Cook County Board seemed primed to vote on reforms to correct the growing scandal involving overcrowding at the county morgue yesterday. Then Commissioner John Daley moved to delay the vote by referring it to the Board's Finance Committee, which he, coincidentally, chairs. more ›

Our friends over at Gapers Block have put together a nice lineup of contestants for their inaugural BBQ Bowl at Club Lucky Feb. 4. Chuck will be one of the judges for this competition. more ›

Chicago News Cooperative and the Better Government Association obtained a report from the Cook County comptroller's office that showed which county commissioners didn't take all of their furlough days before the 2011 fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2011. more ›

Unlike some politicians who call themselves reformers, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle at least has a track record of acting opposite of the party line. Preckwinkle has been making waves the past couple of days with two notable acts. Yesterday, Preckwinkle and County Commissioner John Fritchey announced the Open Cook County Plan, a major transparency initiative intended to rebuild the public trust in county government by making government data and information available to the public, hopefully allowing better interaction between country residents and their representatives and helping residents have a better understanding of what county government does. more ›

You'll always find something entertaining on Cook County Commissioner John Fritchey's Twitter feed. But after reading the above update from last night, and this one, and this one, and this one, we wanted to make certain that Fritchey wasn't speaking from experience. So we sent him a direct message this morning. more ›

Is it a coincidence, political backlash or yahooligans having fun, the conclusions are undetermined at this time. But yesterday State Rep. and Cook County Commissioner-elect John Fritchey’s office was vandalized making him the sixth political victim this month. more ›

A press release from State Representative John Fritchey yesterday indicates a slight rift between 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack and Fritchey over supporting the state Democratic ticket. more ›

Below is more from my interview last week with 32nd Ward Alderman Scott Waguespack in which we touch on schools, unions, and more on the budget. more ›

Mayor Daley, yesterday, in response to State Rep. John Fritchey's TIF legislation: more ›

Mayor Daley pushed back at State Representative John Fritchey's proposed TIF legislation in characteristic Daley fashion - full of bluster and accusation. “Everybody wants to raid something,” Daley told the Chicago News Cooperative. “I’m not going to listen to state government for financial advice. I’ll tell you one thing: The city of Chicago should not listen to the federal or state government for financial advice. We would be bankrupt today. We [should] not listen to them, your state senators or representatives. No way. Look what they’ve done with the state budget and now they’re telling us what to do with the city budget. No way.” Daley didn't limit his attacks to the general assembly, though. He took on (one of his favorite targets) the local news media, telling Dan Mihalopoulous that he wouldn't ask the Sun-Times or the Tribune for financial advice, either. Citing the Tribune's bankruptcy and layoffs of reporters, he pointed out to Mihalopoulous that he "worked there before and they let you go.” Mihalopoulous replied that he quit the Tribune and wasn't laid off. “Oh, didn’t they? OK, well, you were on the waiting list then.” more ›

Days later, fall-out continues from the call to have the National Guard mobilized in Chicago to help curb the city's violence as various government and community leaders weigh in on the matter. more ›

Rep. John Fritchey is among a few law-makers calling on the National Guard to help quell the outbreak of violence in Chicago. But is this the right answer or just a quick fix? more ›

If you're on Facebook (and who isn't, these days?), then you know that people use the social networking application not only to stay in touch, but also to share their thoughts and personal events with their network of friends and acquaintances. Social networking has become so prevalent in society that even politicians and elected officials use it communicate with constituents. Unfortunately, they tend to use it in a dry and almost "safe" way - sticking to an unwritten script of stating a position on an issue, thanking supporters/asking them to help support a campaign, piece of legislation or friendly candidate, and sharing information about issues the candidate is working to promote or support. more ›

The two leading Democratic candidates to replace Rahm Emanuel in Chicago's Fifth Congressional District both made news over the weekend. In Federal Elections Commission reports that cover that cover Jan. 1 through Feb. 11, state Rep. Sara Feigenholtz's campaign reported that she has raised $550,594 since the campaign began, with $306,000 in the bank and $70,000 in debts. Regardless, she announced that she will loan her campaign $100,000 because she is "close to winning" the Tribune reports. "I want to put my money where my mouth is," she said. Adding muscle to her claim is State Comptroller Dan Hynes's endorsement of her. Hynes, who may be a gubernatorial candidate next year, is only the second statewide office holder to endorse in the race. State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, who may be a candidate to replace Roland Burris in the U.S. Senate, has endorsed state Rep John Fritchey. more ›

Early voting has already begun in Illinois's Fifth Congressional District, so Chicagoist figured that with 25 candidates in the race to keep Rahm Emanuel's seat warm for him, we'd look at five each day all this week. Read Part 1 here. more ›

The Race to Replace Rahm just got a lot more interesting today as Chicago Ward committeemen voted to stay neutral and not endorse anyone in the race for the U.S Fifth Congressional District seat vacated by Rahm Emanuel. To get the endorsement, a candidate needs to garner a majority, which is 62,884 votes. The closest candidate to that number wasn't Daley fave Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th) but rather State Rep. John Fritchey who got 61,529 votes. O'Connor received 22,901 votes. This means things are wide-open for the March 3rd primary. more ›

Just yesterday we were speculating over who would replace outgoing Senator Barack Obama who has a new job. Now we turn our attention to the departing Rahm Emanuel, who even though he was just reelected to his U.S. House seat on Tuesday, is leaving Congress to become Chief of Staff in the Obamistration. Governor Blagojevich, who seems to have plenty on his plate already, will have to set a special election to fill Congressman Rahm's seat (unlike with the Senate seat, where Blago is allowed by law to name a successor). FYI - Rahm holds the same seat (5th District reprezent!) Blago did before he bolted in '02 to become governor. The law requires the special election be held if there is more than 180 days until the next election (in this case, it is - 2 years, actually) and the election must be set within 5 days of the official vacancy. more ›

Last week the Illinois State House of Representatives approved HB 4844, which bans the gassing of unwanted pets at animal shelters. While many shelters use lethal injection to put down unwanted pets, there are still some that use carbon monoxide to euthanize companion animals. The bill passed the House 110-0, with some members vocally supporting the legislation. "What's been happening with the animals is really a disgusting practice," said state Rep. Lou Lang. more ›

The transit crisis has been averted--and let's raise our lunchtime glasses to toast that miracle, shall we? --but it brought out some of the weirdest and worst in our local politicians. These are some of our favorite lines from the entire, oh, what should we call it, bill-capade? more ›

The Illinois State Budget Fight just got weirder. Governor Rod Blagojevich quietly filed suit in Sangamon County Friday against House Speaker Michael Madigan, attempting to force the Speaker to hold special sessions when he calls them. "It is imperative that (the governor's authority to call special sessions) is preserved and honored," Rebecca Rausch, a spokeswoman for the governor wrote in an e-mail to the State Journal Register. "After lawmakers failed to follow the governor's special... more ›

So a man makes a fortune in real estate, starts his own hip-hop record label, and wants to enjoy his riches by building a castle, literally. What's wrong with that? Rudy Acosta's would-be neighbors have a big problem with his plans to build a 6,700 square foot, castle-like mansion on a vacant lot in Independence Park near Lawndale and Parkview Terrace overlooking the Kennedy Expressway. The home would feature 42-foot high turrets, including one overlooking the highway emblazoned with the coat of arms for Acosta's label, The Legion Records (danger, spinning graphics!) more ›

The ongoing battles between the Illinois General Assembly and the CTA have once again hit the papers. After reading this article in the Sun-Times, we’re left with the same sinking feeling we get in our stomach whenever we attend a cockfight: no matter whom we root for, it just feels wrong. more ›

Earlier this week, Chicagoist reported Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich "roaring" with a new proposed campaign finance and ethics reform. Guess we got a bit ahead of ourselves -- since the proposal has turned out to be little more than a whimper. Ignore for a moment the expected Republican invective against the proposal, but Blago's own State Representative, John Fritchey (D-Chicago), responded to the proposal by, "pick[ing] up Blagojevich's press release, crumpled it and handed it... more ›