ArchPundit

Joyce Watch

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 5 Comments

No, not the Chicago Fire Commissioner, but the loony Illinois Leader environmental commentator

This week, Ms. Morrison complains that reintroduction programs are causing changes to the environment and we shouldn’t mess with mother nature.

Okay, who gets the irony here? If you read her column, you realize in one instance she isn’t even talking about reintroduction, but even more importantly–it is messing with mother nature that caused a need for reintroduction. Unless she wants to treat every bit of development as ‘nature’ than her entire column falls down on its own logic. Nothing, new, but kinda funny.

The funniest bit is the Panther siting in Hardin. Having spent some time–especially some nights in Hardin, let me guess—someone had been drinking at the Barefoot Inn for a few too many hours and saw a big pink panther…..
On a more serious note, non-native species often due find their way to areas because mother nature has been messed with through spraw. But Morrison would never suggest that. I think we might be on our way to another black helicopter column. In a previous column she suggested black helicopters were part of a plot to discredit critics of the UN–so the black helicopter conspiracy theory is created by the UN to discredit conspiracy theorists..I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.

Breaking!

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 No Comments

Drudge style for a Drudge like report,
Via Tim Blair
Why did Morgan Fairchild give to Howard Dean, Dick Gephardht and John Edwards, but not the man she once dated, John Kerry?

Is there some dark secret from that relationship we don’t know about?

Developing….

Jack Ryan’s divorce woes just won’t die

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 5 Comments

That isn’t even me, that is the headline to an article in the Post-Dispatch from Sunday’s edition. I had planned on dropping this, but the regular media isn’t so…..

Let me make this clear, we don’t know much about what is in the sealed portions of the file. We do know that Ryan tried to have it sealed apparently due to embarrassing portions that might have an effect on him politically, and we know that a rival campaign has claimed that some very bad things are contained. We also know that Jeri Ryan didn’t want the records sealed, at least at first.

The larger point, as has been made in comments is that whether there is damaging information or not, the story will continue and for as long as that story is out there Ryan will never get to address the issues he wants to use to define the race. Right now that is critical to getting initial favorable impressions for voters. While it goes on, it allows Obama to deplore the negativity while defining the election in his favor.

Now Edgar has suggested he needs to get the files out there, as has former Edgar aide, Mike Lawrence. One complaint to the P-D about this, they should have identified Lawrence as an Obama supporter for the interview. While Lawrence is as honest as they come, this is a conflict readers should know about.

The undercurrent of much of the reporting is already who might replace Ryan on the ticket if he melts down. Errrr….this is not the way to use your honeymoon after a fairly decent victory in a divided primary.

Now to get on to the speculation, who might replace Ryan? Not Topinka or Edgar. Topinka has little desire to go to D.C. and if she is to go for higher office it’ll be in a final showdown between social conservatives and Combine Republicans over the Statehouse. Edgar seems to like his life and a Senate race is more than he wants to go through from all indications I’ve seen.

My guess if the party replaces Ryan? Rauschenberger–squeaky clean and popular with both combine elements and with social conservatives. I know, I know, I always overestimate how well Rauschenberger will do. It is hard to imagine such a campaign overcoming the craziness if Ryan were to drop out, but it might raise his profile over O’Malley and others providing a more sane alternative that is still conservative for the Governor’s race.

Homeless Count

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 No Comments

The City of Chicago Department of Human Services and 45 Chicago Police Officers will be conducting a count of homeless persons overnight. The point of this will become clear in the next few weeks, but this is first step in a new Daley initiative.

Say One Thing about Mickey Segal

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 No Comments

He appears to hire hookers that cost more than $2.

Gambling on Don

ArchPundit March 23, 2004 No Comments

Blagojevich has called for an inquiry into the choice of the Isle of Capri Casino proposal for Rosemont by the Illinois Gaming Commission.

The Gaming Commission has blamed the Governor for not giving them the resources to make complete decisions. Of course, he hasn’t.

If they don’t watch it, the Gaming Commission will be Schillerstered (current Blagojevich target and State Superintendent of Schools).

Regardless of whether the Board has adequate resources, the decision was bound to be controversial and they knew it. Rosemont is a run by Don Stephens, a crony of former Governor George Ryan, and also a man with ties to several figures that have relations with organized crime. In one of the most hilarious pieces on the Outfit since Royko ate at the same restaurant as his favorite target, John Kass details Don’s life as a pool boy to the Giancanas.

Any casino that does business in Rosemont is going to go through Stephens and as such, will be tainted with fears over Outfit connections. To make matters worse, Bernie Goldstein, the head of Isle of Capri, was given a one-way ticket out of Illinois Gaming several years ago.

The other choices in this case were Des Plaines and Waukegan. Waukegan is the case best fitting the need for economic revitalization. Remember originally, the casinos were designed to be tools of economic revitalization in river towns hit hard by economic changes. So towns like East Saint Louis, Peoria, Joliet, and Elgin were naturals. And in several places the strategy has helped.

Des Plaines was the choice of staff. Waukegan was also the favorite of other casino towns because it was farther away from existing casinos. One complaint out of Elgin is that a Rosemont casino will draw a lot of business away from Aurora and Elgin negating some of the impact of the 10th license. I’m not sure this is as serious as some think simply because Rosement would probably be full from travellers and city dwellers who now go to Indiana.

Instead of following the staff recommendation or the community in most need, the board chose the casino spot most likely to raise a lot of money. The question that Illinois Attorney General needs to answer is who is it going to raise that money for: Illinois taxpayers or the Outfit?