By Steve Rhodes
Today’s Dem Convention Notebook will appear later today. If you missed yesterday’s, here it is. And now, on to the rest of the day’s news . . .
1. ‘There’s Nothing Left’ Of Old Rush Street As Two Bars Near End.
Except the old part.
2. Cubs On A Mission To Avoid 100 Losses.
But if they don’t make it, there’s always next year.
3. “Navistar International Corp. said it expects 200 workers to be laid off in the fourth quarter and that it may sell ‘non-core businesses’ as it reported a paltry third-quarter profit that nevertheless beat expectations, sending Navistar shares up nearly 10 percent,” Crain’s reports.
Will we get our money back? A reminder:
“WBEZ has learned that some new jobs Navistar promised under an Illinois incentive agreement are coming to the state at the expense of unionized workers in Indiana.
“Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn announced the Navistar incentives last year after the company threatened to pack up its headquarters in west suburban Warrenville and leave the state. The deal committed Illinois to a $64.7 million bundle of tax credits and job-training subsidies for the company. It committed Navistar to moving the headquarters to Lisle, a couple miles east, and to adding 400 full-time Illinois employees.”
Oof, that’s a two-fer for Quinn. First he destroys union jobs – and he’s already in trouble with the unions. Then he doesn’t even get our money’s worth out of yet another crappy corporate tax “incentive” deal.
Then again, no bad deed goes unrewarded.
4. “Northwestern University, looking to bolster is case for replacing old Prentice Women’s Hospital, claims that a majority of Chicago residents would rather see a new medical research facility take over the Streeterville site,” Crain’s reports.
“Seventy-two percent of people who participated in a poll commissioned by the university said they supported the idea – which has been the subject of a furious debate between architects, residents and university administrators. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percent.”
Actually, the margin of error is 100 percent until the university releases its methodology and full results.
*
And if it framed the debate this way, 72 percent isn’t very impressive.
5. Chief Keef’s Deadly Rap War.
6. “A ceiling has collapsed at the Vandalia prison in Southern Illinois forcing administrators there to move prisoners,” WBEZ reports.
“[Eighty-eight] inmates had to be moved to the prison’s gym . . . This is not the first time prisoners have been forced to live in the gym. One former inmate says he stayed there with about 60 men and only one working toilet. There’s no word yet from IDOC on how many working toilets are in the gym now but they say plumbing is ‘adequate.’
“WBEZ has been seeking a visit to the prison but Governor Pat Quinn has denied repeated requests.”
7. Take The Bears And The Over.
8. Brian Urlacher Uses Same Polling Service As Northwestern.
9. “Northern Illinois University paid two senior administrators nearly $80,000 when they resigned while under investigation for misconduct – one for allegedly having a university employee clean his home during work hours, the Tribune has learned.
“The alleged misconduct comes amid other troubling behavior at the DeKalb-based public university. NIU police are conducting a criminal investigation into whether other employees sold scrap materials from university buildings and deposited the proceeds into an unauthorized bank account, using the money as a slush fund for holiday parties, retirement celebrations and similar uses.
“And it comes a year after the Tribune revealed that an NIU administrator assigned students to paint her house as one of the projects during NIU Cares Day, a one-day event in which students volunteer at service organizations in the community.”
Well, to be fair, the students were enrolled in Chicago-Style Politics 101.
10. Buzz Killington Strikes Again.
11. “The Chicago Bears are the eighth-most-valuable NFL franchise for the second straight year, with a total value of nearly $1.2 billion – nearly double its estimated worth nine years ago – according to Forbes’ annual Business of Football report,” Danny Ecker writes for Crain’s.
Good. Can we get our money back now?
12. Lost and Found: Dorian Gray in Chicago.
13. Meet Channel 2’s Kate Sullivan And Her (Incredibly Lacking In Self-Awareness) Mortal Enemy.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Sincerely.
Posted on September 6, 2012