Morning shorts
Wednesday, Dec 5, 2007 - Posted by Paul Richardson
* Purchase tickets here for the December 16th performance of “No-El, Or How the Blagojegrinch Stole Christmas” - Our Capitol Fax holiday party
* Study finds that IL continues to lose high-paying jobs
* Illinois mental health statistics
According to Mental Health America, Illinois has one of the lowest suicide rates in the nation.
The organization says Illinois ranks number six when it comes to the lowest number of suicides.
The state ranks number eight when it comes to lowest number of depressed people in the country.
But according to Katie Jones of the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley, that number is misleading because Chicago skews the data.
She says people in bigger cities have lower rates of suicide because of better access to services.
* Reilly Wins First Development Battle
* IL Revenue Dept. posts delinquent’s names
* $310,000 for top cop? Yes, it is worth it says Daley; more here
* Sun-Times Editorial: CPS must solve its payroll problem, and now
For the last eight months, paychecks for hundreds of teachers and staff have arrived late or were short — sometimes by hundreds of dollars. And 1,600 teachers who retired in June have been getting estimated pension checks, rather than the exact amount, with as many as 650 getting much less than they are due, the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Board says.
All because CPS can’t figure out how to work the $17 million payroll system it launched in March.
* Six Dems vyign for State’s Attorney post square off
During the 100-minute exchange, the candidates also addressed a wide range of other issues, including how to handle low-level drug offenders, jail overcrowding and the county’s current budget impasse. The Democratic primary is wide-open, with a large field of candidates and no endorsement by the county party.
On the Republican side, Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica of Riverside, who unsuccessfully ran for board president last year, is running against Edward Barron, an Orland Park attorney.
* State cries foul after getting refurbished copiers
The hit on taxpayers after the transaction with Brooklyn, New York-based M&M Computers is pegged at an estimated $165,217.
The copiers, which had been targeted for use at the Illinois Department of Transportation, were put in storage pending legal review.
* Chicago Public Radio: More IL teachers earning top credentials
* ISU wants state to butt out of smoking issue
* Petitions turned in for GOP candidate Paul in Illinois
- Levois - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 9:34 am:
Aside from politics Illinois must be one of the happiest places on earth.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 9:43 am:
The Buy tickets link isn’t working for me (is anyone else having an issue)
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 9:53 am:
It’s working for me. I bought five of them. Try going to the main site and buy tix for the 16th…
http://www.gorillatango.com/
- Bill - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 9:57 am:
Is it ok if I boo when they insult Rod.
- Dan, a voter - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 9:58 am:
Nothing yet on here about “Elvis” getting sued by The Illinois Coalition of Jobs, Growth and Prosperity? http://www.sj-r.com/News/stories/21285.asp
- Angry Chicagoan - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 10:15 am:
Knowing that things can always get worse is a powerful antidote to depression. It clearly works with cats, for example. Look at how happy they are when they get back from the vet. Here in Illinois, we’ve learned the same thing from our governors and legislators over the years. Three of the last seven governors in jail, soon to be four of eight. So we truly appreciate it on those rare occasions we actually get someone good. And we know that, no matter how bad things get, life will always go on.
People in states run by people who aren’t deranged crooks simply can’t handle adversity.
- DumberThanYouThink - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 10:37 am:
Wow my guys are really burning up the ‘net today look how well we are doing on the SJR “poll”
Click Your Pick
Do you support a gambling expansion to pay for a statewide construction program and a bailout of Chicago-area mass transit?
Yes 80.0%
No 20.0%
Total votes: 12334
Results not scientific —Duh!
- OneMan - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 10:52 am:
Bill, Yes it will be ok…
Please tell me you are going to be there I would love to buy you a beer…
- Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 10:56 am:
By the way, I checked and the theater is no longer BYOB. We may have a pre-party and we’ll definitely have an after-party.
- DC - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 11:01 am:
Copier contracts with a company in New York? Good to see state tax dollars going to support out-of-state companies and working families. It’s a paltry amount in the grand scheme of things, but again it’s the principle of the matter. I’m just surprised it wasn’t some company with connections to Pepperdine.
- Anon Again - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 11:25 am:
The copiers at IDOT are now handled by the super Bureau of Business Services- the one that also brought you a construction contract with the Bureau Chiefs brothers company(Formerly owned by both), now used copiers but all they do is tell everyone what a great job they are doing, i think they got an F on this contract dont worry they will blame someone else and tell you what a good job they did catching the error.
- Skeeter - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 1:52 pm:
Does Beachwood still think that that Lake Shore Athletic Club is going down, secondary to Alderman Reilly’s close personal ties to a developer?
I still haven’t seen a retraction on that story.
Not to digress, but I didn’t see a “correction or clarification” on the Chicago Tribune’s Clinton/Obama/Vote Present story either.
- Idoter - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 4:03 pm:
This place is so messed up right now it is not funny, keeps getting worse and the Div of TS has to be the biggest joke in the country. clean up the mess blago
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 4:19 pm:
Perhaps all the depressed and suicidal people in Illinois have a reason to live because they’ve taken up blogging
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Dec 5, 07 @ 7:59 pm:
OK. So there are hacks and patronage at IDOT. In other news, it’s cold in December and the Cubs suck.
I’ll give this to Blago & Co-they may have recycled some copiers at IDOT, but at least they didn’t recycle the prison boss out there (oh, and let him keep the prison pension formula.)
- Lyrl - Thursday, Dec 6, 07 @ 6:28 pm:
OK, I’m a little late on this - but regarding article on Paul turning in delegate petitions: it says that petitions to be on the Republican ballot have been turned in by Romney, McCain, Thompson, Paul, and Keyes. So are Guiliani and Huckabee not even going to have their names on the ballot?
- Lyrl - Thursday, Dec 6, 07 @ 7:15 pm:
Nevermind - I see on your post for today you link to the article where Guiliani and Huckabee were waiting to try to get their name last on the ballot.