By Steve Rhodes
“Gov. Pat Quinn Friday turned to a former football player named Urlacher to fill a vacancy on a state personnel panel – only it wasn’t Chicago Bears great Brian Urlacher,” the Sun-Times reports.
“It was his brother, the newly elected mayor of north suburban Mettawa, Casey Urlacher, whom Quinn tabbed for a $25,000-a-year slot on the state Civil Service Commission.
“That panel handles, among other personnel-related functions, disciplinary cases involving state employees and appeals whenever a state worker believes he or she has been wrongfully terminated or laid off.
“Urlacher, 33, was elected to the Lake County village’s mayorship last April. He participated in training camp for the Bears in 2003 and went on to play semi-professional football for the Peoria Pirates, Chicago Rush and Nashville Kats.”
So he’s eminently qualified.
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By the way, Casey won the Mettawa mayoralty just six months ago by a whopping 156-99 vote. So he’s earned fewer votes in his short-lived public service career than most homecoming kings.
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By the way, his new civil service commission job pays $25,000 more than his job as mayor.
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Ironically, the Civil Service Commission describes itself as “an integral part of the State of Illinois system of personnel administration based on merit principles.”
Why is that ironic? Because Urlacher won the Mettawa mayoralty job on a resume of three months in the Arena League while his opponent was a three-term village trustee with 10 years on the village plan commission and a stint on the building code board of review.
No Wonder The Gold Coast Is So Evil
They didn’t move the cemeteries, they only moved the headstones!
The Quarrymen
“A developer wants to turn more than 320 acres of a southern Chicago suburb into an industrial complex with a quarry, underground mine and asphalt and concrete factories,” the Journal-Gazette & Times-Courier (really) notes.
The developer sure isn’t very popular, though.
Old Style Politics
“The federal government shutdown is giving some folks one more reason to cry in their beers: An obscure but powerful arm of the Treasury Department has stopped approving new brews,” USA Today reports.
And with budtenders not quite here yet, no wonder folks are turning to krokodil.
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Has anyone noticed that the nation’s joke-telling has suffered since new beers stopped being approved?
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The Weekend Desk Tip Line: For your approval.
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The College Football Report: We’re With Sark (aka We Told You So).
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The Sound Opinions Weekend Listening Report: “Folk-soul balladeer Willis Earl Beal performs live in the studio. Later hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot review the latest from southern stars Kings of Leon.”
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The CAN TV Weekend Viewing Report: CAN TV brings you local, relevant issues from Chicago’s neighborhoods and communities. See what’s happening around the city in education, the arts, government, cultural events, social services and community activities.
Community Forum: Early Childhood Education
Dr. Teri N. Talan of National Louis University discusses the importance of early childhood education and how parents and communities can make a positive impact.
Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on CAN TV21.
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Community Forum: Gads Hill Center
Marciela Garcia shares Gads Hill Center’s 100-year history of supporting learning in the Pilsen, North Lawndale, Little Village and Back of the Yards neighborhoods.
Saturday at 8 p.m. on CAN TV21.
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Wrongful Conviction of Women
Scholars explore how wrongful convictions occur in the criminal justice system, including the personal experience of Nicole Harris, who served seven years for killing her son before being found innocent of the crime.
Sunday at 9 a.m. on CAN TV21.
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Town Hall: Stigma and Mental Illness
Parents and allies of children with disabilities share how the stigmas and preconceptions about disabilities can create barriers as they try to attend school, access housing and find employment.
Sunday at 10:30 a.m. on CAN TV21.
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Speaking Out for Climate Justice
Activist Tim DeChristopher and writer Terry Tempest Williams discuss using nonviolent activism and powerful prose to galvanize the environmentalist movement and protect natural resources.
Sunday at 1 p.m. on CAN TV21.
Posted on October 12, 2013