By Steve Rhodes
The Tribune adds some reporting to the Cubs’ special playoff ticket package for the city’s aldermen (and state legislators, the mayor and the governor) that I wrote about on Tuesday:
Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, represents the Bridgeport neighborhood that’s home to Sox Park, and he’s a scion of the Daley clan, perhaps the city’s most prominent bunch of White Sox backers. Yet Thompson said he bought tickets, adding that he would “probably not” attend a game himself.
JFC, if you’re not going to use the tickets yourself, don’t take them.
“I have some really strong Cub fan neighbors, there are some of them on the South Side,” he said. “I’m a Chicago fan, I’m not a Cubs fan, but I have a lot of – I wish them well and I hope they win it and it would be great for the city.”
At least donate them to a sick kid or something – don’t make being pals with an alderman even more rewarding than it already is.
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“Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, who represents the South Shore neighborhood, also bought seats. Hairston, too, said she would be passing the tickets along to ‘a private citizen’ in her ward who’s a Cubs fan, declining to be more specific.”
Is it a campaign donor?
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“Hairston dismissed the idea that the ticket offer represents a conflict of interest as aldermen continue considering plans by Cubs owners the Ricketts family to renovate the historic ballpark and undertake other massive construction projects in the congested Wrigleyville neighborhood around the stadium.”
That may be true, and this isn’t the biggest deal in the world, but it’s one of the many microaggressions that continually reinforce the notion that Chicago’s well-compensated city council is filled with scoundrels and scaliwags who don’t play by the same rules as the rest of us.
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It’s also not just about a conflict of interest on matters coming before the council, but the gift aldermen can dole out to lucky constituents in exchange for . . . their everlasting gratitude. Chicago is a transactional town, y’all.
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The Cubs are also showing their . . . gratitude. They aren’t making tickets available to public officials out of the goodness of their hearts and their profound respect for the civic-minded.
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Any “dignitary” – is the root word “dignity?” – who wants to take up the Cubs on their offer should at least be required to name a plausible starting lineup to be eligible. And given Joe Maddon’s lineup flexibility, that’s not as hard a task as it might seem to the uninitiated.
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I did a quick, incomplete search to see if other playoff teams were offering tickets to their local officials and came up empty. Assignment Desk, activate!
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U.S.: States Failing Injured Workers
Those hurt on the job are at “great risk of falling into poverty” because state workers’ compensation systems are failing to provide them with adequate benefits.
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BeachBook
Supreme Court Declines To Consider NCAA Rules On Paying Athletes.
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What To Expect In Wrigleyville This Postseason (No Champagne).
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TweetWood
A sampling.
Arena warns that CPD “has to be honest with itself” about the fact that Laquan McDonald shooting video was just the “tip of the iceberg.”
— Fran Spielman (@fspielman) October 5, 2016
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Uber lost its chance when they included crime-surge pricing in their bid.
#Chicago City Council okays $25M borrowing plan that’ll pay for 600 cop cars over 2 years
— The Daily Line (@thedailylinechi) October 5, 2016
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“Brilliant” businessman? Trump’s tax attorney said he didn’t understand the tax code: https://t.co/P5KlJxZWOH
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) October 5, 2016
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.@JasonMillerinDC on CNN won’t say whether Trump has paid federal income taxes in last 18 years or whether audit letter will be released: pic.twitter.com/iIt3VsybqD
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 5, 2016
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Sports Illustrated makes its 12th Cubs World Series prediction of the last 15 years. pic.twitter.com/JO5yp1NcAe
— Pat Tomasulo (@pattomasulo) October 5, 2016
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The Beachwood Tronc Line: Troncasulo.
Posted on October 5, 2016