By Steve Rhodes

Americans of all political stripes can agree, I’m sure, that a school system that still teaches students using contemporary history books from the 1980s, describing Ronald Reagan as our current president, the Soviet Union as our chief rival, and the power of computers a future phenomenon yet realized, is a school system that is not only failing, but failing preposterously.
And yet, that is the world we are living in, according to a Chicago Tribune report detailing the use of aging textbooks not only in the worst Chicago schools, but in affluent and rural schools alike in Illinois and across the country.

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Posted on April 17, 2006

By Natasha Julius

Your knothole in the fence of this weekend’s big stories.
We begin by sharing the latest information on a number of the stories we’ve been tracking for the last few weeks. After we despaired of walking the pizza-paved path to heaven, we’ve learned we won’t be swimming there either. For the record, we told you so and we still don’t care. And whoever took this guy in the fantasy dictator draft is kicking ass right now.

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Posted on April 15, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

I don’t think there’s much debate that Mike Royko’s Boss is still the ultimate primer on Chicago politics and perhaps the greatest piece of non-fiction produced in the state of Illinois.
But what about the Great Illinois Novel? That’s where you’ll get a debate that will go on for days without conclusion.
I was recently asked to pick the state’s all-time best novel by Marshal Zeringue of The Campaign for the American Reader.
See for yourself how I did.
Tell me why I’m wrong and make – and defend – your own pick in our Beachwood Books forum.

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Posted on April 14, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

In the wake of the Chicago Tribune replacing its movie critic with its theater critic, a faithful reader tipped me to something I dearly wish I had noticed first. See if you can spot the problem with this lineup:
Architecture: Blair Kamin
Art: Alan Artner
Dining: Phil Vettel
Jazz: Howard Reich
Internet: Steve Johnson
Movies: Michael Phillips
Music: John Von Rhein
Rock music: Greg Kot
Theater: Chris Jones
Yup. All men. (And all white.)

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Posted on April 13, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

Being a cultural critic for the Chicago Tribune (or any major metropolitan newspaper) is a big deal. The potential influence of a critic–not just within the industry but, more importantly, on readers–is as vast as the positions are scarce. And cultural critics are often–or ought to be–right alongside columnists as the strongest voices at a newspaper.
As such, critics represent rare opportunities for newspapers to shape their tone and personality, which, it just so happens, is also great for marketing.

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Posted on April 12, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

UPDATE: a fuller commentary here, including clarification on the Siskel-Kehr-Wilmington chronology. The Tribune‘s memo is below.
It’s official: The Chicago Tribune‘s lead movie critic, Michael Wilmington, has permanently been replaced by lead theater critic Michael Phillips. Phillips, in turn, has been replaced by his previous number two, Chris Jones, who probably should have gotten the job a few years ago to begin with. These and other changes were announced earlier today, in a Tribune memo obtained by The Beachwood Reporter.
Wilmington and Phillips have already been writing on their new beats, but the switch had been described as more of an experiment to shake things up than something permanent. Not anymore.
Both Wilmington and Phillips were hired to replace bigfeet at the paper–Gene Siskel and Richard Christiansen, respectively. Neither has managed to ascend anywhere near the heights of their predecessors, and if becoming a name-brand is the criteria for success, both hires must be deemed failures.
Moving them–and other critics–around isn’t likely to produce stronger voices, just the same voices on different articles. But so goes the Tribune. Here is the memo, from Jim Warren, the deputy managing editor in charge of the paper’s features sections.
From: Warren, James C.
Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 11:25 AM
Subject: Personnel Matters
I am pleased to make the following announcements on new beats in the entertainment group, which I believe will strengthen and streamline our coverage in many areas:
Chris Jones becomes theater critic, the paper’s leading voice on local and national stage productions.
Michael Phillips becomes movie critic, the paper’s leading voice on film.
Michael Wilmington continues as movie critic, but with new responsibilities covering the growing world of movies on DVD. He will also increase the number of his Sunday movie analysis pieces.
Mo Ryan, who has been on temporary assignment covering TV, becomes television reporter, continuing her popular and innovative Watcher print and online feature as well as continuing to report on, review and comment about TV shows and trends for online and daily and Sunday sections.
Maureen Hart officially becomes a section editor for Movies and will coordinate movie coverage across features sections.
Sid Smith, who has selflessly taken on a temporary assignment reviewing television, returns to his job writing features and trend stories on many entertainment topics, and will focus many of those efforts on theater. He’ll also continue to cover dance.
Allison Benedikt will take on a temporary assignment reviewing and writing about television for daily and Sunday sections.
Jessica Reaves will have an enhanced role in reviewing movies, while continuing her stellar Books/Magazine work.

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Posted on April 11, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

Federal prosecutors alleged in a 98-page court filing Monday that aides to Mayor Daley engaged in “massive fraud” to get around a federal court order prohibiting political hiring and erased computer files and shredded documents in a cover-up as investigators closed in.
The filing is the latest development in the case of four City Hall aides scheduled to go on trial next month in an investigation that in many ways resembles the case that put former Gov. George Ryan in the dock.
The story quite appropriately leads both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times; the details of the filing strike at the heart of the Daley Administration and heightens further the unlikelihood that somehow the mayor who reputedly tracks every pothole in the city was oblivious to how hiring worked at City Hall.
And yet, not only is there no comment from Daley in either paper, there is no “No comment” from Daley in either paper. There is also no evidence of even an attempted phone call to the mayor, much less any evidence that any reporter tried to track him down or even stood by his car and waited for him, as many young journalists are taught to do.
Do we not even try anymore?

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Posted on April 11, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

[Editor’s Note: The Monday Papers will appear later today.]
[UPDATE 2:40 p.m.: Er, no it won’t. I’ve been overrun today by business responsibilities here at Beachwood HQ. I’ll combine what was already shaping up to be a highly amusing Monday Papers column with tomorrow’s Tuesday Papers column. In other words, look for the first-ever (and hopefully last) The [Monday & Tuesday] Papers in the morning. Meanwhile, read this again. It’s good.]
It’s easy to get away with not talking to the press in Chicago, particularly when it comes to something important like, oh, safeguarding our civic discourse and democracy.
Last week’s secret appointment of Anne Burke to the Illinois Supreme Court is just the latest example of how easy it is to dodge an often weak and unfocused media.

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Posted on April 10, 2006

By Natasha Julius

Your trusted look at the stories that could flare up this weekend. And if they do, we’ll be there for you.
You Gotta Take The Lumpy With The Smooth
We here on the Weekend Desk would like you to know that we would never use a headline to make a crass joke at the expense of people suffering from old-world diseases. Unless we thought of it first. Now if you’ll excuse us, it’s time for our weekly leeching as our consumption is acting up again.

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Posted on April 8, 2006

By Steve Rhodes

You know how people use the Biblical saying “Judge not, lest ye be judged” in order to admonish those who judge others? I’m not sure how effective that is. Because what if, for example, you don’t mind being judged? I judge in this space every day, and if the consequence is for me to be judged in return, I say let it rip. This is still a democracy, not a theocracy, at least for now.
We can all learn anew today, though, that religion is as full of politics as any other money-raising, membership-oriented, real estate-investing, secular venture. After all, the latest Jesus-Judas news is so very Chicago, isn’t it?
And by the way, let me add: Report not, lest ye be reported.

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Posted on April 7, 2006