By Steve Rhodes
“Suburban Chicago businessman Ty Warner, who became a billionaire after creating Beanie Babies collectibles, entered a guilty plea Wednesday morning for tax evasion, apologizing in a choked-up voice and telling a U.S. judge that he knew his tax forms weren’t accurate,” the Tribune reports.
“His lawyer said he’ll pay more than $50 million in civil penalties for not disclosing a foreign bank account. And Warner faces up to five years in prison. His sentencing is set for January.
“Prosecutors say he failed to report $24.4 million in income from 1999 to 2007 and failed to pay taxes of about $5 million.
“Warner acknowledged that he told no one of his Swiss bank accounts, not even his accountants.”
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“My first Beanie Baby was Snort the Bull,” Danielle Paquette writes for the Tampa Bay Times.
“He perched on my Chicago grandparents’ television in 1997, a wee homage to Michael Jordan’s then-untouchable basketball team.
“He was, to 8-year-old me, a symbol of hometown and family and comfort. He was there when we gathered to watch NBA championships and Space Jam. He was there to greet me when, years later, I visited from Indianapolis. He was a memory I could cuddle.
“Was he also a collector’s item I could cash in?”
Um, no.
Oh Carothers
“Less than two years after getting out of federal prison where he served time for a public corruption conviction, former West Side alderman Isaac ‘Ike’ Carothers is attempting a political comeback,” the Tribune reports.
“While state law bars Carothers from trying to win back a seat on the Chicago City Council, he’s free to run for the Cook County Board.
“In recent weeks, he has asked at least three current elected officials to back him for the County Board seat now held by Earlean Collins, who represents the Far West Side and nearby suburbs, including Oak Park. Carothers also announced his candidacy at a recent 37th Ward Democratic organization meeting.”
Irony: “He also works for a foundation that helps ex-offenders find jobs.”
Looney Tune
“The call of the common loon is one of the most beautifully haunting sounds in North America,” Bruce Barcott writes for Audubon.
“The bird’s iconic wail is used by mated pairs to keep track of one another in their breeding grounds along the shores of pristine northern lakes.
“This week the loon’s call brought forth an unexpected answer from the deep pockets of a controversial American billionaire.
“On Wednesday, the Ricketts Conservation Foundation awarded a $6.5 million grant to the Maine-based Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) for research projects aimed at saving the loon.”
That’s $750,000 more than Ricketts pays Starlin Castro, though just half of what he pays Edwin Jackson.
Chicago Export
“City council members want more questions answered about a contract with a Chicago-based consultant to review the progress of the city’s delayed ‘smart meter’ project before committing up to $99,000 for the contract,” the Peninsula Daily Times of Washington state reports.
“City council members Tuesday night voted 4-2, with council members Sissi Bruch and Dan Di Guilio the two opposed, to send the staff request for the contract with Chicago-based West Monroe Partners to the city’s Utility Advisory Committee, an advisory body to the City Council, for additional discussion.”
Out-of-town city councils scrutinize Chicago contracts more than ours does.
Grahamwich
“Remember back in September 2012, when Graham Elliot’s two-Michelin-starred, eponymous Chicago restaurant experienced a walkout, leaving just Graham and corporate executive chef Merlin Verrier to run the kitchen till he hired replacements? Merlin’s hour has come at last,” the Braiser reports.
“In a somewhat odd move for the Chicago-based Graham, known for being a rock-nerd, and judging MasterChef, he’s opening his next venture in Rich WASP-ville, CT, also known as Greenwich, and placing Merlin at the helm as executive chef.”
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Elliot: “I’m working on opening a restaurant on the East Coast and exploring opportunities in Vegas. I also just finished a pilot called Covert Kitchens that will air this fall on Spike TV.”
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FYI: MasterChef casting call in Chicago.
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Medill’s Internship Program Is A Royal Scam
I’ve been saying it for, oh, almost 30 years – though for a reason ProPublica ignores.
Dale Deserved It
In The Cub Factor.
Local Music Notebook
Including Molly Hatchet, Spotify, The Double Door, Lydia Loveless, Mahalia Jackson, Ha Ha Tonka, Chief Keef, Robbie Fulks & more!
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Streaming guitars.
Posted on October 2, 2013