Daywatch: Rod Blagojevich, Dr. Seuss and a federal lawsuit
Good morning, Chicago.
As a general rule, it’s never good when a federal judge feels compelled to address your case with a quote from Dr. Seuss.
But that’s exactly what happened yesterday to disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose lawsuit challenging the state resolution prohibiting him from running for any state or local office in Illinois was excoriated by a judge as a publicity stunt and an “Issue-Spotting Wonderland.”
In dismissing Blagojevich’s 2021 suit, U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger accused the former governor of using the federal courthouse as a megaphone in an ill-advised attempt to get back in the political game following the commutation of his 14-year prison sentence by then-President Donald Trump.
He quoted from Dr. Seuss’ 1972 book “Marvin K. Mooney Will You Please Go Now!” which reads: “The time has come. The time is now. Just Go. Go. GO! I don’t care how. You can go by foot. You can go by cow. Marvin K. Mooney, will you please go now!””
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition
Chicago ranked 2nd for worst air pollution in 2023 among major U.S. cities, global report says
At one point last summer, Chicago had the poorest air quality recorded among 95 cities in the world. Experts say a major recurring issue and leading cause was pollutants carried by winds across borders and contaminating air elsewhere — such as smoke from forest fires in the Canadian province of Quebec, which blew into Chicago and other U.S. cities.
State lawmakers consider measures aimed at blocking e-cigarettes from young people
One bill would ban e-cigarettes that are designed to look like objects commonly carried by schoolchildren, such as highlighters and markers, and therefore not spotted for what they actually are by adults.
A second bill would prohibit e-cigarettes from being purchased remotely by anyone other than a distributor or seller.
Eileen O’Neill Burke’s lead slips slightly in race for state’s attorney as mail-in ballots begin to be tallied
Retired Appellate Judge Eileen O’Neill Burke’s tight lead in the Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney shrank ever-so-slightly Thursday evening as the last-remaining votes on Election Day from city precincts were tabulated along with a batch of mail-in ballots from the suburbs.
16-year-old charged in Chatham triple homicide
Antonio Velasco, who was arrested Tuesday in south suburban Hazel Crest, was charged as an adult with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office announced.
Plan Commission approves new development for Portage Park, the ‘final piece of the puzzle’
The Chicago Plan Commission on Thursday approved a long-delayed retail and residential project near Six Corners in the Portage Park community, but not before commission members pressured the developer to include more affordable housing on-site, and strengthen its commitment to use union labor and minority- and women-owned businesses.
“I feel like we’re pulling teeth with this project,” said commission member Claudette Soto. “What I’m frustrated about is when developers come in here and only meet the bare minimums.”
Breast cancer test may make bad chemotherapy recommendations for Black patients, UIC study shows
Dr. Kent Hoskins, professor of oncology at University of Illinois Chicago, wants to make sure a test that’s often used to decide whether breast cancer patients should get chemotherapy is as effective for Black women as it is for other populations.
Hoskins, the senior author of a recent study published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and other researchers found the oncotype test, which tests tumor tissue for a group of 21 genes, could be problematic. The commonly ordered biomarker test is used to guide doctors’ recommendations for patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer and helps identify which tumors are likely to be most aggressive; that translates to who makes a good candidate for chemotherapy. Hoskins said such a test may be making bad recommendations for some Black women, leading them to forgo chemotherapy when it might have helped.
Photos: New concessions offerings for White Sox games at Guaranteed Rate Field
The new food options include the home run sandwich, with Vienna corned beef, roast beef, coleslaw, Swiss cheese and Louie dressing on pumpernickel bread and spinach empanadas with cilantro lime crema.
Drink offerings include a campfire milkshake with chocolate, graham cracker and toasted marshmallow and a Jack and coke float.
Bears storylines: Kyle Long’s QB pep talk, Jaylon Johnson’s ‘thirst for greatness’ and D’Andre Swift’s next step
After Caleb Williams’ pro day workout and in advance of next week’s league meetings in Orlando, Fla., here’s the inside slant on three notable Bears storylines.
Review: ‘Sondheim Tribute Revue’ is custom-made by Theo Theatre
Fred Anzevino, the founder of the Theo Ubique Theatre (now just Theo Theatre), has long been one of the best directors in town when it comes to identifying young talent and then setting them up to do their best. Tribune theater critic Chris Jones has been watching him do precisely that for years, but his production of the so-called Sondheim Tribute Revue is really Anzevino at his best.
The old ‘Road House’ was ridiculously fun trash. The new one with Jake Gyllenhaal is just plain vicious.
Writing about movies means succumbing to occasional bouts of reductive-itis, inspired by that great bonehead critic Emperor Joseph II in “Amadeus,” who told Mozart nice job on his latest composition, with one caveat: “too many notes.”
Folks, this week has been one of those bouts, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. First, it was the new “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” (verdict: too much “heart” and digital mayhem, not enough funny). And now, streaming on Prime Video, we have another ’80s-derived throwback, the “Road House” remake with Jake Gyllenhaal. Compared with the old one, it’s 30 times bloodier and one-third as fun.