Chicago Daily Observer

Let the breakup begin for Sun-Times Media Group Inc.

Piecemeal sale of the publisher of the city’s No. 2 newspaper is the likely outcome after the struggling company on Monday said it was entertaining selling any or all of its assets, plus joint ventures or partnerships.

Industry analysts say few bidders are likely to want the company’s entire portfolio, which includes the Chicago Sun-Times and a string of weekly and daily papers in the suburbs.

The suburban papers could attract greater interest from potential acquirers, says industry analyst John Morton, president of Morton Research Inc. in Silver Spring, Md.

Some of the winners and losers from yesterday’s primaries were obvious, others not as much. Here are a few we’ve noticed:

Winner: Sandi Jackson. She routed longtime Seventh Ward boss William Beavers by winning nearly three-quarters of the votes cast in their committeeman showdown—not a year after beating his daughter, Darcel, for alderman.

Loser: Jesse Jackson Jr. Sandi’s husband lost the other two races he got involved in: his friend Kenny Johnson fell to Will Burns in the 26th state rep contest while Larry Suffredin finished third in the Democratic campaign for state’s attorney. Maybe Sandi’s the legitimate mayoral threat from the Jackson family.

Winners: Incumbent water reclamation district commissioners. All three held on, turning back aggressive, big-spending challengers.

He’s addressing CPAC now. Oh, if he’d only stop talking about that gold standard. He has so many better things to say…

On the other hand, I am impressed by how warmly his views on foreign policy are being greeted. And I love what he said about abortion:

“Life begins at conception. That’s not a political statement — that’s a scientific statement.”

Here is part of my fantasy Ron Paul speech, the one I wish he’d give:

I was driving east on Independence Avenue the other day. On the right, I first saw the Department of Agriculture. It has more employees than there are farmers in the United States. Then I saw the Department of Energy, which has never produced a single watt of electricity.