Roland Burris?

December 30th: Without commenting on the merits of Roland Burris or the liklihood that he will ever assume the office to which Governor Blagojevich has appointed him, let me observe that there was a time when the people of Illinois elected candidates of the highest quality to the United States Senate. Take a few moments (actually eleven minutes and five seconds) to revisit a "Chicago Stories" segment I put together back in November of 2004 on the days when Everett Dirksen and Paul Douglas served in the upper chamber.

Remembering Rabbi Arnold Wolf

25 December, 2008: Here's something about Rabbi Arnold Wolf, Rabbi Emeritus of KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation who died on December 23rd at the age of 83, that you probably didn't know: as a teenager he was a part-time radio actor, appearing on the juvenile-oriented radio serials that were one of Chicago's major contributions to network broadcasting in the 1930's and 1940's. (Rabbi Wolf told me of this little-known biographical fact some years ago when I was preparing a "Chicago Stories" documentary on North Shore civil rights activists in the mid-1060's).
One program in particular that Rabbi Wolf remembered appearing on was "The Adventures of Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy" (sponsored by Wheaties). He always assumed secondary roles and never received on-air credits. But his periodic trips to the NBC studios in the Merchandise Mart and the WGN studios in the Tribune Tower did expand his circle of young women friends---or so he told me.
Rabbi Wolf got the  radio gig because one of his cousins, Blair Walliser, was a well-connected producer-director at WGN (among the shows Walliser directed were "The Romance of Helen Trent" and "Mary Noble, Backstage Wife".
Seems to me that Rabbi Wolf, who had an incredible set of pipes, could have had a successful career in broadcasting had he not chosen the pulpit.
Rabbi Wolf was the nephew of another KAM rabbi, Tobias Schanfarber who, coincidentally, married my paternal grandparents, Rose Goldschmidt and Jacob Samuels. Down the  road my grandmother tired of Reform Judaism and, in 1924, and the First Congregational Church of La Crosse Wisconsin,---as did her three children but not her husband (who died in 1926).
The family's Jewish background was never spoken of subsequently.

In Praise of Andy Shaw

December 20th: The photo of Andy Shaw you see above appeared in the Chicago Tribune on March 9th, 1978 in a column written by Gary Deeb, the paper's media critic. Andy at the time was WMAQ-TV's education reporter.
Five days earlier the Chicago Daily News had published its last edition. That evening, Channel 5 aired an hour-long special on the paper's demise. Andy's contribution to the broadcast was an interview with columnist Mike Royko, which was a genuine coup: Royko had adamantly refused to speak to other television reporters whom he generally regarded as pretty faces lacking in journalistic skills. Why did Royko pick Andy? "I agreed to cooperate with Andy Shaw because I considered him more responsible than the others", he later told the Tribune's Deeb. "Andy worked at the Sun Times, and I knew he would handle the story with some taste and good judgement."
Let me add (more than 30 years later) that I consider Andy one of the best broadcast journalists I've encountered. I wish him all the best in his retirement.

The Obama Christmas Tree: The Real Deal

December 14th: The Obama family purchased its Christmas tree this afternoon.

Here's the account of the transaction from the press pool: 

"President-elect Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia and an unidentified friend of the girls went Christmas tree shopping together. Pool is told they picked out a tree but that the tree will be delivered later. No opportunity for questions.

Motorcade left the Obama house 2:25 pm CT and arrived 2:33 pm at an unmarked tree lot a short drive away on 53rd St. and S. Kenwood across from Nichols Park. The pool was held across 53rd St, by the park, and the view into the lot was partially obscured by a chain link fence, trees and part of the motorcade.

Pool could see but not hear glimpses of Obama and the girls walking around the lot and talking. Dozens of locals gathered across the street to watch with the pool. Before getting back into the motorcade, PEOTUS stopped, waved repeatedly and said, "Merry Christmas, everybody." Motorcade departed tree lot 2:41 pm and returned to the house about 2:45. Pool is holding."

If I recall correctly from my days as a Hyde Parker, this Christmas tree lot used to be run by a member of the Kamberos family. Is it still one of their many enterprises?

The Obama's choice of a real, as opposed to an artificial,  tree offers me the excuse to post a piece I put together last holiday season on the merits of fir v. faux. 

Enjoy:

What Next? And When?

December 14: Can anybody possibly top the image captured by Sun Times photographer John White?
I add a few less-than-mediocre pictures I snapped with my phone last Tuesday and Wednesday of the U.S. Attorney's press conference in the Dirksen Fedceral Building and the subsequent stakeout in Thompson Center where the news media awaits the governor's next move:

Hopefully this mess will be resolved shortly.

A New RNC Video

December 14th: Even as Governor Rod Blagojevich was meeting yesterday with defense attorney Edward Genson, the Republican National Committee posted the video below on the internet. Enjoy.

More moolah, please

December 7th: What's arguably the most effective fundraising apparatus in the history of American  politics still has an outstretched, upturned palm. Last Wednesday evening I received an email from "Obama for America" which I quote below:

"Rich --

This holiday season, celebrate the historic accomplishment of our movement for change. Treat yourself or a loved one to a limited edition Obama coffee mug.

Make a donation of $15 or more right now and get an official Obama mug to mark an amazing year:

Items purchased by December 15th are guaranteed to be delivered before December 25th.

When you make your donation, you'll be supporting the Democratic National Committee. The resources they invested in the 50-state organizing strategy made this movement possible -- help us build for future victories together.

Share this amazing moment with your friends and family. Thanks to supporters like you, we all have the opportunity to bring real change to America.

Get your holiday Obama mug today:

https://donate.barackobama.com/mug

Thank you,

Obama for America"

Question: How "limited" do you suppose this limited edition is?

Not long after the Obama pitch arrived in my mailbox, I received a communication from the RNC offering assorted holiday merchandise. More on that in a subsequent post.

Re: Steve Dahl

December 6th (the feast of Saint Nicholas): I've pretty much come to terms with the absence of Eddie and JoBo who were yanked off WBBM-FM shortly before Thanksgiving. Adjusting to the loss (hopefully temporary) of Steve Dahl---whose last broadcast on WJMK was December 5th---will be more difficult. Dahl carried on the Chicago radio tradition initiated by Ernie Simon in the 1940's and carried on by Art Hellyer and Dan Sorkin in the 50's. (Why have I mentioned no one from the 1960's?). Are there any personalities left on Chicago radio worth listening to apart from Roe Conn and Cliff Kelley?

Media layoffs

The Chicago Tribune has laid off another 11 journalists less than four months after it reduced the size of its newsroom staff by 14 percent. These are not the only news media cutbacks in town. WBBM-AM, Chicago's only all-news radio station, has eliminated the reporting shift of ten-year veteran Debra Dale (she will still anchor weekends as a freelancer). WBBM is also reportedly eliminating a number of per-diem shifts. More cutbacks are certain to follow at other shops in town. It's not a good season for local broadcast news.