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November 30, 2007
Alderman Howard Brookins Jr. of the 21st ward was hit with a lawsuit this week that claims he owes $41,819.18 in back rent for the Loop offices of his law practice. Brookins didn't know about the suit until the Sun-Times contacted him. Sounds like a fun phone call: S-T: Hi,... [continue]
| November 29, 2007
County Commissioner Forrest Claypool mostly stayed out of the fracas this week, but he's still going after Stroger. And he pronounces "patronage" so the first syllable rhymes with "rat." Don't most of us pronounce it so the first syllable rhymes with "rate"? Also...is Mark Suppelsa secretly foxy?... [continue]
Long-time Republican Congressman Henry Hyde died early this morning at Rush University Medical Center. He was 83. Hyde served 32 years in the House before retiring at the end of last session, and he was recently awarded a Medal of Freedom. He's best known for his role as the chairman... [continue]
Everyone's favorite libertarian think tank is taking its show on the road! The Cato Institute is hosting a luncheon with Robert Novak today at the Drake Hotel. Registration starts at 10:30, but you'll want to get there early, as several senior Cato fellows will be addressing the crowd of local... [continue]
November 28, 2007
The Board meeting we went to a few weeks ago was excruciatingly boring, but some parts got cattier than a sorority house during period week. Looks like that was the theme yesterday, too, when things really got ugly at and after the meeting, with Bill Beavers leading the charge. But... [continue]
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November 28, 2007
Chicagoist wasn't the only one reminiscing about Harold Washington this week. With the Cook County Commission deadlocked over the budget, County Commissioner Bill Beavers lashed out at the opposition in a press conference yesterday, saying that if Stroger were white, his budget proposal would pass. “This is a remake of... [continue]
November 26, 2007
Oprah has been doing everything in her colossal and terrifyingly formidable power to see that Obama is elected, but now she's taking it up a notch by going on the campaign trail with him. While she won't be offering everyone in Iowa a new car, she will be stopping there... [continue]
Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the death of Harold Washington. The Chicago of 1983 was very different from the Chicago of 2007: factories were shutting down, and white middle-class homeowners were leaving the city in droves, taking their property taxes and urban stability with them. An alarming upswing in... [continue]
November 25, 2007
It was twenty years ago today that Mayor Harold Washington collapsed at his desk in City Hall. He died of a massive heart attack. In 1983, Washington surprised Chicago by winning the Democratic Primary for Mayor. He won with 36% of the vote, beating out incumbent Mayor Jane M. Byrne... [continue]
November 21, 2007
Using racist slurs and donning a tablecloth and pretending you're in the Klan won't get you fired from your City job. Joseph Annunzio, you're having the best, most inappropriate and offensive week ever! Congrats on retaining your $77K per year gig with the City's Department of Transportation. If the name... [continue]
File this one under "Color Us Surprised": Obama was interested in girls, drank alcohol and experimented with drugs in high school. Obama made a campaign stop at a study hall in Manchester New Hampshire yesterday and answered students' questions. Prior to meeting with the students, Obama unveiled an $18 billion... [continue]
November 20, 2007
Former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar is expected to endorse Rudy Giuliani's presidential candidacy today, according to the Chicago Tribune. The endorsement comes as Giuliani makes several fundraising stops in Illinois. Besides Edgar, he has the backing of former governor Jim Thompson and Illinois Republican House Leader Tom Cross. With the... [continue]
November 16, 2007
When Mike Madigan and Mayor Daley declined Balgojevich's invitation to meet (again) yesterday to try to work out a deal to fund transit, Rick Harris, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, which represents rail workers on the CTA, told the press that "we are about at wits'... [continue]
What happens when the party you believe in, that you dedicate your political career to, takes a turn for the worse? If you're Dennis Hastert, you resign graciously, take your kudos, and become the elder statesman you always knew you could be. Hastert resigned yesterday, bringing to a close an... [continue]
November 15, 2007
With all the investigating and convicting going on these days, the case against the Hispanic Democratic Organization and its leadership hasn't been in the news much lately. With George Ryan out the way, the feds can get back to taking down the Chicago Machine. The first casualty of what will... [continue]
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November 14, 2007
Can Mike Madigan and Rod Blagojevich please, please get a reality show? That way, when they have a "nonproductive" meeting like they did today, we have a full serving of drama to go with our intense disappointment and frustration? Today's meeting, between Blago, Madigan, Mayor Daley and state legislative... [continue]
The 29th Ward Alderman Isaac Carothers sure is entertaining as he explains why he voted in favor of the Mayor's budget and tax plan.... [continue]
November 13, 2007
If you'd like to witness the next time Mayor Daley is at a loss for adjectives, but can't find time in your schedule to go see him speak on the issues live, Chicago Public Radio's got your back. The audio isn't the best on the reporters, but pump up the... [continue]
November 12, 2007
Looks like we're not the only ones with a case of the Mondays: Things aren't looking so great for Blagojevich today, either. Over the weekend, Lt. Governor Pat Quinn blamed Blago for the firing of 17 veterans from security jobs within the Illinois Department of Military Affairs. "The governor proclaimed... [continue]
November 11, 2007
Mayor Daley and the FAA got in a bit of a pissing match over the weekend, with the FAA cooling their jets after a Tribune article published Saturday cited the FAA as stating a 2004 cap on flights would not be lifted after the new runway opened at O’Hare. Flight... [continue]
We're not very good at this rah-rah patriotism stuff sometimes. Especially when it seems like there's so very little to be patriotic about. Day in and day out, we're bombarded with information about our dysfunctional County Board, our crumbling mass-transit system, a stumbling economy, a dismal federal government and a... [continue]
November 8, 2007
Federal authorities must look at Mayor Daley's administration and think he's coated with more teflon than John Gotti with all the aides and "close associates" running afoul of the law. The Feds are investigating eight years of allegations that members of Daley's administration strong-armed Bridgeport property owners into selling their... [continue]
Tuesday we gave you the rundown of who is running for a Green Party nomination in Illinois, but among the candidates, one in particular stands out. Richard B. Mayers, a white supremacist connected with Matt Hale's Creativity Movement is running against Jerome "Jerry" Pohlen in the 3rd Congressional District. This... [continue]
November 6, 2007
With all the mudslinging in the presidential primary and the wrangling in the congressional races here, we almost forgot that the Green Party won a ballot line in Illinois last election. Unlike past elections, where Green candidates struggled to get on and stay on the ballot, this year marks the... [continue]
With his approval rating on par with President Bush and the state languishing without capital funding, Rod Blagojevich sent a letter (PDF) to the four legislative leaders yesterday, inviting them to a "leaders' meeting" in his office this morning. Referencing the mass transit band-aid issued last week, he urged lawmakers... [continue]
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November 1, 2007
Jesse Jackson Jr wants the FEC to tell him whether he can use his campaign funds to help his wife, 7th Ward Alderman Sandi, to unseat Bill "Hog With the Big Nuts" Beavers as ward committeeman. In the advisory opinion request he submitted to the federal commission on October 15,... [continue]