So much has happened in politics this week, all across our little city. From the ministers in the West Loop, to construction and development on the South Side, to Top Cops Downtown getting notice in DC, it's like Chicago is just one big happy village, people. Let's take a look: Blago's Budget Puts Him in Touch With God. Governor Rod Blagojevich is on a "crusade," bringing tax fairness, education and health care to all of... more ›

After much speculation, State Senator James Meeks announced today that he will not run for governor as a third-party candidate this fall. Meeks was considering a run because he was disappointed with Governor Blagojevich's school funding, but after being briefed on Blago's new unreleased plan, the Reverend said, "I'm saying I'm off the ballot. Forget it." This is quite a change of heart as just last week Meeks announced he would begin collecting the 25,000... more ›

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 ›

So far this week Chicagoist had an argument with our siblings over baseball, endured a date with a guy who isn't even registered to vote, forgot to set our alarm clock, thus making us late for a big meeting at work, fell down some stairs, and accidentally threw our favorite cashmere sweater into the dryer. And it's only Wednesday! Sigh. Even with all of that, our week is still not going as poorly as Governor... more ›

As we’ve mentioned before, State Senator James Meeks is none too happy with Governor Blagojevich, and he is thinking of running for governor as a third-party candidate. Originally he wanted to run because he was disappointed with Blago’s educational funding, but Meeks also thinks Illinois needs a pro-life and anti-gay marriage candidate like himself. Didn’t we already have a couple of candidates like that in the Republican primary? And didn’t they both lose? Meeks has... more ›

Now that the primaries are over, we can all take a deep breath before we look ahead to the November election. However, there are still plenty of questions that need answering. Will Stroger be on the November ballot? We all know that he is currently recovering from a stroke, but what we don’t know is just how serious his condition is, and if he will recover well enough to stay on the ballot or serve... more ›

In our February review on local politics we casually mentioned that the Legislative Black Caucus, led by State Senator James Meeks, was considering backing a third-party candidate if Governor Blagojevich couldn’t find a better way to fund schools in light of his pledge to not increase sales and income taxes. We thought it was an empty threat to try to get Blago to reconsider his positions and remind him not to take the black vote... more ›

In May of 2005 Mayor Daley announced a partial hiring freeze when officials found that (brace yourself!) patronage was in full effect for certain positions within City Hall. more ›

Is there other news to discuss outside of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? If there is, we’re having a hard time paying attention to it. Despite occurring some 920 miles away, the tragedy in the Gulf Coast region has already become a local and state issue as the massive loss of life and property, the looming health and energy crises and the breakdown of the rule of law have a ripple effect across the nation.... more ›