By Steve Rhodes

On September 21st, the Sun-Times editorial board was beside itself. “It was with some surprise – oh, let’s be honest and say our jaws dropped – to read that Mike Quigley, the reformer on the Cook County Board, the man who always questioned the way former president John Stroger did business, was throwing support to Stroger’s son, Todd, in his bid to become the next County Board president,” the board said that morning.
“One wonders about Quigley’s motives,” the board’s editorial continued, “particularly when he [says] he would look ‘ridiculous’ directly endorsing Stroger so he has sent him ‘the best and brightest’ of his staff . . . He adds that he hopes Stroger is being honest about wanting reform. Amen. It can only be said that politics makes strange bedfellows.”
The headline to the piece: “Is County Ready For This Kind of Reform?”
A month later, the Sun-Times editorial board endorsed . . . Todd Stroger.

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Posted on October 30, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

Make no mistake – despite the governor’s protestations and the unrealistic unmet expectations of some pundits who thought the governor would be personally implicated by now, the plea deal of Stuart Levine does not exonerate the governor. Far from it. Instead, federal investigators have closed the circle tighter around the governor

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Posted on October 30, 2006

Negative political ads will be on the air every second of every day between now and Election Day. Citizens are absorbing their messages.
Overheard in traffic
Woman: You can get in the next lane.
Man: I’m staying the course.
Woman: But this lane is at a standstill.
Man: I will not cut and run.
Woman: But see that orange flashing light up there . . . this lane closes in 500 feet. We need to change course.
Man: What kind of a message would that send to the troops repaving this highway?
Woman: How about we will not run you over?

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Posted on October 27, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

The governor was a no-show at the Chicago Tonight debate last night that he had previously agreed in writing to attend, and for that reason alone he should be turned out of office. His campaign aides assertion that his appearance was predicated on Judy Baar Topinka agreeing to other debates that weren’t held is disingenuous. This debate – sponsored by the City Club – was not a bargaining chip to be used to bully Topinka into the 10 debates the governor’s campaign wanted, as much as I would have liked to see that (and as much as I wouldn’t have wanted that foisted on anyone else).
There are some things you just do in a campaign, and in Illinois, when Chicago Tonight and the City Club schedule a gubernatorial debate as one of the closing campaign events down the stretch, you do it. To not do it is to show contempt for the public.
But then, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s word isn’t worth a plug nickel. He is so distrusted among state legislators that they have come to demand “Memorandums of Understanding” to bind in writing the too-often unkept promises that come out of his mouth.

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Posted on October 27, 2006

By Mark Bazer

The United States has now confirmed what most already accepted as true: North Korea tested a nuclear weapon last week. The debate within the United States and around the world about how to respond to Pyongyang will, of course, continue.
Most agree that there is no “military option” when it comes to North Korea; to use force would put all of Southeast Asia, particularly Seoul, at risk. But after that, there is little agreement.
On one side, the Bush administration is leading an international campaign for increased sanctions against the North Korean regime. President Bush has also, throughout his presidency, rejected bilateral talks between the U.S. and North Korea, preferring instead the so-called “six-party talks.”
The Bush administration’s approach, though, has failed – as is evidenced by North Korea’s testing of a nuclear bomb. Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s “Dear Leader,” thrives off of being isolated. He’s clearly unconcerned with his impoverished people’s plight, which makes the effectiveness of any sanctions highly questionable.
On the other side, some diplomats argue that we must negotiate with North Korea. But this approach is also flawed. Rewarding North Korea for its behavior will send a signal we can’t afford to send to other rogue nations, such as Iran. Plus, it’s been proven not to work: Bill Clinton, with the help of Jimmy Carter, reached a deal with North Korea to cease its nuclear-weapon research in 1994 only to later see Pyongyang renege on it behind our back.
So, then, how can we get Kim Jong-il to rethink his nuclear program without giving into his demands, and without threatening stability in the region? In other words, what is the proper course for the U.S. to take in regard to North Korea?
Well, how the fuck should I know?

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Posted on October 19, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

“He was slick, but he’s always been slick, from the day he married the daughter of a Chicago ward boss on his way to the governor’s mansion.
“She didn’t seem like a Republican governor ready to restore a party crippled by corruption. Instead, she reminded me of some tired waitress in a river town café who’s heard the same jokes too many times.
“I knew they belonged together.”
– John Kass, on the best and brightest candidates for governor Illinois was able to produce this year

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Posted on October 11, 2006