What happened this month? Eight Forty-Eight’s month-in-review

What happened this month? Eight Forty-Eight’s month-in-review

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A very non-official Chicago sticker (Flickr/Merrick Brown)
It’s the last day of February, so obviously it’s time for our segment Month in Review, where we talk to people who know about what were the biggest stories for this past month. We’ll be talking with some of the biggest names in Chicago news, but here’s a preview of what they’re interested in remembering:

Cheryl Corley, NPR Correspondent:

Corley says local stories she’s interested in are the Quinn budget, Chicago school closings and the death of Don Cornelius. For non-local, she followed the Indiana governor signing the “right-to-work” law, the Ohio High School shooting from this week, and of course, the Republican primary (Michigan is tonight).

An overreported story for Corley was “the brouhaha over the city sticker with the 15 year old kid and the gang sign allegations”, while underreported has been the Illinois Eavesdropping Law being challenged.

Ken Davis, Host of Chicago Newsroom on CAN-TV:

Davis has been following Super-PACs and campaign financing closely, which he says “have transformed the national election process.” He pays kudos to Stephen Colbert, who has done the best job at “helping the public understand this ruling…with the creation of his own Super-PAC.” The recent Sun-Times story on how CPD has been dealing with gangs is another he’s interested in, as is the speed camera law that’s not “fully understood by most people who drive in Chicago.” “Aldermen who voted for these cameras may find themselves regretting this vote the way they regretted voting for the parking meter deal,” Davis predicts. And finally, he’s interested in the conflicts over “educational apartheid” between Reverend Jesse Jackson and schools CEO J.C. Brizard.

Listen to this conversation

120229 month in review.mp3

For underreported, Davis thinks we should be paying more attention to Google’s new privacy settings (in effect today), Chicago’s shrinking population, and student debt. But he and Corley agree on one thing: the City Sticker story was definitely the most overreported, and in Davis’ words, “much ado about nothing. It was classic media hall-of-mirrors stuff.”

Randi Belisomo, CLTV Reporter:

Belisomo is following the constantly evolving contraception debate, Emanuel’s hand in changing CPS, and “tipover deaths” of small children. She calls the proposal to limit protests in the City Hall chambers “juicy”, but agrees with her Corley that the Illinois Eavesdropping Law is the most underreported story. 

As for overreported — well Belisomo doesn’t want to hear anymore about Jeremy Lin or wrong way drivers.

What are the stories you were following this month? And which are the ones you never want to hear about again?