A Year On -- What's the Point of Huffington Post Chicago?

Out of boredom I ended up clicking on the Chicago Huffington Post page--something I admittedly have looked at twice since they fired that up a year ago--and I realized why I never go there.

It sucks. It totally sucks. It isn't interesting and it says the same freaking things that the Trib and Sun-Times say. There is no point to this site. None. There are posts and headlines on Ozzie saying that the Sox will go after teams that throw at them. There is a Patrick Kane update. There is even a headline... no wait, two headlines, on the U of I Clout story, along with a section on how to make peach donuts and someone praising Italian wines.

So what's the point of this page again? Wasn't Huffington going to some how bring "attitude" to Chicago? Instead, it seems like it's just a rehashing of Tribune/Sun-Times stories, and has little to no actual opinion or counter arguments/reporting to what those two newspapers do. The site is totally uninteresting and pretty much fails at what it set out to do:

"Transferring The Huffington Post's blend of news, opinion, and community -- delivered with our familiar look and attitude -- to a local level, HuffPost Chicago is part local news source, part resource guide, and part virtual soap box -- featuring a collection of bloggers who know and love Chicago, and are looking to share their takes on everything from the Cubs to City Hall to the hot new local band to the best place for Greek food (and I can testify that there is a lot of that in Chicago!)."

However, the site never actually set out to do this. John Cusack talking about how much he loves Chicago doesn't cut it because he doesn't really live here any more and lost all his Chicago cred when he showed up at the Cell in 2005 cheering on the White Sox – this after years of being a Cubs fan. From what I can/could tell Huffington Chicago was supposed to be about Chicago for people not in Chicago... only why would anyone read that?

A year later, they haven't added anything to the conversation. They haven't broken any stories -- not even a clout story -- instead they've just linked to what we already knew. They could have gone the route of the Reader and just hammered home how local media is all over the place or how TIFs are being misused by Daley and his pals. But instead it's just a shittier version of the Trib and Sun-Times, repeating their stories instead of going after new stories or offering up opinion on things like why Chicago shouldn't get the Olympics, or hammering the Tribune for flying 2016 flags when the IOC was in town in the winter. I'm not sure what the point of HuffPost Chicago ever really was – posing as an edgy alternative in a city that hates phony attitude was never going to fly. And it lacks the snark of Gawker... or the off-the-front-page stories of Chicagoist.

I think it's safe to add it to the FAIL Blog.

Kass Points Out What No One Else Will

Maybe Kass reads there fine little blog, I don't think so, but hey, we seem to be on the same page. At least someone in Chicago knows what's up:

"The details of the crimes have been repeated endlessly in the news.
Unsuspecting taxpayers walking in high-end neighborhoods are approached
by thugs, who punch the taxpayers in the face, beat the tar out of
them, humiliate them further and take their money. It happens in other neighborhoods. But in other neighborhoods,
unfortunately, this wouldn't lead the local newscasts. It would be
police blotter stuff, next to the motor vehicle break-ins and petty
thefts and bleak, one-paragraph accounts of murder...
They'll catch them. Police have made one arrest and cut the suspect
loose for lack of evidence, but sooner or later, the marauders will be
caught. And we'll be treated to another dog and pony show. Politicians
who rule from on high will thump their chests and pronounce Chicago
safe. The real police will snicker and wonder when they'll ever get a
contract."

Next time you complain about the government, remember this

Saw this one Second City Cop about a fella who decided to punch a police horse during Lollapalooza.  Hahaha, what an idiot, insert cheap dumb joke here, blah blah blah.

But as Second City Cop points out things get a little interesting:

"So, a citizen of Mexico without a local address? Illegal? Oh wait, we can't ask that. Never mind."

The Chicago Public Schools face the same problem (really any major public institution in this country faces this problem) -- in fact it becomes a major headache for CPS because it makes identifying and labeling students extremely difficult.  Why?  Because CPS can't use Social Security numbers to register students.  That's the stupidest thing you've ever heard you say... why don't they?  Because public education is available and accessible to all young people in this country no matter what their situation may be.  Since a students Social Security number can't be used to check if they're in the system, CPS (again, all large public schools) faces problems with duplicates in the system, especially at the early school year levels (K, 1, 2, etc). This makes streamlining information and data all that more difficult -- and part of the reason why everyone thinks CPS can't get their act together.  Too many people -- from coordinators to administrators to data analysis -- spend too much time tracking down data on students or making sure they do not have duplicates in their files.  

No matter where you stand on the illegal immigration issue, it's little policies or regulations like this that slip though the cracks of media coverage and seem like they don't matter, but have a huge fall out.  I have no clue how many hours CPS or the police department loses per year chasing down information like this but it's a lot.  And that's a lot of tax dollars and creates huge inefficiencies in the all public departments.  So when a bleeding heart liberal says that everyone has a right to public education -- no matter where they're from if they walk though that door, they should receive an education -- I hope they don't complain about the red tape at these public institutions.  I'm sure CPS or CPD administrators could spend their time much more productively if they could, you know, ask for a Social Security number.

Next time your complaining about whatever public department or government agency, remember that part of the reason they're so slow or so bad at their jobs is because of the regulations put in place to protect everyone -- you, your friends, even the illegal immigrant.

Crime Crisis Averted... back to the Olympics! UPDATE

UPDATE 10amish 8/12 -- HOLY FUCKING SHIT -- They released the guy they arrested. So back to lock down on the North Shore! Forget about the Olympics, forget about covering the Olympics, forget even thinking we're going to get the Olympics, there are white people getting mugged on the North Side! And the Cubs played last night on top of it! How is the city going survive this crime wave on the North Side?!?!?! Whatever you do, do not read any of this.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Phew, the city can go back to Full Olympic Mode! The North Side Mugger has been caught! White people are once again safe! Back to the Olympics!

I was getting worried that white people here in Chicago were going to start paying attention to crime! But, Daley and company can breath a sigh of relief... North Side Lakefront whites won't be focusing on crime any time soon now that they won't be mugged again for a few more months. So let's get back to focusing on getting the Olympics and Clout!

Meanwhile, for those who are a tad more interested in the fate of Chicago (and the country)... read this tragic story. Seems like there is one of these every month, at least, here in Chicago. But as they said in the Season Five of the Wire: Wrong Zip Code.

Now We're Talking

Wow, nice find by the Trib this morning... this is more like it, I like it.

The Trib is connecting the dots and just tied Michael Scott, Daley (aka Shortshanks if you're a Second City Cop reader (and you should be))... where was I... oh yes, Michael Scott, Daley ally and President of the Chicago Public School Board, has some prime real estate that he'll be able to develop if/when Chicago (sadly) gets the Olympics. Scott of course says he's done nothing wrong. And I guess he's sort of right this being Chicago at all... but let's face it, this stinks of graft.

This Scott story comes just a day after it's been alleged that people close to him were able to get their kid into one of CPS' selective enrollment high schools though back channels. The kid later pulled out after CPS started asking questions... but you've got to wonder now how much longer Scott will be around City Hall and CPS.

Oh wait, this is Chicago. It's the city that works! Yuppie whites will smile and shrug and say, "Hey, it's Chicago, this stuff is supposed to happen" and tell everyone that they think it's cute. This is a city were alderman, like say, Ed Burke (one of the biggest Hacks to ever walk these city streets) should be able to redo his office with taxpayer money right now even though thousands of city employees are getting laid off.

This Scott and Olympic story should come as no surprise. It's just the first. And it wouldn't shock me if someone either at CPS or City Hall tipped off the Tribune on this one (this is so far out of left field that I sort of have to believe the Trib got help on this one considering it's been a five alarm fire drill in the Tower for the last year). Anyway, if you're cool with stories like these, then sure, keep rooting for the Olympics. The corruption will be off the charts. But if you don't want you tax money to be going to the likes of Michael Scott, then it's time to call your alderman and tell them to vote down the Olympic money.

Trib Website Redesign

Kudos to the Chicago Tribune for its new website design.  I know, I know, it's 2009 and their site now feels very 2004 -- but what they launched last night is about the price for war in Iraq (a.k.a. $3 trillion) times better than what they had yesterday.  So let's all raise our coffee mugs to the Trib this morning and welcome them to the 21st century!

Now on to much more important things... CLOUT!  The story that won't go away and is past the point of anyone caring is the Trib's main story which sets a new record for "Most Consecutive Days a Newspaper Carries a Story that No One is Talking About" at 162 days.  Maybe it's just me and my dorky policy friends who aren't talking about it... but the only people that I talk about this story with is other Trib people and how sick they are of the story too.

But hey, in a town were crime is though the roof, the Olympics are about to fleece every resident, and the state is out of money -- Clout should be the #1 story for 162 days.  

It's Not About Jobs, Stupid

Who needs jobs when the Olympics are coming and will solve all of Chicago's problems!

See when you say things like: "Construction of the store would create200 jobs. The store, once it was running, would provide nearly 500jobs" you're totally missing the point of Chicago and the City Council.  The point isn't to create jobs for Chicagoans today because we're talking about hundreds of jobs for Walsh Construction in 2013. See, building a Wal-Mart in Chicago makes too much sense, but of course it will piss off rich, liberal whites who the city needs more than anything else in the world... other than the Olympics of course.

So you're barking up the wrong tree.  We don't need Wal-Mart, we need the Olympics.  Because it will solve everything.  And it won't cost a dime.