* High court won’t hear casino license case
‘’The case is over with as far as I’m concerned,'’ said Aaron Jaffe, chairman of the Illinois Gaming Board. The board will soon begin the process of auctioning the license off to a new casino company, he said.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the decision moves Illinois ‘’a significant step closer to being able to reissue the license to suitable owners and generate much-needed revenues.'’
* Casino ruling narrows Emerald’s options
* Court ruling may end Emerald license battle
* Emerald Casino rolls snake eyes at Illinois Supreme Court
* Kadner: Hoosier casino czar scoffs at Illinois
But here’s what Yelton said, according to the newspaper.
“One of our advantages to Illinois is they, historically, seem to do everything wrong. Everything they seem to do has backfired, and it’s been to our benefit.”
I’ve stated the same thing in this column, but hearing Indiana officials giving our state lawmakers the horse laugh ought to make the competitive hairs of every taxpayer in Illinois stand on end.
I mean, we’re talking about Indiana here, the land of fecal greaseballs. This is the state that has slimed Lake Michigan with its industrial and biological waste products.
* Lawmaker urges Feds to do more for veterans
* Editorial: Elected officials shouldn’t get special legal treatment
* The loss of Henry Hyde; more here and here and here and here
* Tribune Editorial: The principled Henry Hyde
* Editorial: Henry Hyde, eloquent statesman
* 18th-CD candidates sound off
* Michael Sneed: Sheriff Dart begins ‘hotbunking’ program
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is “hotbunking” it these days.
Explanation: Taking a page out of the military’s handbook to solve jail overcrowding, Dart has instituted a new pilot program at Cook County Jail.
Translation: In the new sleeping arrangement at the jail, three inmates, assigned to one bed, will now sleep in eight-hour shifts … hence, the term “hotbunking” — ‘cuz the bed is always hot due to continuous use.
* Ald. Brookins sued over failure to pay rent
Brookins, a Democrat, learned of the lawsuit from the Chicago Sun-Times, but said he and his landlords at 100 N. La Salle had been “going back and forth” about the rent owed and he was surprised it had advanced to legal action.
“I need to go talk to them and figure this out,” Brookins said. “I’d been working with those guys and I was not aware of this.”
* Editorial: Beavers is wrong on facts and political tactics
* McQueary: Policy, not racism, causes Stroger’s budget failure
* Budget blowup may be coming at County Board
* Tribune Editorial: Stroger, Daley, and chicken
Why is Todd Stroger obeying his inner Blagojevich — trying to revive a dead-on-arrival tax plan that infuriates voters? Why is John Daley complicit in Stroger’s game of “chicken” with the Cook County Board? And why do these two officials expect taxpayers to give one more cent to an agenda that Stroger advanced, Daley echoed and both of them failed to deliver?
* Daley picks FBI agent to lead Police Dept.; more here and here
* London to Chicago: Be clear on Olympic costs
Officials say releasing a detailed tally before submitting their bid plan in February 2009 for the Games would put it at a competitive disadvantage with other cities also vying. Chicago officials said they would make the bid book public only after it is submitted to the International Olympic Committee.
British Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell, speaking at a downtown business luncheon, put the London Games price tag at about $18.5 billion — a figure that is almost three times the cost estimate submitted in 2004.
* Friday Beer Blogging: Beer Maid Edition