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Carol Felsenthal
Joe Ricketts, His Children, and Their Political Ties
By Carol Felsenthal
Good thing President Obama is a White Sox fan. This morning’s New York Times carries a front-page story about Omaha billionaire and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, whose money bought his family the Cubs in 2009, allegedly funding a new advertising campaign aimed at defeating Obama... Read more
In 'The Amateur,' Ed Klein Talks to Jeremiah Wright, Unloads on Obama
By Carol Felsenthal
In The Amateur, a decidedly anti-Obama book released this week by conservative publisher Regnery, author Ed Klein claims to have conducted more than 200 interviews. Barack, Michelle, and the people closest to them in and out of the White House would not talk, but Klein’s interviews with the Obamas’ former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, and with the Reverend Jesse Jackson were on the record, and they emerge as two of the more interesting figures in the book... Read more
Will Rahm Ever Buy His Boutique Jeans from This Store Again?
By Carol Felsenthal
The Sun-Times’ Mark Konkol has a full-page story that reveals Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s expensive taste in jeans. Konkol’s source is Emanuel’s “denim advisor,” David Shelist, owner of The Denim Lounge in Roscoe Village and on Oak Street. After reading the story, I wondered if Rahm might object to being featured in the Sun-Times story buying such pricey jeans... Read more
Scrubbing Pots and Pans—Blagojevich Comes Full Circle
By Carol Felsenthal
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, behind bars for almost six weeks now, is washing pots and pans six days a week at the Englewood Federal Correctional Center in Colorado, according to Fox News’s Larry Yellin, who interviewed Blago’s former lawyers at the prison gate Sunday. After 90 days of pots and pans detail, Yellin reports, Blago will be teaching... Read more
Nicolas Sarkozy and Rahm Emanuel: Separated at Birth?
By Carol Felsenthal
If Nicolas Sarkozy survives the first-round vote this Sunday, and if he wins the runoff election on May 6th, we could see him standing together with Rahm Emanuel at the NATO summit in Chicago, one month from today. It's interesting to observe the strong personality similarities between Sarkozy, the son of a Hungarian immigrant and former mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, and Emanuel, the son of an Israeli immigrant... Read more
Tim Johnson Quits Congress with Parting Shots at Eric Cantor and the Chicago Tribune
By Carol Felsenthal
After reading the Tribune’s blast at 15th District Congressman Tim Johnson in Monday's editorial, “I really must be going," I called the quirky 65-year-old Urbana Republican for a response. I first interviewed Johnson a couple of years ago when The Hill named him one of the hardest workers in Congress. The legislator, whose best friend in the House is Ron Paul, announced earlier this month that he was leaving Congress... Read more
Bill Daley in David Corn's New Washington Insider Book
By Carol Felsenthal
Because the White House remains “Chicago on the Potomac,”—although less so now with the exit of Rahm Emanuel and David Axelrod—it’s always fascinating to see how the latest Washington insider book portrays Chicagoans in the corridors of the West Wing. The latest of the genre is David Corn’s Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party... Read more
Will Guzzardi on His Plans for the Recount (and After)
By Carol Felsenthal
Will Guzzardi, the 24-year-old, Ivy League-educated former Huffington Post Chicago editor, announced Monday that he would pursue a recount in the March 20th primary for the 39th District State Representative. When I spoke to the Brown University graduate on Monday night, he was trailing by 125 votes to five-term incumbent Toni Berrios, the daughter of Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios. Guzzardi said he plans to file... Read more