Some statewide officials do a great job!
And one of them is Treasurer Michael Frerichs. At 10 o’clock this morning he’ll hold a press conference in Suite 1212 of the Merchandise Mart covering the new Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund.
The Fund will be investing $200 million in emerging Illinois tech companies over the next three years creating 3,600 jobs. Better yet, that cash comes from existing investments utterly mitigating the need for the Governor and General Assembly to get their budgetary act together.
But wait, there’s more! Not only will that cool $220 mil support tech startups, but it will likely attract another $400 million in private investment. Who knows! If the treasurer has his way, Illinois might become the center of Midwest Tech innovation.
Kudos to Mr. Frerichs for pulling this off despite the downstate deadlock. I wouldn’t be surprised if he supplants our Governor in two short years (and I hope he does!).
And speaking of Springfield…
Word in those hallowed halls is that the Rauner bloom is long off the rose for all but his most ardent admirers.
You see, the uber wealthy Rauner doesn’t give a rat’s patootie about the rising budget standoff fallout, but GOP legislators in tough districts do! And they’re worried their reelection chances are fading faster than Paris Hilton’s career.
They’re also painfully aware of the Governor’s abject failure to master the art of the appropriately spun message as demonstrated by two popular former Republican Governors declaring the cure is worse than the disease…
And some Republicans aren’t all that enamored of potential term limits either
So the bulk of legislators on both sides have already given up on the guv. They won’t say it out loud, but actions – or lack of them – speak for louder than words. Ain’t nobody rushing to Rauner’s side for a photo op these days.
They’ll simply sit back, muddle through this silly status quo, and wait two years til the unable to govern governor is sent packing.
This is what happens when you elect a businessman to office – they can’t handle the politics.
With friends like this…
If you listen carefully, the whispers on those shadowy St. Charles streets are particularly interesting these days. It would seem that, when Kane County Chairman candidate Ken Shepro approached his former sugar momma for an endorsement, State Senator Karen McConnaughay summarily rebuffed him. She even claimed that Ken’s political maneuverings weren’t in the best interest of the party.
I can’t believe those words came out her mouth without provoking multiple lightning strikes, but the State Senator does have a knack for survival. Of course, what that statement really meant was; “Ken! Our former dalliance meant nothing to me and, with the 33rd all sewn up, I really don’t need you now. Since there’s no political benefit to endorsing you, I won’t be wasting my breath.”
And I actually feel sorry for Ken. He may be completely delusional, but he isn’t stupid, and Ms. McConnaughay clearly wouldn’t have made it through two chairman terms without his advice.
Ah well! This scenario clearly proves that the only folks you can count on in politics are your enemies!
The Kane County Chronicle stars in a remake of the Sixth Sense
Holy crap! Have you picked up a copy of the Chronicle lately? Some Sunday Tribune ads are twice as thick! Why, that paper is so thin an anorexic Eaglebrook teenager would be jealous.
As a part of my nefarious plan to convince people I’m not the cad I truly am, I tend to look after my elderly neighbors. And part of that effort is bringing the Chronicle up the 100 yard driveway to one of their back doors.
Upon handing him his paper last week, the gentleman aptly noted, “There isn’t enough here to wipe your ass.”
So, much like Dr. Malcolm Crowe in The Sixth Sense, the Chronicle has already flat-lined, but they’re the only ones who haven’t quite caught on yet.
There certainly is an element of schadenfreude here, but it’s still sad to see a once proud paper flailing in their final death throes. As soon as the Shaws get tired of subsidizing it, the Chronicle will simply fade away and no one will even notice.
Speaking of inconsequential newspapers…
(Though I do like the folks who work there) The Elburn Herald ran yet another letter-to-the-editor, holding out the white Don King – Ken Shepro – as the Chairman messiah Kane County hasn’t really been longing for. This one was penned by former almost Congressional wannabee Mark Vargas.
If your first thought is, “Who the hell is Mark Vargas?” then join the club. I had to resort to my Republican friends to finally figure it out. And here it is, Mark:
• Lives in Washington D.C.
• Isn’t registered to vote in Kane County
• Hasn’t attend a KC Board meeting in years
• Has never been elected to public office
• Dropped out of on the only race he’s run
• Got a patronage job with the Department of Defense
And while I will certainly laud anyone – especially an Hispanic anyone – who dares to run for public office, I think this photograph says it all.
Sometimes a picture really is worth 1,000 words.
I love double entendres!
Did anyone else catch the unintended double entendre in a recent Daily Herald piece? Their editors certainly didn’t!
Let me just say that, if you’re gonna cover coyote mating season, you probably want to avoid opening the article with “The coyotes are coming! The coyotes are coming!”
Just a thought.
That author was none other than our busy friend Ken Shepro who clearly played Mr. Lee for the kind of political patsy we haven’t seen since the likes of Bob Kovanic. Craig! Much like that proverbial player at the poker table, if you don’t know who the political patsy is, it’s you!
We actually had a pleasant conversation until he hung up on me – twice! And I’m such a sweetheart too!
