Original News, Features & Opinion on local and regional news you won't find anywhere else
Killing of Laquan McDonald plays into race more than facts What might Laquan McDonald have done had police not stopped him on that October evening in 2014 near 41st and Pulaski Road in Chicago? McDonald, who was menacingly waving a knife in the air as he walked in the middle of the street late at…
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Who was Chicago’s Best Mayor? With Mayor Rahm Emanuel bowing out of next Spring’s Chicago mayoral elections, it’s a good time to look at the past eight of Chicago’s mayors to decide who was the “best” in a lot of different categories including inspirational, vindictive, vision, historic, and most productive. By Ray Hanania Chicago Mayor…
Orland Park trustee proposes restaurant tax Orland Park’s village board majority is preparing to increase taxes on its residents, both a property tax hike and a massive tax on local restaurants that the village officials defend by asserting that “it won’t just impact Orland Park residents. It will impact everyone.” That’s what they said when…
Singing the blues in the Southwest Region The Southwest Region southwest side of Chicago and the southwest suburbs) continue to grow, adding to their assets including Midway Airport and Toyota Park. The most recent addition is the new Lyons BluesFest which kicks off on Sept. 22, 2018, in the Village of Lyons. The organizers have…
The two faces of John McCain The biased and racist news media has turned the late Senator John McCain into a modern day God, not because they loved him and really respected him but because of their shameless politics: they love that he as a senior Republican challenged and criticized President Donald Trump. McCain had…
Briefs: Seymour Hersh’s Southwest Suburban roots The hidden Southwest SuburbanChicagoland stories of Seymour Hersh, in Oak Lawn and Evergreen Park, and his publication of his own small community newspaper, revealed in his blockbuster new book “Reporter” By Ray Hanania Biographies of award-winning journalist #SeymourHersh leave out a very significant aspect of his career that he describes as having…
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Tollway Chairman slams board members’ bullying The Chairman of the Illinois Tollway Authority released copies of a letter and memos critical of Tollway board member Joseph “Joe” Gomez who has been accused of bullying and using inappropriate language in addressing Tollway employees. Gomez denies the claims but the letters offer specific details about incidents and…
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Getting bored by the empty void of streaming TV With so many streaming cable options all competing for the public’s attention, there are some great choices and some terrible ones. And there are things that each system can do to improve their services, besides adding quality original programming to their offerings. When the monthly subscription…
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Poor journalism blocks Perseid Meteor Shower They said poor weather would probably be the main reason why most people don’t see the Perseid Meteor Shower, but the real obstacle is poor journalism by science and technology writers, and online websites that are filled with “Spam Ads” and “Spam Writing.” Here’s the easy way to find…
When will people in Chicago get serious about violence? Organized protests may bring attention to the problem of neighborhood violence. But if community homeowners and families don’t stand up to the violence in their own community, they can’t make a difference and violence will continue. The past weekend when Chicago saw 74 brutal shootings and…
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The verdict on Jury Duty in Cook County I received my summons to appear at Jury Duty. I didn’t want to use any excuses having been a reporter covering the court system, being a political columnist who writes about court cases, having been in several legal cases as a defendant and plaintiff in political cases in…
Criticism of Trump is just another form of hate President Donald Trump’s critics are so angry and emotional about him their criticism has deteriorated into pure hatred. Many on the Left admit it is hate, but won’t admit that their hatred is a symptom of their own hypocrisies. Donald Trump is the President of the…
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Pretend interview with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel I’ve covered six Chicago Mayors since 1976 including Mayors Richard J. Daley, Michael A. Bilandic, Jane M. Byrne, Harold Washington, Eugene Sawyer and Richard M. Daley. But I have yet to get Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to allow me to interview him, despite numerous requests. What’s the excuse…
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Pfleger publicity stunts do nothing to stop violence Father Pfleger organized a protest of community residents and activists to block traffic on the Dan Ryan Expressway recently to protest increasing gang violence. But are the protests good for the community or his own personal interests. What he should be doing is helping residents to stand…
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Term limits undermine the rights of voters to choose The push to impose term limits isn’t being done by the voters or the public. It’s being led by political candidates who just can’t seem to take control of government because they lack the support of the majority of voters. Term limits are wrong because it…
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Xfinity-Comcast excels at providing remote access Whatever issues might exist with WiFi services, Xfinity-Comcast does offer the best remote access to your cable TV account, far better than any of the other competitors including DirecTV. Xfinity allows customers to view programs they have recorded on their home systems remotely, from anywhere where WiFi access is available…
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Beauty pageants without swimsuits, weather without beautiful women Beauty pageants are just that, about beauty. It doesn’t mean other people are ugly. It means that there are some who are more beautiful. The others only become ugly when we stigmatize the beautiful as being “obscene” and we start to implement politically correct ideas to make…
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Media hypocrisy over Roseanne Barr Roseanne Barr’s racist reference to Valerie Jarrett is irresistible and Barr rightly apologized. But was ABC TV’s decision to punish Roseanne by cancelling her hit TV series revival warranted? Or, is it the result of a double standard fueled by news media bias against Barr because of her open support…