By Steve Rhodes
The Beachwood will return on Wednesday, unless I either die of exhaustion or the congestion in my sinuses finally blows my head off. Either would be fine with me.
(Also: fire sale!)
The [Monday] Papers
“Seven-year-old Aaron Pointer spoke his last words from the back of an ambulance,” Natasha Korecki writes for the Sun-Times today.
“‘I . . . am . . . tired . . . of . . . breathing,’ the asthmatic boy gasped, taking breaths between each word, according to a nurse’s report.
“From the front seat of the ambulance, worried mother Sharese Pointer waited and waited, hoping at any minute they’d arrive at the hospital.
“It would be the third hospital in 11 hours that her son was taken to after he suffered an asthma attack at home early in the morning of Sept. 13, 2010.”
Go read the whole heartbreaking story.
Culture Wars
“Seven former Chicago aldermen – William J.P. Banks, Charles Bernardini, Mark Fary, Terry Gabinski, Patrick Huels, Terry Peterson and Miguel Santiago – are cashing in on their clout, lobbying their former City Council colleagues and other city officials to approve projects for developers and other businessmen,” the Sun-Times reports.
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See also: Skunk Population Jumps In Illinois
Mystery GOP Google Debate Theater
This transcript edited for clarity and comedy.
Pack Attack
“The Green Bay Packers have too much firepower for the Chicago Bears,” Pete Dougherty writes for the Green Bay Press-Gazette
“So when the Bears failed to turn this NFC North Division rivalry into a slowdown game Sunday, they simply couldn’t match the Packers at the positions that matter most.
“Quarterback? No contest, Aaron Rodgers over Jay Cutler. Receiver? The Bears don’t have anyone who can make plays like Greg Jennings or a difference maker with the talent of tight end of Jermichael Finley, whose three touchdown catches announced his return to a prime role in coach Mike McCarthy’s scheme
“No, when the Packers shut down Bears halfback Matt Forte, all that was left was determining the margin, which the Packers held at 27-17 in front of 62,339 spectators at Soldier Field, the same stadium where the Packers won the NFC championship eight months ago.”
Or, as our very own Jim Coffman writes today:
“There isn’t anything special about the Bears right now . . . The Packers on the other hand, couldn’t be more special. They’re so special they make you want to puke.”
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“We should have won by a larger margin that we did,” Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji said.
Ouch. But true.
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On the other hand, it’s one game. And the last two games are two games. Atlanta was one game It’s not that yesterday’s loss isn’t worrying for the Bears, it’s just that it’s a long season and we all (should) know by now not to get too high after wins and too low after losses.
Gas-X
“More than one-fourth of Illinois gas station operators have underreported the amount of fuel they sell to the public, allowing them to pocket millions of dollars in sales tax owed to the state,” the Tribune reports.
“The three-year [state] investigation began with tips from distributors, who also operated gas stations and couldn’t fathom how their rivals were selling fuel so cheaply.”
Radio Daze
“The city has spent nearly $23 million on a new digital communications system that still doesn’t work after more than five years – a shortcoming back in the spotlight following a federal report that criticizes the Chicago Fire Department for not having enough radios during a December fire that killed two firefighters,” the Tribune reports.
“The switch to a better communications system has been delayed since Motorola got a no-bid contract in March 2006 under what the city’s chief internal watchdog has said were questionable circumstances.”
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“The Chicago inspector general says that top officials of the Office of Emergency Management and Communication ignored the rules and simply handed out a $23 million contract for new digital radio equipment to a vendor of their own choosing,” Chuck Goudie reported for ABC 7 last October.
“Even ‘more troubling,’ says the inspector general, city officials then falsified documents to cover their tracks.”
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From the Tribune:
“Chicago, which makes do with its half-century-old analog system, is the largest city in the country that doesn’t equip every firefighter with a radio.”
Fake Plastic Trees
“New Trier High School’s finance committee will soon discuss whether to embark on what could become an approximately $3 million project to install artificial turf on two athletic fields at its Northfield campus,” TribLocal Winnetka/Northfield reports.
Maybe they’ll have to shorten the school day so the fields get enough use to justify the expense.
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Yeah, well, every other comment I tried seemed too obvious.
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“After his family moved to Wilmette, [Rahm Emanuel] attended public schools: Romona School, Locust Junior High School, and New Trier West High School.”
Yeah, well, some schools are less public than others.
Bully Pulpit
One In Three CPS Students Bullied.
And two of three CPS teachers.
Area Men Might Be Millionaires
Tune in this week to see!
The Weekend In Chicago Rock
Jam-packed.
Looking For Ozzie
The choice is clear.
Dead Daisies
I wish my hair was like the leaves.
Programming Note
I’m back behind the bar tonight at the venerable Beachwood Inn. Stop in for a cold brew and witty lamentations.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Lamenting.
Posted on September 27, 2011