By Steve Rhodes
So to follow up on Monday’s post: It turns out former WLS-TV anchor Linda Yu is an investor in the group that bought the Sun-Times last summer.
So that’s at least one woman.
Posted on April 3, 2018
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
“Until women hold 50 percent of elective offices in Illinois – and Congress, for that matter – the energy and effort to get more women voted in cannot let up,” the Sun-Times editorial board said in a long editorial Friday.
This is a big, fat meatball right over the plate; you’d think there would be enough self-awareness and experience on the paper’s editorial board to recognize the need for self-disclosure and a mea culpa within this piece. Something like, “We recognize we are failing too, and promise to do a better job.” Then again, you wouldn’t expect something like that.
To wit:
I don’t know the makeup of the Sun-Times’ newsroom – I couldn’t find a staff list on their website – but the top four editors are all men.
I also couldn’t find (in the time I allotted myself, at least) a complete list of the investor group that bought the Sun-Times last summer, but among the publicly named, the chairman is a man, the CEO is a man, the corporate restructuring expert is a man, and the biggest individual investor is a man.
In fact, all the members of the investment group shown in this photo are men.
So when Chicago Federation of Labor president Jorge Ramirez, the aforementioned chairman, said at the time of the purchase that “The little guy won here,” he really meant it. At least the “guy” part.
Posted on April 2, 2018
The Weekend Desk Report
By Steve Rhodes
Tweets I did not push the button on Saturday night:
“Hey Sister Jean, where’s your God now?”
“Sometimes God says No.”
“I guess Loyola was actually on a Mission from Dog.”
Posted on April 1, 2018
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
Heading over to my Bucktown timeshare today for another Weekend at Benny’s.
For those not in-the-know, that means I’m pet-sitting the World’s Greatest Cat again at the condo he shares with my friend Dr. Nick and his lovely wife, Julie. I get to “share” it a few times a year and watch over Benny when Nick and Julie travel. It’s like Uber for extremely part-time, exclusive cat-sitters with one client who is actually a friend who leaves beer in the fridge for me.
Now, I’m not really a pet person. And I’m definitely not one of Crazy Cat People who basically own the Internet. But Benny is a real piece of work.
Posted on March 28, 2018
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
My mood is like Chicago’s weather, gloomy but very relaxing
— DaniEl (@Dvnnielsmvlls) March 27, 2018
Posted on March 27, 2018
The [Monday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
On December 6th, the Loyola Ramblers upset the nation’s No. 5-rated team, Florida, in Gainesville, 65-59.
At least it was deemed an upset then; now we know better as the Ramblers are one of four teams left vying for a national championship.
“None of Loyola’s current players were alive the last time the Ramblers upset a top-5 team,” NCAA.com’s Andy Wittry wrote then. “That was in 1984, when Loyola (IL) beat No. 4 Illinois 63-62 in a season in which the Ramblers advanced to the Sweet 16, where they fell to No. 1 seed and national runner-up Georgetown.”
In fact, Wittry led with that.
Posted on March 26, 2018
The Weekend Desk Report
By Steve Rhodes
“So many people are expected to head to Washington, D.C., on Saturday morning that the March for Our Lives might turn into a standing room-only rally. That will make the student leaders on stage even more important to the success of the protest. The names of those who will be giving speeches have been released, and notably, the March for Our Lives speakers will all be younger than 20 years old,” Joseph D. Lyons writes for Bustle
“They’ll be joined by performers – some of whom do qualify as adults – but the activists taking the mic are all 19 or younger. The top headliners are the Marjory Stoneman Douglas students who organized the event in a response to the Valentine’s Day shooting at their high school. Theirs are names you’ll recognize: Emma Gonzalez, David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and more.
“In addition to the MSD students, there will be others from across the country who have been affected by gun violence. A number of them are from Chicago, including Alex King, a senior at Chicago’s North Lawndale College Prep High School. His nephew was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2017.”
Posted on March 24, 2018
The [Thursday] Papers
The [Wednesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
What a night.
He was running unopposed, but still: more than 20,000 Illinois Republicans decided to vote yesterday for the former leader of the American Nazi Party, still an active Holocaust denier, rather than leave that race blank. https://t.co/sVSyRvN5mC
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) March 21, 2018
Posted on March 21, 2018
The [Tuesday] Papers
By Steve Rhodes
Now we wait.
* Illinois 2018 Primary Campaign Notebook 1: MAGA, Mendacity & Moby Mike.
* Illinois 2018 Primary Campaign Notebook 2: Chris Kennedy’s Confusing Campaign.
* Illinois 2018 Primary Campaign Notebook 3: Who Is Biss? Pensions, Passes & Pussy Riot.
* Illinois 2018 Primary Campaign Notebook 4: The Plutocratic Pol.
* Illinois 2018 Primary Campaign Notebook 5: Pat Quinn, Really?
* Illinois 2018 Primary Campaign Notebook 6: The 3 Worst People On The Ballot.
* The Political Odds.
Posted on March 20, 2018