Walter Jacobson's Perspective

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Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 1-16-25: Mr. President, you are ruining your legacy with all those pardons

2025-01-16--:--

Good morning, Mr. President Biden. I’m thinking you are ruining your reputation and your legacy with all those presidential pardons and commutations you’ve recently been granting convicted criminals. Like the pardon you granted your son Hunter and more than 1000 pardons and commutations you’ve recently granted in a hurry to beat the clock that in […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 1-9-25: Politics have no place in schools

2025-01-09--:--

Well, finally, finally, we now have only a few days to wait for the first meeting of Chicago’s first-ever publicly elected Board of Education. Our brand new 21-member Board of Ed is about to begin its difficult process of trying to make our public schools better than they are. I’m dubious about it because the […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 12-19-24: Start over, my dear Bears, and think smart

2024-12-19--:--

Considering my very sad but nonetheless much-loved Chicago Bears, I’m wondering right now what I’ll do this coming Sunday, knowing very well what I’ll do is what I do every Sunday this time of year: Make myself a chicken salad sandwich, say a prayer to the gods of football, sit down in front of the […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 12-12-24: Here Rahm goes again

2024-12-12--:--

Here we go again. Or here Rahm goes again. That’s Rahm Emanuel declaring that he may run again for Mayor of Chicago. Or, if Governor Pritzker of Illinois decides not to run again, Rahm Emanuel is saying, Rahm may run for governor. At this particular time in government and politics, Rahm Emanuel is the US […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 11-21-24: CPS CEO Pedro Martinez has been doing a very good job

2024-11-21--:--

It is hard sometimes to keep up with the ups and downs in the government and politics of Chicago’s rookie mayor Brandon Johnson who is trying very hard to quiet and remove from office Pedro Martinez, CEO of our public schools who was hired three years ago by Mayor Lightfoot and since then has been […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 11-14-24: The media helped Donald Trump get reelected

2024-11-14--:--

My computer this morning, along with everything else I’m reading, is loaded with news about Donald Trump creating a new White House administration. What I’m not reading, because it’s not being reported anymore, is news about how the newspapers and those talking heads on television helped Donald Trump get reelected. For the end of his […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 11-7-24: So many things are so bad with the Bears

2024-11-07--:--

Maybe it’s good news, that vote for President. Maybe it’s bad. Depending on whom you voted for, you’re happy or sad. But finally, at long last, we all now know who will be the next occupant of the White House. But we don’t know, and what I am worried about, is who will win the […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 10-31-24: Here I go again, booing Halloween

2024-10-3101:59

I walked around my neighborhood early this morning before catching the bus that brings me here and I’m still thinking about the Halloween things I saw. Chunky things they seemed to me. Ugly, fake skeletons, coffins, and graveyards dug into charming little gardens alongside the sidewalks in front of some beautiful apartment buildings and private […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 10-24-24: Too much bias in newspaper coverage of Mike Madigan trial

2024-10-2401:46

It’s three days now into the Mike Madigan trial and the headlines are in big print on the front pages of Chicago’s biggest newspapers. In the Tribune, for instance, “The Michael Madigan Trial” alongside a big picture of Madigan, his briefcase and his lawyers leaving the courthouse, what they’re calling racketeering case underway. Competing with […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 10-17-24: It is long past the time for City Hall to return the Columbus Monument

2024-10-1701:45

With happy smiles, beautiful balloons, and tooting trumpets, more than 1,000 people gathered on State Street three days ago to celebrate the Columbus and Indigenous People Parade. Some of them to watch it, others to watch and join the parade. The Columbus people have been hoping, and waiting, and waiting for City Hall to return […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 10-10-24: If jurors find Mike Madigan guilty, will some of the reasons be the headlines and pictures?

2024-10-1002:09

It’s been 2 1/2 years since Mike Madigan was indicted by a federal grand jury on 23 counts of criminal behavior during 36 years as Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. One of the most, if not the most, powerful and popular Chicago politicians ever. For 2 1/2 years, he’s been ever-so-painfully awaiting his […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 10-3-24: The New York Times is once again beating up on Chicago

2024-10-0301:55

I have some bad news to report this morning. The great New York Times – The uppity, uppity New York Times – is once again beating up on Chicago in its most popular Sunday edition. This last Sunday, The New York Times delivered to the world a special section entitled The Restaurant List. Twenty pages […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 9-26-24: Should there be a ShotSpotter in Chicago? My opinion is yes

2024-09-2602:03

So, in Chicago, those now well-known ShotSpotters have run out of time. Their contract with the city has expired and Mayor Johnson says he will not renew it. But there’s a chance it may be back anyway because some members of the City Council are working on bringing it back. The ShotSpotter is a multi-million-dollar […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 9-19-24: If you want to play politics in Chicago, be careful about what you say

2024-09-1902:07

The news about who won the presidential debate in Philadelphia last week is getting old. So, let’s start considering something new. A debate in Chicago City Hall this week. It’s getting hot. It’s about Mayor Johnson’s Director of Internal Affairs, Kennedy Bartley, an outspoken young Black woman who’s been interviewed on national television about the […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 9-12-24: For me, it was an OK debate. Trump was Trump and Harris was Harris

2024-09-1202:25

For me, it was an OK debate. A lot of emotion and a little bit of anger. But nothing new from either one of the two. How they spoke and what they said is common this late in a campaign game. They were cautious candidates, very cautious to avoid trying a Hail Mary because if […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 9-5-24: The right thing happened to Amy Jacobson for making fun of Gus Walz

2024-09-0501:55

The news in the news is moving so fast it’s difficult sometimes to keep up with it, and even more difficult to decide what to say about it. A good example of that is the story about a popular radio talk show in Chicago and the two on-air people who host it. The well-known hard-right […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 8-29-24: Should astronauts be afraid to fly in an Elon Musk spaceship?

2024-08-29--:--

Now that both political conventions have come and gone, how about thinking back to those magical days of the Olympics on TV, the amazing athletes, their skills and sportsmanship and friendships in picture-perfect Paris. Just what we needed to interrupt that terrible news about war in Ukraine and Gaza. The wildfires in California. Unbearable heat […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 8-22-24: I have deep respect for Rev. Jesse Jackson

2024-08-2201:56

The night before the Democrats convened their presidential convention in Chicago, there was a civil rights Rainbow PUSH convention going on in honor of the Reverend Jesse Jackson of Chicago. An event not as spectacular as the Democrats. But for me, something extra special to think about because, in Chicago politics, Reverend Jackson and I […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 8-15-24: 1968 Democratic Convention – ‘Horrible things that still hurt to remember but are impossible to forget’

2024-08-15--:--

Just four days now until the Democrats begin their presidential nominating convention in Chicago. Many months after City Hall in Chicago has been agonizing over what may happen here next week, hoping it’s not what happened during the Democrat convention here in 1968, 56 years ago. Horrible things that still hurt to remember but are […]

Walter Jacobson’s Perspective 8-8-24: I said to myself, ‘What?’

2024-08-08--:--

Thanks, but no thanks, to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and to the Olympic athletes in Paris who are causing me to watch a lot of television that is clarifying for me a trick of the television trade to make money. More and more money. We’re all watching that trick. You know, those never-ending television […]

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