You think you know achievement in your life?  Compare it with this, from pdb at Chicago’s long-overdue Department of Zoning Oversight Fellowship Forum: It’s as old as dirt, but what better way to nurture hope than through change, or th…

They said you must own a gun: “In March, 1982, Kennesaw, Georgia, passed a mandatory gun ownership ordinance which requires all heads of households to own a firearm — handgun, rifle or shotgun. In 1982, our crime against persons, which incl…

Last week we wrote of the cozy relationships between legislator lobbyists and other public officials who quite legally lobby various units of government—other than those to which they are elected. It gives the legislator-lobbyist quite an edge, because at some point the object of his or her lobbying will in all likely need to come hat in hand to the legislator for other favors.

Thus does one hand gild the other in the Illinois incest game—all quite legally.
For once we have a serious chance to toss a monkey wrench into the cycle—but …

In past elections for Cook County Board President, the Democratic primary has been widely considered to be the critical contest, with the general election a mere formality. This year, Roger Keats believes he can change that perception.
Speaking before the City Club of Chicago on Monday, Keats laid out his credentials and outlined an ambitious plan to reform the Cook County government. Taking particular issue with County Board President Todd Stroger’s management of the county health care system, nepotism within Stroger’s administration, and a rash of pay-to-play contracts, Keats positioned himself …

Please join Tom Roeser, of the Chicago Daily Observer, as he welcomes former Illinois House Speaker Lee Daniel and Cook County Board Spokesman Gene Mullins on Political Shootout, as 8PM on WLS-AM 890

Topics will include fallout from the primary election and suggested questions from call-in listeners.
Participate! +13125918900
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Without question, incumbent Todd Stroger’s performance as president of the Cook county board has precipitated serious distress among much of the county’s electorate, particularly whites. To coin a phrase: Toddlessness is happiness. Stroger has come to represent nepotism, incompetence and cluelessness run amok, and needlessly high taxes. The prospect of ousting the Toddler is, to many voters, cathartic, and a definite cure for chronic, governmental-induced flatulence.
With the Feb. 2 primary just weeks away, the ABT (Anybody But Todd) field — Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle (5th) and …

Years ago Chicago’s white mayor struck a tacit bargain with the African American power structure: Don’t run or support a serious black candidate against me and I will see to it that the President of the Cook County Board is black.
Thus in 1994 John Stroger, an amiable plantation-style ward boss was slated by the Democratic Machine and catapulted into the job. He served three terms but was felled by a stroke near the end of the 2006 primary, while in a tight race with Forrest Claypool, a reform-minded board member. …

What Budget Crisis? Cook County Donors Spend $27 Million on Bear’s Den
Swimming holes, a cascading waterfall, plenty of room to roam and a direct sightline into the wolf den — Brookfield Zoo is offering more than the bare necessitates for its most popular animal attraction.
The zoo’s three polar bears and two Alaskan brown bears will be moving in the coming months from the Bear Grottos, where bears have roamed since 1934, into the Great Bear Wilderness, the $27 million project on the site of the former Ibex Island.
Read more at …

Republican Gubenetorial Candidate Adam Andrzejewski and Eugene Mullins, Spokesman for Todd Stroger join Tom Roeser tonight on the Political Shootout on WLS AM 890 at 8PM.
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The Dems challenging Todd Stroger for the Cook county board presidency don’t ring a bell with me…starting with the unctuous Danny Davis who has problems showing up at meetings, due to an apparent chaotic lifestyle and non-organizable work habits that defies anyone or anything to get him where he’s supposed to me-and on time. For the latest episode, I’m indebted to the excellent blog “Blithe Spirit” written by Jim Bowman for the latest Davis snafu. Davis was due last Saturday morning at 2nd Baptist Church in Maywood. His office in …