City Room Blog

Satire, sanity and Stephen Colbert

By: Al Gini | Jan. 26, 2012

Jan. 26, 2012

The 2012 Republican presidential primaries witnessed the return of yet another 2008 contender: Stephen Colbert.

The Comedy Central host made a tardy (and satirical) entrance to the race in South Carolina earlier this month, thanks, in part, to the support of his collegue Jon Stewart. 

Together, the two used Colbert's candidacy - and their loyal fan base - to draw attention to the power and role so-called Super PACs play in American politics today.

But why are comedians like Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart so popular? Al Gini shares his thoughts:

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The Morning Drive Podcast: Thursday

By: Alex Keefe | Jan. 26, 2012

Jan. 26, 2012

Chicago's top headlines, piped straight to your earbuds.

In today's episode: Right-to-work wins in Indiana; new health guidelines for Chicago school kids; what it takes to host an NFL Super Bowl.

It's all the news that's fit to podcast. Click above to listen, click here to subscribe.

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Morning Drive Podcast: Wednesday

By: Alex Keefe | Jan. 25, 2012

Jan. 25, 2012

Chicago's top headlines, piped straight to your earbuds.

In today's episode: Kirk's health; arrests on CPS grounds; what it's really like to be a teacher in the Midwest.

It's all the news that's fit to podcast. Click above to listen, click here to subscribe.

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Does success in business equal success in politics?

By: Al Gini | Jan. 24, 2012

Jan. 24, 2012

It's not uncommon for political candidates these days to tout their background in business as evidence of their skills to be an effective public servant.  After all, managing budgets and running with complex organizations is a key part of modern governance. 

But in a recent column, David Brooks of the New York Times asked one of the central questions at the heart of the present Republican primary campaign. To wit: Does success in business necessarily translate into success in politics, specifically the Presidency? Or, another way of putting it: Is success at making corporate profits the same as crafting good economic policy? Is running America like running a corporation?

In short, Brooks argues that there is no direct correlation between business success and political success. He has long maintained that successful political leadership has similar but deeper roots than that which is required for success in business.

Although success in business and politics requires talent and a large storehouse of technical and intellectual tools, politics is about the business and management of people, not just the business of assets and profit margins.

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Tuesday 4.3.12

By: Alex Keefe | Jan. 24, 2012

Jan. 24, 2012

Chicago's top headlines, piped straight to your earbuds.

In today's episode: Sen. Mark Kirk's prognosis; Chicago police focus on two troublesome districts; State of the Union.

It's all the news that's fit to podcast. Click above to listen, click here to subscribe.

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Leg-up for Chicago films in Oscars?

By: Alison Cuddy | Jan. 24, 2012

Jan. 24, 2012

Like many movie hounds I both love to watch and love to complain about the annual Oscars. But the rules governing how and why a film qualifies "for your consideration" are still kind of foreign territory to me (ironically, especially when it comes to actual foreign films). 

Oscar rules have been shaken up in recent years. For example: Until this morning's announcement, no one was sure how many "best picture" nominees there'd be. Nor, as far as I can tell, does anyone know why the number of films selected should be as big a reveal as which films were selected. (don't get me started on their quality.) 

But the biggest brouhaha is over very recent changes to documentary selection. In brief, as of the 2013 awards, non-fiction films will now require not just a theatrical release, but also a review in either the New York Times or L.A.

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The Morning Drive Podcast: Monday

By: Alex Keefe | Jan. 23, 2012

Jan. 23, 2012

Chicago's top headlines, piped straight to your earbuds.

In today's episode: robots attending meetings, plants are happy again at Garfield Park Conservatory, ID cards for Wisconsin's voters?

It's all the news that's fit to podcast. Click above to listen, click here to subscribe.

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Aldermen email constituents about the ward remap, each in their own way

By: Kate Dries | Jan. 20, 2012

Jan. 20, 2012

After a complex and controversial ward redistricting and remap process that ended in a City Council vote yesterday, some Chicago residents were sent clarifying and celebratory emails from their alderman responding to the outcome. But those responses were varied, depending on the ward.

Joe Moore of the 49th Ward praised his far North Side neighbors--40th Ward Alderman Patrick O'Connor, 48th Ward Alderman Harry Osterman and 50th Ward Alderman Debra Silverstein--for helping "to draw ward boundaries that corresponded as closely as possible to the local community area boundaries." He added, "Though population requirements prevented us from drawing wards identical to our community areas, I believe we did as well as we possibly could." He also linked to WBEZ's interactive map of the new ward map.

And for Moore, two is better than one: "Practically speaking, the folks whose homes are being re-drawn into new wards will enjoy the short-term benefit of having two aldermen represent them," he wrote of the new boundaries that would temporarily make him and O'Connor oversee some of the same territory.

Alderman Proco Joe Moreno (1st) was more colorful with his commentary, which he slipped into a longer newsletter about ward happenings, like Adult Trivia Night.

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