If the first trial had a certain excitement and air of unpredictability, Monday’s edition of the retrial seemed just worn and wan—much like the defendant. Still, there was a special poignancy because while Blago II droned on at the federal courthouse on Jackson and Dearborn, some blocks east and north at Millennium Park, Rahm Emanuel—“that little [expletive]” in Blago’s taped words—was being inaugurated as mayor…
The first new mayor in 22 years takes over for real today. Here’s a sampling of what to look out for, from school days to beat cops to searchable budgets. Just don’t ask him about tampons.
Like Mayor Daley, Emanuel’s doing this for the kids. In other words, there were no big surprises in the new mayor’s speech, but he did address the issue that many suspect will the focus and the big tension of his early tenure: Chicago Public Schools, teachers’ unions, and Jean-Claude Brizard.
Of all the hurdles Indiana governor and likely presidential candidate Mitch Daniels faces on the road to the White House, one important one his the permission of his wife, Cheri. She’s not much for politics, but she does love Chicago’s other pastime: her beloved grandfather was Cubs Hall of Famer Billy Herman.
The original Mayor Daley’s inaugural speech was something less than a barnburner, but encapsulated the man and his civics-class-era tenure as mayor.
In a word, no. But asking the question raises some interesting answers about the soon-to-be former mayor, which tell us a bit about Rahm Emanuel as well.
MR. NONSTOP: Chicago’s hardest-working serial entrepreneur—the man who remade Kendall College and gave Rahm Emanuel a place to call home—is busy creating a digital-arts alternative to the four-year college degree
In a racially charged atmosphere, says Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago’s chief executive can best defuse tensions by concentrating on fair distribution of basic city services. “I think I’m changing people’s minds and attitudes by providing what l’m supposed to: providing the services fair and equitably, and responding, whether it’s a letter I receive in … Read more
June 25th, the Progressive Community Church, 56 East 48th Street. It is hot in here, and all of us are waving our complimentary Golden Gate Funeral Home fans, which feature bright photographs of mortician E. Edwards and his secretary, Vera. All of them fluttering together make it look as though a flock of butterflies had … Read more
At a certain point in the conversation, Rich Daley tugs loose his big red tie, rolls up his sleeves, and lays out his theory on crime. “To me,” Daley says, “a narcotics dealer is the most dangerous person out there. He makes your murderers, your rapists, your home invaders, destroys your kids, your kids will … Read more
