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21 Oct 2010 15:54

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Biz: Note: There’s Tribune Corp., and then there’s the Chicago Tribune

  • I told you what the Chicago Tribune is not. Now let me tell you what it is. It’s reporters, photographers and editors, analysts and designers, and others who help us with the work. Our newspaper is just one part of Tribune Co., and what the corporate bosses do is separate from what we do.
  • Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass • Making a spirited defense in favor of the Chicago Tribune, that little newspaper created in that building where a frat environment was reportedly fostered among the corporate wing. This is a really class thing to point out. The problem with Tribune is not the paper itself. The management – which occasionally makes awful decisions that affect the paper’s journalism – is the problem here. They bankrupted the company. They took Col. Robert McCormick’s sacred room and played poker games there. All the investigative journalists and reporters working their beat? They weren’t screwing around. Let’s be sure, when we’re ripping on Tribune Corp. for silly business practices, we’re making the distinction. (Thanks Amber Nettlessource

20 Oct 2010 21:10

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U.S.: Chicagoland sheriff: We won’t process these mass foreclosures

  • This is not the lotto. This isn’t something where we roll the dice and say, ‘You know what? Possibly this has been done legally. Maybe it hasn’t, but in the meantime you and your children go find some place to live. There’s plenty of homeless shelters out there.’ We can’t do that.
  • Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart • Informing mortgage companies that he WOULD NOT be evicting people due to foreclosure orders. Why? Well, his staff discovered that many of the foreclosure orders coming his way were from so-called “robo signers,” who have been ordering foreclosures en masse without even reading the documents. “This is so outrageous. These poor people are being put through this day in and day out, by people who don’t do their jobs,” he said. “It’s so hard for me to stomach these people. This isn’t just we are taking their bike away, or their car away. This is their house.” Dart, by the way, is noted for his attacks on Craigslist. source

22 Sep 2010 19:55

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Politics: Rahm Emanuel, the next Chicago mayor? Take a number, buddy

  • positive If Rahm Emanuel were to leave the White House to run for mayor of Chicago, he has a decent chance of doing well.
  • negative Everybody and their brother is thinking of running for Mayor Daley’s seat, meaning it’d be a freaking huge fight. source

07 Sep 2010 20:33

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Politics: Richard M. Daley just gave Rahm Emanuel some great news

  • cause Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley isn’t going to run for reelection. He’s been mayor since 1989. Just like his dad, he’s an institution.
  • effect Rahm Emanuel is possibly going to run, because he’s always wanted to. The path’s now clear. He may just do it. source

22 Aug 2010 10:37

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Politics: At Chicago’s Comic Con, Blago outdrew the big stars

  • $50 the amount people paid for a signature from the hair himself
  • $80 the amount people paid to get in a photo with said hair source

14 Aug 2010 13:19

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U.S.: The system works: Judge-threatening shock jock Hal Turner convicted

  • thenUltra-bat@(&(@-insane radio shock jock Hal Turner threw this nugget out there after a ruling against a (now-overturned) handgun ban in Chicago: “Let me be the first to say this plainly: These judges deserve to be killed.” (!!!)
  • nowTurner was then arrested, and now he’s been convicted for the incendiary speech. “There is no place in society for threatening federal judges with violence. Period,” said U.S. attorney Patrick J.Fitzgerald. source

04 Aug 2010 10:05

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U.S.: Obama turns 49 today, and he plans to keep it low-key

He’s gonna hang with some buddies in Chicago, and according to Robert Gibbs, “I think he is looking forward to spending the night in his house for a change.” source
 

02 Jul 2010 21:55

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U.S.: Chicago’s new gun law: As much like the old one as possible

  • four number of days ago that the Supreme Court struck down the city’s ban on firearms
  • one number of operable guns a new law allows residents to own (inoperable ones are OK)
  • zero number of city council members who voted against the new law, passed today source

13 May 2010 10:40

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U.S.: Bad sign: Murder is up in many major cities this year

  • 149 murders in New York City so far this year, versus 134 at the same point last year; 13 were kids
  • 120 murders in Chicago
    (111 last year); a major leap in murder last month was a root cause
  • 104 murders in Philadelphia (101 last year); crime is mostly down in Philly this year
  • 103 murders in Los Angeles (100 last year); violent crime is otherwise down this year source

07 May 2010 13:01

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