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* I hope you all had a relaxing weekend. What’s going on in your part of Illinois this week?…

posted by Isabel Miller
Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 7:35 am

Comments

Not my part of Illinois, but could the Bears get any worse? Yesterday was horrible, and the Broncos are favored to beat the Bears!

Comment by Fivegreenleaves Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 7:45 am
My train just went by Arlington Park. Only a couple of I-beams remain upright. I hope the Bears are gone at the same time as the last I-beams

Comment by DEE Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:15 am
Weather was good, wife was sick, Bears were awful. Aside from that, not much.

Comment by Skeptic Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:18 am
Between the Bears and Illini, football in Illinois remains something to do until hoops practice begins.

Comment by Give Me A Break Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:21 am
The Chicago Bears were so bad yesterday, that FOX had to keep showing Taylor Swift in order to make the game interesting.

Comment by Appears Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:29 am
Judging by my CTA commute? A great wailing and gnashing of teeth over the “Bears” performance yesterday. I assume people are saving the lamentations and rending of garments until they see how the 0-3 Bears fare against the 0-3 Broncos next week.

Comment by ChicagoBars Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:36 am
The best part of the Chicago Bears game was seeing Taylor Swift

Comment by Appears Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:39 am
It’s gray and rainy and dreary here on the south side. The weekend was lovely, though.

Comment by JoanP Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:53 am
The genius of the NFL business model and guide rails to maximize profits for franchises that are 16-0 or 0-16 allow franchises like Detroit and Chicago to have deteriorated products on the field but be able to leverage and maximize their existence because before a single play is run every season… profits and “value and worth” will be in positive outlooks… (business) accounting makes (product) accountability… trivial.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:53 am
@Give Me A Break: Both EIU and SIU are undefeated. Go Panthers and Go Salukis.

Comment by Steve Rogers Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:56 am
=allow franchises like Detroit and Chicago to have deteriorated products on the field=

Apparently the Bears didn’t learn anything from how the Lions actually managed to upset the Chiefs on Week 1 opening night. On the road in KC too.

Comment by Stuck in Celliniland Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 8:57 am
Glad the Cubs got a sweep, but sad the Bears appear to be out of playoff contention before them.

Annoyed with the lack of courage from Durbin and Duckworth to call for Menendez to resign. How is it that they did not have to wait until Madigan was even indicted to call for him to resign yet they want to play the innocent until proven guilty card with some guy caught with gold bars? Come on.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 9:04 am
===the Bears didn’t learn anything===

A random weekday this summer was the learning.

The Bears gained 1/3 of a billion (with a B) of value and worth without needing to learn how to beat Kelce, Mahomes or outsmart Reid.

The film “Slap Shot” is the learning too.

The owner of the (ironically, but the Charleston) Chiefs, she was grateful for Reg’s winning streak and championship, but it’s about the finances. Always.

Here’s the thing;

We (oh, I include myself) rubes, we look at a Roger Goodell and mock his “I love football”, but as we get sucked in on a season and it’s good and bad, the NFL is the only sports league in North America where the two smallest or weakest “market teams” being in a championship doesn’t change a dime of the monies the league will reap. So the Bears are bad, the Browns, the Lions, it’s about the socialism of shared revenues.

It’s why the McCaskeys don’t need to win to leverage money, they need to win to maximize good will towards concessions towards upfront investment.

We all sit like Reg and talk about wins and losses and the need for us fans to be satisfied. Owners want the accountants happy, either by the franchise being good or bad… and in the NFL, winning is for ownership egos and fan bases.

The Bears are scheduled to play a franchise that gave up 70 points yesterday, losing by 50… and the Bears are still not favored in the matchup. Egos and fan bases bruised, but the monies are already flowing as scheduled.

Sell the team, McCaskeys. It’s ripe.

Bear Down.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 9:16 am
As Grandpa use to say (more or less) “God save us from the bleepin’ Bears”

Comment by Friendly Bob Adams Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 9:33 am
Glad to hear EIU and SIU are undefeated. At least at some level football is winning in this state.

Comment by Give Me A Break Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 9:43 am
HIS GIRL

Durbin never has shown any courage during his time in politics.
He is a follower not a leader.

I do not agree with Duckworth’s politics but there is no questioning her courage.

Comment by MOON Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 9:48 am
rain making the grass look great today. Sox win in a rain shortened game beating the Red Sox who always think they used the Sox name first…nope. Luis Robert stolen base to go along with his game deciding homer on Saturday, and a good Cease outing make the Sox hopes better than those of the Bears. which is incredibly sad.

Comment by Amalia Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 10:00 am
Fortunately I couldn’t see most of it. Only 99 yards passing in a game in which you are way down is beyond pathetic.

Comment by Independent Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 10:25 am
Got notified last week by Blue Cross of Illinois that they are dropping Carle Health/Unity Point medical group here in central Illinois on December 31st and are forcing people to find new doctors/specialists. (Kinda of like the did with Springfield Clinic a few years ago)

Comment by In_The_Middle Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 10:29 am
Another week, another Bears loss. Maybe the NFL can expand the playoffs yet again to let another pair of losing teams in.

Comment by thisjustinagain Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 12:30 pm
Anyone notice the Second City Cop website is back? When did that happen?

Also they’re on a political tear today on the Treasurer of the City of Chicago.

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 12:32 pm
I’m glad Second City Cop is back…that’s where I looked to check the pulse of hateful deplorables.

Comment by Dotnonymous x Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 1:09 pm
Dotnonymous x - Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 1:09 pm:

I’m glad Second City Cop is back…that’s where I looked to check the pulse of hateful deplorables.

Yeah it is a method to keep up with the right wing nuts. Sometimes they post useful stuff though. Todays stuff on Mellissa Conyers-Irvin seems too good to be true. Or too bad I guess.

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 1:23 pm
===Todays stuff on Mellissa Conyers-Irvin seems too good to be true===

It’s been shopped around. Not yet clear whether it’s true.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 1:34 pm
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 1:34 pm:

===Todays stuff on Mellissa Conyers-Irvin seems too good to be true===

It’s been shopped around. Not yet clear whether it’s true.

The comments section there are mixed on it being true. 7 loans nationwide with that name. One commenter searched and found two individuals with that name in Chicago. One 43 year old and one 48 year old. 43 year old links to three of the loans by address. The 48 year old, likely the Treasurer, doesn’t link, but the fourth loan is right next door to a loan Alderman Angela Clay is tied to.

Then all four loans used the same lender. Seems suspicious even if it’s not the Treasurer. I’ve looked at data and there were dozens if not hundreds of lenders doing the PPP loans.

Seems to be the best case for the Treasurer is that it was some other soon to be unfortunate person with the same name. Still being right next door to another politician loan?

Coincidences do happen. We should know soon enough. Reminds me of when the Aaron Schock stuff came out. Kept coming out for days or was it weeks. I guess the Treasurer shouldnt have announced her interest in Danny Davis’s congressional seat.

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 2:55 pm
===Then all four loans used the same lender. Seems suspicious even if…===

Ever use a Credit Union… house, car… personal loans…

The problem to a simplicity to a single lender is business, even banking business, counts on returning customers.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 2:58 pm
https://data.sj-r.com/paycheck-protection-program-loans/?state=Illinois&searchtext=melissa+ervin

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 3:11 pm
It’s been shopped around. Not yet clear whether it’s true.

If you want it to be true, the cite is the proof to what you allege in speculating not merely the information

That was my point to that.

I’m pretty sure that shopped list isn’t new either.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 3:15 pm
Four loans. Four different addresses. All same lender. 3 of 4 reference same business type.

I can’t prove it’s true. I don’t have subpoena power. I can merely point out it’s a wild coincidence. One right next to a loan from another politician?

Again it’s very possible this has nada to do with the Treasurer. Still the odds that it’s fraudulent treasurer or not are high.

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 3:22 pm
=== I can’t prove it’s true.===

That’s my point.

If you’d like to, have at it.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 3:22 pm
=== Still the odds that it’s fraudulent treasurer or not are high.===

I know that in court they like proof, and ethical and credible journalist run stories on facts.

So, taking this alone, the idea of workers doing personal work for the treasurer on city time or not is easier to track down, but there’s probably a good reason things are shopped and then not immediately used.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 3:26 pm
On it’s own I wouldn’t run with it if I were a journalist. Now I might link it to the overall PPP fraud stories we’ve seen in the news and point out how difficult it is to prove just from internet sources.

I just ran some random political names through a google search and came up with some wacky PPP accusations on blogs. One blog in particular.

https://secondcitycop.blogspot.com/2023/07/what-about-exempts.html

Commenter seems to think every “Vallas” who got a loan nationally is linked to a certain four time loser local candidate. That’s nuts.

I should run Rich Miller for PPP loans.

https://data.clarionledger.com/paycheck-protection-program-loans/?state=Illinois&searchtext=richard+miller

Hey Rich are you the taxi driver or the grain farmer?

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 3:52 pm
===Hey Rich are you the taxi driver or the grain farmer?===

lol

Neither. I would also remind people that most PPP loans were desperately needed to keep some businesses afloat. Lots of people got them. Not me, tho. I didn’t qualify and didn’t need one even if I did. Didn’t stop my banker from calling me about signing up, however.

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 4:40 pm
===Now I might link it to the overall PPP fraud stories we’ve seen in the news and point out how difficult it is to prove just from internet sources.===

That’s seedy. Sticking to what can actually be proven is how fact based worked. Why drag anyone needlessly through things when…

=== On it’s own I wouldn’t run with it if I were a journalist===

… and real context to other things that may or may not be questionable

That’s why unregulated and troll based blogs are bad at the one thing politics and journalism need… agreed facts, not alternative facts.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 4:55 pm
Oswego I appreciate being lectured by you.

Talk to a statistician about the odds of say three random PPP loans in Illinois all having the same name. Then the same lender. Then 3 of 4 loans all being the same business type.

That lender Cross River had about 1200 loans in Illinois. Overall number of loans was about 600,000. I ran this by a retired sociology professor who used to teach statistics classes.

I asked him to eliminate the Wabash loan because of one of the comments on the SCC blog. Seems the Wabash loan is likely the outlier in the group and the one most likely not to be connected to Farmer Rich Miller.

Just based on the lender the odds are over 100 million to one. He wasn’t quite sure how to calculate the odds once you add in the name and business type. He compared it to DNA testing at crime scenes. If I had dug up the number of various business types and their relative distribution among loans he could have gotten me a more accurate and higher number.

Now I understand you might not like the SCC blog. Over the years I’ve found them to be generally horrible, but sometimes they post useful stuff.

The latest version of the blog seems to be actually worse than before. Cops who are January 6th apologists and conspiracy theorists dont appeal to me.

As Farmer Rich said the loans were needed by many people. There does seem to be a huge amount of fraud though.

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 5:14 pm
=== I ran this by a retired sociology professor===

Please, tell me you were safe when you ran and wore two layers of tin foil on your head… with a chin strap. Please.

===Just based on the lender the odds are over 100 million to one. He wasn’t quite sure how to calculate the odds once you add in the name and business type. He compared it to DNA testing at crime scenes. If I had dug up the number of various business types and their relative distribution among loans he could have gotten me a more accurate and higher number.===

Perry Mason, if you missed the day they taught law in law school, or never took an ethics class at any level of education, this type of oppo is fun to keep idle hands busy and out of the way of others, but…

When you get facts and evidence, give it to a USA… love of Pete I got dizzy and dehydrated and I only read your little misadventure.

Godspeed on your quest, windmills will fight back, Dulcinea is waiting, and get facts outside statistical wants.

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 5:23 pm
Good day sir.

Comment by Chicago it's my kinda town Monday, Sep 25, 23 @ 5:24 pm

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