Category: Chicago

Gov. Quinn Expected to OK Illinois Primary Election Move to March

Posted on by TL

From NBC Chicago:

Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday received a bill that would push Illinois’ primary election back to March.

He’s expected to sign it.

Four years ago, lawmakers moved the state’s primary election in an effort to give then-Sen. Barack Obama an early win in a big state during the 2008 presidential campaign.  But last month’s election saw voter turnout reach an all-time low.

For those of you running in the Consolidated Election next year, once signed, that will put the primary on March 15, 2011, the third Tuesday of March next year.

This also means that if you turn 18 on or before March 15, 2011, you will be able to register to vote before the election.

For the record, if you currently will  be 18 on or before November 2, 2010, in Illinois, you can register to vote NOW.

Two Illinois Boys Abducted; Amber Alert Issued

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

Decatur police have issued an Amber Alert after two young boys, one of them a 1-month-old infant, who were abducted this afternoon.

Authorities said that J-Amarcus Upchurch and Terry Antonio Smith were taken by two men in the 1900 block of East Cantrell Street at about 3:30 p.m.

They were last seen in a silver passenger car with the partial Missouri license plate U D G, turning on to a side road off Cantrell Street.

J-Amarcus is described as a 1-month-old African-American boy, wearing a blue one-piece jumpsuit, weighing 8 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Terry is a 4-year-old African-American boy about 3-foot-6, 60 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a blue T-shirt and blue jeans.

Coward Shoots 22-Year-Old Man Dead in Washington Park

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

A 22-year-old man was found shot in the face and unresponsive this morning on Chicago’s South Side.

Jovan Kelly, of the 8600 block of South Paxton Avenue, was pronounced dead this morning, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Police are investigating, according to the Trib.

Any fool can shoot a gun. Put away your guns and talk to each other. That’s a skill worth developing.

Coward Shoots 2 on West Side

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Bystanders flagged down a CTA bus for help after a man and a woman were critically shot on the West Side Saturday night.

Both victims, in their mid-20s, were taken from Cermak Road and Rockwell Street to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition at about 7:35 p.m. Saturday night, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Quention Curtis said.

The driver of an eastbound #21 Cermak bus called for help to assist a single person who had been shot, and no shots were fired on the bus, said CTA spokesperson Sheila Gregory.

After the bus pulled over, the male victim, who was not a passenger when he was shot, then got onto the bus, said police News Affairs Officer Daniel O’Brien.

Two pools of blood were seen splattered onto the steps inside the entrance area of the bus, which was still parked at the intersection of Cermak Road and Rockwell Street as of 9 p.m. No blood was seen on the seats inside the bus.

A woman also suffered a side graze wound to the chest, said police at the scene of the shooting.

Two pools of human blood, an image no one should have to see in our society.

Any fool can shoot a gun. Put away your guns and talk to each other. That’s a skill worth developing.

Park Forest Bank Robbed Near High Noon

Posted on by TL

From ENEWSPF:

The Chicago F.B.I. has confirmed a report that the First Midwest Bank, 2 Main Street, Park Forest, was robbed this morning.

According to Special Agent Julia Meredith of the Chicago F.B.I., at approximately 11:40 a.m. Friday morning, two female employees were servicing the ATM on the north side of the building when they were approached by a black male, approximately 6-feet tall.

According to the F.B.I., the man said he was armed and demanded money, which the employees gave him. The man then fled on foot. The man did not show a weapon, according to Agent Meredith.

The F.B.I. is taking the lead on this one. Acutally, the F.B.I. takes the lead on all bank robberies, since banks are federally insured.

More, and a picture of the bank here.

Giannoulias Says Family Bank Likely To Fail

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias sought to blunt a potentially damaging political issue today about questions regarding his involvement in his family’s struggling bank, which he said he expects will likely fail in the coming months.

But questions were still left unanswered following a more than 70-minute meeting with the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board. Among them were exactly what Giannoulias knew about convicted bookmaker Michael Giorango’s criminal past when he received loans from Broadway Bank, and how many of the bank’s troubled loans were made while Giannoulias was working there.


Giannoulias also sought to explain nearly $70 million the bank paid out in dividends to him and his family in recent years, saying $29 million of that was taken out of the bank to diversify the family’s investments.

Giannoulias said he didn’t see the bank’s financial situation getting better as the election progresses.

“It’s quite likely that the bank will fail,” he said. “I hope I’m wrong. I hope they can raise the capital to keep the bank going and they’re fighting hard to do so but it’s tough out there for a lot of banks of which Broadway Bank is not immune to these same challenges.”

Listen to the audio, courtesy of WGN radio, by clicking here.

Another bank failure wouldn’t be good for anyone at this point. In the context of a political campaign, I’m not sure I can trust the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board to be objective in their interpretation. Thanks to WGN for the audio link.

Comments?

No, I Cannot Afford Your $100-A-Ticket Political Fundraiser

Posted on by TL
$100 bill

No, I cannot afford your $100 political fundraiser.

To all the pols out there cluttering my mailbox, inbox and voicemail, save your money. What were you thinking? Don’t invite me to your fundraiser unless the ticket price is much more reasonable.

Please, take a lesson from Barack Obama. Make your fundraisers affordable for the average person. Forget this over-priced nonsense. No, it’s not worth my while to pay $100 so I can shake hands with Speaker Michael Madigan for two seconds.

I know it takes a lot of money to run a campaign, but it takes votes to win one.

To those of you who are holding fundraisers with reasonable ticket prices, thank you. The recession hit me hard, and I’m thinking twice or thrice before I write a check or tap out a credit card number these days. I’ll give what I’m able to those of you who made modest requests.

I’m finished with my rant now. Thank you for listening.

Police Say Woman Ran Over Cop After Chase and Crash

Posted on by TL

Ouch.

From the Sun-Times:

A Back of the Yards neighborhood woman has been charged with three felonies, two misdemeanors and issued six traffic tickets after she allegedly struck an officer with a vehicle following a chase and crash early Saturday on the Southwest Side.

Police fired shots at the woman, but she was not struck by the police gunfire. She was hospitalized after being Tasered following the crash. The officer struck by the vehicle was also injured, police said.

Rosa Gutierrez, 31, of the 5000 block of South Hoyne Avenue, was charged Saturday one count each of felony aggravated battery to a police officer, felony possession of a controlled substance, felony aggravated fleeing an accident with bodily injury, misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor resisting/obstructing a peace officer, according to a police statement.

Officers responded about midnight to a report of shots fired near South Kedzie Avenue and West 60th Street and saw a vehicle matching the description of a dispatch report fleeing the scene, police News Affairs Sgt. Antoinette Ursitti said.

The officers activated their emergency equipment and attempted to curb the vehicle, but the motorist — identified in the statement as Gutierrez — refused to stop and committed multiple traffic violations in an attempt to elude police, Ursitti said.

The vehicle eventually crashed into a residential garage in the 4100 block of West Marquette Avenue at 12:07 p.m., police said. When officers approached, Gutierrez allegedly reversed the vehicle into an officer, prompting another officer to fire shots at Gutierrez, police said.

The officer was taken to a local hospital, treated, and released.

To Scott Lee Cohen: Bond With Your Kids, Drop Out of the Race for Lt. Gov.

Posted on by TL
scott lee cohen

The Chicago Sun-Times says it has a source who tells them the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Scott Lee Cohen is looking for an honorable way to withdraw from the general election.

That’s the good news in a week when we learned some very, very bad things about Scott Lee Cohen.

Facing intense and mounting pressure to step aside, embattled Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Scott Lee Cohen is seeking an “honorable way” out, a Cohen campaign source said tonight.

Cohen, who mostly kept out of the public eye today, said as recently as Thursday that he had no plans to quit. But with Democrats across the state urging him to re-think that decision, Cohen appears to be concerned how revelations about his private life might hurt the Democratic party.

Close advisers have been trying to convince Cohen to “do the right thing,” warning that he could be blamed for “bringing down the party” by remaining a candidate, the campaign source said.

Cohen could not be reached for comment tonight. His staff has said he plans to speak tonight to the media at a downtown night club — where a table was roped off and waiting for him at 8 p.m.

This morning, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin called on Cohen to step aside, and several local women’s groups blasted the media and Cohen’s political opponents for “burying” and “ignoring” domestic violence issues.

“I’ve heard enough,” Durbin said. “And if there’s more — I don’t know what it might be — but I’ve heard enough to suggest that he should have not run for office.”

The senator added: “He really should spare himself, and his friends and family what he’s about to go through. I’m afraid the disclosures so far really disqualify him.”

I’ve stayed away from this one. Last night I watched WTTW’s Phil Ponce grill Cohen and his ex-wife on Chicago tonight. Generally amenable and courtly when he interviews, last night was the closest I’ve seen Ponce get to taking the gloves off. I felt for Cohen and ex-wife Debra York-Cohen, but I couldn’t help thinking that these two polite adults on WTTW were at each other’s throats just a short time ago. Ponce aired more dirt about the former couple than I cared to hear.

This is bad.

I also thought of former U.S. Senate candidate Jack Ryan, who saw records from his 1999 divorce from actress Jeri Ryan become public knowledge in 2004. Insiders with the Obama for Senate campaign told me Barack had no desire to use any personal information like this against Jack Ryan. The Obama campaign knew there were issues with the divorce, but then-candidate Obama ordered that the campaign focus on public issues, not issues personal to Ryan and his family. I believed them at the time, and I still do.

The Chicago Tribune and WLS-TV sought to have the divorce records opened. Eventually, we learned more than we ever cared to learn about Jack and Jeri Ryan and their tepid break-up, and none of that really mattered at all. Voyeurism got the better of the media, and many of the records were ordered unsealed by the court. What happened to Jack Ryan was unfair.

In October 2004, Jack Ryan told the Dartmouth Independent, “What was totally unprecedented in US politics is a paper suing to get access to sealed custody documents, sealed divorce records. No real precedent for that happening. Senator Kerry, for instance, has sealed divorce records and they’re not asking him to turn them over. After I dropped out of the race, people would say, “Hey, since Senator Kerry has sealed divorce records and they sued to have yours opened, in fairness, shouldn’t they sue to have Senator Kerry’s records opened?” And I said absolutely not. That’s the exact wrong thing to do. Just because it happened to me, it doesn’t mean that it should be the new standard. This is the new low for politics in America.” (Emphasis added)

Jack Ryan was right, but the media’s sanctimony and puritanical nature prevailed.

The circumstances with Scott Lee Cohen are much worse, however. Allegations of missed child support payments, domestic abuse and steroid use make the Ryans’ story look like a fairy tale wedding. According to the Sun-Times, as recently as two months ago, Cohen owed his ex-wife $54,000 in back child support payments. He also had to explain his October 2005 arrest, ” when he was accused of domestic battery. His accuser was his live-in girlfriend, who had been arrested on a prostitution charge earlier that year. She was later convicted,” the Sun-Times reports.

There has been a fair amount of finger-pointing throughout Illinois over this election. Why did we not know any of this during the campaign? Where was the media? Isn’t Carol Marin supposed to find out all of these things and tell us in her Sunday column? Cohen and his ex-wife insist it was all “out there,” but, if it was, no one paid attention. None of us paid attention. Maybe the media was preoccupied watching Todd Stroger’s ship sink. Perhaps the media was enthralled with the numerous races for governor. To tell you the truth, I hardly gave the race for lieutenant governor any thought at all. What does the lieutenant governor do anyhow?

Nothing. Except wait to be governor. And we all know now that can happen.

I vow in the future to do my own work vetting candidates for lieutenant governor candidates, but a late-night promise won’t do any of us any good right now.

They’re more important than anything.

Do I want a lieutenant governor who admits he used steroids to such a degree that he allegedly became violent and unpredictable. Am I comfortable with a man arrested on a domestic abuse charge even if he was never convicted?

No. No way.

Is Scott Lee Cohen electable in November?

No. Not now. Not at all.

Scott, whatever face you have left after this, save it. No one is asking you to “go gentle into that good night,’ but we do ask that you go.

I hope that Scott Lee Cohen and his ex-wife find some peace after all the dust has settled. I hope Scott Lee Cohen does the right thing and establishes a plan to get current with his child support payments. Anyone who can afford to drop $2 million of his own money on an election can afford to give his ex-wife $54,000 and then some for his children. Scott, pay up, get to know your children better. Bond with them. They’re more important than any elected office. They’re more important than $54,000.  They’re even more important than $2 million.