Mayor Emanuel has three big things he wants from Springfield. 1) Casinos. 2) Speeding cameras and 3) a huge statue of him sitting on top of the statue of Abraham Lincoln. Okay, maybe not a huge statue, maybe the third was keeping the Mercantile Exchange in Chicago. I can’t remember. 

Anyway, he’s pretty much locked up the speeding cameras and Quinn has compromised and says he would allow a casino in Chicago if they took slots at horse tracks off the table. Because, yeah, that’s relevant. Does anyone go to the track anymore? If so, do you wear a fidora and smoke a cigar like a Grandpa?

We know that speeding cameras are looking like a done deal, even if some house members posture. And now the word is that the CME is putting the ultimatum on the table to the state of Illinois, essentially asking for their taxes to be cut in half or they are walking. And the state might give it to them. Wow, I wonder how that will sit with Occupy Chicago? The CME (which owns the Board of Trade) get taxed about $160 million right now and they are asking for $80 million from here on out. That’s a lot of millions, right?

So will Rahm get it all? Pay attention. If he goes 3-3, I wonder if he’ll be asking for a contract extension soon. And just imagine a statue next to the fairgrounds:

B story: This Herman Cain story is troubling on several levels. Either this guy is a serial sexual harasser or these women are making up stories to take down a presidential candidate. I will defer to you for judgement either way, but if the truth ever does come out, we will have quite a bombshell story on our hands.

C story: Travel day! Who wants to go to NYC with me? Yesterday, flights dropped to $67 round trip. Seriously, I might just fly to NYC for a staff meeting. Sound good web team? Now, it’s weird days/hours and it is Spirit Airlines, but $67? You could go next time there is an Interview Show. I went with Mark Bazer last month to do his show at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Here’s his interview with Broadway star Brian D’Arcy James.

D story: There is a fake Jim DeRogatis online selling demo records. Reviewers get review CDs (you know, the CD with the little notch on the side) and a dude is selling them, acting like he is Jim DeRogatis. The AV Club has the story. I asked Jim for comment on this breaking story:

Jeez, talk about a slow news day. As noted, it ain’t me. I only sell exclusive Ryan Adams recordings online. (That was a joke.)

If you are unfamiliar with the context of that joke, please please please familiarize yourself with this Chicago classic (NSFW):

Weather: It’s raining again. But it is clearing up, maybe.

Sports: The Kansas City Royals have shown interest in Carlos Zambrano. Not “we’ll take him and pay him all that money” but more of “if you want to continue paying him but not have him play in Chicago, we have interest in taking him off your hands.” Hey, it’s a start.  Mark Buehrle is meeting with the Florida Marlins. Uh-oh White Sox fans. That’s not a courtesy. That’s Ozzie getting a quality left-hand starter and sticking it to his former team. The Bears are still not getting respect in the media. CBS Sports did their power rankings and have the Bears at 14th overall with the Detroit Lions at 6th and the Atlanta Falcons at 8th. Whaa? Didn’t we beat the Falcons? At least ESPN has it reversed.

Did you know that several Bears players get together and play Call of Duty? Forte is the best (go figure). Although, Kellen Davis has better kill shot percentages.

Kicker: Heavy D up in the limousine…if the limousine was heaven. I heard WGCI belting out a Heavy D mix this morning in memory of the rapper, who died yesterday at the age of 44. Heavy D was a seminal crossover rap artist that came to life on Yo MTV Raps! and quickly became a Top 40 hit that suburban white kids could use as an entry to a new kind of music. Almost every Heavy D song also sampled old R&B songs, which made me giddy when I would hear those songs on V-103 after the fact (sorry, don’t have a full handle on every classic R&B song).

But it was the outfits that set him apart. Like this half and half suit in the classic “Is it Good to You” off the Juice soundtrack. They should have a sale at Merry Go Round in his honor: