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Two people have been killed, and at least 24 other people -- one of them a 12-year-old girl -- have been wounded in shootings across the city since Friday afternoon. About 1:26 a.m. Sunday, Devon Paramore, 33, of the 8600 block of West 87th Street, was shot in the back and right armpit in the 1300 block of 13th Street and later pronounced dead at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County. The other fatal shooting occurred at 9:09 p.m. on Friday in the city’s Far South Side Pullman neighborhood, where police said they found an unresponsive 16-year-old boy...

When the president’s former Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel (D, Wilmette) became Mayor of Chicago, many expected him to use his many Washington contacts to bring some big business his way, and he delivered. Mayor Richard M. Daley had sought to bring the Olympics to Chicago… no such luck. But Emanuel did indeed deliver, if on a slightly lesser scale: in his first year, he secured two big meetings for Chicago, the first, a G-20 conference, and the second, a NATO summit. The G-20 meeting was quietly pulled, under cover of darkness, to be held at Camp David instead (good...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: For the longest time, I, on this program, incurred the wrath of millions of you by suggesting, because you thought I had chosen sides, I still haven't chosen sides. You thought that I had it in for Romney when I pointed out that -- in my view, based on my instincts, my gut, study, my knowledge of who the left is -- I thought they wanted Romney as the nominee all along. I thought that's what Occupy Wall Street was all about was to set up Romney as the guy they were protesting. Romney is the kind...

Flurry of Anti-gun Bills Saturates the Illinois Legislature -- But one bill would repeal the FOID card! As you are probably aware, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pressing for increased gun controls in Springfield. According to press reports in the state, “Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently called for a mandatory gun registration with a $65 fee [which] would pay for improving a background-checking system that has failed to process 100,000 mental health records.” Of course, including mental health records in the background check means that more military veterans who are suffering from PTSD will be denied their firearms rights. This...

Two utility companies announced the closure of 10 aging U.S. power plants Wednesday, a move environmental groups hailed as a major victory even as critics warned it could raise the price of electricity. Pedro Pizarro, president of Midwest Generation’s parent company, Edison Mission Group, issued a statement saying that in light of environmental rules being phased in over the next three years, “unfortunately, conditions in the wholesale power market simply do not give us a path for continuing to invest in further retrofits at these two facilities.” ... GenOn Energy, meanwhile, cited the same reason as it announced it will...

Rahm Emanuel does not plan to run for governor of Illinois. Not in 2014. Not ever. His proposal last week to register all Illinois handguns made it obvious. I'm sure that Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, wouldn't consider taking the step down to governor anyway — not any more than his predecessor, Richard M. Daley. You can be sure that Chicago mayors do see it as a demotion. Only one has ever stooped down to the Governor's Mansion and that was almost a century ago: ex-Mayor Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne served as governor from 1913-17. No wonder. Chicago mayors wield enormous...

Is Rahm Emanuel floating gun control ideas to Obama for use during his “second term?” Does former Presidential advisor and current Chicago machine politics confidante Rahm Emanuel, with his own personal team of bodyguards, really believe that requiring a $65.00 per handgun registration fee every five years for every handgun owned in Illinois will really have any impact on gun crime in Chicago or anywhere in Illinois? Grooming himself for a run at the Governor’s office, Emmanuel claims that such a gun registration scheme will make the streets safer. He even thinks that this registration will cut illegal gun sales....

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants lawmakers to require that all handguns in Illinois be registered with the state, or gun owners could face felony charges. A statewide gun registry is key in helping solve Chicago crimes that involve handguns from outside the city, and would also help crack down on gun trafficking, Emanuel is expected to argue Thursday. Under Emanuel's proposal, handgun owners would have to pay $65 for a registration certificate from the state, which would function much like the title to a car. Illinois law currently requires that gun owners and shooters have a firearm owners identification card,...

Occupy Chicago protestors interrupted Mayor Rahm Emanuel for about three minutes Thursday as the mayor shared a stage with pundits at the inauguration of former White House advisor David Axelrod’s Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago. “He has fired 363 library employees and cut numerous CTA routes,” protestors shouted. “Do I take it that your election was not unanimous?” Republican pundit Alex Castellanos teased Emanuel. Emanuel smiled and conceded that his election as mayor was not unanimous

According to some child psychologists, there is a demonstrable tendency among children who have been victimized by bullies to progress to becoming aggressors themselves. Another symptom associated with bullies is a pronounced tendency for such persons to also be braggarts. It does make you wonder. What exactly happened on the playground at recess when Rahm Emanuel was growing up? When it was announced that Bill Daley was leaving the position of White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel came to the defense of his successor at the White House. Emanuel was quoted as saying, “Historically, the modern Chief of Staff...

Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, currently mayor of Chicago, says the bond between the United States and Israel is "rock solid." In a televised interview with journalist Dana Weiss on "Meet the Press" at the Saban Forum in Washington D.C. over the weekend, Emanuel was emphatic that President Barack Obama has been "the best president ever for Israel." However, he said, "Regardless of who's president or who's prime minister at any given time, the bond between the United States and Israel is rock solid, and that's what's important to know." That, he added, is the "personal view"...

No one will ever be able to accuse of Mayor Rahm Emanuel of lacking chutzpah. It had been widely anticipated that Chief of Staff Emanuel was going to be asked to leave the White House in 2011. Fortuitously, Emanuel bailed out earlier and landed safely in Chicago after Richard M. Daley retired. Emanuel was spared the indignity of being sacked as the scapegoat for Democratic losses in the midterm elections. Ever the nimble dancer, Emanuel, has now hit the road on behalf of Obama’s reelection campaign. Emanuel has taken on a Herculean task greater than solving Chicago’s budgetary woes. He...

After reading the news and watching the videos of Sharon Bialek, the Herman Cain accuser, I noticed that many of the articles mentioned that Bialek was fired or let go ” from the NRA’s educational foundation.” However, none of them mentioned why. Being let go or fired is more serious than simply being laid off. I wonder why there is no mention of the reason she was fired? This might give more insight into her character and whether she is a trustworthy person or not. Why was she fired? Does anyone know or has anyone seen a report as to...

Funny, Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel just can’t remember a darn thing about White House involvement in the $535 Department of Energy loan to bankrupt solar company Solyndra. In an interview with Chicago radio station WLSAM on Tuesday, now-Chicago Mayor Emanuel said that, while he can’t remember anything about Solyndra because he’s so terribly focused on being mayor of Chicago, the investment had nothing to do with “warning signs.” Emanuel originally dodged questions about Solyndra when asked by WSLAM about it several weeks ago, saying, “I don’t actually remember that or know about it.”

Here is a memo/wake-up call to Occupy Wall Street: 1.) Obama's former White House COS Rham Emanuel: Did not have an MBA or prior banking experience, yet made $16.2 million dollars as a banker according to Wikipedia. New White House COS Daley: former big banker. 2.) Obama supported the TARP bill. 3.) Obama promised that his administration would be bereft of corporate lobbyists; yet at least 16 former lobbyists of some super-sized corporations apparently were hiding at the back entrance to the White House, because as soon as Obama took office they slipped into his administration. 4.) Obama received boatloads...

Energy Dept. weatherization programs rife with waste, fraud, inspector general audits showThe Daily Caller – Wed, Sep 21, 2011 **SNIP** “I guess I don’t understand, when the state of Illinois literally cannot pay its bills and is going bankrupt, is this really the best use of money?” Duffy added. “I don’t care if its state or federal. Why are we spending millions of dollars with absolutely no credibility of how the spend that money?” The story of Illinois’ weatherization program, however, doesn’t stop there. The state-run program is being promoted by four separate public relations firms. Two of those firms...

Friction about the roles of women in the Obama White House grew so intense during the first two years of the presidentÂ’s tenure that he was forced to take steps to reassure senior women on his staff that he valued their presence and their input. At a dinner in November 2009, several senior female aides complained directly to the president that men enjoyed greater access to him and often muscled them out of key policy discussions. Those tensions prompted Obama, urged on by senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, to elevate more women into senior White House positions, recognize them more during...

Chicago’s Mayor Challenges Teachers UnionBy MONICA DAVEY Published: September 17, 2011 CHICAGO — One by one, teachers at public elementary schools here have been voting to buck their own union and take Mayor Rahm Emanuel up on an unusual offer: to accept bonus pay in exchange for waiving union contract provisions and keeping children at some schools longer each day. **SNIP** Mr. Emanuel and his top aides say that when it comes to hours of class instruction, Chicago’s 482 public elementary schools compare unfavorably with schools in other cities, including Houston, Los Angeles and New York. They say they merely...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is giving city workers an important health choice: enroll in a new wellness plan, expected to be unveiled Friday, or pay a higher premium. The price if they don't enroll: $50 a month. The program includes an initial screening that focuses on preventative care for asthma, heart disease and diabetes. City employees would then receive wellness training to achieve long-term health goals, including weight loss. Smokers wouldn't be penalized, but they would be encouraged to quit. Advisers overseeing the program will monitor progress on a bimonthly basis, and those who reach their goals could see their health...

“When I explained to him that a longer school day should not be used for warehousing or babysitting our youth he exploded, used profanity, pointed his finger in my face and yelled. At that point the conversation was over — soon thereafter we found ourselves subject to a full-scale propaganda war over a moot point.”

The president of the Chicago Teachers Union says Mayor Rahm Emanuel “exploded” at her during a debate over a longer school day, pointing his finger in her face, yelling and cursing. However, Lewis, the CTU and its parent union, the Illinois Federation of Teachers were conspicuously absent from Friday’s event featuring key players in passing Illinois new school reform bill. All had been invited. Duncan took the opportunity to tell a crowd of mostly officials and reporters that “teachers have been beaten down too long” and “I think we need to double the salaries for teachers... Great teachers should make...

Chicago schools begin Tuesday under ‘Rahm Emanuel Generation’By Rosalind Rossi Education Reporter Updated: September 5, 2011 12:54PM After 16 years under the watchful eye of former Mayor Daley, Chicago’s public school system begins a new school year Tuesday — and launches a new generation of students — amid signs of promise as well as uncertainty. The Rahm Emanuel Generation seems destined for a longer school day and year — as well as a tougher, more rigorous curriculum — than their Daley Generation counterparts. But the children who walk through Chicago’s school doors Tuesday also face the biggest prospect of labor...

Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to set the tone tonight for his second budget town hall meeting at the outset, saying he wanted to hear “ideas, not insults.”“I want people to be constructive, not just complain. I am looking for solutions,” Emanuel told the audience during a five-minute opening before he took any questions. “I understand people are upset. Change is upsetting."(Snip)The crowd at Malcolm X College was less raucous than the one that greeted the mayor at Kennedy-King College on the South Side on Monday night. More than 700 people gathered tonight

Four teenagers were wounded Tuesday night in a drive-by shooting in the city's WestWoodlawn neighborhood on the South Side, officials said. The scene of the shooting is just blocks fromWoodlawn Center South, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel is scheduled to meet later today with U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Bobby Rush to discuss a program to revitalize the blighted neighborhood.

When Chicago’s former mayor Richard Daley sold his top hat and city bank book to Rahm Emanuel, some pundits figured Obama’s former top aide would be satisfied with the benefits the position had always provided the Daley family–job security and all you can steal. But Rahm has his eyes firmly fixed on the 2016 presidential race and is already doing what experienced Democrat politicians do best–he is using the power and authority of his office to buy voters and donors. And of course in the best tradition of Democrat politics, Rahm will make certain that members of both groups have...

Nine Chicago neighborhoods riddled with foreclosures will get a blitzkrieg of cash and attention to turn those properties around, thanks to a $20 million loan pool unveiled Wednesday. With foreclosures rising by 20 percent in 2010, and resources steadily declining, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is trying a new approach to combat the epidemic that threatens to tear down entire inner-city neighborhoods. Instead of approaching the problem on a house-by-house basis, the mayor is targeting “small sub-sections” of nine neighborhoods hardest-hit by the foreclosure epidemic: Humboldt Park; Chatham; Chicago Lawn; West Woodlawn; Auburn-Gresham; West Pullman; Belmont-Cragin, Englewood and Grand Boulevard. All nine...

Public Employees: The mayor of Chicago and former White house chief of staff asks for union concessions and work rule changes to balance city coffers. Funny, but when Republicans try that, it's a bad thing. No, we have not entered one of those parallel universes, but it's more than passing strange to see President Obama's former chief of staff seeing the writing on the fiscal wall in the Chicago mayor's office and recognizing the fiscal problems unions can cause when entwined with government. Now Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is seeking ways to balance the city budget. Faced with the same...

Emanuel: Turn Eyesores Into Urban FarmsJuly 26, 2011 1:55 PM CHICAGO (CBS) – Green acres could be sprouting up all over the city of Chicago if Mayor Rahm Emanuel has his way. As WBBM Newsradio 780’s Bernie Tafoya reports, Mayor Emanuel on Tuesday stood in an urban farm, in what was once an abandoned truck depot at 33rd and Iron streets in the Bridgeport neighborhood. He says he wants city ordinances updated so abandoned land all over the city can generate new jobs, and food for those in and around neighborhoods that are called food deserts. “Our ordinance will deal...

CHICAGO –  Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday announced the creation of the Office of New Americans to provide support for Chicago's immigrant communities and strengthen their contributions to the city's economic, civic and cultural life. "Chicago's vitality has been built on the strength of immigrant populations that have come to enjoy new freedoms and access new opportunities," Emanuel said in a statement. "I want to make Chicago the most immigrant-friendly city in the world," the mayor said. According to the mayor, who is thus fulfilling one of his campaign promises, the Office of New Americans will ensure that each immigrant...

CHICAGO –  Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday announced the creation of the Office of New Americans to provide support for Chicago's immigrant communities and strengthen their contributions to the city's economic, civic and cultural life. "Chicago's vitality has been built on the strength of immigrant populations that have come to enjoy new freedoms and access new opportunities," Emanuel said in a statement. "I want to make Chicago the most immigrant-friendly city in the world," the mayor said. According to the mayor, who is thus fulfilling one of his campaign promises, the Office of New Americans will ensure that each immigrant...

A 27-year-old woman has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the city of Chicago, alleging that the fire department's physical fitness test discriminates against female applicants. In a complaint filed today, Samantha Vasich says she was rejected from the fire department after being told she'd failed the "physical abilities test" in 2010. Vasich maintains she was and is physically capable of serving as a firefighter.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said he will send layoff notices to up to 625 city employees today as he tries to close a $30 million budget hole. Custodians, call center operators at the city's water department and seasonal workers at the Department of Transportation will be among those affected. Emanuel said he will close an entire $30 million budget hole left by the expiration of a deal with City Hall labor unions for unpaid days off. The mayor previously had turned up the pressure on unions for concessions or cost-cutting ideas at a series of news conferences. "It has been two...

Four people were killed and at least 9 wounded in overnight shootings on Chicago's South and West Sides. The violence began about 9:24 p.m. in the Lawndale neighborhood when a 19-year-old was fatally shot in the 1400 block of South Trumbull Avenue. A minute later at 9:25 p.m. in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, a 23-year-old man was shot and killed in the 300 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel and newly confirmed police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Wednesday that they're adding a "marginal" number of officers to the Near North Side to combat a spate of violence, even as they questioned the media's coverage of the attacks. McCarthy cautioned reporters about characterizing crimes correctly, pointing to the differences between shoplifting, robbery and criminal mischief. And the mayor suggested journalists be more judicious in using the term "flash mob." "We have to be sensitive to what it conjures up," Emanuel said. But the administration has played a role in creating the ongoing frenzy. Authorities slapped a mob...

It is so very IRONIC, that the man famous for the nickname “dead fish”, a nickname that I have always though was a thug term, now that he is Mayor of the City of Chicago, IL, USA, is now pleased with the very quick arrest of a group of suspects in a series of mob attacks over the course of the recent past weekend. From CBS in Chicago:”CHICAGO (CBS) — While he is pleased with the quick arrest of suspects in a series of mob attacks over the weekend, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday made no secret that he wants...

While he is pleased with the quick arrest of suspects in a series of mob attacks over the weekend, Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday made no secret that he wants everybody involved “brought to justice.”

CHICAGO (STMW) - Police did the right thing in closing a crowded North Avenue beach on Memorial Day after receiving a “tremendous amount” of calls about beach patrons suffering from heat exhaustion, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday. Emanuel said he was not consulted before the Chicago Police Department’s unprecedented decision to clear the beach and send patrons back to, in some cases, homes without air-conditioning. In fact, the mayor said he didn’t find out about it until the morning after.

[M]any of Blagojevich’s former friends and playmates deny knowing him or they are keeping their distance. Erstwhile friends such De Leo, Saviano, Quinn and others have vanished or suffered political amnesia. [F]ormer Illinois State Senator Barack H. Obama used to count Blagojevich and the wheeler dealer Antonin “Tony” Rezko as his friends. President Obama, US Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-9th) and the newly elected Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel used to actively court Blagojevich when they were climbing the political ladder or seeking favors. Emanuel and his family contributed to Blagojevich’s campaign fund on a reliable basis. Schakowsky, herself, sought to be...

The rope line stretched from the Washington Street entrance to City Hall, wound its way past the City Clerk’s office and continued to the bank of elevators servicing the fifth floor. Surprisingly, the expected overflow crowd never fully materialized. There was a modestly respectable afternoon turnout that inched forward at a leisurely pace, but not much more. A private reception for invited guests had occurred earlier in the day. Mayor Richard M. Daley welcomed visitors to his office, shaking hands and posing for photographs one last time yesterday. Some of the mayor’s morning guests were even entertained by the Shannon...

Billionaire Donald Trump, who's eyeing a run for the White House, gave a sizeable campaign contribution to President Barack Obama's chief of staff as he ran to become Chicago's mayor, a recent report highlighted. The Illinois Review, a coservative blog, reports that Trump gave Rahm Emanuel $50,000 in December 2010. Those numbers came out in January, 2011, but are being pointed out now because of Trump's possible presidential bid. This isn't the first time Trump has donated to candidates in Illinois, but it is the largest contribution. State election records show Trump also gave $5,000 to George Ryan, the Republican...

During the challenges to his residency status and the campaign, Emanuel labored to behave himself. Now, that the election results have been certified, he has relaxed his guard and allowed his inner radical self to exhale. If selecting former State Representative Judy Erwin, who was guilty of various ethics violations, to serve on his transition team was not embarrassing enough, Emanuel compounded his errors by naming Father Michael Pfleger and former Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter to his team of advisors. Former Fire Commissioner Cortez Trotter was criticized by the Department of Homeland Security for having one of the worst interagency...

Rod Blagojevich wants to cancel his retrial, asking to be sentenced immediately, however, prosecutors and the judge would have to approve of the request. His lawyers filed a five-page motion asking to proceed to sentencing right away and avoid a retrial that’s set to begin April 20. “A second prosecution of this case is an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds in light of the current economic crisis and Blagojevich’s imminent sentencing on the conviction from the first trial,” lawyers wrote in the motion. U.S. District Judge James Zagel and federal prosecutors would have to agree however, to dismiss the remaining...

Remember Tim Geithner, Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer, and Hilda Solis they were Cabinet picks for president Barry Hussein Soetoro Mayor-Elect Rahm Emanuel’s former boss. All were found to have outstanding tax problems, which would be tax evasion if similar lapses in ethics were discovered in you or me. Then there was New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson’s pay-for-play federal grand jury investigation that stopped his would be cabinet appointment by president Soetoro. Remember Soetoro promised the most ethical administration in the history of the United States of America, quite an inauspicious start to an administration that made ethics its banner in...

President Obama’s former chief of staff hasn’t even been sworn in as Chicago mayor and already his administration has been tainted by a major scandal involving the illegal use of public resources to conduct political business. The co-chair of mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel's campaign, also a top member of his transition team, quit abruptly after the local media revealed that she engaged in “prohibited political activity” as a high-level state employee to help none other than Obama get elected in 2008. As the director of Illinois’ Board of Higher Education, Judy Erwin used her state-issued cell phone, electronic mail account...

A veteran politician Rahm Emanuel named to his mayoral transition team resigned her high-level state job last summer and paid a fine for conducting political business on state time, according to a newly filed ethics report. Judy Erwin, a co-chair of Emanuel's mayoral campaign, said late Friday night that she would resign her new post on his transition team after the Tribune contacted her and the campaign. She said she hadn't informed Emanuel of the ethics violation.

Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak, Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi and King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz are Despots. Mubarak and Gaddafi are in the process of being disposed. King Abdullah has promised first $10.7 then $22 and now $37 billion dollars in benefits to the Saudi people attempting to ward off the uprisings that his fellow Strongmen or dictators Mubarak faced in Egypt and Gaddafi faces in Libya. John Kass of the Chicago Tribune.com describes the Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel as a Strongman in this article, “The city wanted a strongman — and it got one” But quite frankly reading the article one could...

Many of his biggest contributors live outside Chicago. He received large checks from New York (the financiers Roger Altman, Ronald Perelman and Donald Trump each gave $50,000); Silicon Valley ($50,000 from Steve Jobs); and especially Southern California, where Emanuel’s brother, Ari, a powerful Hollywood agent, raised money on his behalf. David Geffen gave $100,000, Steven Spielberg $75,000.

Yes, get used to that title. In just 72 hours, election day dawns in Chicago. And most likely, Rahm Emanuel will become mayor of the Windy City; the former White House chief of staff draws 58 percent of the votes

It took an almost incoherent and incomprehensible opinion from the Supreme Court of Illinois to restore Emanuel to the ballot. It was supremely ironic that Michael Kasper, one of Emanuel’s lead attorneys, had the audacity to argue that the same one year residential requirement for municipal candidates that was in controversy in the challenge to Emanuel’s mayoral candidacy ought to have barred an aldermanic candidate from the ballot in the 27th Ward. As the Irish cynic and scholar, Jonathan Swift, famously observed there are lawyers who can argue “White is Black and Black is White” according to how they are...

Chico Supporter Stirs Controversy, Calls Emanuel “Judas”UPDATED 2/16/11 7:32 p.m. CHICAGO (CBS) – A key supporter of mayoral candidate Gery Chico has raised some eyebrows by saying something about Rahm Emanuel that the Emanuel campaign called blatantly ugly. Jim Sweeney, head of of Operating Engineers Local 150, was endorsing Chico Tuesday night at a labor rally when he called Emanuel a “Wall Street Judas.” **SNIP** Emanuel’s campaign didn’t like any of it. In a statement Wednesday, Emanuel – who is Jewish – said “I have absolute confidence that the people of the city of Chicago will see this comment for...