It’s Halloween, so write something scary.

But, please, no violent stuff. People can get in big trouble for that. Also, let’s try to keep it state and locally focused. Thanks.

…Adding… I posted this video a few years ago, but many of you weren’t around back then. Watch and listen closely and you can just barely make out a ghostly image that was accidentally picked up while a car company was filming an advertisement…

       

99 Comments - I'm Just Saying - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:44 am: Three more years of Blago - I'm Just Saying - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:45 am: States Attorney Tony Periaca - He makes Ryan Look like a Saint - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:46 am: I have heard that Rich Miller has been named Deputy Gov in charge of Media Relations. - Don Kosin - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:51 am: H I L L A R Y C L I N T O N ! ! ! WOOOOOOOO!!!!! - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:51 am: Let’s also try to keep it state and locally focused. Thanks. - Balance - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:53 am: Expansion of gambling. - S. Illinois - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:58 am: Years ago I thought the words “Governor Quinn” were pretty scary. Now, not so much. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 9:58 am: How about SEVEN more years of Blago (if he gets reelected)? - Levois - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:01 am: The governor’s hair is coming to get you!!! - Jerry Angelo - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:05 am: Cedric Benson. - shermans ghost - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:06 am: When 2009 arrives and the GA is still in the ‘07 session. - Andy - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:08 am: How about this: Session is scheduled to start again in just a bit over two months. We’re still not over that last session. The thought of more just makes you cringe… - Pro-Gunner - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:10 am: Reverend PUSH and Father SNUFF are coming for our guns tonight!!! - Don't Worry, Be Happy - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:11 am: Christmas at the Capitol. - Levois - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:12 am: The taxes of DOOM!!! - Bobby Flay - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:13 am: The Stratton cafeteria - been there - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:14 am: $4.00 a gallon gas and $5.00 bus fares. - True Comparison - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:18 am: Mayor Daley, Emil and Blago in control of a Chicago casino. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:19 am: Todd Stroger being re-elected. - irishpirate - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:19 am: True story. Two years ago about this time I was walking west on Irving Park Road around Graceland Cemetery. Probably around 7 PM or so when I spied a beastie. Coming towards me………….running and sweating….was the Blago. Trailed by a State Trooper on a mountain bike wearing an orange vest. I’m still in therapy. - Cal Skinner - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:19 am: Associated Press - November 4, 2008 8:44 PM ET Springfield, Ill (AP) Governor Rod Blagojevich has been elected for a third term. - Don Kosin - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:21 am: Sorry, Rich. After the debate last night, I couldn’t resist. Here’s a local one: How about the CTA gets its “funding” and remains one of the poorest EXCUSES for a mass transit system anywhere in the free world? - babs - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:22 am: Don’t Worry, Be Happy - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:11 am: Christmas at the Capitol LOL - really! I’m trying to picture the First Family and their HAPPY faces… - romeosatan - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:23 am: The first thing that flashed in my mind was the potential for an upcoming re-election of Blago, but “anonymous” beat me to that. And “I’m Just Saying” already pointed out there are 3 years left in the current term which is frightening beyond any doubt. But just think about it, even one more day with a Governor who has no clue about cooperation, day to day management, or just taking care of business and addressing real issues - now that’s scary. Anything short of indicting this guy today and having him relegated to insignificance is very, very scary! What he’s already done to IDOT, DHS, the transit systems, and the management and financing of State government is scary, scary beyond belief! - plutocrat03 - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:24 am: I’m from the government and I am here to help you. Bwahhhahahahahaha……….. - Muskrat - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:28 am: Transit and Casino plans merged; all routes to run on schedule, but all now end at front doors of casinos. Fare machines replaced with quarter slots — you have to keep playing until you win a one-way ticket, with jackpots of “free monthly pass” and “Free month of plane rides from Chicago to Springfield.” Loop El station names eliminated, replaced with numbers and colors from roulette wheel. Cube dwellers in nearby high rises can bet on where trains will make random stops. Why is this a Halloween story? Why is it scary? Imagine a city/state pension system whose guaranteed benefit is “ten hands of blackjack a month” and a county health care system that is made up of waitresses roaming around the city caling out “aspirin, penicillin, bandages?” - Anon 101 - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:39 am: Cal, I think you mean November, 2010. - Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:49 am: Patrick Fitzgerald in a car accident and Daley convincing Bush who to appoint as the next U.S. Attorney. - Pat Collins - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:52 am: Trying to answer this question: When the GA passes a budget, will it be a trick or a treat? - Loop Lady - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:57 am: Bill Beavers… - Loop Lady - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:58 am: …and the Shaw brothers - OneManBlog - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:58 am: The Governor has a plan to…. - Seersucker - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:59 am: The governor’s busy but Sheila Nix will be happy to answer your questions. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:59 am: The guv invites me on another bus trip. - 10th Indy - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:00 am: Dawn of the Campaigns. Day of the Attack-Ads. Night of the Unending Robo-Calls. - so-called "Austin Mayor" - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:01 am: It really isn’t so difficult to accomplish a murder. All you need is a short comment posted on Capitol Fax to distract your victim as you approach. – SCAM Apologies to M. Rickert - kane county doc - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:03 am: Senator Jimmy DeLeo dressed as a pirate! Oh wait, he did that already (see Chgo Trib this week) and funny he didn’t look anything like Johnny Depp/Capt Jack Sparrow, more like Cookie from Bozo’s Circus in a pirate costume - Drew - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:14 am: Blago in the same jail cell as Ryan. Wait, I’m celebrating All Saints Day a day to early… - one of the 35 - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:16 am: Once upon a time, there was a rapacious, hedonistic, politician elected to office who promptly turned on all his friends and supporters and then tried to enact an enormous “gross receipts tax”!!!! But then the good witch of the north, Fitz, put him in jail and the people cheered. The populist Lt. came into office and did even more damage to society and the state collapsed under the weight of government. The end. - Patriot - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:17 am: Todd Stroger in a Steve Erkel “Family Matters” costume. - Marbley - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:18 am: State employee’s are caught working today. They find out Blago is giving out free candy to all State employees at work. Wait until tomorrow when they find out the House and Senate used all of the pension fund for the CTA. - phocion - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:21 am: Brookins v. Peraica - Shelbyville - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:28 am: Drinking from the water fountain at the Stratton Office Building. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:32 am: Blagojevich Elected to a 3rd Term! - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:36 am: Associated Press, November 4th, 2022, CHICAGO - Andrew Madigan defeated Republican Patrick Daley to become the next governor of the state of Illinois. Meanwhile, House Speaker Michael Madigan, 80, the new governor’s father, has increased his chamber’s Democratic majority to 80. “Hey, I matched my age!” Madigan quipped on his way out the door. Senate President Nicole Madigan, the governor-elect’s sister who took over as state party chairperson two years ago, increased her majority to 39. Chicago Mayor Lisa Madigan, a former governor herself, and Cook County Board President Tiffany Madigan, also reelected tonight, said they were pleased with their family’s electoral success. But not everyone was happy. “I’m never gonna be able to retire,” bemoaned Madigan family spokesperson Steve Brown. - Common sense in Illinois - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:37 am: Bill becomes a Republican… - Skeeter - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:45 am: Trying to get a loose ball tonight, Hindrich runs head on into Deng, both are gone for the year. And then we are left with nothing but the SPL [Celtic has already lost to the Rangers, so not much hope there] and F1’s silly season to keep our minds off Springfield. - By Thy Rivers Gently Flowing - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:49 am: The Capitol Fax commenters body-snatched and entirely replaced with the SJ-R commenters. - babs - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:55 am: Rich, You forgot to add the Hynes twins being elected to the House/Senate, etc. The list could really go on and on and — now that’s scary. - Lainer - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 11:59 am: Even scarier… Capitol Fax commenters all body-snatched and replaced with Pantagraph and Peoria Journal Star commenters - VanillaMan - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:05 pm: It was a dark and stormy night in New Chicago. The city, based on Brazilia, was erected by city planners determined to create an environmentally neutral urban environment. All through the city, security cameras caught the hard driving rain as the mayor’s electric scooter wheezed like a Remington electric, down Blagojevich Boulevard which naturally dead ended after two blocks. She had difficulties seeing through the pouring rain as she reached her office that night in Mike Ditka City Hall. She was recently re-elected on a platform authored by PETA, which supported animal suffrage and was the city’s first Asian-Hispanic, Bi-sexual Atheist mayor and in her own words, “A mayor who will not offend anything or anyone by taking a stand on anything or anyone.” However, in the still of that stormy night, this is exactly what she deliberately did. The dim glow of the city’s solar-powered dolphin-safe lamp feebly cast shadows as she climbed the recyclable naturally filled organic fiber stairwell into her office, on the tenth floor of Ditka City Hall. She was winded as she reached the landing as elevators had been outlawed twenty years earlier due to their propensity of collecting remnants of flatulent-derived carbon. The no-animal-tested nail polish glint on her left hand as she passed the biodegradable gender-free recycled door to her office. Her Honor was there to break the law! She glance about to ensure she was alone, then crept behind her organic workstation and unlocked the bottom drawer to obtain an ancient Styrofoam container. It was unbelievable that she was able to keep it from being seen by security when she passed through clearance yesterday. She was certain that the robotic sniffers would detect the gasses emitting from the Styrofoam’s flakey exterior. She nervously fingered its toxic lid and held her breath as she pressed and opened it. She gasped when she saw once again its illegal contents. She slowly lifted the object and held it between her fingers. She marveled at its simple design and vulgar purpose. Hypnotized, she could then no longer hold back. It was then that Mayor Betty Fitzpatrick-Mendora-Vrdolyak-Jackson-Bush took that ancient Marlboro cigarette and ignited it with the last match in New Chicago, stolen from the museum vault at the New Chicago Starbucks Museum! OH, the humanity! OH, the criminal mind that knows no conscience! Mayor Betty took a deep drag and as she exhaled, alarms were heard throughout New Chicago. She realized as the sirens wailed and the security cameras wheeled and recorded her in the act, that her term in office would result in being incarcerated at the George Ryan Penitentiary, located at the corners of Todd Stroger Avenue and Edward Eisendrath Street. Mayor Betty stared out her office’s enviro-shaped rain-streaked window at the towering facade of the Gore Cathedral of Perpetual Global Warming - the only source of coal-derived energy and covered in ten-foot-wide-diameter klieg lights - smoked her poisonous illegal Marlboro, and muttered to herself, “Ah, screw it!” - Signs - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:10 pm: Rod Blagojevich in a orange jumpsuit with a prison haircut. - DE - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:19 pm: State workers clad in denim from head to toe roaming the Stratton on a daily basis. Oh wait, that’s every day. Who decided denim on denim was okay?? FYI… it’s not!!!! - Boone Logan Square - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:21 pm: Channel 26 in Chicago just signed a deal to air horror flicks from Springfield. They’ll air weeks after they were scheduled to conclude, hosted by that ghoulish host Son of Blagooolie. - Too much thyme - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:21 pm: Following-up on Rich’s brilliance: Associated Press, November 5th, 2022, CHICAGO - Governor-elect Andrew Madigan today announced that his economic development program would support proposed efforts of the Chicago Metropolitan Gaming and Arts Authority to acquire land to build two additional land-based casinos, one near Midway Airport and one near the newly expanded Toyota Park Complex in Bridgeview, where the Chicago Fire, Chicago Bears, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, and even the former Grant Park/Millennium Park Symphony now play in facilities constructed using bonds backed by the State of Illinois. The Chairman of the Gaming and Arts Authority, Shirley Roumagoux-Madigan, who is also the mother of the governor-elect, denied allegations the governor-elect’s support for the Authority’s plans were a quid-pro-quo for her successful efforts to convince the governor’s sister Lisa to run for mayor three years ago in the interests of family harmony. A spokesman for failed Republican candidate Patrick Daley expressed disappointment that governor-elect Madigan would continue his family’s wholesale abandonment of Millenium Park and the stadiums and arenas constructed for the Chicago Olympic Games just six years ago. “It makes no sense to use taxpayer dollars to build new casinos and stadiums even farther away from our region’s mass transit infrastructure. This just continues the pattern of 1983 and 2007 when the State of Illinois abandoned smart growth policies to further encourage sprawl and suburban growth at the expense of the city center.” … - DC - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:22 pm: Congressman Oberweis - ChampaignDweller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:28 pm: Illinois passed legislation for recall, and we failed to recall the governor. - Lotta Liaison - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:30 pm: Giving Blago the authority to increase state debt by 25 billion for a capital program. - Loop Lady - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:43 pm: Vnilla Ma is a an anonymous author of short stories, his most famous is “Reform and Renewal in IL Government”../it’s really, really short… BOO! - Loop Lady - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:44 pm: sorry for the typos…Cindy Canary is chasing me… - Johnny USA - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:44 pm: CHI +3 vs. Bye over/under on Griese interceptions this week: 2 - Highland Online - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:50 pm: Illinois passes legislation for recall, recall battles between Dems & Reps last longer then Daley family hold on Chicago & Boston’s Big Dig combined. Did I just say “combine” - another scary item mentioned on IR frequently…. - Snidely Whiplash - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:50 pm: Todd Stroger spends your tax money. BOOO!!! - Ghost - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:51 pm: You awaken from sweat soaked from a nightmare only to discover that Blagojevich really is the Governor for your State. - Judgment Day Is On The Way - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:53 pm: Governor Todd Stroger - The Professor - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:53 pm: Once upon a midnight dreary, while he pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of legislative lore, — While he nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at the Speaker’s door. “‘T’is some mushroom,” he muttered, “tapping at my chamber door; Only this and nothing more.” Ah, distinctly he remembers it was in the bleak November and his plans to adjourn months before only led to party war. Eagerly he wished the morrow; — vainly he had sought to borrow From the pension funds surcease of sorrow — sorrow for lost revenue galore, And the end-of-session gavel wielded like the hammer of Thor. Nameless here for evermore. Open here he flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore. Not of public transportation spoke he; nor of health care or the GRT; But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above the chamber door, Perched upon a bust of Daley just above his chamber door: Perched, and sat, and nothing more. “Prophet!” said he, “thing of evil — prophet still, if bird or devil! By that Heaven that bends above us, by that God we both adore, Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn, Will the governor find a new profession? How much longer will last this session? Quoth the Raven, “Forevermore.” - ZC - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:57 pm: The truth emerges at last (soon to be memorialized in an award-winning Broadway musical with lyrics by Alan Mencken, later to be made into a movie starring Rick Moraniss,”Little Barbershop of Horrors”) about the demonic bargain struck long ago by Blago and the alien fungus that has perched and fed off his brain for the past decades. Includes the hits “Skid Row (Downstate)”, “Grow (the vote) for Me,” “Dick Mell & Son,” “(The Governor’s Mansion is) “Closed For Renovation.” And the perennial Blago economic tunes: “Suppertime” and “FEED ME!” - Wumpus - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:58 pm: Stroger, Daley and Blago all get their budgets approved. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 12:59 pm: Professor, you just proved once again why I have the best commenters on the intertubez - Some Guy - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 1:00 pm: Election 2010: Your choice for governor: Blago (D) Keyes (R) - Ghostrider - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 1:15 pm: Governor Bill Brady, Lt. Gov. Rosemary Mulligan - bored now - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 1:44 pm: governor blagojevich runs, and wins, re-election in 2010. that’s scary if he maintains his current adolescent positions… - WhoSaidThat - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:13 pm: Is Rod Blago true identity Damien Thorn. - Papa Legba - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:14 pm: November 2026 - Illinois governor elect Rod Blagojevich, after being winning an unprecedented 7th term, announced today that he would step down in two years and appoint his youngest daughter as the new governor. Her only comments were that she would end pay-to-play politics and will try to double the states population to 3,000,000. - jerry 101 - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:22 pm: I’m in springfield today. On Halloween. That’s scary enough for me. I kid, I kid. I’m going to some bar called Catch 22 tonight or something. - bridgeport bombtrhower - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:24 pm: Since you didnt like my last quip Rich heregos.. Speaker Jay Hoffman….now thats frightening! - from the collars - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:25 pm: Congressman Lauzen OR Oberweis - 10th Indy - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:29 pm: Brilliant, Professor. I am in awe. - Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:39 pm: The BIMP gets passed on Christmas, nobody reads it, and on Page 711, it gives Filan the keys to the pension funds. - He makes Ryan Look like a Saint - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:51 pm: Rich Great story about the Madigans, but you forgot Shirley will be the Director of CMS. - Jaded - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:52 pm: Rosemary Mulligan actually biting Rich Miller. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 2:53 pm: LOL - YouNeverSawMe - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 3:06 pm: Rex Grossman back at the helm!? Greg Olsen Greatest Hip-Hop Hits! Devin Hester tweaks an ankle on the Bye Week… Lovie Smith with a Afro… New Mayor of Chicago: Jim Oberwies! Illinois without Chicago… … Illinois constituents finding out that the movie Men in Black is real and that the GOV’s hair is a life form that has been controlling him since the beginning. - Anon - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 3:15 pm: The 2008 Topinka swimsuit calendar Pingback Musing Minds » Ghost Video - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 3:30 pm: […] Thanks to Rich Miller at The Capitol Fax Blog. Bookmark to: If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my RSS feed! And please leave a comment. […] - pickles!! - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 3:43 pm: Todd Stroger, at a press conference about his latest record breaking tax hike, takes off his mask to reveal he’s really Steve Urkel. - Seersucker - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 3:57 pm: Nice video, I wondered what Becky Carrol was doing these days. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 3:58 pm: Now, that wasn’t very nice, was it? - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:06 pm: Associated Press, January 15, 2017 - SPRINGFIELD, IL - Vanessa Miller has taken control of the Capitol Fax political newsletter from her ailing father Richard Miller. “The 2007 session has just been too much for him,” Ms. Miller said yesterday. “It just never ended and he couldn’t bring himself to cover it any longer. He’s done. He’s fried. I’m surprised he made it this long” Mr. Miller is said to be convalescing under a bridge in Florida. - jerry 101 - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:09 pm: Oh, I have another scary one. I had my first ever horseshoe today. Went to D’Arcy’s Pint. I think I’m going to have a heart attack. - jerry 101 - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:10 pm: President Rod Blagojevich. How’s that for scary? - I'm not falling for that video again - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:15 pm: I think it made me jump two feet and spill on my keyboard last time you posted it. The set up works great. - Just My Opinion - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:23 pm: Rich Miller gets on the bus again. - JakeCP - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:42 pm: I was just going to say President Rod Blagojevich. But here’s some other ones: Mayor Dorothy Tillman Governor James Meeks President Todd Stroger - JakeCP - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 4:48 pm: Let me also add: State Treasurer Arenda Troutman Lieutennant Governor William Beavers President Richard M. Daley Governor Jesse Jackson and LT. Gov. Al Sharpton - Independent - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 6:42 pm: Nine more years of Daley. If that’s not scary enough he hands the reins of bankrupt Chicago to son Patrick immediately after the 2016 Olympics. - Lainer - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 6:45 pm: Treasury Secretary John Filan FEMA Director Rebecca Rausch/Abby Ottenhoff - Annonymous - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 8:57 pm: Twas the night before Election Day, and sitting in his house, the new GOP Chairman realized no one would run for anything anymore–not even a Louse. - OneMan - Wednesday, Oct 31, 07 @ 10:02 pm: Submitted for your approval a Chicago Pastor a state senator who every night before he goes to bed, has a stiff drink to keep his dream at bay. The same dream he has every night what would have happened if he had run for Governor…. (Fade Out) VO: The IOC announced today that since Chicago is such an example of a clean, crime-free city that most other cities have removed themselves from the running for hosting the Summer games. In other news, year 3 of Governor Meeks education funding plan has resulted in rising test scores around the state as every child has a chance at a good education. Speaking of Gov. Meeks he was at an event yesterday for the beginning of the largest rehab project in the CTAs history. The head of the CTA said With the governors leadership we are finally getting ahead of the game on capital improvements. In Sports news Cubs GM Rod Blagojevich was fired today after it was learned that entire grounds crew at Wrigley Field was in fact people he went to High School with. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.