Chicago Daily Observer

A top level authority on police attitudes told “The Chicago Daily Observer” yesterday that “there’s a good chance that murders are rising in Chicago because police are demoralized and intensely dissatisfied with conditions at the very top of the department. That doesn’t mean they’re lying down on the enforcement job, but what’s the point of pursuing a rigorous enforcement and deterrence when the department is in the hands of the civil libertarians—and punitive penalties are meted out against officers for doing their jobs effectively?”
He said that Jody Weis’ appointment…an FBI agent who never wore a uniform nor patrolled a beat…signaled a mayoral disapproval of the department that is ruining morale. He contrasted this with the record of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani who stood by his department and beat off civil libertarians who tried to super-enforce infractions that hobbled the New York police.
“As a result ... Read More...

The dozens of acres of open space at 83rd and Stewart were once home to a steel plant that employed hundreds of workers. But in a story that’s been repeated across the rust belt, the plant steadily lost business and shed jobs until it finally closed in 2002.

Howard Brookins Jr. was elected 21st Ward alderman the next year, and ever since he’s been working—and sometimes battling—with city officials, developers, and unions to lure some kind of job-producing business to the site. In 2004 it looked like Wal-Mart might be coming, but the City Council voted the plan down, eventually leading to the big-box minimum-wage battle of 2006 and the contentious municipal elections of 2007, which Brookins narrowly survived. Earlier this year the alderman lost his race in the Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney, but now he says he’s going to revive his original battle: winning support for ... Read More...

David Axelrod’s “grassroots” strategy for Sen. Obama has generally consisted placing favorable stories in the press and gathering huge amounts of money, then buying airtime to polish his candidates image.

However, the Pennsylvania Primary has shown the law of diminishing returns has long since kicked in to Axelrod’s investment plan, with the Obama campaign coughing up over $10 Million to get very mediocre results.

Sen. Obama pulled in approximately 1 Million votes, while Sen. Clinton received approximately 1,250,000 votes. The big difference is on spending per vote, where Sen. Obama comes in at $10/vote delivered vs. Sen. Clinton at $2.64/vote delivered. At a ratio, Sen. Obama is paying 400% more per vote than Sen. Clinton, and still losing by a 10% margin.

The Axelrod crafted story has Sen. Obama running a masterfully crafted campaign, brining new voters into the electoral process and a bipartisan tidal wave for the Junion Illinois ... Read More...

Broadway Baby was not mentioned during the Democratic infighting in Pennsylvania.

But Broadway Baby—once a chic children’s boutique in Manhattan’s Upper West Side—is the future, if Barack Obama is the presidential candidate in the fall.

This story involves two Chicagoans, former Weather Underground terrorist leaders Bernardine Dohrn and her husband, William Ayers, both Obama supporters who blessed his initial foray into politics. Last week, the unrepentant Ayers became a flash point in Obama’s debate with Hillary Clinton.