sneed
Michael Sneed biography
Michael Sneed has been a Chicago journalist for nearly four decades covering everything short of war.
Among the stories Sneed has reported on in her …
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State Sen. Kirk Dillard to announce gov bid at home of Gov. Oglesby
Sneed exclusive . . . The Oglesby connection . . . It ain’t gonna be in Springpatch! Watch for GOP gubernatorial hopeful state Sen. Kirk Dillard to break political tradition by formally announcing his candidacy in Decatur — rather than the traditional state Capitol in …Read More
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Sneed: George Ryan has Mandela on his mind
A Mandela memo. . . Former Gov. George Ryan will become a free man this week; formally released from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons after serving 5 ½ years on political corruption charges. Sneed is told Ryan, who has yet to speak to the press …Read More
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Sneed: Stanley Cup-winning Hawks help a veteran cop sign off
Sgt. Patrick Riordan did what any good cop would have done shortly after the victorious Chicago Blackhawks stepped off the plane Monday night with the Stanley Cup. He had them autograph his cop uniform shirt.
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Field Museum scientists search for Baby Kate
Sneed exclusive A sole search . . . This evidence wasn’t planted. It was already there; a mixture of mosses scraped from the sole of a murder suspect’s shoe. It’s a whodunit that has the prestigious Field Museum involved in a whole new caper: solving …Read More
Sneed: Stanley Cup odyssey begins without its bodyguard
Mike Bolt, who guards hockey’s silver chalice, was the victim of a cancelled flight to Chicago from Toronto Monday night and late getting to town to take charge of the 121-year-old bowl.
Sneed: Rocky Wirtz’s reaction? Holy ...
Da Hawk squawk . . . The first words out of the mouth of Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz when his team won its second championship in four seasons: “Holy s---!” A happy and ebullient Wirtz told Sneed from the ice in Boston that the Stanley …
Pol on perk patrol
Sneed exclusive. . . Return to sender? First class male: Watch for State Rep. Jack Franks (D-Marengo) to send a letter to every college president making them wish their addresses were unknown. ◆ To wit: Franks, chairman of the State Government Administration Committee, wants to …
The unexcused absence???
Hmmmm. Notice how Mayor Rahm Emanuel seems to be conveniently out of town when the eraser set goes into action? ◆ Translation: Rahm was skiing in Utah when the Chicago Public Schools board announced in March that they would be shutting 54 schools. ◆ Translation …
Why Jesse Jackson Jr. wants to go to prison first
Pssst! Why is former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. asking to go to prison before his wife, former Ald. Sandi Jackson (7th) — who is requesting probation? Here’s why: Because the feds don’t want to give Jackson’s wife probation — they want to send them both …
Sheriff Tom Dart offers to help Harvey fight corruption, too
The Dart game . . . Not only is Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart moonlighting, but now he wants to up the ante. ◆ Translation: Invited to be inspector general to snoop out corruption in south suburban Dolton, now he wants the same job in …Read More
Bill Daley may be close to announcing gubernatorial bid, source says
A top Daley source tells Sneed: “He seemed to be heading off the campaign trail but is now in a furor over the state’s latest pension debacle.”
Hillary’s new ‘do a signal she’s hitting the campaign trail?
The press may have focused on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s jokes about her penchant for pantsuits at the trendy Council of Fashion Designers of America gala honoring fashion designer Oscar de la Renta Monday night, but Hillary’s hairdo is the story.
Ex-Streets and San czar Al Sanchez out of prison, in halfway house in Chicago
The pen set. . . Pssst! He’s out! Well, almost: ◆ Translation: Here’s an update on prisoner No. 19378-424. Former Chicago Streets and San czar Al Sanchez, who was convicted as part of the Hired Truck probe and sentenced to 2 1/2 years in a …
Forgiveness for a killer
The Langert murders . . . How long does it take to forgive; to absolve the man who slaughtered your pregnant sister and her husband? How do you touch the hand of the man who pulled the trigger of a .357 Magnum; press the flesh …
Fed grand jury looking at prison guards in December MCC jailbreak
Cop shop . . . Psst! Sneed hears federal indictments may be forthcoming stemming from the dramatic jailbreak at the Metropolitan Correctional Center six months ago. ◆ The big question: Could the escapees, Kenneth Conley and Joseph Banks — who stunned the city last December …
Sneed: State’s attorney investigator target of child porn probe
Sneed has learned a 20-year investigator for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has been stripped of his duties pending a FBI child pornography probe. Sneed is told a cadre of feds showed up at the southwest suburban home of the Cook County investigator on Tuesday morning, armed with a search warrant to seize computer files.
On this Memorial Day, a journalist wishes she’d asked her father, a war vet, more questions
I know what my father did after the war; he married my mother, raised four daughters and a dog named Daisy and had a distinguished career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Dad may never have talked about the war, but for a woman who would become a journalist — how strange it was I asked him so few questions.
Sneed: Column item, Sun-Times report prompted Metra shake-up
The Metra mess. . . Finally! Metra seems to be on track. Sneed hears Sharon Austin, a former Metra ticket agent manager who Sneed claimed drew the ire of Metra police when she became their overseer, is out. ◆ Translation: Austin, who was Metra’s senior …
Metra mess update: things aren’t completely cleaned up
Sneed is told little has changed at Metra since Sneed’s March story exposing ill-equipped Metra police officers. Sneed blasted Metra passenger safety based on complaints by Metra police that their cars were junk,their radios unusable, and officers were not qualified to use their weapons for three years due to a lack of ammunition for their new guns.
Topinka: Comptroller’s job like being ‘skunk at picnic’
Our irrepressible State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka broke out her irrepressible black and white faux skunk slippers Wednesday while passing out 1,120 slices of Eli’s cheesecake to lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists, media mavens, and Springfield Capitol visitors. Topinka says she wears them because “being the state’s fiscal officer is like being a skunk at the picnic.”
