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That toddlin’ town roundup
Monday, Apr 3, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * It’s just a poll, and we’ll know the real numbers soon enough, but Victory Research has now done four head-to-heads on the Vallas vs. Johnson race…
If this poll is right, then the undecideds are breaking toward Vallas and he’s finally moved above that 45-46 level he’d been stuck at for weeks. If you compare the last two polls and look at where the candidates have moved at or beyond the overall 3.2 percent margin of error in the final poll (even though the MoE for these subsets are larger), you’ll see Vallas has moved up a bit with both men and women. He’s now equal with Johnson among women and leading Johnson by 13 big points among men. Vallas’ numbers also increased by 5 points in Lakefront wards, and the poll found him ahead there by 9 points. Vallas moved up 4 points among Latinos and led by 7 in the latest survey. Johnson was leading among 18-30s by 20, but they don’t vote in large numbers. Vallas was ahead by 11 points among seniors, and they do vote in large numbers. Of those who hadn’t yet voted, Vallas led by 7 points. The two were tied among those who’d voted already. * Crain’s…
The ad disparity on Chicago TV is simply breathtaking. * Instead of paying these bills long ago, or immediately correcting the problem, Johnson initially brushed it all off and then flip-flopped, thereby extending the story and bringing in other news media outlets which had ignored the original piece, like the Tribune…
* I have no idea why the Johnson campaign thinks that a two-minute ad featuring out-of-state talking heads is gonna move any kind of needle…
* Not good…
* Pat Quinn isn’t really a “centrist,” but claiming that Tabares and Martinez are progressives is truly a laugh riot…
…Adding… Like I said…
* Former CTU leaders for Vallas…
* Vallas campaign…
* Digital ad or simply a YouTube video?…
* Candidates generally have protected speech in their ads. Third party advertisers generally do not. Press release…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Tribune | Brandon Johnson on the campaign trail: Banter, invocations of Black forebears — and promises of a Chicago brimming in ‘vibrancy’: Johnson then launched into his stump speech centered on the single-word theme of his campaign: “investment.” He vowed access to fully funded neighborhood schools, affordable housing, new senior facilities, reliable transportation, a healthy environment and good jobs. * Tribune | Paul Vallas on the campaign trail: ‘Wonkish’ spiels, boundless anecdotes — and a laser focus on crime: But soon, the focus turned to an issue that’s caused the Chicago mayoral candidate to visibly wince on the campaign trail: repeated attacks from rival Brandon Johnson claiming that Vallas opposes the teaching of Black history and has palled around with right-wing extremists. “It’s frustrating when somebody calls you a racist,” he said, unprompted. “Racists don’t do 55% minority contractors. Racists don’t go to New Orleans when 110 of the 120 schools have been destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and were uninhabitable.” * Sun-Times Editorial Board | The next mayor has a chance to revitalize public education in Chicago: Lobby in Springfield for full funding of the state’s Evidence-Based Formula. The EBF ties school funding directly to the costs of educational practices that research has proven will improve achievement. Created by legislators in fiscal year 2018, it has funneled $1.6 billion more to public schools since then, most of it going to the neediest schools across Illinois, and has provided money for property tax relief as well. Problem is, the state has yet to fully fund the EBF; it’s underfunded by $3.6 billion. * The Hill | Chicago mayor’s race reaches fever pitch in final days: While some strategists caution against looking at municipal elections strictly through a national lens, many observers are watching the Chicago mayor’s race to gauge the mood of the electorate as Democrats prepare to face another presidential cycle. * Politico | ‘A dangerous force’: Chicago mayor’s race tests teachers union clout: In Brandon Johnson — a progressive county commissioner, former CTU organizer and teacher whose soaring oratory has been a hallmark of rallies and contract fights — the union’s critics see a takeover of the city’s politics. * NYT | Chicagoans Are Picking a Mayor. Here’s What Matters From 4 Key Wards.: The residents of the 19th Ward on the Far Southwest Side of Chicago know how the rest of the city sees them: a white, conservative bubble of police officers and firefighters, Irish pubs and Catholic churches that is a relic of the old Chicago political machine. “There is that history,” said Clare Duggan, a Democratic political organizer who is a resident and native of the Beverly neighborhood. “But we have a dichotomy in the 19th Ward.” * Tribune | Chicago mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson pays off more than $3,000 in water bill debts to the city: Initially, the Johnson campaign released a statement noting the bills were “on a previously established payment plan, and are on schedule to be fully resolved before (he) takes office as our next mayor.” […] “Like a lot of working families, a few years ago, my family got behind on our water bills and established a payment plan. We’re not alone — there’s $421 million in unpaid water bills right now because for too long our city has leaned on rate hikes and fees to combat the budget deficit Paul contributed to,” Johnson said. “I don’t want this to be a distraction in the crucial final days of this race, so we’ve tightened our belt and decided to pay it off now. I have zero debt with the city.” * New Yorker | Paul Vallas’s Cops-and-Crime Campaign to Run Chicago: Early on, Vallas seized on the violence that has spiked in Chicago, and across the country, during the pandemic. In a recent poll, sixty-three per cent of Chicagoans said that they feel unsafe in daily life. Vallas, who credits the four police officers in his family for inspiring his public-safety policies, has pledged to fill the department’s seventeen hundred vacancies. “He’s meeting people where they are,” Aviva Bowen, a political strategist, told me. “They’re afraid.” At the same time, he needs to draw in voters who want major reforms in a department that is currently operating under a federal consent decree and has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle complaints of brutality. It’s a tough needle to thread. He’s advancing a lower-key community-policing model and pledging “zero tolerance” for officers who violate the law or the Constitution, while also welcoming the endorsement of Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police, whose leader, John Catanzara, has posted on Facebook that Muslims “all deserve a bullet.” * Monroe Anderson | What makes Paul Vallas the “Democrat of choice” for powerful Republicans?: If Vallas’s newly hired police turn out to be a bunch of Officer Friendlies, treating Black men on the West Side like they treat white men in Lincoln Park, that would be a step in the right direction. On the other hand, if the officers become an occupying army in the Black community, sprinkled with some Jon Burge and Jason Van Dyke types, then we can get ready for more tortured false confessions and more mass protests over trigger-happy cops using Black men for target practice. * Chalkbeat | Comparing Chicago’s 2023 mayoral candidates on 5 key education issues: Johnson wants to overhaul the district’s current student-based budgeting system, which he argues has been harmful to schools. Basing school budgetson enrollment restricts individual campuses from giving students a full offering of programs and support, he’s said in the campaign trail. Instead, he favors an approach that fully funds school staff — including social workers, librarians, and nurses — regardless of enrollment. […] Vallas wants to get more funding directly to individual schools and out of central office. On the campaign trail, he has argued that only 60% of the district’s budget is currently making it to schools. Vallas favors a system that lets Local Schools Councils, elected members at each school, decide how funds are spent in their respective buildings. He also wants state funds such as Title I directly to assigned schools. * Block Club | Election Day ‘Get-Out-The-Vote’ Efforts Could Be Deciding Factor In Nail-Biter Mayor’s Race, Experts Say: “A final push to get out the vote is going to make the difference,” Dominguez said. “There’s just such a large number of undecideds, and both candidates need to find ways to elevate enthusiasm amongst their base.” A neck-and-neck race with more than 200,000 vote-by-mail ballots out means there may not be a clear winner by election night, said Max Bever, Chicago Board of Election Commissioners spokesperson. Experts similarly warned of that possibility ahead of the Feb. 28 election, and multiple aldermanic results weren’t determined until mid-March. * Sun-Times | 6th, 21st Ward candidates discuss future of South Side ahead of runoff: Time to ‘resurrect dreams of residents’: Two South Side City Council races put a pair of neighborhood pastors, a retired firefighter and a community activist into runoff contests in wards where longtime alderpersons are exiting their posts. * Block Club | Chicagoans Should Vote Early As Tornadoes Possible, Severe Storms Expected Election Day, Officials Say: Tuesday’s election is expected to be highly consequential: Chicagoans will vote on the city’s next mayor, choosing between the ideologically divided Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas. Fourteen aldermanic races are also up for grabs in the runoff election. But potentially dangerous storms are also expected Tuesday, especially later in the day: There could be damaging wind, hail and tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service. * Tribune | As city’s most active voting precinct, Cook County inmates vote with help from jail and advocates: Voting at the Cook County Jail has risen sharply since the jail added pioneering in-person polling places in 2020. Incarcerated voters say they feel more heard as voting rights groups work to educate and register inmates, and politicians are taking note of the increasingly involved voters. * WTTW | Chicago Public Schools Teacher Charged With Stalking Mayor Lori Lightfoot: Garrett McLinn was also charged with disorderly conduct and five counts of resisting a police officer, according to police. The arrest took place on the Logan Square block where Lightfoot lives. Sources close to Lightfoot say members of the mayor’s security detail confronted McLinn as he was causing a disruption outside of her home, and that the confrontation escalated. McLinn has appeared outside the mayor’s house on at least one other occasion, sources said. * Crain’s | Why the City Council structure gives rise to corruption: “When people understandably and rationally assume that actors in city government are acting in their own interests and not the interests of the people they serve, that makes it harder to conduct responsible government,” says Deborah Witzburg, Chicago’s inspector general. “Chicago has not earned the benefit of any doubt. We have earned ourselves a world in which people profoundly distrust city government, and so when things go wrong, there is gaping space for worst assumptions.”
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That toddlin’ town roundup
Friday, Mar 31, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * Brandon Johnson constantly says he “managed” a multi-billion dollar budget at Cook County. It’s pretty ridic, as the Tribune points out…
* I am flabbergasted at Vallas’ blatant flip-flop on this, but the reweeted thread does give a progressive explanation for Johnson’s angle…
* Another surprisingly good get for Vallas…
* Preaching to the choir…
* Without any real money behind it, this is also mainly just preaching to the choir [UPDATE: The campaign now says this is going up on cable TV]…
The ad is here. * The choir preaches back…
* Background is here if you need it…
The guy in the last pic appears to be this person. Sometimes, I think Steve Rhodes had a decent point. * Ouch…
…Adding… Brandon Johnson release…
* Heh…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Tribune | Brandon Johnson has spent four years on the Cook County Board. Does his record there stand up to the achievements he touts?: Inflating one’s legislative victories is a time-honored tactic for political candidates trying to make the jump from a member of an elected legislative board to the top administrative seat at the front of the room, and Johnson is likewise claiming credit for major initiatives that have demonstrably benefited thousands of Cook County residents. But how critical a role he played is in some cases debatable. * Sun-Times | Arrests at historic lows, murders up 50% since last election: Next mayor faces daunting challenges on public safety: Brandon Johnson says he’d hire 200 more detectives while Paul Vallas vows to build the detective ranks to 10% of overall staffing. The next mayor will also have to address the controversial spike in people being stopped for traffic violations. * ABC Chicago | Chicago speed cameras: City quietly moves over a dozen speed cameras to new locations: Under the Freedom of Information Act, the I-Team uncovered that camera as one of 16 recently moved by the city. The Chicago Department of Transportation says it changed the camera locations based on an independent study by UIC that analyzed crash data. * Chalkbeat | Chicago wants schools to adopt a new $135 million curriculum. It is getting high marks and pushback.: CPS is betting big that Skyline — the unprecedented $135 million trove of lessons in math, reading, science, social studies, and other subjects — will help students bounce back from COVID’s profound academic damage. The curriculum remains voluntary for schools, but the district has started pressing campuses that have not yet adopted Skyline to prove they have other quality curriculums in place. * Tribune | Southeast Side residents fight shoreline dump as mayoral candidates vow to take on pollution: Earlier this month, two community organizations — Alliance of the Southeast and Friends of the Park — filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the Army Corps to stop the expansion. The suit alleges the Army Corps did not receive necessary legislative permission to expand the disposal facility and failed to adequately consider the environmental impacts. * Sun-Times | Three more 7-Eleven stores robbed at gunpoint — at least 12 have been hit in Chicago this week: The three stores robbed early Friday were hit minutes apart on the North and Northwest sides. * Crain’s | Accusations fly as court battle over failed River North high-rise heats up: It’s a mystery that remains unsolved as a federal securities fraud lawsuit over the unbuilt 60-story tower drags into its fifth year. Though the project’s developers agreed in late 2020 to return money owed to most of the investors, they haven’t followed through, court filings show. * CBS Chicago | Man sues City of Chicago over nearly $20,000 water bill at three-flat he was trying to sell: But he is suing the city because he says they have refused to provide an explanation for the enormous bill. “When I think I can’t be any more astounded, you know, I’m suddenly more astounded,” Anderson said. * Sun-Times | Powerful storm to hit Chicago area Friday: Wind gusts greater than 75 mph, large hail, isolated tornadoes possible: The greatest risk of severe weather is in the south and west suburbs, from 2 p.m. until 11 p.m., though a hazardous weather outlook has been issued for Cook, DuPage, Will, Lake, McHenry, Kane, Kendall, Grundy and Kankakee counties in Illinois and Porter, Newton, Jasper and Benton counties in Indiana.
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Afternoon roundup
Thursday, Mar 30, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * From the governor’s press conference today…
…Adding… React…
* IDES…
* G-PAC…
* Press release…
* It’s a big hit…
…Adding… Tribune…
* Isabel’s roundup…
* Crain’s | Peoples Gas breaks another earnings record amid a pending request for a massive rate hike: The natural gas utility serving the city of Chicago earned $209 million, up from $205 million the year before, which also was a record, according to a report made public today. … Peoples has a record $405 million rate hike request pending before the Illinois Commerce Commission, which would take effect at the end of this year. The commission must rule on that by year-end. * Crain’s | Illinois lawmakers look to tighten hospital merger rules amid pricing, quality concerns: The new policy, which originated at Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office, would amend the Illinois Antitrust Act, State Finance Act and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act in ways that would require health care organizations to notify the AG’s office within 30 days of a proposed merger or acquisition. The legislation, called House Bill 2222, would also give the AG an opportunity to request additional information about a deal that would help determine whether a proposed transaction warrants further action. * ProPublica | Sweeping repatriation reform bill unanimously passes Illinois House of Representatives: If signed into law, the legislation would create a protected cemetery for the reburial of repatriated Native American ancestors and establish a committee of tribal leaders to review state projects that may disturb culturally significant sites. * CBS Chicago | University of Illinois Medical Center nurses protesting Thursday: They’re fighting for increased security measures after several nurses have been attacked by patients while on the job. The nurses will gather outside of the UIH emergency room at 10 a.m. * WIFR | Illinois Tollway decreases toll violation fines with new program: Starting in April, motorists with multiple unpaid toll invoices will see a final notice resulting in $20 fines on top of each invoice. “The Illinois Tollway will no longer issue escalated $50 fines,” Cassaundra Rouse, executive director of the Illinois Tollway states. “It is our hope that every customer takes advantage of all the ways the Tollway offers to pay tolls and avoid fees.” * Bloomberg | At UChicago, Northwestern and other elite private schools, sticker shock is hitting students: Full costs at elite private colleges now stretch well into the $80,000s, or upward of $320,000 for four years and well above what the typical U.S. household earns. At UChicago, the cost of attendance — tuition, room, board and fees — is just over $81,000. At Northwestern, it’s roughly $84,000. * Shaw Local | Thanks in part to Illinois innovation, ‘range anxiety’ won’t hamper electric cars for long: Mohammad Asadi, an assistant professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology, last month co-published a paper in the journal Science with Larry A. Curtiss and other Illinois colleagues about their work on a novel lithium-air battery that has a solid electrolyte made with a mix of polymer and ceramic. * Crain’s | City Council moves toward independence after raucous meeting: The rules overhaul was eventually approved after a lengthy debate where those opposed to the deal accused their colleagues of working up a “backroom deal” that was more about securing chairmanships than creating an independent body. * Block Club | Englewood’s Long-Awaited Nature Trail Will Cost $72 Million To Build, City Says: Dreams to develop the nature trail were ignited more than a decade ago by neighbors and leaders at the local community organization Grow Greater Englewood. The city obtained the abandoned railroad line in 2014 from Norfolk Southern Railway, a company that in recent years has gained attention for its role in tearing down homes in Englewood to expand its intermodal yard and the freight train derailment in Ohio that sent toxic fumes in the air. * WREX | A look inside the planned $22 million renovation of The Rockford Register Star building: The local solar company’s CEO Teague Dickey says the Iconic Energy is about 90 days away from kicking off a $22 million renovation that’s close to his heart. “Yes it’s old and in disrepair, 93-years-old, but it’s important to me being a Rockford person,” Dickey said. “I’d rather have this building than some new thing.” * KFVS | Wienermobile coming to southern Ill. this weekend; driver, Carbondale native: Keagan Schlosser, who calls herself Chili Cheez Keagz, competed against thousands of applicants to become one of 12 Hotdoggers nationwide. “I feel fortunate to represent southern Illinois as I criss-cross America–I’ve seen 21 states since June,” Schlosser said. * Tech Crunch | Twitter is dying: The value that Twitter’s platform produced, by combining valuable streams of qualification and curiosity, is being beaten and wrung out. What’s left has — for months now — felt like an echo-y shell of its former self. And it’s clear that with every freshly destructive decision — whether it’s unbanning the nazis and letting the toxicity rip, turning verification into a pay-to-play megaphone or literally banning journalists — Musk has applied his vast wealth to destroying as much of the information network’s value as possible in as short a time as possible; each decision triggering another exodus of expertise as more long-time users give up and depart.
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*** UPDATED x1 *** That toddlin’ town roundup
Thursday, Mar 30, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller *** UPDATE *** He’s really trying hard…
…Adding… This just in over the transom. When talking about the Trump impeachment, Vallas said on February 16, 2021 while substitute co-hosting for Dan Proft, “I always felt that it was a witch hunt.” 1:05:11…
…Adding… The Vallas folks point to this…
But a month after that, he’s calling the impeachment a witch hunt. Go figure. * We’re gonna do a little “dueling oppo” today. To set up the first one, here’s Crain’s…
Huh. OK. But check out this video taken of the Chicago GOP’s Lincoln Park office… Did you catch the end of it?…  Does that logo look familiar?…  Imagine that. Isabel has been trying to reach that office since early this morning, but nobody’s answering. * And now, this…
The oppo is from a FOIA. Click here for the documentation. I can’t believe he didn’t pay that off before getting into the race. * Another press release from the 43rd Ward runoff…
There’s more, but you get the idea. * Isabel’s roundup…
* Sun-Times | Dollars vs. decentralization: Johnson’s and Vallas’ vastly different fixes for CPS: Paul Vallas plans drastic changes to CPS structure, bolstering principals and local leaders’ power over spending and programming — and even the ability to let a charter school take over their campus. He would prioritize standardized testing and make it easier to hold students back a grade so they don’t graduate without necessary reading and math skills. […] Brandon Johnson would rather the school district’s central office end per-pupil funding and guarantee a baseline of resources for every school — such as art teachers, social workers and librarians. This would reduce the role enrollment plays in whether a school can afford staff and, he says, help ensure every neighborhood can offer a quality education. He would focus on addressing poverty and trauma. * Sun-Times | Betsy DeVos-founded, Republican-funded school choice group backs Vallas campaign for Chicago mayor: A Vallas spokesman said his campaign “would strongly reject any endorsement from Betsy DeVos.” “Our campaign has not been in contact with this organization, we have certainly not sought its support,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Campaigns cannot coordinate activities with independent expenditure committees by law and we have no control over this group’s actions.” … The American Federation for Children created its Illinois Federation for Children PAC as an independent expenditure committee in March 2022 to support and oppose candidates for statewide office, all with the mission of advancing school choice. The political committee spent over $700,000 toward those efforts last year on Republican candidates for the Illinois Legislature. The PAC lists a Washington, D.C., address. … The Illinois Federation for Children PAC is chaired by Nathan Hoffman, who was a registered American Federation for Children lobbyist in Springfield until January. He has tweeted from Vallas’ February election night party and fundraising events since then. * Sun-Times | Young voters explain low turnout in Chicago elections: John Cook, 21, said he has noticed excitement about politics declining since 2020. Cook, a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, said he did not vote in February. “Our first election in 2020, it was like, everything is the most important that could possibly be, and so I think everybody was up on that. It’s been like a big deflation in political activism,” Cook said. “Even people who were engaged before have dwindled off.” * Jewish Insider | Chicago’s Jewish community could swing mayoral race: In February’s nine-way mayoral election, Vallas, 69, performed best in some of the city’s most heavily Orthodox areas, winning two precincts in the 50th Ward with more than 80% of the vote. Across the entire ward, where the majority of Chicago’s Orthodox community is concentrated, he claimed 50% of the vote, defeating Johnson, a Cook County commissioner and outspoken union organizer who has embraced a progressive platform, by more than 30 points. … Meanwhile, Johnson’s close affiliation with the Chicago Teachers Union, which endorsed him even before he announced his candidacy, has fueled speculation that he is beholden to its interests. He has rejected those claims. The union, from which Johnson is on leave as a paid organizer, has opposed the continuation of a tax credit scholarship program that has benefited low-income students who attend Jewish day schools. In alignment with Orthodox leaders, Vallas has expressed support for the state legislation, which is set to expire this year. * Alisa Kaplan | With an increase in dark money, Chicagoans have a right to know who’s trying to buy their vote: The U.S. Supreme Court says we can’t limit super PAC money, but it has consistently upheld efforts to illuminate it. Our organization, Reform for Illinois, worked with state Rep. Maurice West this year to introduce House Bill 3804, a bill that would require big donors to disclose the original source of their funds no matter how many secretive groups the money passes through. Alaska, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Minnesota have all enacted laws aimed at unveiling hidden political contributors, and last fall, 73% of Arizona voters approved a referendum requiring comprehensive donor disclosure. If they can do it, we can too. * CBS Chicago | Lightfoot, City Council gathering for special meeting Thursday: Several aldermen are calling for a vote on the new rules and committees for City Council members during the 2023 to 2027 term. The timing is considered unusual as council members typically vote on these matters *after the election. * Tribune | West Side incumbents fending off challengers in 24th and 29th ward runoffs: In the 24th Ward, which includes North Lawndale, challenger Creative Scott received only about 15% of the vote to Monique Scott’s 45%. In the 29th Ward, which includes parts of Austin north to Montclare, former Chicago police sergeant Taliaferro was forced into a runoff by just a few dozen votes, though community activist CB Johnson received nearly 40% of the vote in the first round. * ABC Chicago | Chicago mayoral candidates break down how they would manage city budget: In his $800 billion tax plan, Johnson proposes bringing back the city head tax, where large corporations who do most of their work in the city will pay a 1-4 dollar tax for each employee. Johnson also pitches increasing the hotel tax, jet fuel tax, a tax on securities trading and increasing the transfer tax on property sold for more than a million dollars. * Sun-Times | 6th, 21st Ward candidates discuss future of South Side ahead of runoff: Time to ‘resurrect dreams of residents: Hall, 38, lead pastor at St. James Community Church in Chatham and a field director for the Rainbow PUSH social justice organization, narrowly came in first place with 23.82% of the vote during the Feb. 28 election — only about 70 votes ahead of Wooten, an Army veteran and retired police officer. * NBC Chicago | 3 Former Chicago Police Superintendents Join NBC 5 For Conversation About Public Safety, Crime: “Without question, public safety is top of mind for many Chicagoans,” said Holt. “It’s clear, we need to figure out how to make the city safer. This show is a unique opportunity to sit down with three men who have been at the forefront of tackling this crisis. It’s a chance to learn from the mistakes of the past, figure out new ideas, and try to forge a new path toward a safer city.” * NBC Chicago | Chicago Department of Transportation Plans 150 New Miles of Bike Paths as Part of Cycling Program: The biggest part of the plan includes adding 150 additional miles of bike lanes. Other parts include adding low-stress options like concrete curbs separating the bike lanes from vehicular traffic, making bicycles like Divy more accessible to everyone. * Block Club | Workers At Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago’s Oldest Museum, Are Voting To Unionize: “We’re forming our union because we want to work with our colleagues and leadership to ensure that our institution is always becoming an equitable, inclusive and safe workplace,” said Anabel Hirano, a member of the union organizing committee who is a volunteer and intern coordinator at the Nature Museum. “That can’t happen unless we have an equal say in the decisions that affect us.”
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*** UPDATED x7 - Mystery solved *** The adventure continues
Thursday, Mar 30, 2023 - Posted by Rich Miller * The mystery shirt arrived early for committee today…  What a weird thing this is. *** UPDATE 1 *** On the move again…  *** UPDATE 2 *** Part of the mystery has been solved. From comments…
The commenter included an email that only I can see. So, I reached out. The person is an intern for a legislative communications staff. The shirt was on the hanger when the staffer found it. *** UPDATE 3 *** This is the Capitol’s blue room. So maybe a press conference is coming?…  …Adding… FYI, it’s a Brooks Brothers shirt, size 17 1/2 - 36. *** UPDATE 4 *** Post-presser meeting with Senate President Harmon…  *** UPDATE 5 *** OK, a prominent lobster is actually wearing it now, which is kinda hilarious but also a bit yucky, if you ask me…  I mean, check out the collar staining…  *** UPDATE 6 *** I hope it’s not driving…  …Adding… I think the shirt is heading north for spring break. *** UPDATE 7 *** Rep. Kelly Cassidy took the shirt to Wally’s…  Rep. Marty McLaughlin happened to be at Wally’s at the same time, saw what was going on and said, “Hey, that’s my shirt.” He apparently dropped it the other night while helping a fellow legislator. It’s now back in the rightful owner’s hands…  -30- …Adding… OK, one more… 
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