Results tagged “playboy”

• Former DuPage prosecutor, state attorney general, and current gubernatorial candidate Jim Ryan apologized today for the prosecutions of Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez, the men originally convicted and sentenced to death for the 1983 murder of Jeanine Nicarico. He claimed the prosecution “acted in good faith...and still came up with the wrong result."
• Swine Flu's toll so far, according to the CDC: 22 million sick, 4,000 dead.
• Police in Cleveland have arrested a woman from Chicago who's been using her children to help her shoplift.

Over a year ago, we posted about an article in the "Sporting News" which theorized that the infamous "Black Sox" scandal -- the 1919 White Sox were accused of throwing the World Series -- was inspired by the Cubs having done so themselves the year before. A fascinating new wrinkle to the already extensive Chicago baseball lore. The author of that article, Sean Deveney, continued his research and has now written The Original Curse, which digs deeper into what may be the true reason for the Cubs' century of futility.

• Playboy Enterprises, Inc. has named Scott Flanders, president and chief executive of Freedom Communications Inc., as their new CEO.
• A new judge has been assigned to the Drew Peterson case.
• You can no longer sue a bowling alley if you fall in rented bowling shoes.

• Speculation abounds that none other than Virgin's Richard Branson may be interested in buying Playboy.
• The Aqua building looks like it's landed itself a hotel tenant.
• The USOC has turned to none other than former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer to help them out.

Amongst the restructuring of the magazine, Playboy announced earlier this week there would be a double-issue for July/August. For those of you worried you'd get cheated out of two playmates, fear not. According to Crain's, there will be two playmates in the double issue. Phew.

• Now that Mother's Day is over, let's focus on finding something to do with dear old Dad on Father's Day for a bit of bonding. How about robbing banks together?
• Lafayette, Indiana police are looking for information regarding the theft of a life-sized dog statue taken from in front of the public library. The sudden appearance of a life-sized dog statue atop a keg inside a Purdue frat house just a coincidence.
• Chicago's Roosevelt University is adding an athletic program after 20 years without one and are just working out some minor snafus, like not having any athletic facilities.

Love 'em or leave 'em, there's no denying the breadth of Chicago-based Playboy Magazine. And leave it to Playboy to try to turn our frowns upside-down during this recession by focusing on the...more pleasant aspects of the economy. It's this desire that has led to their new list: Women on Top: America's Sexiest CEOs [page is SFW but test your office monitoring software at your own peril]. And the list has a local flavor, with a pair of women CEOs making an appearance.

Crain's Chicago Business reports that Playboy is getting deeper into trouble: they might be delisted on the New York Stock Exchange if they don't turn things around pretty quickly. Despite huge budget cuts, CEO Christie Hefner stepping down and other cost-cutting measures, times are still tough for the Chicago-based heritage men's magazine.

As you might have noticed, the 1980s hard rock scene produced very few great scholars. There is no Kip Winger, Ph.D., or Mark Slaughter, M.Ed. Vince Neil implored us to call Dr. Feelgood, but never himself M.D.'ed. (Nikki Sixx OD'ed, though.) Blackie Lawless is not an Esq.

Christie Hefner, Chairman and CEO of Playboy Enterprises and daughter of founder Hugh Hefner, announced today that she'll be stepping down from her posts effective January 31, 2009. 56-year-old Christie assumed leadership of the company in 1988 and bolstered the slumping image the brand had endured in the 1980s. Despite success over the last two decades, revenue from Playboy's magazine circulation and television programming are lagging. Still, Christie insists no one encouraged her to resign. She intends to pursue public service and non-profit work once her tenure has ended. Her proud papa had this to say:

"I asked Christie to step up as president when the company faced serious financial difficulties more than two decades ago. She has worked tirelessly to expand the company's franchise, and, as a result of her efforts, the company today has more consumers and fans than at any time in our history. Of course, as her father, my first priority is Christie's happiness. While I will miss her leadership here, I believe that she will go on to achieve even greater personal success."

Christie plans to keep her homebase here in Chicago, both for herself and for the company. She told the Trib there are no plans to relocate Playboy's headquarters, and as for her and her husband, former Illinois state Sen. William Marovitz:

Billy and I don't want to leave Chicago, so this is going to be home. Whatever I do is going to be done from here. I think it's going to be a mix. I think I'm going to find ways to give back both in the nonprofit side and public service. But I also have enjoyed the board work, the TV commentary and the speaking that I've done. I really don't plan to look for a CEO job. Been there, done that.

Playboy gained new popularity in recent years due in part to the reality TV series Girls Next Door, which features Hef's three live-in girlfriends and has helped the brand connect to young women for the first time. However, the fate of the series is unknown now that Hef has kicked main girlfriend Holly Madison to the mansion curb, and she's now dating illusionist Criss Angel. We're really not sure which boyfriend is creepier. [Trib]

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Porn is like a money tree. If you need some cash, just go out and shake the silicone until a few hundred thousand dollars drop out. So how exactly can the nation’s foremost “gentlemen’s magazine” be losing money? Playboy announced a 4th-quarter loss today, losing $1.1 million compared with a $3.7 million profit at this time last year.