By Steve Rhodes
1. “It’s pretty stunning stuff.”
– Former federal prosecutor Patrick Collins on the latest bombshell to come out of the Rezko trial, on Chicago Tonight last night
2. “Take care of the U.S. attorney? That’s so Illinois Combine, isn’t it?”
– John Kass, who’s been right all along
3. So it was a tree trimmer!
4. The city now says it can finish its troubled O’Hare expansion project by 2014, which experts find unlikely.
“In any case, the revised timetable for O’Hare represents an abrupt about-face,” the Tribune reports. “Mayor Richard Daley targeted 2013 to finish the reconfiguration of O’Hare when he announced the project in 2001 . . . But four years ago, the city abandoned the 2013 completion date and left the deadline open-ended because of delays, litigation with the expansion opponents and unexpected complications.”
5. Despite previous passionate statements vowing reform, Daley is now just plain giving up on vetting firms that get city contracts set aside for minority- and women-owned firms to make sure that they are in fact owned by minorities and women.
6. Garfield minus Garfield.
7. Impeach Blago.
8. “Stroger Swears His Top Aides To Secrecy Forever.”
9. “The Mosquito, sold for $1,500 in the U.S. as Kids Be Gone, emits a high-pitched noise that teens – but not adults- can hear.”
Oh, and Todd Stroger can hear it too. Let’s get one!
10. Crackeroni and Cheese.
11. “‘Fast-food properties remain the single-tenant investment of choice, with healthy sales forecast for 2008 as rising prices push consumers to more affordable dining options,’ said Marcus & Millichap, the commercial real estate brokerage firm.”
– Tribune, (last item)
12. I guess this means we won’t be seeing Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port dispatched here to line up runway models.
13. “What gives you the credentials to start an event of such magnitude?”
– Among the FAQs on The Official Website of Chicago Fashion Week
14. “Mark DeRosa said the recent WGN special celebrating 60 years of televising Cubs baseball should be must-see TV for all his teammates,” the Tribune reports (last item).
“I stayed at home the other night and watched that Cubs Forever show,” he said. “Every once in a while teams should be forced to watch stuff like that and realize how much it means to the city and to the ex-players that have been here, and how lucky we are to get a chance to put on the uniform and play in front of these people.”
Hey Mark, any chance you can take Brian Urlacher out for a few beers and rap?
15. “al-Qaeda Accuses Iran Of Spreading Rumors.”
Next, on The Hills.
16. 50 Cent is for Hillary, but Usher is for Barack.
17. “The gigantic home that supplanted the old Artful Dodger bar in the Bucktown neighborhood can now be yours -if you’re willing to pay more than $3 million,” the Tribune reports.
“The new home at 1734 W. Wabansia Street was built thanks to a controversial zoning change granted by then-Ald. Ted Matlak (32nd) . . . Complaints about those houses and other new teardown homes that dwarf their neighbors likely contributed to Matlak’s re-election defeat last year.
“Even in defeat, Matlak defended his decision at 1734 W. Wabansia, saying he granted the zoning change because the homebuilder ‘wanted to live next to a childhood friend.'”
So that’s what “Zoned for CF” means.
“If that was his motivation, then builder Wally Kos since has experienced a change of heart. The home went on the market April 18 at an asking price of $3.249 million, according to the Multiple Listing Service.”
You, Wally Kos, are today’s Worst Person in Chicago.
18. “Obama’s Indiana operation, meanwhile, spent most of Wednesday warming its engine,” Kristen McQueary writes. “Maybe they drowned their losses in beer the night before. By 11 a.m., an aide at Obama’s Chicago headquarters knew nothing about his schedule or the campaign’s events for Indiana.
“Me: Where is the senator today?
“Aide: He was in Indiana this morning, and I think he is on his way to D.C.
“Me: Is there a particular vote he’s going there for?
“Aide: I don’t know.
“Me: Where will he be tomorrow?
“Aide: Nothing is finalized.
“Me: I thought I read that he was launching a bus tour of Indiana.
“Aide: There was talk of planning one. That information was not confirmed with the campaign.
“Me: When will he be heading to Indiana?
“Aide: That’s not confirmed. Nothing is finalized.
“Me: Do you have a headquarters in Indiana?
19. Discovering The Abandoned CTA (via CTA Tattler).
20. Does Michael McDonald buy his shirts at the same store as Jeremiah Wright?
The Beachwood Tip Line: Mess with the bull.
Posted on April 24, 2008