Morning Shorts
Monday, Apr 6, 2009 - Posted by Mike Murray
* Moody’s downgrades state’s bond rating
Illinois’s rating on $19.4 billion of general obligation debt was cut by Moody’s Investors Service [Friday] in part because of “narrow operating fund liquidity,” Moody’s said in a press release.
* $6.8M of food help paid in area in Feb.
In February, nearly 45,000 Winnebago County residents were receiving food stamp assistance. With Boone and Ogle counties added, 54,336 were receiving the assistance, for a total of $6.8 million paid in benefits.
* Sun-Times may trim suburban frequency
Sun-Times Media Group Inc., which filed for bankruptcy protection this week, may stop daily publication of some of its suburban newspapers as part of a push to return to profitability and boost the company’s appeal to a potential buyer.
“Everything is on the table, including frequency of publications,” CEO Jeremy Halbreich said in a Friday interview. “I’m hard-pressed to think of any other place with suburban dailies…It’s something we need to think about.”
Sun-Times is making other cost-cutting moves, including slashing compensation costs, which last year ran to about $100 million, by 15% through layoffs, pay cuts, benefit reductions and furloughs, including a five-day furlough required of all employees during the next two months.
* 30 Percent Decrease in Statehouse Reporters
That is the percentage of reporters who are no longer covering state legislatures, according to the American Journalism Review.
* Firehouse fallout
A city contractor — Castle Construction Corp. of Markham — pulled a bait-and-switch on the construction of the firehouse, according to the lawsuit and other records. Castle promised city officials it would subcontract all of the masonry work on the job to a minority-owned company, for $1.5 million.
Instead, records show Castle hired a white-owned masonry company — for $550,000 less.
* Illinois trying to improve response to floods
* Online university founders: University of Illinois’ Global Campus face uncertain future
After investing more than $10 million in a program that has attracted only a few hundred students, University of Illinois trustees are considering whether to shut down the university’s 2-year-old online campus.
* Census workers take to streets today
* A $6 billion hole in the ground
But the most expensive item on the city’s wish list is the West Loop Transportation Center. The multilevel station by itself would cost “only” $2 billion. But new transit lines running to and fro goose the tab: $3 billion for a new Clinton Street subway to run from the Red Line’s North/Clybourn station to Chinatown; $1 billion for below-grade busways, including “legs” underneath Monroe and Clinton Streets that meet at Union Station.
* 2016 Olympics: Chicago proposal would include restrictions on recreational use of lakefront
Plans for the proposed 2016 Olympic Village and lakefront sports venues would force cyclists, runners and walkers to divert from long stretches of the paths east of Lake Shore Drive during virtually all of July and August 2016.
* Daley Brushes Off 2016 Olympic’s Critics
* Torched by the Olympics?
* Lessons from an Olympic competitor
* Chicago Olympics: IOC commission tours potential sites
* IOC takes in the sights and possible sites on road trip around Chicago
* International Olympic Committee Team Inspects Chicago
* Chicago 2016 Woos Media
* Visiting Olympic Team Has Star-Studded Day Ahead
* White Sox Monday opener postponed
* Metra may hit a home run sometime in the 2010 Sox season
“It’s definitely going to happen,” Rush spokeswoman Barbara Holt said. “Sometimes these things take years to come to fruition. In this case, there is going to be a happy ending.”
* White Sox have reasons to believe … and to be concerned
* An ode to Opening Day
- Ghost - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 8:52 am:
ouch on our bond rating. We are reaching the point where our use of bonds is goin to just be pushing off heavy finacial burdens instead of proiding a solution.
- wordslinger - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 9:01 am:
Like Arthur Andersen with Enron, Moody’s and S&P lost all credibility with the AAA ratings they gave for the subprime mortgages so their buddies could use them as reserves to make 30-1 loans.
By putting their good names to the service of the scam, they’re just as responsible as anyone for the mess we’re in.
Their analysis may be correct, but so what? Are you going to use it to invest your money? You can’t trust them anymore, and in their business, that’s the whole ballgame.
- Wow - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 9:26 am:
Just an asside but the password isn’t working today. Luckily I read the paper copy.
- Ghost - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 9:40 am:
Word, I agree, the problem is those ratings still impact the interest rates for those bonds.
- Anon - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 9:45 am:
If you use the lakefront trail, you probably live close to the lake. If you live colse to the lake, and are upset by the potential inconvenience of not being able to use the trail, rent your condo or house for the the two months you will be kept from the track and go on a luxery vacation. Based on what people were charging for rooms during the inauguration, my guess is that you could get double or triple that from the wealthy foreigners fortunate enough to come to the states to root on their countrymen.
In every cloud is a silver lining.
- carbon deforestation - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 9:54 am:
U of I Global Campus was a great idea, but they haven’t marketed it all. They should try supporting it before they shut it down.
I get a dozen pop-up ads and emails a day from online for-profit colleges, but the only time I read about U of I Global Campus is when the U of I faculty is complaining about it to the newspapers . .
- Nearly Normal - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 9:58 am:
U of I Global Campus was not for us locals to use. Instead it was to enhance the U of I reputation outside of Illiois and the U.S.
Maybe they should have marketed the concept to their original mission–people in Illinois who do pay their taxes and a part of that money goes to the U of I.
Duh.
- Skeptical Cynic - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:00 am:
I bet Peter Fox is finding a way to make money off of that UI on-line program even as it fails.
- Plutocrat03 - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:07 am:
So what is better for the taxpayer?
A responsible bid for one million, or a set aside for 1.5 million?
As long as the taxpayer reaps the entire benefit from the cost reduction, then it’s fine by me.
- Ken in Aurora - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:13 am:
“Everything is on the table, including frequency of publications,” CEO Jeremy Halbreich said in a Friday interview. “I’m hard-pressed to think of any other place with suburban dailies…It’s something we need to think about.”
Uhhh… Newsday, maybe?
- Scooby - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:16 am:
“Wow” I used the plural of the password and it worked.
- Fan of the Game - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:23 am:
Joe White developed the Global Campus without the help of faculty. The university basically said, “We’re going to do THIS. Now help us.” Faculties at major universities really like to be involved from the beginning of things. And if they don’t want to be involved, they like to be able to say so from the outset.
White has seen faculty opposition to the Global Campus from the start. If he had been willing to seek faculty input early on the direction and content, the concept might actually be making money instead of losing it so spectacularly.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:27 am:
The Olympics are slowing migrating from “dumb” to “dumber” to “dumbest” Daley idea ever.
- Amy - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 10:50 am:
Go Sox. whenever!
- Ghost - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 3:37 pm:
Rich now san a wisdom tooth, seems like a good topic for “caption” contest…
- Rich Miller - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 3:47 pm:
Read the post again. Today was just a consult. Wednesday is extraction day.
- Ghost - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 4:15 pm:
ahh! ok future caption contest then!
Before they put you under, try not to think of all the dentists prosecuted for… let just say, taking advantage of unconscious clients….
- wordslinger - Monday, Apr 6, 09 @ 7:31 pm:
Rich, dig that gas, man. Make sure you have a ride home.