Illinois

Remember the Terrell Owens-Nicolette Sheridan “Monday Night Football” controversy from 2004? (Hard to believe that was one of the first entries in this blog.)

I got into a protracted argument with a guy who was convinced he’d seen more of Sheridan than he’d actually seen. He was convinced he’d seen full revelation of Sheridan’s rear end. The camera stopped well above that area, but there’s no telling what our minds will fill in.

So over the weekend, as I was hearing about the “controversial” Miley Cyrus photo in Vanity Fair, I could only complain under my breath that I was out of town and (a) didn’t have Internet access and (b) couldn’t stay where I was long enough to see the photo in question.

Well, now I’ve seen it, and you can too.

(Read the full post about ‘Miley Cyrus’…)

CHAMPAIGN – AT&T plans to install 100 utility cabinets throughout the city to bring video services to many residents.

The telephone giant has already obtained city permits to install 33 of the cabinets, which will link new fiber optic cable with traditional copper telephone wire to provide video services similar to those of cable television.

“I think they’re doing installation right now,” said Deputy City Attorney Trisha Crowley. She was unable to say when AT&T would begin offering video services.

The cabinets will be installed on the city right of way, on public utility easements and on private AT&T easements.

The cabinets have caused controversy in recent years in some Chicago suburbs.

(Read the full post about ‘AT&T installing cabinets for video services’…)

CHAMPAIGN – All those suffering from Wendy’s withdrawal can once again get a Frosty fix on North Prospect.

The Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers store at 2033 N. Prospect Ave., C, reopened Tuesday after an 18-month absence.

“It was a quiet opening, but not a quiet opening,” said Joseph Francois, president of the Wendnormal franchise that now operates the store. “We thought we’d ease our way into it, but people were watching the marquee and came as soon as we put up the ‘open Tuesday’ sign.”

Word spread quickly that Wendy’s opened about 10:45 a.m., and at times Tuesday as many as 50 people lined up inside the store, Francois said.

(Read the full post about ‘Wendy’s back in business on N. Prospect’…)

DANVILLE – Aqua Illinois is ready to begin construction is on a new million-gallon water tank in the Denvale area soon.

Aqua Illinois officials said the new $1.5 million tank will improve water pressure in that area and provide additional storage for fire protection.

The new tank is part of $4.6 million in capital improvement projects in Vermilion and Champaign counties.

Work began a few weeks ago on a new 250,000-gallon water tank in Philo in Champaign County, said Tom Bruns, vice president of the Vermilion Division of Aqua Illinois Inc.

(Read the full post about ‘Company set to start construction on new water tank’…)

CHAMPAIGN – The Hamburg Distributing warehouse in Champaign will close this summer after 75 years in business.

The closing, which affects 89 employees, comes as the result of two big wine-and-spirits distributors forming a joint venture and consolidating facilities.

Employees who work at the 45,000-square-foot Hamburg warehouse at 3104 Farber Drive can interview for jobs at a surviving Judge and Dolph warehouse in Peoria, company officials said.

Hamburg, which distributes beer, wine and spirits in downstate Illinois, has been in business in Champaign since the end of Prohibition.

(Read the full post about ‘Hamburg Distributing closing doors after 75 years’…)

CHAMPAIGN – The Jillian’s restaurant and entertainment center on South Neil Street has closed, with its Louisville, Ky.-based operator saying the Champaign facility had run its course.

“We had a fantastic 15 years in Champaign. We really liked the market quite a bit, but it just ran the cycle,” said Tyler Warfield, president of JBC Entertainment. “The downtown has gone through such a resurgence, and we were just enough off the path that it became a tough pull for us.”

“We needed a large reinvestment to stay relevant,” he added, and the company decided it was in its best long-term interest to close the 20,000-square-foot restaurant, which featured billiard tables, video games and giant-screen TVs.

The restaurant’s 37 full- and part-time employees were notified of the closing Sunday, the restaurant’s last day in business.

(Read the full post about ‘Jillian’s on Champaign’s South Neil Street closes’…)

by Greg Blankenship

This week, State Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) was, amazingly, allowed to push forward on legislation that would impose a single-payer health care system in Illinois. The plan includes taking private property from businesses and making private insurance illegal. In short, the plan is a disaster.

A few news outlets picked up on the plan, and they did a very funny thing. They took it seriously. My guess is that it’s because House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) became an official sponsor.

Welcome to the latest edition of what I like to call the "Mike Versus Rod Show." Governor Rod is upset with Speaker Mike Madigan for–gasp!–following the law and the State Constitution regarding Rod’s push for expanded Medicaid.

(Read the full post about ‘The Rod Versus Mike Show’…)

by George Dienhart

The Obama campaign has begun falsely accusing the McCain campaign of being behind the controversial ad that purchased, but yet to air, by the North Carolina GOP. This is clearly a charade, aimed at deflecting questions about Sen. Obama’s character. Has he demanded that the DNC stop attacking John McCain? The answer is no. The ad is unfair, in that it tries to link to statewide candidates in North Carolina to Rev. Wright. They are absolutely fair in linking Obama to Rev. Wright. My question is why is Obama criticizing McCain? McCain is actually demanding the NC GOP not air the ad.

(Read the full post about ‘Glass Houses’…)

Rev. Jeremiah Wright is back . . . and now he’s appealing to Americans through an interview with PBS’ Bill Moyers this Sunday Friday evening, pleading that "devious" sources are doing all they can to misrepresent portions of his sermons in an attempt to deflate Barack Obama’s popularity.

Those "America’s chickens have come home to roost" and "God D*** America" quotes were taken out of context, he contends.  But, according to the clips Moyers has leaked out, Wright doesn’t back up one bit on his accusations that the American government initiated the AIDs epidemic, that we are finally getting our just due for the country’s founding fathers’ behavior and tolerance of the evils of slavery, among other notorious activities.

Apparently in the interview Dr.

(Read the full post about ‘Wright’s Black Value System can’t be ignored’…)

by Cal Skinner That was the headline of the email I got Thursday from the Illinois Republican Party Thursday. It was about an article on this anti- Blagojevich web site, which, if you go way down to the bottom of the page, you learn is paid for by the Illinois Republican Party. Nothing wrong with that, of course. It had this good line:”Barack Obama’s Governor Rod Blagojevich ran on a promise to clean up Illinois state government and is now the most investigated administration in Illinois history,”But, the thought keeps coming to me that the state party should be all over the Rezko trial. The problem, obviously, is that prominent Republicans keep popping into the news. (Read the full post about ‘“When It Comes to Hypocrisy…”’…)