Results tagged “shenanigans”

What was supposed to be a forum for the four remaining Democratic candidates for Cook County Board President turned into a Player Hater's Ball as the incumbent, President Todd Stroger, was a no-show, opening the flood gates for the remaining three candidates - Terry O'Brien, president of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th), and Cook County Clerk of Courts Dorothy Brown - to unleash some verbal attacks on Stroger. The S-T provides a sampling of what each candidate said about Stroger. As for Stroger's absence? His campaign manager, Vincent Williams, originally told the Sun-Times, "I haven't spoken to the president today, so I don't have an answer." However, this morning, Williams issued the following statement (via email) on behalf of the Stroger campaign:

Man puts on giant bat costume. Man runs about town in said costume. Hilarity ensues. [via]

• The Cook County state's attorney's office is doing battle with Northwestern University's Medill Innocence Project over students' work in securing a new hearing for Anthony McKinney, who the project claims was wrongfully convicted for a 1978 murder.
• After months of pressure as a result of the Clout College scandal, University of Illinois chancellor Richard Herman announced his resignation, effective Monday.
• Anger is spreading over a fundraiser being held by the Fraternal Order of Police for Chicago Police officer Joseph Frugoli, who was charged with a DUI and reckless homicide for a drunk driving accident this past spring that claimed the lives of two men. Frugoli was off-duty at the time of the accident.

Earlier today, some mainstream media outlets in town breathlessly reported on an alleged connection between the site Chicagoans For Rio and...well, Rio. Sites associated with WBBM (CBS 2 and 780 AM) - as well as the Tribune - posted a story containing the following information:

Is Sam Zell pulling a fast one on taxpayers with his sale of the Chicago Cubs? It seems like he might according to the Washington Post's Allen Sloan. And as The Reader's Whet Moser points out, this is not exactly the first time Zell has pulled some shady shenanigans in his dealings with the Tribune Company.

An alderman who says one thing in private and something else in public? Considered us floored. Ald. Tom Tunney is the latest political figure to come under a bit of scrutiny over perception versus reality. To hear him talk about his proposal of shutting down vendors within a certain radius of Wrigley Field, it's all about safety. Last month, Tunney told the Trib, "It's a public safety issue. You can't walk to the park." Behind closed doors is another matter though.

We admit we had no frickin' clue who the hell Robert Pattinson was when we read that his appearance was causing an increase in Orland Square Mall security. Apparently he's in some vampire flick that's coming out and is a tween idol. Whoop-de-do, right?

After much hand-wringing, doomsdaying and speculation, Mayor Daley and his administration finally laid out how serious the city's budget deficit is. The city's 2009 budget has a $420 million gap and the mayor is saying nothing, except an increase in real estate taxes, is out of the question. That includes as many as 1,800 layoffs. "We’re not gonna speculate on the number of layoffs or if they are even necessary. Today, we’re simply framing the issue for you," the city's Chief Financial Officer Paul Volpe said Thursday. "Today, everything’s on the table. That I would tell you. The mayor has said that he will not increase property taxes. That’s a certainty. Anything else, we’ve got some tough choices to make," he said.