By Steve Rhodes
1. God bless Mark Grace.
2. From Pat Quinn’s State of the State address: “[My father] taught me always to work hard, treat people with dignity, don’t call people names, be honest and trustworthy. That, to me, is what Illinois is all about, our state, the Land of Lincoln. The people of our state, they’re the best of the best. We’re the pride of our nation. We can accomplish great things if we work together.”
We’re the pride of the nation? In what universe? Doesn’t Quinn watch TV? Has his staff kept him in the dark about just how he became governor?
*
Rich Miller writes:
“He regularly refers to Dan Hynes as an ‘ankle biter,’ is running a TV commercial right now that pretty much flat-out lies about his own record and distorts reality about his opponent, and yet everyone else is supposed to play nice.”
*
The State Of The State Is Inept.
3. “Mayor Richard Daley today defended Chicago Board of Education President Michael Scott’s use of a school district credit card to pay for a trip to Copenhagen to lobby for the city’s Olympics bid,” the Tribune reported in November.
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” the mayor said.
*
“Charles Flowers, the beleaguered suburban regional school superintendent, brazenly used his taxpayer-funded credit cards for personal expenses and doled out cash advances to his sister and girlfriend, whom he placed on his payroll, State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said Thursday,” the Tribune reports today.
Mayor?
4. Rasmussen: 43% Not Sure Which Party to Trust On Ethics Issues
“Voters continue to trust Republicans more than Democrats on most of the key electoral issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, but they are more uncertain than ever on which party to trust when it comes to government ethics and corruption. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that voters rank government ethics second only to the economy in terms of importance, with 79% who see the issue as very important.”
It’s just so funny. Every couple of years one party will be enveloped in scandal and voters will turn to the other. And then the other party will be enveloped in scandal and voters will turn back. And each party will use a slogan such as “Had Enough?” to aid the process. But the thing is, both parties are corrupt. Both use the same tactics. Both lie, cheat and steal.
And let me ask you: Has President Obama done anything – anything – to change our political culture by changing the way the White House, first, acts and the Democratic Party he heads, second? Wasn’t that his great promise?
It’s always business as usual in America. In Illinois (thanks, Pat!). In Chicago.
Party politics is a dead end.
5. Got caught up with the last two Jersey Shore episodes last night. Tremendous. But that doesn’t mean I approve of this. Although the opportunities for heckling and/or gonzo reporting are tempting.
6. “The source went on to explain that while SuBo was waiting to board a flight to Chicago, she suddenly grabbed a cleaning product out of a janitor’s cart and used it as a fake microphone. After SuBo started singing into her make-shift mic, an airport employee asked her to put the crazy on mute. That’s when SuBo started running through the terminal screaming, ‘I’ve escaped, I’ve escaped!’ Basically, SuBo was re-enacting the first time all of us dropped acid.”
SuBo is Susan Boyle.
7. “Just two in five U.S. adults (43%) say they read a daily newspaper, either online or in print almost every day,” Harris Polls reports. “Just over seven in ten Americans (72%) say they read one at least once a week while 81% read a daily newspaper at least once a month. One in ten adults (10%) say they never read a daily newspaper.” (via paidContent)
8. “One of Popeyes’ Louisiana Kitchens’ top five franchisees, John Brodersen, has returned to his roots in Chicago as owner of the same Popeyes restaurant where he began his career more than two decades ago.”
9. “Chgo Trib Wants ‘Reform,’ Yet Endorses Machine Candidates.”
10. “As we reported earlier, the city is accepting applications for Taste of Chicago vendors (completed applications are due Jan. 29),” Phil Vettel reports. “But to encourage interest among restaurants that would be participating for the first time, the Taste is offering this additional inducement: The Taste will refund the $4,000 fee to one new vendor this year.”
Anyone up for manning a Beachwood Beer & Brats booth?
11. “The stars of Thoroughbred horse racing will glitter brightly Monday night as the horsey set descends upon the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills for the 39th Annual Eclipse Awards, the game’s own Academy Awards,” our very own Thomas Chambers writes.
“More than just the annual self-congrats, this year’s quest for the small, heavy statue of the legendary 18th century racehorse and stallion, Eclipse, has reached epic proportions as voters must choose their Horse of the Year from two females (!), both with amazing achievements and historic deeds. Rachel Alexandra. Zenyatta.
“The equines will be sending their Sasheen Littlefeathers to accept the awards on their behalf, but don’t think it’s a Brando protest sort of thing. They’re horses. They don’t care.”
12. A look back at Bloodshot Records’ nine releases of 2009.
–
The Beachwood Tip Line: Be the inspiration.
Posted on January 15, 2010