Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Mayor Rahm Emanuel is counting on speed cameras installed around Chicago schools and parks to bankroll $70 million worth of children’s programs this year,” Fran Spielman “reports” for the Sun-Times.
I guess she doesn’t read the Tribune.


Obama-Go-Go
“With less than a month remaining before a March 31 deadline, about 4.2 million Americans have signed up for insurance policies offered under President Barack Obama’s health care law, including nearly 114,000 in Illinois, according to federal data released Tuesday,” the Tribune reports.
“The enrollment figures show that the pace of new sign-ups in Illinois slowed in February, suggesting that the state will fall far short of its 2014 enrollment goal of 300,000. To reach that number, more than twice as many people need to sign up for plans in March than in the previous five months combined.”
In related news, Obama will appear on Chic-a-Go-Go next week.
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See also: Obama’s Main Claim Rated False (Again).
Illinois Dixiecrats
“A spokesman for Toni Berrios said last week she won’t give any more interviews before the election because she was ‘pretty shaken’ when a man allegedly harassed her as she campaigned on March 1,” the Sun-Times reports.
With all due sensitivity to alleged harassment . . . What? How does this make sense? I was harassed while campaigning, therefore I will not speak to reporters?
It gets worse – much, much worse.
“While the incumbent took a vow of silence, other powerful figures made themselves heard for her.
“This week, voters in the district received the latest in a series of ads alleging that Guzzardi favors going easy on sex offenders.
“The new mailer adds an odd racial twist to this line of attack. It features a photo of a young white woman with manly hands clasping her bare shoulders [link mine]. You can’t see the face of the person whose hands they are, but they’re obviously not the hands of a white person.
“‘Will Guzzardi can’t think of a reason to monitor sexual predators . . . but she can,’ the ad reads.
“The mail piece was paid for by Democratic Majority, a Madigan-led political fund. Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said Tuesday he had not seen the ad and declined my offer to e-mail a copy to him, saying only that Guzzardi has ‘a big problem explaining his position’ on whether sex offenders should be required to register.”
For godsakes, don’t e-mail me that ad!
Brown works for the chairman of the state Democratic Party. Don’t we have child labor laws in this country?
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I just e-mailed the ad to Brown and the Party. I goofed, though; I should have put “Re: Where To Make The Drop” in the subject line to ensure it got opened.
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“The attacks are based on an article that Guzzardi wrote for his college newspaper in 2006. He says the comment was taken out of context, doesn’t reflect his campaign’s stance and is an attempt by the incumbent to play off voter fears.”
Rich Miller noted on Capitol Fax blog that Guzzardi links to the column on his campaign website.
That link is no longer operational, which is a mistake on Guzzardi’s part (and on the part of The Brown Daily Herald) if he got it taken down. It’s dishonest, unethical and makes it look like he’s got something to hide – giving veracity to Berrios’s heinous claim.
Besides, there’s always the cached version.
The column wasn’t about sex offenders; they are only mentioned in the one sentence you see. The column was about continuing to punish those convicted of crimes – including petty misdemeanors – long after they have paid their debt to society.
Maybe I should send it to Brown – he probably hasn’t read it.
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“The same political fund paid a Madigan aide, Mark Bretz, for helping Toni Berrios’ campaign in 2012. Cook County records show Joe Berrios hired Bretz in September in the county assessor’s office.”
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In fact . . .
“The most prolific donor to Berrios is the Illinois Democratic Party,” Progress Illinois reports (while noting the use of another bogus mailer; click through).
“Other donors range from the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce to Luis Gutierrez for Congress.”
Do they endorse the Willie Horton-esque mailer? Let’s ask everybody associated with the Berrios campaign.
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Back to the Sun-Times:
“Besides Madigan, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle endorses Toni Berrios for another term.”
Does Preckwinkle also endorse the mailer? I’d be happy to send her a copy if she hasn’t seen it.
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“Gov. Pat Quinn professes neutrality, but a high-ranking Quinn appointee, former 1st Ward Ald. Manny Flores, appears in Toni Berrios campaign literature, urging people to ‘join me in voting’ for her.
“It would be interesting to ask Flores how he plans to vote for Toni Berrios since he moved from the Northwest Side, to the northwest suburbs, after quitting the City Council and joining the Quinn administration. Flores has been registered to vote in Park Ridge, miles from the 39th Illinois House District, since 2012.
“Flores did not return calls seeking comment.”
Flores, you might remember, was the hipster alderman who preceded Joe Moreno.
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Does Quinn endorse the mailer? Or is he neutral? Also, I can send him a copy if he hasn’t seen it.
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Meawhile, Joe Berrios just told his 80 county committeemen that “Old-time, machine-style dirty tricks have no place in modern campaigns.”
So funny.
From the Tribune in 2010:
“Many candidates stretch the truth in those campaign mailers now clogging your mailbox.
“There are candidates who climb still higher on the rickety ladder of falsehoods – to fable, to fiction, even to pure fantasy. Then there’s Joe Berrios . . . ”
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Rahm Repudiated By His Kids’ Teachers
I can send him a copy of this statement if he hasn’t seen it.
Why Josh McCown Chose The Bucs
Another Beachwood Exclusive!
Oreos and Orgasms
In our Random Food Report.
Dear Supreme Court
Please Set Limits On Cell Phone Searches.
Dear Congress
Please End The Illegal TV Station Ownership Of Companies Such As Tribune.
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BeachBook
* Number Of Illinois School Districts In Financial Distress Doubles.
* Drug Company Agrees To Pay $27.6 Million To Settle Allegations Involving Chicago Psychiatrist.
* Watch An Expert Teach A Smug U.S. Senator About Canadian Health Care.
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TweetWood


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The Beachwood Tip Line: Wish it, plan it, do it.

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Posted on March 13, 2014