Category: Chicago-esque

Chicago related, duh

Edvard Munch at the AIC

Seth Anderson1 Comment

Have been meaning to make it to this show, have the flyer right here on my desk in fact.


[Evard Much – Kiss By the Window, 1892]

It’s true that the artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a hopeless alcoholic who checked himself in and out of various sanatoriums, a Norwegian Lothario who never married and was shot in the left hand by Tulla Larsen, one of his mistresses, when he attempted to end their affair. (Fortunately he painted with his right hand.) But the Art Institute of Chicago’s engrossing exhibition “Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence Anxiety and Myth” (through April 26) rejects the popular notion that his art was a product of his creepiness, a perception that Munch energetically developed himself.

Although Munch is classified with the late 19th-century Symbolist painters whose intense images of inner torment paved the way for 20th-century expressionism, this exhibition demonstrates the broad range of other styles he employed, including naturalism and Impressionism. To be sure, the first major piece in this exhibition, “Self-Portrait With Cigarette” (1895), reinforces the view that Munch was not normal. The artist depicts himself in a Bohemian pose, wreathed in a blue-black haze of cigarette smoke. His face, eyes and hand holding the cigarette are the only luminous points amid swirling shadows. But the show, curated by Jay A. Clarke, surrounds some of Munch’s best work with art of his contemporaries — much of it from the Art Institute’s own rich Impressionist collection and its deep collection of prints and drawings — suggesting that his various themes, motifs and painting styles were only in part contrived to further his reputation as a sick and socially aberrant artist, and were essentially derived from art that he saw and loved.

[From Not All of Edvard Munch’s Art Was a Product of His Creepiness – WSJ.com]

[non-WSJ subscribers use this link]


Evard Munch – Madonna, 1895

Insanely busy though for the next few weeks. The show is up until April, however, and according to something I read, members1 have access to the museum an hour before it opens (i.e., less crowds). Anyone want to go with me?

Members enjoy private viewing of the exhibitions the first hour of every day.

Monday–Friday, 10:30–11:30

Saturday–Sunday, 10:00–11:00

Footnotes:
  1. I recently renewed my subscription [↩]

Scientologists Want to Invade South Clark

Seth Anderson0 comment

The Scientologists want to take over the building at 650 S. Clark, Chicago and turn it into a Scientologist “Church”, thwarting the normal procedure.

Xenu dot Net

Micah Maidenberg writes:

The Church of Scientology proposes to change the building from DX-12, a downtown mixed-use district, to DR-10, a downtown residential classification.

The change would allow the group to develop a church without obtaining a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals, as the current zoning requires. The group has been unable to secure the permit in the past.

Some Printers Row residents expressed skepticism about the parking plans for the new church and worried about sidewalk solicitation at a Jan. 27 neighborhood meeting about the proposal.

Representatives from the church said they wouldn’t solicit and said they had provided enough parking for church use.

A few residents were hostile toward Scientology generally. One woman even denied the Church of Scientology constituted a religion. The group has religious tax-exempt status under Internal Revenue Service guidelines.

[Click to continue reading Controversial zoning change could be considered tomorrow]

Personally, I don’t think any church should enjoy tax-exempt status, no matter how politically connected (or not) they are.

As an aside, I wonder if I have a photo of this building? I’ll have to dig into my archives…

Hey, I'm working here!

LEED certified Bed and Breakfast

Seth Anderson1 Comment

My neighbor, Donnie Madia1 wants to open a “green” bed and breakfast over in my old stomping grounds (I lived on Paulina and Cortez in the mid-1990s). Cool, hope he succeeds.

Donnie Madia in front of Avec

A local builder would like to covert a building near Division and Paulina into a boutique, eco-friendly hotel with retail offerings.

Dan Sheehy of Third Coast Construction imagines the project including a small restaurant on the first floor, shopping and a 13-room hotel.

Sheehy and his partners want to develop the project in the building at 1659 W. Division, which currently houses Pump Shoes and Accessories. The shoe store is under a long term lease.

If the plans are approved by 1st Ward Alderman Manny Flores and the city council, construction isn’t expected to begin for 14 to 16 months.

Sheehy presented his plans to neighbors at a recent meeting of the East Village Association, and got a warm response.

Previously, the EVA board unanimously voted not to oppose a special-use zoning permit that the hotel would need to open. After a half hour presentation, EVA’s general membership unanimously agreed with the board’s decision.

“The entrance to the building will be on Paulina Ave., giving the hotel a ‘neighborhood feel,'” Sheehy said at the meeting.

“We love the building and we’re not going to tear it down,” Sheehy said. “It’s almost like a call-back – we’re going to re-create it.” The building had in the ’70s functioned as a tavern and a restaurant.

Sheehy, who focuses on sustainable developments, is planning to pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification for the building and expedite processing of building permits through the city’s green permit program.

[Click to continue reading Imagining a ‘modern day’ bed and breakfast]

No Loitering -or else!

Footnotes:
  1. of Blackbird, Avec and The Publican fame [↩]

Mr Beef a bit short

Seth Anderson0 comment

Mr Beef

There is hope that a fast food restaurant unique to Chicago will be able to stay open in the River North neighborhood– despite a foreclosure lawsuit.

Midwest Bank is suing the owners of Mr. Beef, 666 N. Orleans, to collect $650,000 the bank says it is owed.

The son of one of the owners tells ABC7 talks are underway to extend their loan. Several banks are offering to help.

[From Mr. Beef facing financial problems – 2/11/09 – Chicago News – abc7chicago.com]

Can’t say I’ve ever eaten at Mr. Beef, but it is a Chicago institution, favored by many who like slurping juicy hot beef sandwiches.

Tube City

Seth Anderson1 Comment

Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation show visited Chicago last summer, the episode was first aired last Tuesday.

Chicago Dog

In the bad old days of the culture wars, when the “Forces of Darkness” had aligned against the “Forces of Goodness and Light,” Chicago was a key battleground and an early, crucial loss for the good guys. Foie gras had been declared illegal and the ensuing ripples of fear spread cross country. Gutless, craven punks everywhere deserted their comrades like Vichy shopkeepers while animal “activists” terrorized chefs’ families and children, vandalized businesses, and strong-armed retailers. But even though chefs like Wolfgang Puck — for instance — suddenly discovered their preference for fluffy cute ducks over their fellow chefs or their traditions and headed for the lifeboats, a few lone heroes stood tall, proudly extending a stiff middle finger at the advancing horde. Doug Sohn, owner/proprietor of Chicago’s magnificent emporium of all things meat in tube-form (basically a lunchtime freakin’ Hot Dog joint) was just such a hero. After Chicago alderman Joe Moore slipped his own proverbial weiner into the body politic, ramming through legislation forbidding the sale of foie in the city, Sohn created an homage of sorts, the “Joe Moore” dog, a duck, foie gras and Sauternes sausage topped with truffled foie gras and Dijon mustard sauce, selling it in flagrant, open defiance of the law. It was the opening shot of what turned out to be a winning strategy: making the anti-foie gras forces look just so utterly ridiculous that the law was eventually overturned and balance returned to the universe.(For a detailed account of this epic struggle, with a full accounting of who was good, bad, principled, hypocritical, cowardly or heroic when the chips were down, read Chicago Tribune reporter Mark Caro’s excellent and illuminating


The Foie Gras Wars

(Simon and Schuster 2009).

I’m ambivelent about a lot of places, but I am unrestrained in my love for Chicago. Only Chicago could convince me that the New York hot dog was not, in fact, anywhere near the apex of the hot dog arts.(The Chicago Red Hot deserves that honor) . Two respectably old school baseball teams, great, great bars, a tradition of unapproachably good and important music, its own, truly imposing style of architecture, an attitude both big city wise-ass and heartland lack of bullshit, a city open to the bestand most excessive/creative of new, experimental cooking styles, loaded with great chefs (many of whom are pals), it’s simply another place I’ll use any excuse to visit. Tonight’s episode was just such an excuse. [Click to continue reading: Tube City]

I do have Hot Doug’s on my list of places to take tourists to, mainly to try this at least once in my life, but so far, no takers. One of these times…

With the exception of the cringe-worthy Mancow segment, the episode was good. There is a photo journal here with some other photos of Bourdain in Chicago here.

Danny Davis Asked Feds to Prop Up National Bank of Commerce

Seth Anderson2 Comments

My Moony-loving Congressman, Danny Davis1, is in a wee bit of controversy himself.

Reserved Light

Two Illinois congressmen urged the Treasury in October to avoid taking any regulatory action against a struggling bank in their state, illustrating the aggressive efforts some politicians are taking to help hometown lenders during the bank crisis.

In a letter they sent, Democratic Reps. Danny K. Davis and Luis Gutierrez also asked government officials to provide financial aid to National Bank of Commerce, based in the Chicago suburb of Berkeley, Ill. (Read the letter.)

Democratic Reps. Danny Davis and Luis Gutierrez wrote Treasury in late October asking the government to help a struggling bank in their state and halt any regulatory action against the lender. Read the letter.

Regulators rebuffed the request, and the two-branch bank failed on Jan. 16.

Lawmakers often seek to help home-state interests, and there is nothing illegal about forwarding requests to regulators and other government officials. But legislators normally stop short of action that might appear to be interfering in the way regulators examine and supervise banks, a process that is supposed to be impartial.

[From Politicians Asked Feds to Prop Up Ailing Bank – WSJ.com] [non-WSJ subscribers use this link]

Too early too ascertain if this is a real scandal, or simply trumped up gossip the Rupert Murdoch version of the Wall Street Journal likes so much. We shall see.

Footnotes:
  1. see also an archived portion of an article from Rich Miller’s essential Capitol Fax Blog [↩]

IDEO moving to West Loop

Seth Anderson0 comment

International design firm IDEO moves to the West Loop, well one office at least

Athenian Candle Co

Palo Alto, Calif.-based industrial design firm IDEO is increasing the size of its local office about 25%, to 20,442 square feet, as part of a move from Evanston to the building, 626 W. Jackson Blvd.
IDEO, whose design credits include the standup toothpaste tube, has signed a 10-year lease for the top two floors of the eight-story structure, says Menahem Deitcher, managing principal with office leasing firm Deitcher Group LLC, which is partners with Sterling Bay in the deal. He adds that they have another deal pending for one tenant to lease the second, third and fourth floors.
IDEO’s move-in date is June 1, Mr. Deitcher says.

…

Founded in 1991, IDEO has 550 employees and six other offices, including two overseas. In addition to the toothpaste tube, the company also designed Apple Inc.’s first mouse, the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet cabin and the Samsung LCD monitor.

[From Product designer moving to former CHA headquarters – Chicago Real Estate Daily]

I know I have a photo of this place, I’ll have to delve into my archives

Lofts and Condos Doo-Dah Doo-Dah

update 127/09:
Ha, I knew I had a snapshot of 626 W Jackson…

626 W Jackson

First Order from Fresh Picks

Seth Anderson0 comment

We were out doing errands yesterday, and noticed a van with the logo for Irv and Shelly’s Organics Fresh Picks. We looked them up on the web when we got home:

Squash - Green City Farmers Market

Irv & Shelly’s Fresh Picks™ offers year-round home delivery in the Chicago area of local and organic produce, meat, dairy and eggs. You can order online anytime to choose the specific items you want, or opt for a Fresh Picks Box that is automatically delivered to your door weekly or bi-weekly.

We are committed to working with local sustainable farms we personally know and trust. Our fresh picks will arrive at your door ripe and bursting with flavor, vitamins and minerals within hours of leaving the farm. We’re as proud of our farmers as they are of their food, and have developed tracking systems for the great local products in your order so we can tell you who raised them and how they protect your health and the environment.

…

We live in Chicago with our kids Miles and Lia, and like you, we want to have an easier time getting locally grown and organic food.

When we talked with independent farmers working hard to grow food without using chemicals, hormones and antibiotics, they told us they could use help getting their food to Chicago. So we decided to start Irv & Shelly’s Fresh PicksSM to deliver ripe food bursting with flavor, vitamins and minerals right to your door within hours of leaving the farm.

We want to partner with farmers to grow the market for local organic food and to improve our health and the environment in the process. We wanted to cut out as many middle men as possible and return the maximum dollars back to the farm so small independent farmers can flourish. That is why we are delivering local food to your homes fresh from the farms and directly to you. You can learn more about the benefits of eating locally grown food.

[From ABOUT US]

Very cool. Sometimes we get so busy with work, and don’t manage to make it to the local Farmer’s Markets, or even get to the grocery store. Having fresh produce around makes eating healthily much easier.

A couple of years ago we looked into Chicago area CSAs – a service which delivers a box of produce all year1, but we never signed up. Too much of a commitment I guess, and neither of us are really fond of winter root vegetables. Fresh Picks is a variant on the CSA concept, but also allows for the consumer to select specific items, via the web. If I’m happy with the quality, I might consider using their biweekly automatic order for certain staple items, but at least I can stick my proverbial toe in first.

Yesterday, I placed my first order at Fresh Picks. I might have been a bit hungry when I was browsing, ahem:

2 Zucchini each 1.69 3.38
1 Bok Choy 3.49 3.49
2 Avocado – Haas each 2.49 4.98
1 Mushroom, Crimini, 1/2 lb 2.99 2.99
1 Lemon each 0.75 0.75
1 Pepper, bell red 2.99 2.99
1 Tomato Grape, 1 pint 2.99 2.99
1 Lettuce Red Leaf 1 head 2.49 2.49
1 Cheese Goat aged 5 oz. 8.99 8.99
1 Fennel, head 2.99 2.99
1 Cilantro bunch 1.99 1.99
1 Arugula 5 oz. 3.99 3.99
1 Parsley Italian bunch 1.99 1.99
1 Tofu 1 lb. Firm 2.49 2.49
1 Cheese Cheddar Raw Sharp 8 oz. 5.99 5.99
1 Pizza cheese mushroom 6″ 3.99 3.99
1 Pasta Sauce, Garlic Lovers 7.50 7.50
1 Sprouts, Red Clover 4 oz. 3.99 3.99
1 Microgreens, Radish 2 oz. 5.99 5.99
1 Microgreens, Sunflower 2 oz 5.99 5.99
3 Lime, each 0.45 1.35
1 Tilapia FIllets 2-3/pack 8.49 8.49
2 Cucumber 1.99 3.98
1 Bread, 12 grain loaf sliced 4.99 4.99
1 Beets, Chioggia 1 lb. 2.49 2.49

The prices are comparable to any other organic grocery store, Whole Foods, or the Chicago Green City Market, or the Green Grocer over on 1402 Grand Avenue. I’ll report back as to the quality of the produce as soon as they bring me the goods…

Footnotes:
  1. if you live in other places, there are probably CSAs near you, check it out [↩]

Chicago and the First Snow of the Season

Seth Anderson0 comment

It has snowed before in Chicago this year, but not really a substantial amount. It also has been cold, but not this cold. Winter is officially here.

Cold with lows zero to 4 above…except 5 to 9 above downtown. Wind chills as low as zero to 10 below zero. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph diminishing to less than 10 mph late.

[From 7-Day Zone Forecast for Cook County]

Slowly Creeping Home
Slowly Creeping Home
West Loop commuters, moving about 5 mph.

[view large on black: www.b12partners.net/photoblog/index.php?showimage=169 ]

Snowy Ride Home
Snowy Ride Home
West Loop commuters, moving about 5 mph.

[view large on black: www.b12partners.net/photoblog/index.php?showimage=167 ]

click to embiggen.

There also was an incident where an accordion-style CTA bus lost control making the turn onto Randolph Street, skidded out of control, and ran up onto the sidewalk. The bus driver got out, and then left, presumedly to go get help. As a result, 2.5 of the 3 lanes of traffic were blocked for twenty or thirty minutes. Eventually an expert CTA driver arrived, and was able to maneuver the bus out of the jam. I took a brief video of the stuck bus for my amusement, maybe you’ll see the humor as well.

Illinois Corruption

Seth Anderson0 comment

I wonder if the media obsession with Illinois being corrupt has anything to do with the President-elect? Ya think? Because Illinois is no more (or less) corrupt than other states. Politics is a dirty, full-contact sport, and the lure of power and money lead politicians to do many questionable things, some of which are illegal, and some of which they get caught doing.

How many times does the rest of the world need to be reminded that three of our last seven governors went to prison or that at least 79 of our elected officials have been convicted since 1972? Yes, there was a time when it was a very big deal that an entire year had passed without a Chicago alderman going to jail. Do we have to trot that out every couple of weeks?

It was refreshing, then, to learn that USA Today had done some original reporting on the subject and determined that Illinois is not, in fact, the most corrupt place on the planet or even in the United States. That distinction belongs to North Dakota.

That’s right, governor—North bleeping Dakota. Illinois is No. 18.

If you visit the USAToday.com Web site, you’ll find a nifty little interactive map that allows you to roll your cursor over any state and see how many public officials have been convicted of corruption there since 1998. The map is color coded, based on badness, and Illinois isn’t even one of the dark blue ones. Based on an analysis of Justice Department statistics, North Dakota (population 639,715) had 8.3 federal corruption convictions per 100,000 residents; Illinois (population 12.9 million) had 3.9.

[From We’re No. 18 — chicagotribune.com]

Since even the new-look Chicago Tribune refuses to link to other news sources, the USA Today article reads:

On a per-capita basis, however, Illinois ranks 18th for the number of public corruption convictions the federal government has won from 1998 through 2007, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Department of Justice statistics.

Louisiana, Alaska and North Dakota all fared worse than the Land of Lincoln in that analysis.

Alaska narrowly ousted Republican Sen. Ted Stevens in the election in November after he was convicted of not reporting gifts from wealthy friends. In Louisiana, Democratic Rep. William Jefferson was indicted in 2007 on racketeering and bribery charges after the FBI said it found $90,000 in marked bills in his freezer. Jefferson, who has maintained his innocence and will soon go to trial, lost his seat to a Republican this year.

The Walking Miracle

Seth Anderson0 comment

Perhaps you read of this tragic incident1

Perhaps the most tragic part of Jen’s story is that she falls into a loophole where she currently has no medical insurance.
At the time of attack, Jen was just four weeks shy of securing medical insurance from her new employer, and just 3 months away from marrying Joe, which will entitle her to spousal insurance through his employer.
Jen’s medical bills are likely to skyrocket to the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now, coupled with the impact of her recovery, Jen and Joe have the unimaginable anxiety of how to pay immense medical bills for treatment that saved her life.
Jen, a Chicago native who loves to bike and is engaged to a Marine Corps Veteran hero, is an everyday American. This tragedy could have happened to anyone. Jen is just like you, just like your sister, just like your best friend – just like the lady who manages your favorite local restaurant. It happened to Jen…and she needs your help.

[From The Walking Miracle]

the story itself:

On Monday, August 25, 2008, Jennifer Hall was brutally attacked by two homeless people on the South Side of Chicago. Out celebrating her 36th birthday with fiancé Joe Hoffman, Jen was viciously kicked in the head until she became unconscious… an unprovoked altercation that left Jen lying in a pool of her own blood with only four teeth left in her mouth.

Medical experts familiar with Jen’s trauma said that nine out of 10 people in her condition are brain dead and don’t survive.

But Jen is fighting the odds.

Footnotes:
  1. though, not from me, as I inexplicably failed to publish this post. Doh! Probably because I wanted to say something about healthcare in this country being so horrible [↩]

Blagojevich a Sociopath

Seth Anderson0 comment

Since I’ve already quoted this line a couple of times already, and even sent it to my mom, I should set it down here, in my publicly available scrapbook1


[photo by Brian Kersey]

Anyway, Eric Zorn remembers a fairly recent article about our sociopathic gov in the Chicago Magazine:

In a profile of Blagojevich in last February’s Chicago Magazine, writer David Bernstein reported:

Privately, a few people who know the governor describe him as a “sociopath,” and they insist they’re not using hyperbole. State representative Joe Lyons, a fellow Democrat from Chicago, told reporters that Blagojevich was a “madman” and “insane.”

That struck me at the time, as over the top. Today it strikes me as brave and prescient.

If these allegations are true, Blagojevich is not just sleazy and venal, he’s also recklessly compulsive. But an allegedly recklessly compulsive sociopath cannot and does not act alone — his abetters and enablers included his major donors and his advisers. They, too, should be called to account.

[From `Staggering’ allegations, even by Illinois standards | Eric Zorn’s Change of Subject]

Footnotes:
  1. is that what a blog is? I still have yet to come up with a good explanation of what it is I am attempting here [↩]

Blago in Handcuffs, and All I Got Was This Lousy Newspaper

Seth Anderson0 comment

There does seem to be some sort of connection, in spirit, if not in wiretap goods, between Blagojevich and Zell. I’m not the only one to notice it:

Las Vegas Showgirls

But really, you know Blagojevich moved into an entirely different realm of awful when, as the Chicago Tribune reported in early November, his people called Tribune owner Sam Zell and demanded the firing of editorial board members in return for assistance in selling the Tribune-owned Chicago Cubs.

…

There was no possibility of jeopardizing Fitzgerald’s investigation, because this story didn’t need it; the wiretap wasn’t involved: Blagojevich called them! The Tribune could have and should have run the story of Blagojevich’s call to Tribune Tower in 200 point type. They should have printed it in Rod’s own blood. They would have brought down a sitting governor the same week that they were trumpeting the win of Obama. They would have pushed the Tribune’s brand into the stratosphere, at just the time that it needed it.

But they didn’t. Faced with a defining moment in journalism–this was the kind of story that we would have taught in journalism schools for years–Sam Zell decided not to do the right thing. It’s not surprising–the guy is a waxed mustache away from tying a damsel in distress to a railroad track after all–but it’s still a shock.

When you walk into the lobby of the Tribune Tower, you’re dwarfed by the etched words of legends. They speak of the importance of journalism for a functioning democracy; of the imperative to speak truth to power. One, from Thomas Jefferson himself, reads “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that can not be limited without being lost.”

That lobby is for sale now. Zell wants to turn the building into condos.

[From Daniel Sinker: My Governor Got Lead Away in Handcuffs, and All I Got Was This Lousy Newspaper]

So why did the Chicago Tribune hold off on the story?

think about this: You’re a newspaper. The governor of your state–a governor who has had the stink of corruption on him for years–has his people call you up and directly state that they’ll help you out if you fire members of your editorial board. It is a phone conversation that not only wipes its ass on the ethical lines it crosses, it also treats the First Amendment like it’s optional. And you don’t report it? Why?

There’s only one reason: Zell was entertaining the offer.

Rod The Paler

Seth Anderson0 comment

I’m sure Governor Blah Blah feels like there’s a spike in his gut after the transcript of the Criminal Complaint (PDF) gets read by the public.1

One person it most likely won’t affect is Obama himself, who appears to have been inadvertently cleared by Blagojevich. The Democrat was allegedly captured on a wiretap in multiple conversations in which he discussed an Obama advisor he believed the president-elect wanted appointed. But Blagojevich said he wasn’t willing to do that without some benefit for himself.

“I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there,” Blagojevich said in one conversation, according to the complaint. Elsewhere, the complaint reads:

ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put “[Senate Candidate 4]” in the Senate “before I just give fucking [Senate Candidate 1] a fucking Senate seat and I don’t get anything.”

The next day, according to the complaint, Blagojevich allegedly said, “he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat but ‘they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them.’“

[From Rod Blagojevich has had better days – War Room – Salon.com]

Impeachment proceedings? Sure, where do I sign.

The Senate Candidates are not names, but there are clues as to their identity:

Unsurprisingly, since this investigation is in U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s district, and since he’s known for this sort of thing, multiple contenders for Obama’s seat are named as “Senate Candidate 1,” “Senate Candidate 2” and so on. It’s hard to say for sure who any of these candidates are, but as with any good blind item, there are plenty of hints. Senate Candidate 1, for instance, appears to be Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. And based on the complaint’s discussion of a deliberate leak from the Blagojevich administration to a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, it appears that Senate Candidate 2 is Lisa Madigan, the state’s attorney general.

It’s Senate Candidate 5, though, who might end up being the most interesting contender, because of this passage from this complaint:

In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”

Another passage gives a hint as to the identify of Senate Candidate 5:

ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated he was “elevating” Senate Candidate 5 on the list of candidates for the open Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated he might be able to cut a deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided ROD BLAGOJEVICH with something “tangible up front.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH noted he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days.

One intriguing possibility? Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who met with Blagojevich about the job just yesterday.

Except that the Sun-Times columnist is probably Sneed, who wrote:

Sneed hears Gov. Blago, who will choose Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate, privately feels there may be only one choice that makes sense: His buddy, outgoing Senate President Emil Jones.

• • To wit: Jones is this/close to Blago, who may pay his pal back for being such a staunch ally. Jones would also be a strong ally in the Senate for his political godson — Obama.

• • Hmmm: Isn’t it true Gov. Blago, who truly believes a federal indictment is not in his future, is hoping Jones would be a placeholder until 2010 — when Gov. Rod could opt for a Senate seat or another run at the governorship? Is someone smoking posies?

[From 2 yrs. to dream? Rahm ’em . . . :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Michael Sneed]

Rich Miller has lots more speculation at The Capitol Fax Blog including:

Later on December 4, 2008… ROD BLAGOJEVICH noted he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days…

ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that Senate Candidate 5 was very much a realistic candidate for the open Senate seat, but that ROD BLAGOJEVICH was getting “a lot of pressure” not to appoint Senate Candidate 5. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that ROD BLAGOJEVICH had a problem with Senate Candidate 5 just promising to help ROD BLAGOJEVICH because ROD BLAGOJEVICH had a prior bad experience with Senate Candidate 5 not keeping his word.

As Ambinder reported earlier, that dateline matches up with Jackson’s planned meeting with the governor. Also, I’m not aware of any instances of the governor complaining that Emil Jones had broken his word. It’s time for somebody to come clean. So far, there’s still no response from Congressman Jackson’s office.

oh, and this Tribune page of web coverage is pretty cool

Footnotes:
  1. I have a copy, but have been too busy this morning to read it. [↩]