I visited Chicago Children’s Museum’s new Tinkering Lab with my 3 year old over the weekend. (“Chicago’s first DIY maker-space for families!”) Neither O. nor I am are particularly handy– both of our first reactions to the drills, saws and wood glue was to split. Because I was with out-of-town guests who were into it, I put up … Continue reading »
Tagged with Chicago …
2009 Chicago Media Highlights: Parking Meters & Peraica
What were the most important events in Chicago media in 2009? I’m not sure, bere’s what I remember: Mick Dumke and Ben Joravsky owned the TIF and parking meter privitization stories. Dumke and Joravsky aside, on the Olympic bid story, Chicago media largely chose to be cheerleaders rather than muckrakers. Steve Rhodes called out Greg … Continue reading »
CookCountyEmployees.com and the limited value of transparency
On Monday, Cook County Commissioner Tony released his “transparency project,” CookCountyEmployees.com, a data base of names and salaries of some 25,000 County employees. Via Twitter, Peraica announced it as an “online database of county employees/vendors;” on Youtube he said it was “so that you know how your money is being spent” Peraica has stood out on the ethically-challenged Board … Continue reading »
The Clarovista’s soggy mattress
The Clarovista is the (re-branded) culmination of the largest construction project in my Chicago neighborhood of Edgewater in a couple of decades. I didn’t oppose the development, enjoyed watching the construction unfold over the last few years, and have looked forward to the business my new neighbors could might bring to some of my favorite … Continue reading »
The Merry-Go-Round Continues: Who Replaces Quigley on the Cook County Board
I’m just back from the celebration at the Red Ivy, where Cook County Commissioner Mike Quigley claimed the Democratic nomination, and in effect won election, to replace Rahm Emanuel in Congress. As this race fades, Chicago political junkies shudder at the prospect of no elections for 11 months,; to bide the time, we turn to … Continue reading »
The Race to Replace Rahm’s Final Lap
A consequence of the most interesting election cycle of my lifetime, the build-up for Tuesday’s vote in Illinois’ Fifth District has been a disappointment. As I’ve lamented previously, this rare occurrence of an open election with several appealing candidates, at a time of crisis, has been largely devoid of substantive debate. In part, this reflects … Continue reading »
Is no one writing about issues in the Race to Replace Rahm?
If you only read the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times’ coverage of the race to elect a new Congressman in Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District, you’d know a lot about campaign tactics, but little about where the candidates stand. The Tribune editorial board met with the highest profile candidates, and what is the result? An … Continue reading »
Will the Candidates in the Race to Replace Rahm Take the Pledge?
Last week, Larry Lessig and Change Congress called for a Donor Strike: “We pledge NOT to give to any candidate who doesn’t support Citizens’ Funded Elections.” How about it, Sara Feigenholtz, Mike Quigley, John Fritchey, Tom Geoghegan and the rest: do you pledge to support the Fair Elections Now Act? And for the rest of … Continue reading »
Breaking Down the 5th
Political consultant Mike Fourcher (the man behind Chicago Cloutwiki) shares the slides he presented this week to the Northside of Democracy for America chapter; key takeaways from his preview of the Febrary 3 primary election The majority of votes in the District can be found in the city. Shrinking middle class: between the 2000 Census and … Continue reading »
628,245.32 Reasons Gene Schulter is a Favorite to Replace Rahm
[A couple of readers, including James below, have pointed out that Schulter is limited in how he can use his funds; the money Feigenholtz raised last quarter has no such restrictions.] In an ongoing attempt to track the race to replace Rahm Emanuel in Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District, a look into who might have the … Continue reading »
