Chicago -
By Steve Rhodes
Let’s begin the arduous task of once again trying to catch up on the news.
1. Vice Squad.
“Hyde Park’s second brewery may arrive before the end of the year. Vice District Brewing Company co-owners State Rep. Curtis Tarver II (D-25th) and Quintin Cole plan to open in the South Side neighborhood by 2020, the Chicago Tribune reported.” – via Eater Chicago
Posted on July 1, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
“Peoples Gas says it plans to retire and remove the oldest gas pipe in the city of Chicago on Friday,” AP reports.
“The utility says the 20-inch, cast-iron gas main has delivered natural gas to home and businesses in the River North neighborhood since 1859, or before the Civil War.
Posted on June 27, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
I have to go to the Genius Bar and see if I fried my battery when I (uncharacteristically) knocked over a glass of Diet Coke in the vicinity of my laptop, as I fear I did. Oh, let’s face it, I did. My battery is dead. Can anything be done? Doubtful. Everything sucks so bad! I’d ask for prayers, but they’d be immune against the laws of physics. Besides, you should save that kind of energy for staring at the TV just right in order to affect sporting events. I’d ask you to wish me luck, but there is no such thing. I’d ask you for money, but it’s a bit premature for that. But it’s on the table! Someone, anyone, change my life! This is the sort of thing that can send me into a tailspin. Every horrible decision I’ve ever made since I was born has led to this terrible moment! At least someone spit on Eric Trump.
Posted on June 26, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
“If you happen to be on the official email list of U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, he wants your input on issues. But if you want to know what he’s hearing from people answering his online queries, well, sorry,” Bernie Schoenburg writes for the Springfield Journal-Register.
Posted on June 25, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
This just in:
BREAKING: Ald. Willie Cochran has been sentenced to a year in jail.
— The Daily Line (@thedailylinechi) June 24, 2019
Cochran, who was removed from the City Council once he plead guilty, was also ordered to pay more than $14,000 in restitution and serve two years probation.
— The Daily Line (@thedailylinechi) June 24, 2019
More on Cochran in the coming days.
Posted on June 24, 2019
“After withstanding a verbal beating from some Chicago aldermen about homogeneous leadership, the developer planning the Lincoln Yards megaproject is taking a formal step to change,” Crain’s reports.
“Sterling Bay, which recently won City Council approval for its $6 billion North Side mixed-use campus, today announced it has hired veteran communications pro Keiana Barrett as its first director of diversity and strategic development.
“Barrett, who previously served in public affairs roles with Chicago Public Schools and the DuSable Museum of African American History and was chief of staff for former 7th Ward Ald. Sandi Jackson, will be tasked with developing and implementing ‘strategic programs that forge a diverse, inclusive community, culture and climate within the company’ at Sterling Bay, the developer said in a statement.
“The hire comes after some city officials criticized Sterling Bay for a lack of executive diversity as the developer vied for up to $1.3 billion in tax-increment financing to help facilitate the development of Lincoln Yards.”
Keiana Barrett has appeared just once in the Beachwood, though I’m reasonably sure she deserves to have appeared more. See: Sandi Jackson’s Disdainful Goodbye.
Posted on June 23, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
“Since the election of President Trump, Republican lawmakers in at least 18 states have introduced or voted on legislation to curb mass protests in what civil liberties experts are calling ‘an attack on protest rights throughout the states,'” the Washington Post reports.
“Democrats in many of these states are fighting the legislation . . . Critics doubt whether many of the laws would pass Constitutional muster.
“The Supreme Court has gone out of its way on multiple occasions to point out that streets, sidewalks and public parks are places where [First Amendment] protections are at their most robust,” said Lee Rowland, a senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union.
“This is by no means the first time in American history that widespread protests have inspired a legislative backlash, says Douglas McAdam, a Stanford sociology professor who studies protest movements.
Posted on June 18, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
Hello Chicago! You can find rental scooters all around Chicago. Please make sure to follow all the safety rules when using them. #CPDMediaCar #ChicagoScooters @AJGuglielmi pic.twitter.com/C2My9ZFG6q
— Chicago Police (@Chicago_Police) June 17, 2019
Posted on June 17, 2019
By Steve Rhodes
“The former president of a fraternity at Northwestern University is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the association’s account,” the Sun-Times reports.
If you’re like me, the image of the suspected perp that just popped into your mind is something like this:
Posted on June 14, 2019
