State's Attorney Anita Alvarez replied as expected to a request for a special prosecutor to investigate the death of David Koschman. Five police officers, "gravely concerned for their safety," sued the Sun-Times for publishing lineup photos that were the key reason they closed a 2004 homicide involving Daley nephew Richard "R.J." Vanecko without filing charges. more ›

Photos from a 2004 lineup, long-sought by the Sun-Times, renew scrutiny of an unsolved murder case involving then-Mayor Daley's newphew, Richard "R.J." Vanecko. more ›

Time Out Chicago gives us another reason to swoon for Carol Marin. Turns out she's inked. more ›

It was 30 years ago, almost to the moment of this post, that John Hinckley opened fire on President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. There will be plenty of retrospectives and recaps and mentions of Jodie Foster in the press today (which we're sure she's thrilled about) but only FuzzyMemories can bring that coverage back home to Chicago. more ›

Why does it always seem like, when someone related to Mayor Daley gets caught up in something, it's usually a member of the Vanecko branch of the family tree? The Sun-Times has done some pretty extensive reporting the past two days on the unsolved 2004 death of a young man frequenting the bars along Division Street. David Koschman and his friends left Bar Chicago on Division in 2004 when they got into an altercation with a group of people, including Richard J. "R.J." Vanecko. What is known is that someone in Vanecko's party threw a punch that struck Koschman. Twelve days and two surgeries later, Koschman's family pulled him from life support. The County medical examiner ruled Koschman's death a homicide. But no one was ever charged. more ›

From yesterday's Sun-Times, Carol Marin, in her own inimitable way, tells Springfield Bishop Thomas John Paprocki (pictured) to STFU already about the recently passed civil unions bill. Paprocki, head of the Springfield Diocese, emerged as one of the stronger opponents of the bill and offered a stern warning to Gov. Quinn against signing the bill into law. "(I)f (Quinn) wishes to speak as a Catholic, then he is accountable to Catholic authority, and the Catholic Church does not support civil unions or other measures that are contrary to the natural moral law,” Paprocki wrote last week. more ›

Day 16 in the trial of the Blagojevich Brothers (though the focus has been squarely on Rod thus far) started with former Blago chief-of-staff John Harris still on the stand for a sixth straight day, his second of cross-examination by Team Blago defense attorney Sam Adam, Sr., but included plenty of zingers from Blago directed at others, including Alexi Giannoulias, Jan Schakowsky, and Carol Marin. Oh, and the infamous "fucking golden" tape. Judge Zagel and Team Blago attorneys continued to spar, too, as Zagel shot down a request by the defense to play a tape of their own (but not before going through the motions with the jury out of the room), though the Tribune's Bob Secter said of the battle, "No one should confuse it with Inherit the Wind..." (well played, Bob, well played). In spite of the blocking of these tapes at this time, they will be admissible when Blago takes the stand later in the trial. Before leaving the stand, Harris testified that there had been no discussion about money with Jesse Jackson, Jr. during a December 8, 2008 meeting. more ›

Chicago's journalism elite gathered together Thursday afternoon for yet another group therapy session, this time bringing Carl Bernstein and our beloved editor-in-chief, Marcus Gilmer, into the mix. Covering a sweeping range of topics, the central theme was the future of the news industry. Conclusion? Doom. Oh, and there's no agreeing on life-saving measures. It wasn't that we didn't have the most brilliant minds of the old guard in the conference room at the Newberry Library for the IFC's Make Media Matter series - Bernstein was joined by editors Gerould Kern (Chicago Tribune), Donald Hayner (Chicago Sun-Times), Tran Ha (RedEye) WBBM-TV news director Jeff Kiernan, columnist/editor/host Carol Marin and WVON's Cliff Kelley - it's just that the old guard doesn't know what's going to happen and the new guard, represented only by Marcus and Ha, can't predict the future of their industry. more ›

Jerry Springer more ›

Carol Marin is "a little worried about Chicago being a world-class city," given that that status tends to equal corruption and bullshit. No joke. You know what we're worried about? The phrase "world-class city." The term — which means what exactly? — has been all over the place recently. RTA boss Stephen Schlickman's saying it. A "Chicago Reader driver." An Olypmic committee guy. Edward Keegan. The Sun-Times can't get enough. Mayor Daley says it, that... more ›

Boy, you know it must be bad when Mayor Daley is calling you out on your legislative tactics. In remarks to the press yesterday, Daley called Blagojevich's plans to cut $500 million from the recently passed budget and impose a universal health care plan of his choosing legally questionable and "dangerous." "In short, I'm cutting pork and special-interest spending and, in its place, I'm using the legal authority that I have to expand health care... more ›

Mike Quigley would have you believe that he supports good government for Cook County. He came into office in 1998, the lone reformer on the bloated and corrupt board. By his second term, he found brotherhood: joining forces with Forrest Claypool, Larry Suffriden, and Tony Peraica, they managed to form an alliance and win some victories against John Stroger's Machine. In 2005 he threw his hat in the ring to challenge the former County Board... more ›

The battle over cuts to the Cook County budget intensified this week, and is expected to get hotter in the coming weeks. Hundreds of people, from county health care workers to community activists to patients turned out en masse at the first of several public hearings over Todd Stroger's proposed budget cuts. Targeting long-term care at some county facilities and slashing the number of Sheriff's police, Stroger, who was noticeably absent from Tuesday's hearing, said... more ›

Much has been made about this being the year of change here in Chicago. In November Democrats took control of Congress, harnessing voter dissatisfaction and promising change. And while the main attractions on the reform ticket, Tony Peraica and Jesse Jackson Jr either lost or decided not to run, many pundits are predicting that as much as 30% of the City Council could change in late February. It seems that some candidates believe in miracles,... more ›

Not much has been going on here on the local scene lately. Chicagoist has been hoping we could turn the page on the whole Foley thing, but it just won't go away. In fact, other than cheap shots and lost opportunities, the natives have been pretty quiet.
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The latest Wall Street Journal/Zogby poll has Governor Rod Blagojevitch (which is apparently Zogby for Blagojevich) ahead of Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka, 43% to 37%, despite having a low approval rating. Of course, other recent polls by Rasmussen Reports and Glengariff Group show Topinka ahead by a slight margin, so take it for what it's worth. To Carol Marin, it's not worth much. Today she reminds us that November is still a long way away. more ›

Yesterday Governor Blagojevich visited the Sun-Times editorial board and tried to convince them to endorse his reelection bid. Blago, who seemed "larger than life" to Carol Marin, didn’t seem too worried about his primary challenge from Edwin Eisendrath and instead focused on Republican frontrunner Judy Baar Topinka and called her a shill for the National Rifle Association. more ›

This time it was without a warrant and with the full cooperation of the Mayor's staff, but for about twenty minutes after work hours on Monday, federal investigators visited the Department of Streets and Sanitation, their third city office in as many days. The U.S. Attorney won't comment on what they were looking for, and city Corporation Counsel Mara Georges is repeatedly telling reporters how cooperative Mayor Daley is being. The Mayor, nor his senior officials, have been accused of any wrongdoing. more ›

Carol Marin said it best today when she called today's Cook County Board meeting, "the political equivalent of high noon." The proposed County budget is three months late, millions of dollars in deficit and deader than a dead duck. But for reasons only explainable by the need to maintain patronage rolls, County Board President John Stroger has stayed on track for today's expected train wreck when his budget will be voted down and on Monday... more ›

It's official, the Alderman Dick Mell (33rd) and Governor Rod Blagojevich family feud is offically an overblown soap opera. Or is it? more ›

OK, we're not dealing all that well with…y'know…so we're going to start the morning off right with a few digs at Alan Keyes. How do you know you've been watching too much local news coverage? When Alan Keyes shows up in your dream. Looks like Chicagoist and Blagojevich have something in common. Worst. Dream. Ever. more ›

By now everyone in Illinois has heard the "avant-garde" Parisian club allegations made in Jack and Jeri Ryan's divorce proceedings (also check out the Smoking Gun). The shock is still rippling through the state, and is now reaching the Beltway. The next few days will be precious for Jack Ryan, since how he manages the damage control will make or break his damaged campaign's future. Chicagoist sees two important points in how Ryan is dealing... more ›