The Chicago Tribune
Blagojevich—Good Riddance to Him
It’s never a happy thing to see someone convicted of serious crimes. With rare exceptions, I don’t believe people should serve really long prison sentences. So I don’t want Rod Blagojevich to serve decades in prison. Still, these were just and necessary verdicts. The Chicago Tribune’s Annie Sweeney reports that our corrupt former governor is expected to serve ten years. This seems about right. READ MORE >>
Neutralized
Is The Labor Market Better Than We Think?
Floyd Norris has been arguing that the Labor Department figures tend to underestimate job growth in the early part of a recovery (and underestimate job loss in the early stages of s recession.) Here's Norris's column from a month ago: READ MORE >>
The Blago Trial: Closing Statements
Dispatches From the Blago Trial (Part 3)
Click here to read Margo Howard’s first dispatch from the Blagojevich trial. Click here to read her second. READ MORE >>
Copenhagen: Not Such A Flop After All?
The Chicago Tribune's Jim Tankersley has a piece noting that the conventional wisdom on Copenhagen has been quietly shifting. In the immediate aftermath, nearly everyone labeled the accord a big fat failure. But in the months since, various countries have been racking up pledges to cut emissions and they've made a fair bit of headway: READ MORE >>
The High Price of Rapid Tax Refunds
The Chicago Tribune recently profiled a Naperville, IL couple struggling, like so many others across the country, to make ends meet. She had to stop working as a nursing assistant because of health problems, and his $8.50-an-hour job isn’t enough to pay all their bills. They’ve fallen behind on rent, even after pawning belongings to help catch up. READ MORE >>
Delving Deeper Into Snowmaggedon Parking Philosophy
Will Rick Perry Get Away with Murder?
Not murder in the literal sense, of course, though in this case the metaphor is less distant than one would prefer. READ MORE >>
Rallying
On Tuesday afternoon I attended a health reform rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza. (Readers should know that I attended in the capacity of a supporter/observer, and am not a fully detached reporter covering this one.) The event included impressive headliners: Representative Jan Schakowsky, Governor Pat Quinn, County Board President Todd Stroger, and many others. Wendell Potter, the former Cigna publicity executive, also spoke. READ MORE >>
