May 2010
05/26/10Eddie Newman, Doctor to Chicago's StarsEdward “Eddie” Newman, who died Saturday at age 89, was, as his obituaries noted, the physician to some of Chicago’s most notable figures—including Mayor Richard M. Daley, real estate magnate Arthur Rubloff, and famed Chicago Bears quarterback... Posted at 01:20 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (2) |
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05/21/10Rahm Emanuel: The Next Democratic Party Chairman?Lately, I’ve been talking a lot with Fred Beuttler, the deputy historian of the House of Representatives and a font of knowledge about that institution. Recently, we discussed one of my favorite subjects: Chicagoan Rahm Emanuel, the former congressman for the 5th District, now serving as chief of staff to President Obama. Beuttler speculates that... Posted at 11:20 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (6) |
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05/18/10All the Comforts of the House (of Representatives)A recent Wall Street Journal story reported that Andy Goss, a former Army interrogator seeking the GOP nomination for a Congressional seat from Arizona, is proposing to cut congressional pay by 40 percent (salary is currently $174,000) and use the dollars saved to build a barracks on Capitol Hill. Four of the 19 members of the Illinois delegation go Goss one better: they sleep in their offices. All four are Chicago Democrats... Posted at 03:10 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4) |
05/13/10The Wives Club: No Wonder Blago Wanted That Job for PattiHow lovely for Carrie Zalewski and Lynne Sered. Governor Pat Quinn recently appointed the two women to plum jobs on state boards that pay six-figure annual salaries. Each woman appears to have solid credentials. But—in the kind of coincidence that seems to happen all too often in Illinois—each woman also has a powerful connection... Posted at 06:02 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (5) |
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05/12/10Alexi G's Basketball DiariesMany stories about Alexi Giannoulias, the candidate for the U.S. Senate seat once held by Barack Obama, mention that the two are basketball-playing buddies. Not recently: They haven’t played since Obama won the White House. In a phone interview, Alexi attributed this to the President’s busy schedule, but reports suggest that Obama’s advisers want their man... Posted at 09:06 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (6) |
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05/06/10The Sins of the Father—Should Lisa Madigan Return the Money?The sprawling, front-page story on Wednesday’s Chicago Tribune gave center stage to House Speaker and state Democratic Party head Michael Madigan, in the paper’s continuing, depressing coverage of clouted admissions to the U of I. This time, his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, took a key supporting role... Posted at 11:43 AM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4) |
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05/04/10A Republican Ahead in Hawaii—A Sign of Things to Come in Illinois?At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, President Obama drew applause when he mocked the conspiracy theory that he was born in Kenya. “It's been quite a year since I've spoken here last—lots of ups, lots of downs—except for my approval ratings, which have just gone down. But that's politics. Beside[s], I happen to know that my approval ratings are still very high in the country of my birth... Posted at 01:34 PM in Felsenthal Files | Permalink | Comments (4) |
Felsenthal Files is a blog by author Carol Felsenthal, a lifelong Chicagoan and self-proclaimed political junkie. Her focus here will be Chicago politics, which, in the age of Obama, extends to the national and international spheres. Felsenthal is a regular blogger for The Hill and The Huffington Post and has written several books, including Clinton in Exile: A President Out of the White House. Among her many stories for Chicago are memorable profiles of Michelle Obama and Rod Blagojevich.
