Category: Chicagoland

Todd Stroger Doesn’t Like Them Poll Numbers

Posted on by TL

From the Sun-Times:

Embattled Cook County Board President Todd Stroger blasted a new poll showing he’s in third place in the four-way race for his job.

A Tribune poll of what has been described as 500-plus likely voters shows Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown leading the pack in next month’s Democratic primary with 29 percent of the vote followed by Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle (4th) at 20 percent. Stroger is next with 14 percent and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien garnered just 11 percent.

“I think it is inaccurate,” Stroger told the Sun-Times today.

“I’ve been here for three years. The Tribune has been trying to sink me for all three years. So I can have a balanced budget when everybody else is struggling, I can keep the hospital system open. I can help 25,000 people change their mortgages and keep their homes, but that’s not good enough,” Stroger said, using an all-too-familiar refrain about how the media is biased in its coverage of him.

Well, that’s one way to handle bad numbers: deny they exist.

Unless Stroger pulls a George W. Bush and fixes the election, I don’t see him surviving the primary.  He certainly does not have my vote. I’m leaning toward Dorothy Brown right now.

I’m looking forward to writing about “former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.”

Lawsuit Against Chicago Archdiocese Charges Racial Discrimination in Sex Abuse Cases

Posted on by TL

From the Chicago Tribune:

A federal lawsuit has been filed against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago alleging that church officials discriminated against African-American victims of sexual abuse by trying to silence their claims and proposing smaller settlements than those offered to white victims.

The suit, filed today in the Northern District of Illinois by Seattle attorney Phillip Aaron on behalf of 41 men and 8 women, seeks $98 million, accusing the archdiocese, Cardinal Francis George and retired Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Goedert of racial discrimination, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, fraud, conspiracy and racketeering.

"The defendants have acted intentionally to silence the voices of African American and minority victims while defendants distributed false and deceptive information to the public in an attempt to prevent the victims of clergy sexual abuse, their families and the African American and minority community from expressing and exposing racism and discrimination," the suit says.

As evidence that the church acted in bad faith, the suit points to a deposition by Goedert released by the archdiocese in July. In the deposition, the archdiocese’s second-highest-ranking bishop testified that he believed church law required him to keep clergy sex abuse confidential, even when most of the priests he confronted admitted to abusing minors.

The Archdiocese is standing by a report released to the public which found in an audit last month that the average settlement for African-American victims is more than 28 percent higher than settlements with white victims and 19 percent higher than the average of all settlements, the Tribune says.

Quinn vs. Hynes: I’m Leaning Quinn

Posted on by TL

Carol Marin Saturday column in the Chicago Sun-Times compares and contrasts the personas and personalities of Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes.

Characterizing them as Walter Matthau (Quinn) vs. Jack Lemmon (Hynes), Marin says the governors race in Illinois “may boil down to which guy you’d rather have a beer with.”

Right now, I’d like to have that beer with Pat Quinn.

As a fellow Domer, I probably should lean Dan Hynes, but I like Pat Quinn’s down-to-earth style. While I probably shouldn’t characterize people by the schools they attended, Hynes is also a product of the aloof St. Ignatius Prep School.

Here’s Carol:

A longtime politico of the Democratic-Irish-Catholic persuasion, who hates to see his/her name in the newspaper, explained the race to me this way: “It’s been very personal and getting worse. Hynes has worked hard and is smart and capable but not a great campaigner. And Pat Quinn is viewed as the outsider . . . but ended up in the right place at the right time. . . . Right now I do my best to stay out of it. We have long Hynes connections, but I like Pat Quinn. He connects to people, he’s honest.”

The pol added: “At a White Sox game, he sits in the upper deck, not in a skybox.”

Quinn (Phi Beta Kappa from Georgetown) and Hynes (magna cum laude from Notre Dame) are among this state’s brainiest politicians. And this contest should be decided based on who has the best, smartest policies to pull Illinois out of the worst financial crisis, perhaps, in its history.

I hope these guys campaign on what they want to do as governor. I don’t want to watch an endless stream of commercials attacking or responding to frivolous political attacks. Right now, I’m just not sure how these pols differ ideologically. They both seem very intelligent and honest. I just feel more comfortable with Pat Quinn right now.

Let the games begin.

Edgardo De La Torre, 16, Struck by Car, Allegedly Killed by Teen Over Girl

Posted on by TL

There’s no good way to tell this story. Two young guys allegedly in a dispute over in a girl, one allegedly loses it and runs the other one over with a car. A stolen car.

And the 16-year-old victim is dead.

From the Chicago Tribune:

A Maine East High School student was run down and fatally injured by another teen driving a stolen car, an attack in a Niles mall parking lot that police said stemmed from a dispute over a girl on a social-networking Web site.

The victim, Edgardo De La Torre of Des Plaines, died after being taken off life support Tuesday, his 16th birthday, his mother, Leticia, said Wednesday. She said her son’s organs would be donated but declined to comment further.

De La Torre was with six other teens who were walking along Church Street near the Golf Mill mall at about 7 p.m. Saturday when they heard a car speed up, Niles Police Sgt. Tom Davis said.

"He accelerated and basically ran this kid down," said Davis, adding that the car was going between 30 and 40 mph. "It’s my understanding there was a dispute over a girl on a Web site and that is the reason he attacked him."

The teens ran into the mall parking lot as the car sped up and headed toward them, Davis said.

The car knocked down a 16-year-old boy from Glenview before making a U-turn and striking De La Torre, who suffered head injuries, according to police.

From Chicago Breaking News:

Alex De La Torre was walking with his older brother and other teens near a Niles mall when they heard a car speed up behind them.

They took off running for the nearest store but never made it.

The car hit Edgardo at nearly 40 mph, throwing him into the air. Alex said he rushed to his brother and held him.From Chicago Breaking News:

"He was shaking. He couldn’t breath or anything because he was choking," Alex, 14, told WGN-Channel 9 Wednesday night, a day after his brother was taken off life support and pronounced dead. Edgardo died on his 16th birthday.

"I just held him in may arms. And then I went into a J.C. Penney to get some help. And after that, the ambulance came."

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victim and the alleged offender.

In one instant, gone.

Alex De La Torre, 14, left, talks about holding his brother Edgardo after he was run down in a parking lot.

12-year-old Jahmeshia Conner Found Dead in South Side Alley

Posted on by TL

The sad news from the Chicago Tribune:

A 12-year-old girl who was missing for the last two weeks was found dead in aSouth Side alley this morning, her family said.

Family members said they have viewed photographs and identified the girl as Jahmeshia Conner, who was last seen Nov. 15. She was a fifth grader at O’Toole Elementary School.

Chicago police said the body was found this morning in the 6400 block of South Marshfield Avenue, about a block from her home. Further details about her identity and cause of death were pending an examination by the Cook County medical examiner’s office, police said.

Family members said it appeared from the photos that Jahmeshia may have been beaten.

Various online missing-children sites refer to Jahmeshia as an "endangered runaway," but family members insisted she would never run away.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Read more here.

Gregory Robinson Died a Hero at 14; Case Remains Unsolved

Posted on by TL

As I wrote last March, 14-year-old Gregory Robinson sounds like someone you would have admired.

Hearing gunshots, Robinson tried to protect a 10-month-old and a 4-year-old, and was shot dead. His murder remains unsolved, along with many others.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

The murder of 14-year-old Gregory Robinson, a Simeon Career Academy student who died shielding two younger children from bullets last March, remains unsolved.

This saddens the Rev. Don Smith of Holy Jerusalem Church, who doesn’t live far from where the murder took place, in the 1100 block of West 110th Place.

"I think some of these kids are so engrossed in video games, they don’t know reality," Smith said. "They think shooting is like a video game — [that] they shoot you, and three seconds later you get back up. It don’t work that way."

The murder of the Chicago Public Schools student — and many other homicides in the city that remain unsolved — was the reason Smith and a cadre of ministers and community groups hit the streets Saturday morning, ringing doorbells and passing out pamphlets asking for neighbors’ help in solving them.

Chicago Police spokesman Roderick Drew on Saturday could not immediately provide the number of unsolved murders in the city.

The South Side of Chicago is too dangerous still. There are about 100 community groups working in tandem with the Chicago Police Department to solve these murders. Dubbed Chain of Change, the project "organizes youth activists to individually and collectively strategize how to end violence by exposing its roots through the creation of media. Beyond media distributes video cameras to youth groups, who create short videos that challenge individuals to think about their own roles in this struggle."

Here is one of their video projects:

It’s a start. Another start.

And still the bullets fly.

Thomas Mangiantini Killed His Sons, His Wife and Himself

Posted on by TL

The tragic news from the Chicago Tribune:

Police have recovered a note left behind by Thomas Mangiantini, who they say killed his two young sons, his wife and himself in their Addison home.

The note, one page long and handwritten, was discovered late Wednesday night, hours after the bodies of Mangiantini, his wife Elizabeth and their sons Tommy Jr., 8, and Angelo, 12, were found, according to Addison Police Chief Tim Hayden.

Hayden would not disclose the contents of the note, but said Mangiantini was distraught.

The police chief also said two guns were recovered from the scene and Mangiantini used both of them to shoot his family. The police have not yet determined to whom the guns were registered, Hayden said.

Thomas E. Mangiantini, 48, killed his wife and children before shooting himself in the mouth, Hayden said. He was found dead in his bedroom.

The DuPage County coroner ruled today that Elizabeth Mangiantini died of a single gunshot wound to the head. Tommy Jr. was also shot once in the head and Angelo suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, the coroner said. Their deaths were classified as homicides.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the relatives of this family.

Read more here.

Todd Stroger Doesn’t Have Time to Ask for Your Vote

Posted on by TL

Look, we’ve spent plenty of time over the last several years critiquing Cook County Board President Todd Stroger.

Let’s make sure we remember that when it’s time to go to the polls.

From the Chicago Tribune:

Cook County Board president Todd Stroger took some heat for not attending today’s Democratic forum among candidates vying for the job of heading the county.

The candidates in attendance were Circuit Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, Chicago Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, 4th, and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District President Terrence O’Brien.

A representative for Stoger said the county board president was not at the forum because of a conflict of interest that prevented him from attending.

The video above is courtesy WGN.

According to WGN, Stroger did say he would be there, but had a “conflict of interest” that prevented him from appearing.

I am not ready to make an endorsement yet, but I know I will not vote for Todd Stroger.

Brighton Park Man Allegedly Goes All Van Gogh on Girlfriend

Posted on by TL

Ugh.

From the Sun-Times:

A woman was hospitalized Sunday morning after her boyfriend allegedly bit off part of her ear during an argument in the Southwest Side Brighton Park neighborhood.

About 3:40 a.m., police responded to a domestic-related incident in the 4000 block of South Brighton Place, where a man allegedly bit off part of his girlfriend’s ear during a fight, police said.

The woman was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in an unknown condition.

According to the report, detectives recovered part of the woman’s ear on the scene.

Ugh.

Lesbian Leads Chicago Cubs

Posted on by TL

From On Top Magazine:

A leading voice of the gay rights movement took the helm of the Chicago Cubs front office last week, gay newssite ChicagoPride.com reported.

Forty-one-year-old Laura Ricketts is a member of the Ricketts family, whose members completed their purchase of the sports landmark earlier in the year. With the purchase, Laura became the first openly gay Major League Baseball owner.

Laura serves on the board of New York-based Lambda Legal, a nationwide group that advocates for gay rights. The group’s lawyers represent LGBT clients, including those seeking the right to marry.

What role Laura will play in the actual day-to-day management of the team remains unknown, but if recent appearances are any indication, she’s likely to become a major voice of the team.

From Chicago Pride:

41-year-old Laura, the only daughter, is openly gay and lives in Chicago. With the Rickett’s purchase of the Cubs, she becomes the first openly gay MLB owner.

Laura is a gay rights advocate and fights for gay marriage. She serves on the board of Lambda Legal, a national organization fighting for gay rights.

41-year-old Laura, the only daughter, is openly gay and lives in Chicago. With the Rickett’s purchase of the Cubs, she becomes the first openly gay MLB owner.

Laura is a gay rights advocate and fights for gay marriage. She serves on the board of Lambda Legal, a national organization fighting for gay rights.

The oldest sibling is 45-year-old Peter who lives in Omaha. He ran for U.S. Senate as a conservative Republican. Peter opposes gay marriage.

All this must make for wonderful Thanksgiving Day conversation at the Ricketts table.

Forgive the attempt at humor.. I’ll try better down the road.

There’s always next year, after all…