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The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“The race for the governor’s seat is heating up; this time over controversial investments,” WCIA-TV reports.

Economic interest reports filed by each candidate in November reveal Governor Bruce Rauner and Democratic candidates, J.B. Pritzker and Chris Kennedy, each have financial ties with big oil and gas companies.
It’s no surprise candidates with deep pockets and family inheritances have an extensive and elaborate list of investments but Sen. Daniel Biss (D-Evanston) says ties with “dirty oil companies” are a red flag. He’s calling on his opponents to divest.
Reports show Pritzker and Kennedy each have investments in companies like Exxon Mobile, Exelon and Chevron. Kennedy also listed the largest tobacco company in the country.
Paperwork filed also reveals both Rauner and Pritzker have money invested in a company responsible for constructing the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline.

This is a legitimate line of inquiry; these investments are one way these candidates build upon their wealth, in some cases profiting off harm to others. None of them, apparently, have had the social conscience to weed out bad actors from their portfolios, or, conversely, don’t consider the likes of Exxon as problematic.
See also: Confirmed: Exxon Knew.

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Posted on January 9, 2018

The [Monday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“In an interview on WJOL radio in Joliet last week, host Kevin Kollins asked [Gov. Bruce] Rauner what he does to ‘kick back’ in the winter when it’s not Harley-riding weather,” Bernie Schoenburg reports for the Springfield State Journal-Register.

“One of my favorite things to do is I like to go skatin,'” Rauner said.

Skatin’.

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Posted on January 8, 2018

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Three people in Cook County have died due to cold exposure since mid-November, including a 62-year-old man found in a vehicle Tuesday morning in the Austin neighborhood,” the Sun-Times reports.
“With temperatures not expected to eclipse the mid-teens until after New Year’s Day, Chicago’s homeless shelters have become packed with people looking for a respite from the extreme conditions.

“It’s life and death out there,” said Stephen Welch, director of development at the Pacific Garden Mission in Pilsen. “I talked to a couple of guys who thought they were going to die today. They could barely move.”

From the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless’s Twitter feed:

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Posted on December 28, 2017

The [Wednesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“In a community that once billed itself as the most industrialized city in America, elected leaders for the second time this year have voiced opposition to a proposed industrial permit,” the Northwest Indiana Times reports out of East Chicago.
“The City Council last month voted 8-0 to adopt a resolution opposing an air permit application for Indiana Harbor Coke Co. without ‘an aggressive schedule of compliance.’ Mayor Anthony Copeland signed the resolution.”
It’s a start.

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Posted on December 27, 2017

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

Here’s something I want to get off my chest before the year ends: The plethora of stories about a Moe’s Tavern pop-up failed to mention that Chicago already has a permanent Moe’s Tavern.
(Okay, I don’t know if all the stories failed to mention that, because I didn’t do my usual due diligence of digging into the archives on this one, but I’m pretty sure from my general impression based upon my reading experience that the failure was widespread, if not total!)

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Posted on December 26, 2017

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