Chicago - A message from the station manager

The [Tuesday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Cooler Weather, Showers Could Make For Disappointing Labor Day Weekend,” the Tribune reports.
That’s being awfully presumptuous, Tribune. Sounds like heaven to me.


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West Nile File
“The number of human West Nile virus cases in Illinois has fallen dramatically from last year to this year, but public health officials caution that people shouldn’t let their guard down yet,” the Tribune reports.
“Only two cases of the virus have been reported in patients so far this year, one in Chicago and one in suburban Cook County, with no deaths, officials said. That compares with 176 cases reported for all of last year, with 17 deaths.”
Whoa.
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The headline promises to tell us why, but it turns out the experts aren’t certain what accounts for the turnaround.
“For some reason, many fewer mosquitoes are carrying the disease so far this year. Only about 400 mosquito batches have tested positive this year, compared with more than 3,000 last year.
“Mosquito researches think the explanation lies in the weather. The Culex pipiens mosquito – blamed as the primary species spreading the virus – likes dry, hot weather, when it can breed in stagnant water and be more active . . . This year, after a record rainy May, it’s been mild, without the prolonged hot drought common in other years.”
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“Similarly, only two birds have tested positive for the virus this year, compared with 34 birds for all of last year.”
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“[T]ick-borne diseases like Lyme and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as is the case with West Nile, have also decreased so far this year, with 205 cases of Lyme disease compared with 276 last year, and 69 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, compared with 151 last year.”
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Finally: “George Balis, regional manager and entomologist for Clarke, a mosquito control service in St. Charles that does work for many municipalities in the Chicago area . . . admitted that standard advice to minimize exposure to mosquitoes by wearing long-sleeved clothing in the heat of summer is ‘almost comical.’ Now that it’s cooler outside, especially in the evenings and mornings, it may make more sense to cover up.”
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Court Report
“Today, at my request, Governor Pritzker vetoed my Senate Bill 2128, a bill intended to improve the practice of court reporting in Illinois,” state Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said in a press release Monday.
“After the bill passed the General Assembly, I became aware of consequences unintended at the time that would be very disruptive to pending litigation and the practice of trial law if the bill became law.”
Rich Miller explains at Capitol Fax:

That’s a pretty unusual press release, so I asked Harmon about his bill’s unintended consequences.
Sen. Harmon said there are three types of court reporters. The old fashioned stenographers and newer reporters who are called verbatum or voice writers who repeat everything into a recording device.
The third category is even newer, and Harmon wasn’t aware of those folks. They make a recording, then send it off to be transcribed. The bill was an agreement between first two types of reporters, but, Harmon said, the final product “worked to the detriment” of the third category. Lots of lawyers had transcripts that couldn’t be used if the bill had been signed.

What? They repeat everything into voice recorders? And then send it off to be transcribed? Doesn’t that add an additional, unnecessary and weird step in the process?
Assignment Desk, activate!
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CapFax commenter OneMan:
“The Navy has been using verbatim, for a while, it even shows up during Maverick’s hearing in Top Gun and a Quincy episode. Look for the guy talking into the cone in this scene.”

Indeed. And now that you mention (show) it, OneMan, I’ve seen that in court and always wondered what the hell it was – like, does the dude need a breathing apparatus or something? Thing learned.
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Prison Papers
“In September 2018, three men mysteriously died in the same area of a downstate Illinois prison – in just three days,” WBEZ reports.
“Documents obtained by WBEZ paint a picture of how those deaths happened over the course of three days, as Menard Correctional Center staff ignored warning signs and one employee falsified documents. The deaths raise questions about staff accountability, prison transparency and drugs behind bars.
“Illinois’ Department of Corrections said it acted swiftly following the deaths and their internal investigation concluded that IDOC staff could not have prevented them.
“But advocates and a family member of one prisoner who died said the department has not been transparent about deaths behind bars, making it difficult to hold staff and officials accountable.”
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Please click through for the (disturbing) details.
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Also: “At least 166 people died while in Illinois prisons from January 2017 to September 2018. In around half of those cases, IDOC’s research department had no cause of death listed, according to Department of Corrections documents.”
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Missing Milli
“And every day the 2016 Cubs creep a little closer to joining Milli Vanilli and the 1985 Bears on a list of one-hit wonders,” David Haugh writes for the Tribune.
Milli Vanilli were hardly one-hit wonders. They were frauds, but they had more than one hit. To wit:
“Girl You Know It’s True” was the duo’s first single. It went to No. 2 in the U.S.

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“Baby Don’t Forget My Number” went to No. 1 in the U.S.

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“Blame It On The Rain” also went to No. 1.

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“Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” also went to No. 1.

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“All Or Nothing” went to No. 4 (No. 1 in New Zealand!).

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Haugh also writes, “The challenge of winning the NL Central appears more daunting now with 23 of the final 32 games against divisional opponents and 14 September games on the road, where they have been as reliable as an on-time departure.”
On-time departures are reliable, insofar as they are “on-time.” What Haugh meant to say was “as reliable as a scheduled departure,” and I’d add “from O’Hare” for good measure, though I think I’d find a completely different metaphor that isn’t as strained.
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Memo to the world: Please hire me to edit your publication.
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Home Run
Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post post shows in “Nationals Find A Way To Keep Winning, Complete Sweep Of Cubs In Extra Innings” that high-quality gameday baseball writing is alive somewhere, if not here.
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New on the Beachwood today . . .
The Ex-Cub Factor
Look who’s doing it for the Mets.
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ChicagoReddit

A message from a teacher in CPS regarding the teacher haters on this sub from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram


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ChicagoTube
Medusa’s, 1989.

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BeachBook
The Sisters Who First Tried To Take Down Jeffrey Epstein.

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At The University Of Illinois, Preserving The Reputations Of Sexual Harassers.

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Where Have All The Race Horses Gone?

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15 Facts About My So-Called Life On Its 25th Anniversary.

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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.


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Re-upping.


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The Beachwood Tippy McTipster Line: There are no flukes.

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Posted on August 27, 2019