Some of the lamest journalism ever recorded (outside of the immediate vicinity of where you are now), The Journolist pictured here.  More at I Own the World
H/T Jim Bowman

Running an auto firm is undoubtedly much harder than it looks–and it looks pretty hard.  But would it be crazy to suggest that, rather than using high-rate loans to goose sales in advance of a shotgun IPO, GM could take some time and concentrate on, I don’t know, making cars that people want to buy even if they can’t get bad lease deals?

On the government side, it’s even odder.  Pushing GM back into the subprime credit market seems to raise the odds that GM is eventually going to require another …

Mayor Daley sounds sillier every time he opens his mouth. Downstaters, who are not under his direct control, can see it better than Chicagoans. But Daley sounds especially silly, and frightening, when he indulges his obsession about guns. Violence in Chicago is, indeed, out of control. Daley chooses to focus his rage on guns, rather than on the people who use the guns.

Why? Because guns don’t vote, but people do. By playing to people’s fears, Daley hopes to win a few votes from those who have lost loved one to …

On the spur of the moment, I decided to stop by the Dirksen Federal Building, and have the firsthand experience of witnessing the Blagojevich trial.

This man’s current predicament – probably a step away from prison — has special meaning for me since, as Illinois Republican Party Chairman in 2002 I did battle on TV and radio with him almost every day during the gubernatorial campaign. Our candidate, the decent and honest Jim Ryan (not the imprisoned former Governor George Ryan) and other leaders agreed that I should be the …

A Wilmette investor alleges that Iraqi-born billionaire Nadhmi Auchi cheated him out of the proceeds from the sale of Antoin Rezko’s stake in a large South Loop development site.

Mr. Auchi, chairman of conglomerate General Mediterranean Holding SA, already owned 50% of the sprawling, 62-acre site in a venture that included Mr. Rezko, who was a top fundraiser to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Mr. Auchi structured his purchase of the rest of property so that Mr. Rezko could avoid paying Semir Sirazi, according to a complaint filed last week by Mr. Sirazi …

From the Obama-Blagojevich Blog

Here’s what Obama told the Tribune in November 2006:
—He wasn’t sure if he called Rezko to tell him about his interest in the house.
—Said Rezko had raised about $20,000 for him over the years.
—Said Rezko hadn’t been “involved with him in any legislative work whatsoever or any governmental activities of any sort.”
—Said he and Rezko shared lunch “once or twice a year” and as couples the Rezkos and Obamas dined “two to four times.”
By the time Obama finally was forced to answer questions to the Tribune and …

Shortly before Tim Baldermann retired as Chicago Ridge’s police chief, the town boosted his salary by more than$70,000, handing the 44-year-old as big a paycheck in retirement as he earned full time on the police force.

The deputy police chief, who sat on the pension board, received a similar deal. As it did for Baldermann, the town added Dennis Kapelinski’s unused vacation time to his final salary — in exchange for opting out of insurance coverage — and gave him a 20 percent raise just before he retired, documents show.
Baldermann, who …

Recently, Big Government told of a proposed fiscal year 2009 federal budget earmark intended for the Save-A-Life Foundation (SALF), a Chicago-area nonprofit that went belly-up late last year. The article questioned why IL Democrat Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who introduced the appropriation, wanted to fund SALF years after the charity was the subject of a string of media exposes, including four hard-hitting ABC7 Chicago I-Team reports.

Rep. Schakowsky eventually cancelled her earmark for SALF, perhaps in response to scrutiny last January from a conservative blogger, Doug Ross. She wouldn’t answer his questions then, and, according to Big Government, …

Two generally reliable Illinois Republicans are sponsoring legislation to bailout underfunded Union Pension funds.   Many of these funds sponsored by cash rich organizations, including Major League Baseball and the National Football League

From Warner Todd Huston
For decades unions have mishandled their pension funds. These funds have been embezzled into the pockets of union chiefs, they have been wasted on needless expenses, and have been spent away on left-wing political causes not to mention simple mismanagement and bad investing. It has gotten so bad that few union pension funds for the …

From The Hill
Chicago-area Democrats are urging the Treasury Department to help a troubled community bank with money from the $700 billion financial bailout fund.

Four House members pushed the department in mid-June to provide federal money to ShoreBank, a prominent Illinois-based bank that serves low- and middle-income customers. High-profile Democrats, including President Bill Clinton, have praised the bank’s work.
Read more at The Hill