The 312 - June 2011

06/30/11

The Human Costs of Illinois's Political Corruption

Two consecutive generations of corruption wracked Illinois politics, undermining the state and leading to an immense cost for the guilty and their loved ones. In the end, the ill-gotten gains seem incomprehensibly petty, but maybe it's not about the money.

Posted at 6:46 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/30/11

The U of C's Mansueto Library as Social Space

Everyone's pretty much in agreement that the bubbleicious Mansueto Library is an architectural triumph. But how well does it work in practice?

Posted at 1:48 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/29/11

Intersected

Two fatal crashes in two months turn a stretch of Illinois Street near the Tribune Tower into a memento mori.

Posted at 4:44 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)

06/29/11

Rod Blagojevich: Done In By a Smart Jury

Far from the old "12 Angry Men" saw, Blagojevich's peers got along, developed clever techniques to weigh his guilt and innocence, and methodically analyzed the stagecraft that got him elected in the first place.

Posted at 1:17 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/28/11

What's Wrong With Adam Dunn?

The Sox big slugger is having one of the worst offensive seasons in baseball, a big surprise given his consistency over the years. But looking deeper at his numbers suggests there's nothing to be surprised about, except maybe some bad luck. Plus: are the White Sox too impatient as a team?

Posted at 7:30 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/28/11

Forget Pujols: The Cubs Should Go After Prince Fielder

Albert Pujols's pending free agency portends a wild off-season and a lucrative payday for the best player of our generation. But Milwaukee's powerful first baseman is a great, cheaper second option, going into the prime of his career as Pujols passes out of his. Besides, the Cubs' most pressing need is and will continue to be their awful pitching staff.

Posted at 2:21 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/24/11

The Housing Crisis on Chicago's South Side

The Tribune looks at the devastating effect the housing bubble had on Englewood, in a piece reminiscent of the paper's 2005 series on housing fraud in the same neighborhood. A look even further behind the numbers is no less shocking.

Posted at 4:41 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/23/11

Barack Obama: Jimmy Carter II?

The president came in with hopes from liberal Democrats that he might usher in a new New Deal. But in terms of governance, temperament, and ideology, he might be more like the Man From Plains.

Posted at 6:19 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/23/11

Good Chicago Blogs

An annotated blog roll of local favorites of mine. Plus: some underrated Chicago books, and brief advertisements for myself.

Posted at 3:15 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/22/11

Blagojevich Trial: Is Blago Too Unserious for Jail Time?

The jury remains out, and observers are starting to get antsy, jumping when the jurors ask a question. Here's a theory as to why they're taking so long: the jury has to deal with the interpretation of a statute that's currently vexing legal scholars.

Posted at 5:34 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/22/11

CPS Bureaucrat Salaries and Income Inequality

The Sun-Times is reporting that, for the second year in a row, various CPS bureaucrats will see substantial raises over their predecessors' salaries. It makes no sense... and perfect sense.

Posted at 3:22 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/20/11

New Chicago Blogs of Note

Grid Chicago reports on sustainable transportation in the city; The Steppes of Chicago takes an on-the-streets look at Chicago architecture.

Posted at 2:05 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)

06/20/11

Chicago Crime Roundup

The cost of wrongful incarceration and the city's immense legal-settlement costs; Chicago's new gun law seems as ineffectual as the gun ban that preceded it; a Sun-Times reporter gets caught in the line of fire and returns to figure out why; and more

Posted at 1:39 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)

06/17/11

Study: It's Harder to Get Medical Care If You're a Kid on Medicaid in Chicago

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that children on Medicare and SCHIP face longer waits and more rejections for medical care.

Posted at 3:04 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/17/11

Your DVR Is an Energy Hog

File under things that I knew somewhere deep in my head but probably just didn't want to think about: DVRs consume an enormous amount of electricity.

Posted at 12:10 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)

06/16/11

Chicago Teacher Salaries: The Long View

The Board of Education rejected Chicago teachers' "automatic" four-percent raise, portending a showdown between the Chicago Teachers Union and the mayor, or at least more tension. Setting aside whether teachers are "overpaid" or "underpaid," let's take a look at how they've been historically paid.

Posted at 8:27 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/15/11

New Evidence Surfaces in 18-Year-Old Tricia Pacaccio Murder Case

Will the grand-jury testimony of two new witnesses finally prompt Cook County prosecutors to charge their prime suspect?

Posted at 12:01 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (7)

06/14/11

People Love the Chicago Cubs... Too Much

What happens when you actually put money on waiting 'til next year, by the numbers. Plus: Wrigley's a dump, but that's not really the point.

Posted at 6:10 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/14/11

McCormick Place, Trade Shows, and Unions: The Latest Labor Battle

Another big expo has decided to skip Chicago for Las Vegas, citing the cost of labor and the uncertain status of legislation meant to curtail it. But a Crain's investigation complicates the picture. Why's it so expensive to do a trade show at McCormick Place?

Posted at 2:20 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (1)

06/13/11

LeBron James and the Michael Jordan Question

King James had a rough Finals, wearing down during the fourth quarter on a game-by-game basis. LeBron has since been called out for his passive play... but another possibility is that he was just worn down. In fact, he got asked to play more minutes this year than MJ did in his prime.

Posted at 5:28 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/10/11

The Drudge Report, Flash Mobs, and Race

The Chicago "flash mobs" catch the traffic-driving eye of the Drudge Report, leading to a possible multiplying effect... and the inevitable discussions that surround crime in Chicago.

Posted at 2:41 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (6)

06/09/11

Books We Like: Marcus Sakey's "The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes"

The Chicago novelist's latest is about about a man who wakes up without clothes or an identity on a beach in Maine, travels across the country's belly, and winds up in Los Angeles.

Posted at 2:47 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/09/11

Chicago Art Prints for a Good Cause

Jay Ryan, Sonnenzimmer, Mat Daly, and other leading lights of the Chicago gig-poster scene create prints for Louisville musician Jason Noble.

Posted at 1:41 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (2)

06/09/11

Indianapolis: The City Without Neigborhoods

Research by Chicago-based urban planner Aaron Renn and a host of Indianapolitans results in a comprehensive neighborhood map of the city. Now they'll have to see if it sticks.

Posted at 12:26 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/08/11

New City of Chicago Data Sets: Employee Salaries, Traffic Counts

A new dataset released by the City of Chicago allows you to sort through all city employees by department, job title, and salary. Plus: a map of the city's traffic count shows where the most cars pass by every day.

Posted at 6:36 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/08/11

Groupon IPO: SEC May Tell Lefkofsky to Please Be Quiet, Please

Groupon's co-founder, former college carpet baron Eric Lefkofsky, runs afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission, for stating what everyone presumes he already thinks.

Posted at 3:00 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/08/11

A Brief History of Flash Mobs and Chicago Beach Violence

Chicago's beaches have historically been at the intersection of violence, race, class, and hot weather. Though the technology has changed: social media used to be a bugle. (Seriously.)

Posted at 10:28 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (8)

06/07/11

The Groupon IPO: Burn Rates and Bubbles

Groupon peels back the curtain with its S-1 filing, in advance of its eagerly awaited IPO. So why is everyone talking about moats and "adjusted CSOI"?

Posted at 3:30 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/03/11

Gioia Diliberto On Hemingway's First Wife, Hadley

Journalist and novelist Gioia Dilberto discusses the new edition of her biography of Hadley Richardson Hemingway, the legendary writer's first wife, which brings to life the couple's passionate Chicago courtship.

Posted at 9:00 AM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/02/11

The Continuing Decline of Chicago Housing Prices

Should you rent or buy? How much of America should rent or buy? Is housing as bad as it was during the Great Depression?

Posted at 2:59 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

06/01/11

Would a Chicago Casino Cause Crime?

According to a paper by former UIUC prof Earl Grinols, the odds are good that a casino would lead to an increase in crime. Taxing it enough might pay for the social costs, but a drop in casino taxes is part of the legislation.

Posted at 7:16 PM in The 312 | Permalink | Comments (0)

	06/30/11 The Human Costs of Illinois's Political Corruption Two consecutive generations of corruption wracked Illinois politics, undermining the state and leading to an immense cost for the guilty and their loved ones. In the end, the ill-gotten gains seem incomprehensibly petty, but maybe it's not about the money. Posted at 6:46 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/30/11 The U of C's Mansueto Library as Social Space Everyone's pretty much in agreement that the bubbleicious Mansueto Library is an architectural triumph. But how well does it work in practice? Posted at 1:48 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	06/29/11 Intersected Two fatal crashes in two months turn a stretch of Illinois Street near the Tribune Tower into a memento mori. Posted at 4:44 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	06/29/11 Rod Blagojevich: Done In By a Smart Jury Far from the old "12 Angry Men" saw, Blagojevich's peers got along, developed clever techniques to weigh his guilt and innocence, and methodically analyzed the stagecraft that got him elected in the first place. Posted at 1:17 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/28/11 What's Wrong With Adam Dunn? The Sox big slugger is having one of the worst offensive seasons in baseball, a big surprise given his consistency over the years. But looking deeper at his numbers suggests there's nothing to be surprised about, except maybe some bad luck. Plus: are the White Sox too impatient as a team? Posted at 7:30 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/28/11 Forget Pujols: The Cubs Should Go After Prince Fielder Albert Pujols's pending free agency portends a wild off-season and a lucrative payday for the best player of our generation. But Milwaukee's powerful first baseman is a great, cheaper second option, going into the prime of his career as Pujols passes out of his. Besides, the Cubs' most pressing need is and will continue to be their awful pitching staff. Posted at 2:21 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/24/11 The Housing Crisis on Chicago's South Side The Tribune looks at the devastating effect the housing bubble had on Englewood, in a piece reminiscent of the paper's 2005 series on housing fraud in the same neighborhood. A look even further behind the numbers is no less shocking. Posted at 4:41 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/23/11 Barack Obama: Jimmy Carter II? The president came in with hopes from liberal Democrats that he might usher in a new New Deal. But in terms of governance, temperament, and ideology, he might be more like the Man From Plains. Posted at 6:19 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/23/11 Good Chicago Blogs An annotated blog roll of local favorites of mine. Plus: some underrated Chicago books, and brief advertisements for myself. Posted at 3:15 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	06/22/11 Blagojevich Trial: Is Blago Too Unserious for Jail Time? The jury remains out, and observers are starting to get antsy, jumping when the jurors ask a question. Here's a theory as to why they're taking so long: the jury has to deal with the interpretation of a statute that's currently vexing legal scholars. Posted at 5:34 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/22/11 CPS Bureaucrat Salaries and Income Inequality The Sun-Times is reporting that, for the second year in a row, various CPS bureaucrats will see substantial raises over their predecessors' salaries. It makes no sense... and perfect sense. Posted at 3:22 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/20/11 New Chicago Blogs of Note Grid Chicago reports on sustainable transportation in the city; The Steppes of Chicago takes an on-the-streets look at Chicago architecture. Posted at 2:05 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	06/20/11 Chicago Crime Roundup The cost of wrongful incarceration and the city's immense legal-settlement costs; Chicago's new gun law seems as ineffectual as the gun ban that preceded it; a Sun-Times reporter gets caught in the line of fire and returns to figure out why; and more Posted at 1:39 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	06/17/11 Study: It's Harder to Get Medical Care If You're a Kid on Medicaid in Chicago A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that children on Medicare and SCHIP face longer waits and more rejections for medical care. Posted at 3:04 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	06/17/11 Your DVR Is an Energy Hog File under things that I knew somewhere deep in my head but probably just didn't want to think about: DVRs consume an enormous amount of electricity. Posted at 12:10 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	06/16/11 Chicago Teacher Salaries: The Long View The Board of Education rejected Chicago teachers' "automatic" four-percent raise, portending a showdown between the Chicago Teachers Union and the mayor, or at least more tension. Setting aside whether teachers are "overpaid" or "underpaid," let's take a look at how they've been historically paid. Posted at 8:27 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/15/11 New Evidence Surfaces in 18-Year-Old Tricia Pacaccio Murder Case Will the grand-jury testimony of two new witnesses finally prompt Cook County prosecutors to charge their prime suspect? Posted at 12:01 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (7)
	06/14/11 People Love the Chicago Cubs... Too Much What happens when you actually put money on waiting 'til next year, by the numbers. Plus: Wrigley's a dump, but that's not really the point. Posted at 6:10 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/14/11 McCormick Place, Trade Shows, and Unions: The Latest Labor Battle Another big expo has decided to skip Chicago for Las Vegas, citing the cost of labor and the uncertain status of legislation meant to curtail it. But a Crain's investigation complicates the picture. Why's it so expensive to do a trade show at McCormick Place? Posted at 2:20 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (1)
	06/13/11 LeBron James and the Michael Jordan Question King James had a rough Finals, wearing down during the fourth quarter on a game-by-game basis. LeBron has since been called out for his passive play... but another possibility is that he was just worn down. In fact, he got asked to play more minutes this year than MJ did in his prime. Posted at 5:28 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/10/11 The Drudge Report, Flash Mobs, and Race The Chicago "flash mobs" catch the traffic-driving eye of the Drudge Report, leading to a possible multiplying effect... and the inevitable discussions that surround crime in Chicago. Posted at 2:41 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (6)
	06/09/11 Books We Like: Marcus Sakey's "The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes" The Chicago novelist's latest is about about a man who wakes up without clothes or an identity on a beach in Maine, travels across the country's belly, and winds up in Los Angeles. Posted at 2:47 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/09/11 Chicago Art Prints for a Good Cause Jay Ryan, Sonnenzimmer, Mat Daly, and other leading lights of the Chicago gig-poster scene create prints for Louisville musician Jason Noble. Posted at 1:41 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (2)
	06/09/11 Indianapolis: The City Without Neigborhoods Research by Chicago-based urban planner Aaron Renn and a host of Indianapolitans results in a comprehensive neighborhood map of the city. Now they'll have to see if it sticks. Posted at 12:26 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/08/11 New City of Chicago Data Sets: Employee Salaries, Traffic Counts A new dataset released by the City of Chicago allows you to sort through all city employees by department, job title, and salary. Plus: a map of the city's traffic count shows where the most cars pass by every day. Posted at 6:36 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/08/11 Groupon IPO: SEC May Tell Lefkofsky to Please Be Quiet, Please Groupon's co-founder, former college carpet baron Eric Lefkofsky, runs afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission, for stating what everyone presumes he already thinks. Posted at 3:00 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/08/11 A Brief History of Flash Mobs and Chicago Beach Violence Chicago's beaches have historically been at the intersection of violence, race, class, and hot weather. Though the technology has changed: social media used to be a bugle. (Seriously.) Posted at 10:28 AM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (8)
	06/07/11 The Groupon IPO: Burn Rates and Bubbles Groupon peels back the curtain with its S-1 filing, in advance of its eagerly awaited IPO. So why is everyone talking about moats and "adjusted CSOI"? Posted at 3:30 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/03/11 Gioia Diliberto On Hemingway's First Wife, Hadley Journalist and novelist Gioia Dilberto discusses the new edition of her biography of Hadley Richardson Hemingway, the legendary writer's first wife, which brings to life the couple's passionate Chicago courtship. Posted at 9:00 AM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/02/11 The Continuing Decline of Chicago Housing Prices Should you rent or buy? How much of America should rent or buy? Is housing as bad as it was during the Great Depression? Posted at 2:59 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)
	06/01/11 Would a Chicago Casino Cause Crime? According to a paper by former UIUC prof Earl Grinols, the odds are good that a casino would lead to an increase in crime. Taxing it enough might pay for the social costs, but a drop in casino taxes is part of the legislation. Posted at 7:16 PM in The 312 \| Permalink \| Comments (0)

June 2011

06/30/11

06/30/11

06/29/11

06/29/11

06/28/11

06/28/11

06/24/11

06/23/11

06/23/11

06/22/11

06/22/11

06/20/11

06/20/11

06/17/11

06/17/11

06/16/11

06/15/11

06/14/11

06/14/11

06/13/11

06/10/11

06/09/11

06/09/11

06/09/11

06/08/11

06/08/11

06/08/11

06/07/11

06/03/11

06/02/11

06/01/11

About The 312

What the editorial staff at Chicago magazine is reading, watching, clicking on, listening to, talking about, and doing—shared here and open for discussion.

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