Chicago - A message from the station manager

The Weekend Desk Report

By Steve Rhodes

“When people think of beach volleyball, Chicago typically doesn’t come to mind. California and the East Coast usually are associated with volleyball in the sand,” the Sun-Times reports.
I dunno, when I think of beach volleyball I think of North Avenue Beach. Right? And then I think of a few dumb movie scenes, like the homoerotic and strangely costumed one from Top Gun, or an actual dumb movie like Side Out, starring C. Thomas Howell, Peter Horton and Courtney Thorne-Smith (natch). Then I think about how much I dislike female volleyball outfits on several levels. I don’t ever think about the East Coast. I do think about California – after all that.
(If I ran a news organization, I’d ban leads that presuppose what people typically think, or express a stereotype about something – say, people who have tattoos or ride motorcycles or shoot pool being ruffians, or comics being for kids, I mean, we could recite them all – and then explain how in reality that thing is different. First, it’s not original. Second, don’t tell readers how they or others typically think.)


“But over the last three decades, beach volleyball has become increasingly popular among Chicagoans. And our scene has impressed even the snobbiest Californians.”
Doubtful.
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Why not just say it? “When it comes to beach volleyball, Chicago isn’t exactly Huntington Beach (or whatever), but North Avenue Beach is better than nothing.”
Bobby Rush Begrudgingly Squeezes Out Faux Apology
“He stopped by the Sun-Times editorial board to air his concerns about how he is being portrayed in the media in light of his comments,” the Sun-Times’s Mary Mitchell writes in a Rush-friendly column.
“When I asked him if he thought he should apologize personally to Lightfoot, he blamed ‘hyperbole’ and ‘campaign rhetoric’ for his unfortunate remarks.”
Not good enough. Rush clearly doesn’t get it. That’s fine. Move on – but don’t give him a free pass. It’s up to him to earn back any smidgen of goodwill he may have left and not simply be granted it by a friendly columnist. Besides that, he’s overstayed his welcome and every day he remains in Congress is a day he does a disservice to the people he nominally represents.
The Unsinkable Dorothy Cook
“Since that last [mayoral] election, Brown has changed her name to Dorothy Brown Cook, taking the name of her husband, Benton Cook III, who also has been implicated in the [yearslong federal] probe [of her office],” the Sun-Times’s Mark Brown writes. “The couple married in 2009.”
That is one tricky rebranding.
Fencik On Fox
“What I find refreshing – and I liked John Fox – but John Fox didn’t treat fans with respect,” Fencik said. “And I’m a fan, and I’m a season ticket holder. And it was kind of like this, hey, you don’t deserve to know, or I’m not going to give you a lot of information.”
True, but just to add: Fox’s disrespect of the fans came via his disrespect of the Chicago media – who, for the most part, just sat back and took it.
Chicago Values
“It was beyond exasperating that Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, was fined a feeble $2,000 for exerting ‘improper influence’ to help win a $5.5 million taxpayer subsidy for a client of his private law firm,” the Better Government Association’s Marie Dillon writes for the Tribune, her former employer.

You know what was worse? Learning that the Chicago Board of Ethics had thrown the book at him. That $2,000, announced May 1, was the maximum penalty the board could levy.

I’ll wait while you go running through your home screaming.
Back? OK . . .
“With that in mind, the Board of Ethics drafted dozens of proposed changes to the city’s ethics laws and sent them last week to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and all 50 aldermen.
“The headliner: Ethics scofflaws could now draw a fine of up to $20,000 – or higher if the board could put a price tag on the financial benefit gained from the violation.
“The board noted that Chicago’s fines are ‘among the lowest of its big city peers.’ New York can impose fines of $25,000, and Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco can levy up to three times the financial benefit.”
Click through for the rest. Then go get a beer.
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New on the Beachwood . . .
Bloodshot’s 25th Summer
Acts will be out en force.
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State Police Hides Secret Spying Program from Illinoisans
The Arab American Action Network went to court Friday to force release of records.
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The Beachwood Radio Sports Hour #255: The Craig Kimbrel Signing Is So Cub
Go get an elite player in push for World Series – but do so under an artificial budget imposed by Tom Ricketts that depended on a player unexpectedly getting waylaid by a divorce. Plus: Joe Sheehan Sucks; CarGo, We Go?; How Pedro Strop Is Like Cheap Trick; Freezing Cold Takes; The White Sox Could Have Easily Afforded Keuchel; The Chicago Media Got The Tim Anderson Imbroglio Exactly Wrong; Bears B.S.; The Raptors Could Actually Win This Thing; and The Blues Could Actually Win This Thing.
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Toronto’s Multicultural Raptors: Teamwork And Individualism
Raptor Morality in a superior city.
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Thanks To The Raptors, Ontario Is Awash In Free McDonald’s Fries.

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Weekend ChicagoReddit

The 1962 Auto Show at The Original McCormick Place. from r/chicago


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Weekend ChicagoGram

View this post on Instagram

Listening to Records 📻 (May 2017)

A post shared by Madison Borth (@madisonborthcollages) on


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Weekend ChicagoTube
Groucho in Chicago.

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Weekend BeachBook
Wicker Park Was The Best Neighborhood In The World Until Trend-Seeking Yuppie Scum, Sleazebag Developers And City Hall – Along With Its Adjacent Aldermen – Ruined It For All The Worst Reasons.

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Americans Spend An Average Of $736 A Year Shopping Drunk.

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Weekend TweetWood
A sampling.


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She’s trying to spoon-feed some of you.


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The Weekend Desk McRibTipLine: Dead.

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Posted on June 8, 2019