcast live nationally on WGN America and in Chicagoland on WGN9.”

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Posted on October 23, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

I haven’t solicited donations in a long time, and I hate doing so, but if you are so inclined, now would be a good time. Thanks.
–
Wet Governor
“In his first term leading one of the nation’s most racially diverse states, Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s appointees to government boards and cabinet positions were overwhelmingly white and male, a WBEZ investigation has found.

Earlier this week, Rauner boasted of commanding a highly diverse workforce in his administration and for his re-election effort. He sought to contrast that record with the discrimination lawsuit filed by campaign staffers for JB Pritzker, his Democratic challenger in next month’s election for governor.
On Wednesday, Rauner said, “Our administration has a huge number, and I’ve appointed many African-Americans to key boards, key leadership positions in our departments, and many Latinos as well.”
But WBEZ’s analysis of Rauner’s own state employment reports reveals that blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are far scarcer in the Rauner administration than in the overall population of Illinois.

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Posted on October 22, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

“Records indicate that between 2005 and 2015, the board voted about 58 percent of the time to allow an officer to keep his or her job even though the police superintendent was seeking to fire them. The board either found the officer not guilty or reduced the punishment,” WBEZ reports.
“In 2016 and 2017, that number plunged to just 20 percent, a phenomenon an expert said might be due to the release of the Laquan McDonald video. But so far this year, the board has returned to trend, voting to retain officers about 64 percent of the time.”
The report doesn’t mention it, but Lori Lightfoot was the police board president from June 2015 to May 2018. Perhaps that played a role.

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Posted on October 18, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

You’d think the (major) candidates for governor have enough money to hire people to properly fill out a survey . . .

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Posted on October 17, 2018

By Steve Rhodes

Whatever.

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Posted on October 16, 2018