55 Comments - Just Because - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 1:39 pm: I think Durbin’s comment is sad. He is still an Illinois Senator and could probably make a difference. - RINO - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 1:42 pm: I’m sure Reilly can defend himself. - Wheels Up - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 1:51 pm: I’m sure Durbin see’s the handwriting on the wall with Blagojevich’s looming subpoenas. He’s distancing himself from it all when the hammer goes down. Actually, it’s smartest thing Durbin could do. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 1:55 pm: Actually, Rino, he attacked me as well, which is mainly why I’m mentioning it now. He hid behind personal invective rather than admit the original story was bogus. - Skeeter - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 2:01 pm: Beachwood never had much credibility, and this sure doesn’t help. The original story was clearly wrong, Beachwood ran it without asking Reilly for a comment, and then Beachwood refuses to apologize for blowing a story. Didn’t Beachwood REPORT on the media for Chicago Magazine? Unbelievable. - Mr/ W.T. Rush - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 2:06 pm: Down here in Room 207 we cannot get the link to open. Did you let Madigan disable the link? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 2:09 pm: All the links work for me. Which one can’t you open? Also, I never let those guys disable anything. lol - Colt 45 - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 2:22 pm: Speaking of playing a role in the budget negotiations, does anyone know how large of a role former Congressman Gephardt has been given? - ArchPundit - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 2:36 pm: I missed the whole Reilly thing the first time around, but let me say, a good alderman asks the developer to go to meetings to meet with residents and then takes a position. Rhodes criticized Reilly for not sending out the message himself, but given he hadn’t taken office and he didn’t have a position, I’m very unclear why the developer shouldn’t be the one to send the letter. If they want to get public approval, they should make their case to the public. It’s kind of a weird complaint to say the least. - Just Saying - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:15 pm: Other possible session topics: –Is Diet Coke “pop” or “soda”? (Or, God help us, just “Coke”?) –Corn or soybeans? (Or, God help us, dairy cows) –Illini basketball or Saluki basketball (Or, God help us, Bradley?) –PBR or Stag? (Or, God help us, Miller Lite) - GettingJonesed - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:15 pm: Gephardt has appeared several times as a “unpaid not for profit board member” lobbying for the insurance scheme. Coincidently he is a paid lobbyist for Goldman who is the state investment banker pushing now DOA lottery scheme. Score it Gephardt zeros taxpayers 2 - Fan of the Game - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:20 pm: I write opinion for a Gateway Media paper, and I didn’t even know they owned it. - i d - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:29 pm: Durbin’s comments were inappropriate. Besides being a U.S. Senator, he is a citizen of Springfield and this state and should have some loyalty to his home city by either helping the situation or remaining silent. - Just the Facts - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:33 pm: Is the press release on insurance a fabrication like the proclamation or is it real? - nickname - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:36 pm: i d, he did help the situation. A public reminder that the state of Illinois has LITERALLY billions of dollars at federal money at risk is useful. If he’s going to weigh in on the specifics, it sure as heck isn’t going to be in public with this crowd. - Papa Legba - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:44 pm: That statement could just be the smartest thing ever to come out of Durbin’s mouth. - i d - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 3:57 pm: I’ll stand corrected; I’m proud to say that I have no political savvy. - Jerry - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 4:16 pm: Are you sure that Durbin was joking? I’m not… - one of the 35 - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 4:26 pm: Regarding the first story on this post: So now the Governor is going to establish underwriting and pricing criteria for private insurance companies individiual policies? Great. Next maybe he could require banks to pay a certain amount of interest on deposits? Or maybe he could regulate the price of milk at the grocery store? Then he could make phone companies provide a cell phone to every Illinois citizen. There is just no limit to the good this man can do! - Chicago Voter - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 4:49 pm: WOW, what a surprise Durbin does not care about whats going on in Illinois. The man is useless. - The Pug is on the Prowl - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 4:50 pm: Don’t overlook the Durbin story…any time you make light of the war, it is crossing the line…I am not certain where I will be on the Durbin race, but I do know he has clearly changed and has seemed to lose touch as days pass - george - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 4:53 pm: I think Dick Durbin should be part of the solution instead of acting foolish in the face of a disaster. Someone with the kind of power he holds in this state should be able to get the Governor to be a bit more reasonable. - Change the reality - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:00 pm: nothing says leadership like hiding behind an ineffective group of washington insiders so you dont have to take sides in your own home state…way to go DD - Steve Rhodes - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:03 pm: ArchPundit: First, the complaint isn’t mine. I didn’t write the story; someone close to the situation did. Second, Reilly was very much involved even before taking office. He first toured the athletic club last November and has had ample time to develop a position. The facts haven’t changed since then. Third, again, the complaint has come from concerned residents that Reilly has left them in the dark throughout this process, despite what his press release said, and that was particularly infuriating given his campaign pledge to shed more light on these matters than his predecessor. In fact, right before he made his recent announcement, this frustration was about to boil over in public in a way it hasn’t yet. Just to clarify. And yes, I’d prefer Reilly defend himself instead of Rich flacking for his friend; but Reilly apparently doesn’t return reporters’ phone calls on this and has never contacted us. I personally hope very much that Reilly saves the building. It’s beyond me why that would require a retraction on our part, and what I wrote today was hardly that, particularly in that I was amplifying something another writer, Lynn Becker, just wrote. - Thirtysomething - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:05 pm: Durbin had no problem supporting Blago’s re-election. Guess he is too busy working on a pet food bill to put a little pressure on his party’s Governor to get things done. He and Obama are out of touch with the everyday people of this state. The Iraq comment was cheap, as most of his statements are about the subject. When was the last time he was there? Is his perpective purely political or has he seen it up close and personal? - Steve Rhodes - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:09 pm: Skeeter & Co: Actually I think you’ll find Beachwood has tons of credibility. Perhaps you don’t follow media and politics very closely. And Rich, you might want to make a couple corrections of your own. First, your commenter is laughably wrong to say I was “promoted out” of Chicago magazine, as I suspect most of your readers know. Give them a call and find out for yourself. Second, I didn’t attack you personally. I responded to your attack, which followed you demanding to know our “sources.” The author was the source! Go ask Eric Zorn who his sources are that the Amy Jacobson case was based on sexism. It was a screed, not a news story. How many times must I explain that? Finally, as to Gerald Rivera, the point is that if you don’t even live up to Gerald Rivera’s standards, your standards are pretty low. Get it? I’m not sure you and some of your readers can discern tone. Fortunately, my readers can! - amy - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:19 pm: OMG!!!!!!!!! Trib vs. Sun Times Ch. 5 vs. Ch. 2 and now….. Cap Fax vs. the Beachwood Reporter too much fun in the summertime. - It's Just Me - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:21 pm: Where is the Governor getting the money for this new program? The current budget is just an extension of last year’s budget. He doesn’t have spending authorization for this, does he? - RMW Stanford - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:41 pm: Is this the about the same as saying auto insurance companies can not base premiums on if a driver has a number of wrecks or tickers. - Squideshi - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:44 pm: “A few months ago, I had never heard of Gatehouse Media. Now, it’s an Illinois empire.” Great. Just what we need–another large, publicly-traded, for-profit media conglomerate with distant executives in some far-flung corporate office in New York. I notice that they choose to incorporate in Delaware so that they could be held to the absolute lowest corporate regulatory standards in the United States. Gatehouse Media’s principal stockholder is Fortress, an investment management firm, with “effective control over fundamental and significant corporate matters and transactions” (according to the S-1 they filed on 6/29/2007.) Fortress is controlled by it’s principals, who control 76.7% of the stock though a holding company–Peter Briger, Wesley Edens, Robert Kauffman, Randal Nardone and Michael Novogratz. - GettingJonesed - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:46 pm: Dept failed to file proposed rule suggesting this was a late breaking brain storm…..oh good. - Skeeter - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:46 pm: Rhodes, Your original story was wrong. Further, the reporting was weak. You published something wrong ripping the Alderman, and you didn’t have the journalistic ethics to contact the person you were ripping. It was pathetic, and especially so from a person who claimed to be a “media critic.” I am still boggled by your claim that after you unfairly rip Reilly, he has some obligation to contact YOU to correct the story. You messed it up once. By publishing a blind hatchet job (your source clearly has some grudge) you showed no journalistic ethics. Why in the world would Reilly contact you? Why should the alderman believe a word you would say? What evidence does he have to believe that you are somebody he can trust to get a story straight? Be a man and admit you screwed up. Stop hiding behind “I published somebody else’s work.” You sound pathetic. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:50 pm: Rhodes, you say Reilly doesn’t return calls yet he was quoted by everybody this week. You really are in deep denial about almost everything. Also, I’d rather not take Geraldo’s standards into consideration when deciding how to live my life. Get it? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 5:54 pm: And Steve, one more thing. Fact checking every commenter here would be a monumental task. You, on the other hand, failed to fact-check someone you commissioned to write a story. You publish very few stories every month. It wouldn’t have been difficult. Again, you’re hiding in denial. - Cat - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 6:21 pm: The federal highway funds are really in jeopardy. An indictment of a DOT contractor, Omar Shareef, was announced today, and that means some of the Blago folks at DOT or ones who have left under scrutiny are having an uncomfortable evening. Dominoes anyone? - ChiCountryGuy - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 6:39 pm: Durbin’s been a disgrace since he got into Senate leadership. He won’t get involved in his own state’s problems because he doesn’t care about the state or understand its problems. This quote proves it. Can’t deny that. He’ll discuss Iraq and mediate on that issue cause he thinks he can political gain from it. He’s a disgrace, plain and simple. ABD in ‘08 (Anybody but Durbin) - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 6:51 pm: CCG, not to defend Durbin, but I think it was a joke and, really, would you like to inject yourself into the middle of this craziness? - ChiCountryGuy - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:01 pm: Didn’t I just do that Rich? He says he won’t get involved and its precisely because he has nothing to gain from it. He’ll talk about Iraq and involve himself in that because he thinks he can gain from it for political purposes. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:03 pm: 1) Commenting here is not injecting yourself into the middle of the situation. He commented on it as well. 2) He’s a US Senator, not the governor. But, again, it was a joke. - PilingOn - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:09 pm: I for one would love to know why Rhodes left Chicago Magazine if he was not “promoted out.” The man leaves a sweet gig writing fulltime about pretty much whatever suits his fancy for Chicago Magazine, owned by the Chicago Tribune, to go publish a blog named the Beachwood something or other. Gimme a break. Perhaps he will enlighten us. It’s kind of him to urge us to call the Tribune folks directly, but obviously they’re not going to discuss a personnel matter. Besides, he’s the one that brought it up. Furthermore, now that the thesis of his infamous story (or diatribe or whatever he calls it) — that Reilly would side with the developer and screw the residents — has now been proved false, does he not have just a teeny obligation to explain how or why he saw fit to publish such an inflammatory article that later turned out to be totally bogus? Will he continue to use this author/source in the future? Indeed, he might make the case as to why his Beachwood something or other has any credibility at all. - Little Egypt - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:26 pm: What a sad state of political affairs we have come to in Illinois. We have a governor who thinks he can run the state without the legislature, by issuing executive orders. In fact, at times, he thinks he IS the legislature. And we have a legislature that could enact a veto-proof budget if they would all grow some coconuts but have spent many days, actually weeks, well really months, doing absolutely nothing but getting a pay raise for themselves. RMW, you have a great point. If people are in assigned risk auto insurance, they should get a break and have their premiums revert back to lower rates. It’s all the same logic folks, perhaps a little flawed, but then so is Mr. Blago. - Steve Rhodes - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:34 pm: In the stories I saw, Reilly didn’t speak at all. He issued a statement. But that has nothing to do with the fact that he didn’t return calls to reporters (Reader, Sun-Times, etc.) during his deliberations. And the story, as noted by Lynn Becker, is not over yet. But that’s also beside the point. The piece we posted was borne of the lack of communication from Reilly to residents; that’s why a resident wrote it! Get it???? Talk to the preservation groups and neighborhood groups and ask them. I’m told what we wrote was approvingly circulated among them. And Rich, why don’t you reveal what Reilly told you off-the-record? Why have you possessed this information but not his constituents? As for the other flame, an inflammatory article totally bogus? I love how your anonymous readers throw this stuff around. And the insinuation about my departure from Chicago magazine - and without contacting me first!!! The irony!!! There is no personnel issue to discuss. This is pretty slimy, Rich. I left Chicago magazine wholly voluntarily after six years covering media and politics, with a sterling reputation intact. That’s why the Beachwood Reporter has been such a success. It’s very simple: I had done everything I wanted to do at Chicago magazine and was eager for a new challenge and to work on the Web in particular. There’s nothing more to it! I think most of your readers know that, but just to reach out to the rest of ‘em. As for credibility, well, we’ve got it in spades, from two Lisagor finalists in our first year to being featured in The American Editor (mag. of the American Society of Newspaper Editors) as an example of doing web journalism right to me and my contributors being quoted in places ranging from the L.A. Times to the Toronto Globe & Mail and appearing frequently in local newspapers, radio and TV to appearing on numerous ethics and media panels including two at the Society of Professional Journalists national convention. So I’m fairly well-versed in these issues. Ethics is kind of my bag, in fact. I’ll be appearing on Chicago Tonight Week in Review tomorrow, was on Chicago Tonight this week, in between a couple newspaper interviews. My background also includes reporting for the Chicago Tribune and Newsweek. I encourage everyone to go back to our site and read what we wrote, review the rest of the coverage, and come to their own conclusions. I also encourage Rich to explain why it is not a conflict of interest for him to play press flak for his alderman friend. - Steve Rhodes - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:42 pm: Here’s a fact-check: I didn’t commission the story. It was submitted by an angry resident close to the situation. I wouldn’t go back and change a thing. - A Citizen - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:44 pm: Rich, “…Fact checking every commenter here would be a monumental task. ..” Obviously you don’t need to fact check my posts! But others, like my friend Bill, welllll! - Lainer - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:55 pm: I used to work for a Gatehouse Media paper… let’s just say they are known for being rather tight with a buck and trying to squeeze the maximum amount of work out of the minimum number of reporters. They also happen to be in debt to the tune of millions of dollars (can’t remember the exact figure) as a result of continually borrowing money to buy more newspapers. They are also known for consolidating local operations and “content sharing” — another name for eliminating the competition, IMHO. The most I ever made working for said paper was $18,000 per year. Now you know why, even with the possibility of a payless payday hanging over my head now as a state employee, I’d still take it over my old job any day. - DuPage Dave - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 7:57 pm: I don’t think too many people care about this Beachwood thing, Rich. People want to know what the heck is going on with the Guv and the Leg and will there be a budget before Christmas??? - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 9:56 pm: Steve, engaging with you is kinda like trying to get a straight on the record comment from the governor. It’s impossible. Have a good life. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 10:21 pm: I’ll be back for Steve Rhodes and the Beachwood Reporter shortly. But here’s a little food for thought: From the Beachwood Reporter, May 7: “Reilly is going to begin his term by tearing down a fortress of a building with no apparent discussion. Aside from the preservation disaster, thousands of area high-rise dwellers will be audio participants in the multi-year high-decibel demolition and construction to follow.” And…. “Nevermind that a competitive offer was made to Northwestern to convert the building into a boutique hotel, thus saving the structure that is touted by preservationists, and sparing area residents three years of construction siege.” …and… “So the first act of our new alderman - I mean the new Prince of Downtown - is to advocate for a developer and campaign contributor from Kenilworth (which ironically wants to save its historic structures and ban demolitions) and an Evanston-based tax-exempt university, ignoring the sentiments of his tax-paying constituents and two non-profit preservation groups that seldom advocate for the preservation of the same structure.” Tomorrow, I’ll explain why this is all BS, and the Beachwood Reporter owes Reilly an apology. Indefensible Rhodes. Indefensible. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 10:26 pm: Actually, one more thing. When you published that original story, my goal was to find out if I needed to whack Reilly for breaking a campaign promise, so I did what any responsible person would do. I called him and then printed the results of that conversation which were on the record. I was satisfied your story was wrong, and, in the end, I was right - something you still can’t admit. This, to you, is “flacking” for Reilly. But what I was doing was ensuring I didn’t just make a huge mistake in endorsing the guy and then be compelled by my conscience to retract it. But you refused to believe anything or anyone except your own anonymous reporter and so, to you, I had to be just covering up for a pal. That’s just bizarre. If I was covering up for him, I would’ve just ignored your goofy little piece and moved on. Second-guessing ourselves is what we’re supposed to always do in this business, and it’s what I did in this case. It’s what you do on a DAILY basis with the reporting of others, but you can’t seem to apply this standard to yourself. Even “screeds” are supposed to have some standards. Opinions are supposed to be based on facts. Opinions based on total falsehoods shouldn’t be printed in the first place, or at least retracted later when the falsity becomes obvious. As a media critic, this ought to be basic stuff to you. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 10:37 pm: Also, this should’ve tipped you off that the story you ran was bogus… “So the first act of our new alderman - I mean the new Prince of Downtown - is to advocate for a developer and campaign contributor from Kenilworth…” That developer does not show up on Reilly’s contribution list. Pingback Mapping the competition (or lack thereof) | Peoria Pundits - Thursday, Jul 12, 07 @ 11:51 pm: […] Via Capitol Fax Blog, here’s an in-house map of the GateHouse Media empire in Illinois: […] - ArchPundit - Friday, Jul 13, 07 @ 2:15 am: —First, the complaint isn’t mine. I didn’t write the story; someone close to the situation did. Second, Reilly was very much involved even before taking office. He first toured the athletic club last November and has had ample time to develop a position. The facts haven’t changed since then. Third, again, the complaint has come from concerned residents that Reilly has left them in the dark throughout this process, despite what his press release said, and that was particularly infuriating given his campaign pledge to shed more light on these matters than his predecessor. In fact, right before he made his recent announcement, this frustration was about to boil over in public in a way it hasn’t yet. Just to clarify. By the very point made in the ‘Writer’s Comment’ Reilly wasn’t leaving them in the dark. He was asking the developer to communicate with residents. Reilly was shedding more light by having people, you know, talk to people. The bizarre part of your complaint is about how the facts haven’t changed. If the developer communicated with the public, the facts have changed. Not about what the deal would have been, but that the developer had the opportunity to sell the deal to the ward. They didn’t. Reilly went with the ward’s residents. Would it have been better to decide before the residents had the facts and had speculative impressions? If so, how would that have been better? There’s a no win situation for Reilly you (or the writer) has set up where if he makes a decision he isn’t getting the input from the folks, but if he doesn’t make the decision, he isn’t being a good representative. You can argue from either side, just not both. I’ve been involved in enough neighborhood and preservation battles to understand what Reilly is doing and it’s exactly what I’d want my alderman to do. I’d want to have the full project explained to me so I then could communicate with my elected official who would hopefully listen to my opinion and if it was reasonable and had support would agree with me. That’s what Reilly did. What’s the problem? - Bill - Friday, Jul 13, 07 @ 4:59 am: A, my comments don’t contain any facts to check. Rich, You better not get caught on tape wearing your bikini at Reilly’s house. - A Citizen - Friday, Jul 13, 07 @ 7:50 am: Bill Most of the facts in my posts are from an era that is too old to check. - Skeeter - Friday, Jul 13, 07 @ 9:26 am: Rhodes, You are still getting the story wrong. “About to boil over”? That’s ridiculous. Alderman Reilly spoke at a condo board meeting in Streeterville in the past two weeks, gave a nice summary of what was going on, and advised that he would provide his position in about a week or so. If anyone in the area wanted the same information, his office would have been happy to provide it. My condo board and the residents were thrilled that he was so open with us. Further, your original story said some “angry resident” says that the Alderman-Elect cannot be reached. Did you try to see if that was true? Did you try and contact Reilly yourself before running the story to see if it could be done? No, Rhodes. You didn’t do anything like that. You ran a story by what we must assume is a disgruntled Natarus voter. Angry resident? Why was the resident angry? Because the resident’s guy lost? You provided no information. You did nothing to check it out, and you did not even print the name so that we can determine the person’s credibility. It was cheap and unethical and when it was shown to be wrong, you refused to admit it. Your story was wrong. You keep telling people to read Beachwood. Why in the world would anybody do that? You don’t get your facts straight and when your story is proven wrong, you refuse to own up to it. Why would anybody waste any time reading your work? And in light of your track record on this matter, why in the world would Reilly contact you? You are a guy who gets prints ann. hatchet pieces and gets stories wrong. Given your record, why in the world should he contact you? Reilly returns reporters phone calls. He just doesn’t return yours. And by the way: If you believe that Chicago Magazine is the model, it explains a lot. I’ve read stories there about matters that I have been close to, and was amazed at the shoddy reporting. Chicago Magazine is a great place to read restaurant reviews. They do that better than anyone else. But politics? You have got to be kidding. 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