Too big to fail, and too big, even, to pay attention...

We live in a marvelous age. From my computer, or even my phone, I can order almost anything, from almost anywhere, and have it on my doorstep in a moment. If I order from Amazon, and I'm willing to wait a couple of extra moments, Amazon will give me a digital credit besides.

Amazon has my credit card; I have my desires. I get stuff without having to leave the house; Amazon gets money.

Most of the time, it is a satisfactory relationship. Not healthy, necessarily, but satisfactory.

The picture above shows a Ninja Foodi Programmable 10-in-1 5-Quart Pressure Cooker and Air Fryer.

Amazon thinks I ordered one of these on August 21 of this year and directed that it be shipped to Vancouver, Washington, a place where I know no one and where I've never been.

I found what appeared to be an Amazon email in my inbox on the morning of August 22 advising me of this "purchase" and, of course, I completely lost my mind.

Mind you, as a sophisticated netizen, who knew damn good and well that I had not ordered this item, I did not click on any of the inviting links in said email. I fired up my computer, opened Amazon, and went to my recent orders page. And, of course, the order was not there. How could it be? I hadn't ordered it.

I found a "report a scam" address somewhere on the Amazon homepage and forwarded said email, advising of my suspicions that this must be some sort of phishing expedition.

Pretty good for an old guy, right?

But I am not just a good netizen, I am a cautious consumer. I went next to the webpage of the ginormous bank which issued the credit card I had linked to the Amazon account.

Ruh roh! Ginormous Bank showed a charge had been made for this item ($124.95, if you're comparison shopping).

Now we'd entered a different realm: Someone was trying to live in an even more marvelous age than thee or me. This person had found a way to order almost anything, from almost anywhere, and charge it to someone else's credit card. I had been hacked.

But I knew what to do. After fighting my way through not-at-all-helpful phone-menu Hell, I eventually got hold of a human at Ginormous Bank, advised of the fraudulent charge, and canceled the compromised card.

Meanwhile, later that same day, Amazon sent me an email proudly announcing that it had failed to cancel the fraudulent order but instead had shipped it.

In fairness, my initial email to Amazon (written before I knew that a charge had been made to my credit card) did not say outright that this order was fraudulent. When I forwarded that first email, advising that the order appeared to have been placed, I wrote, "This looked legitimate -- as well as fraudulent. I checked my account online to verify that no such product was ordered, but this is a definite phishing attempt."

So -- again -- good netizen and good customer that I am -- and within a few hours of receiving same -- I dutifully forwarded the shipping email to the Amazon "report a scam" address with a more carefully worded email, the pertinent portions of which are as follows:

I have received another email on this fraudulent transaction. I am forwarding this email herewith.

I reported this fraudulent transaction by email this morning.

I did not see this order show up on my Amazon Orders page. It is not there yet. However, the credit card that I have linked to Amazon was charged $124.95 in connection with this fraudulent purchase.

I have reached out to the card holder, disputed the transaction, and the card will be reissued.

I will change my Amazon password immediately.

Is there any other action I should take?

Thank you in advance for your anticipated prompt response.

Perhaps my communication skills are slipping... but I believe the above and foregoing was surely adquate to convey the fact that the order in question was fraudulent. This email was sent on the afternoon of August 22. Amazon said it planned to deliver the item in question -- to Vancouver, Washington -- on August 28. In other words, they had more than enough time to take the darned thing off the truck.

If they wanted to. If anyone was actually paying attention.

Amazon did not respond to this email specifically.

But that very night, in the wee small hours of the morning, Amazon sent me another email 'confirming' my order of a plant stand that I wanted sent to Barre, Vermont.

Another place I've never been.

And, of course, I had not ordered any plant stand. I fired off another email to Amazon "report a scam."

I must confess: Some ALL CAPS were involved....

But things seemed to settle down after that: Ginormous Bank issued me a new card. I linked said new card to my Amazon account and resumed ordering such gimcracks and gewgaws as I required. All seemed well with the world....

... Until last night. Why does Amazon send these things at night? (I fear I may know the answer: Our future AI-overlords have no need of sleep....)

Anyway, this latest email says, in essence, golly, your credit card issuer reversed the charge for this item... but we'd like our money anyway.

I've spent the morning trying to find a telephone number to call to complain. I did find a way to ask for Amazon to call me -- and someone did call -- and I related the facts as set forth here. Perhaps a bit more loudly. It didn't help that the "customer service" screens had no option for me to report (again) a fraudulent transaction. It also did not help that the call dropped twice. The poor lady who had to deal with me called back the first time; I guess she'd had enough after the second drop. I don't suppose, really, that I blame her.

Thereafter, after re-reading the latest Amazon email, I composed a terse, but rational, response (copying "report a scam" just in case they've never been introduced).

So far, I've received a generic reply to my response, mostly telling me to do all the things I did in August... when I first reported the situation. The interrupted phone call yielded this email:

I haven't responded, of course, because I don't know if the problem is resolved yet or not. Time will tell.

I am not entirely optimistic....

JRW: Punishing kids for the sins of alleged grownups is completely wrong

My son Joe was looking for another place to pitch one summer. This was a decade or so ago when he was playing high school baseball. Maybe he'd just graduated; I don't remember exactly. I do remember that some of his school teammates recruited him to pitch for the Morton Grove American Legion team where they had signed to play.

There was a problem, however. We lived within the boundaries of the Portage Park American Legion team. Portage Park had to give up its territorial claim on Joe before he could legally pitch for Morton Grove. Paperwork was involved. (When isn't it?) But, with the help of the Morton Grove coach, the proper authorities in Portage Park were contacted and the papers duly completed. Joe was able to play on the same team as his friends.

I couldn't help but remember that story yesterday as the news about Little League International's decision to strip Jackie Robinson West of its national title stormed across the Internet. I didn't have the heart (or the stomach) to turn on local sports radio during the day. Watching the news last night was painful. I loved the JRW story. Like so many in Chicago, I watched the games on TV and rooted for those kids; I was so happy when they won. I was a fan.

I remembered a couple of other things yesterday, too. I had occasion to coach my youngest son, Jim, when he played at Oriole Park. Oriole Park did not have a Williamsport team, but in addition to our house league teams for various age groups there were "all star" teams that played in various tournaments, mostly against area parks. No one cared about residence in those days, but there was always concern that unscrupulous coaches would try and load up their 10 or 11 or 12-year old teams with older players. Danny Almonte was the Little League scandal in those days -- the 14-year old pitcher who mowed down 12-year old lineups in Williamsport like a sharp scythe in a field of ripe wheat. As a result, I had to bring more than the equipment bag to tournament games; I carried a folder full of birth certificates, one for each kid on my team. No opposing coach ever demanded to check -- but I had them just the same. And tournaments got wise to forgeries, too: I had to get a bunch of duplicate birth certificates from the County Clerk's Office over the years for Joe and Jim both because a lot of tournament organizers refused to accept photocopies.

Because my kids played ball and because I coached (however badly), I had a chance to see and observe a lot about youth baseball. I came to one overwhelming conclusion: There is nothing wrong with youth baseball except grownups. If -- as Little League International has concluded -- some involved with JRW played games off the field as well as on, fibbing about where kids lived in order to assemble a super-team, I know one thing: The kids -- the players -- were not at fault. The JRW kids won the games on the field and their accomplishment should not be diminished, and certainly not invalidated, because of grownup foolishness.

As for the coaches and the directors or officers of the program? They're supposed to know, and follow, the rules. If they did not, whether intentionally or because of ignorance, they should be punished. There undoubtedly were forms that could have been completed to allow kids from outside the boundaries to play for JRW. If some actively tried to conceal the truth about their players' residences instead of getting the proper clearances, those persons should be banned.

Fr. Michael Pfleger and the Rev. Jesse Jackson used yesterday's JRW press conference to suggest a racial motive for Little League's belated investigation. The Evergreen Park coach whose complaints about residence issues sparked Little League's investigation is white. He was on all the TV newscasts last night, too, telling the world that he has had to change his phone number and seek police protection. Only Channel 9, to my knowledge, reported that the Evergreen Park coach is married to an African-American. His Evergreen Park team, according to Channel 9, is composed of mostly African-American and Latin kids. On the other hand, it is impossible to overlook the evidence that some people -- way too many people -- are taking an unholy glee in JRW's downfall. Still, I believe it oversimplifies matters to reduce this sad story to black and white. The color green is also involved. Green, as in the color of envy, and green, as in the color of money. Grownup concerns.

And the timing of all this stinks, no matter what anybody's motivation may be in pursing this investigation now.

I seem to recall that, in the small-time tournaments I was involved with, opposing coaches could check my kids' birth certificates right up until the first pitch was thrown. After that, the only thing that mattered was what happened on the field. Grownup interference -- except for coaches trying to intimidate younger, inexperienced umpires (and that's a whole other discussion) -- ended and the kids got to play their game. So should it be with Williamsport. While the TV cameras are out filming the kids going to go-kart tracks and amusement parks in the greater Williamsport area, the grownups can sort through and validate all the papers from all the players and run down any rumors they want. If a 14-year old is found masquerading as his own little brother, bench him. If a team is found to have a player from outside their assigned area (without the proper paperwork) bench that kid, too. But once the games start, all that matters is what happens between the lines. If it later develops that tournament officials were snookered by doctored paperwork, punish the persons who did the doctoring. But don't punish the kids. Don't change the results.

Congratulations to Big Frank Thomas on his enshrinement in Baseball's Hall of Fame

When I was a boy, baseball cards were sold at Waxman's Drug Store at 95th & Hoyne. That's where I got mine. I had a pretty good collection, too, before my mother threw them all out. (Your mother did it, too; don't try and con me.)

In those days, baseball cards came with thin, brittle sheets of awful bubble gum. I never could blow a bubble. But I chewed the gum anyway.

In my life, I have bought very few baseball cards that came without bubble gum.

The one you see above is one of them.

I took it from the vault today to share, in honor of the enshrinement, this weekend, of Frank Thomas in Baseball's Hall of Fame.

When our kids were young, my wife would buy the boys baseball cards as stocking stuffers. I'd get some, too.

Here's one of these.

It's ironic that Big Frank is blowing a bubble in this baseball card photo. By the mid-90s, I think they'd stopped selling baseball cards with bubble gum. I don't remember cards with gum being available anywhere.

Big Frank was always big. He was big in Birmingham; he was big with the White Sox. In 1990, the White Sox acquired Sammy Sosa, a skinny kid from the Texas Rangers. I seem to recall him being called Sammy So-so at the time. He got lots bigger, though, when he went to the Chicago Cubs. He credited "Flintstones Vitamins" for his new muscle mass, as I recall. The sportswriters -- the same ones who will keep Sosa out of the Hall of Fame -- winked at each other and nodded and laughed and ballyhooed the home run duel between Sosa and Mark McGwire, saying nothing about PEDs. Then.

They've said a lot since. And whether or not you think Sosa, McGwire, Barry Bonds and all the rest also deserve to be in Cooperstown, the sportswriters may have said something useful by putting Big Frank in ahead of all of these. Big Frank was great and clean. It is fitting and proper that he gets in first.

R.I.P. Fr. Greeley

Fr. Andrew Greeley was buried today from Christ the King Church in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood.

Christ the King -- CK -- was the one parish where Fr. Greeley worked as a regular parish priest. Perhaps Fr. Greeley's most minor accomplishment in the course of that assignment was baptizing me, way back in -- well, the year doesn't matter, does it? This was while he was still going to graduate school, before he became a widely respected and much-published sociologist and long before he scandalized so many of his fellow Catholics, including many of the good people of Christ the King (which, if memory serves, he referred to as "St. Praxides" in several of his novels), with his "dirty books."

Yes, I read most of them. Openly. I enjoyed most of them, too. I don't know that any would qualify as great literature, but they were page-turners. The good guys are very good and they always win; and all the bad guys lose -- except that some of them find redemption instead. In which case, they also win and become good guys, too. What's wrong with that? Cotton candy, maybe, but a little cotton candy is a treat now and then, is it not?

I know I run the risk of raising a few eyebrows among my fellow parishioners (and even among some family members) by admitting that I was a fan of Fr. Greeley's fiction. So this morning I will hide behind Fr. Robert Barron, surely a pillar of orthodoxy (if such a person may be found), who published an article yesterday on Real Clear Religion entitled, "In Defense of Andrew Greeley." It's a touching tribute, and I recommend it.

Unlike Fr. Barron, I can claim no real acquaintance with the late Fr. Greeley, but Fr. Greeley is the reason I am called Jack -- and, brief as it was, Fr. Greeley's involvement in my life threatened to complicate my wedding plans, some 31 years ago.

My given name is Francis John. My father was Francis John, also. Lawyers of a certain age will remember my father as Frank. But Frank was also the name by which my grandfather -- the first Francis John -- was known. When my father was born, my grandfather's plan (or so the family story goes, since my grandfather died in 1946) was to have his son christened John Francis. The priest presiding on that occasion, however, thought a son should be named for his father, and he reversed the order of the names. My grandfather couldn't complain. In those days, parents didn't even attend baptisms; the godparents took the infant over to the church. Besides, my grandfather's brother was the priest. (There may have been an uncomfortable moment or two when my father's uncle dropped over for cake or coffee following the ceremony.)

Thus my father, who was supposed to be John Francis, found himself saddled with the moniker "Junior" throughout his father's lifetime. He didn't like that. When I came along, my father was determined that his son would be named as he wanted. He directed that I be christened Francis John, as he was, but he had it written right on the baptismal certificate that I was to be known as Jack. Fr. Greeley went along -- and because Fr. Greeley went along even the good Sisters of Mercy at Christ the King had to call me Jack as well.

In fact, I was known everywhere as Jack until I passed the bar exam and my first employers insisted on putting "Francis J. Leyhane III" on the firm letterhead. My employers thought "Jack" sounded too young and called undue attention to my youth and inexperience.

(Sadly, though I am still using Francis J. Leyhane III professionally, my youth is no longer an issue.)

I went to get married not too long after my name was revised for purposes of the practice of law.

In order to marry in the Church, Catholics must fill out lots of forms. (We are the Roman Catholic Church for a reason; the Imperial bureaucracy became the Church bureaucracy during the 100 years or so from the time that Constantine legalized the faith and the fall of Imperial Rome. In the best traditions of Ancient Rome, there is a form for everything in the Catholic Church, and a pigeonhole where that form must be filed.)

To fill out their forms, the prospective bride and groom must bring other forms -- proof that we'd been baptized, and that we'd received Communion and Confirmation -- and these forms must be scrutinized for any irregularity.

Well, by early 1982, Fr. Greeley had begun writing those aforementioned "dirty books." And his feud with Cardinal Cody was open and ugly. Greeley had a newspaper column in those days, syndicated around the country, as I understand it -- but nowhere to be found in Chicago. But a college classmate of mine, Catherine O'Connell-Cahill, was working in those days for the Claretians (she still is; she's now a senior editor of U.S. Catholic) and she was kind enough to alert me to a potential obstacle to my pending nuptials.

The parish where I was to be married had recently become the subject of unfavorable mention in a number of Fr. Greeley's newspaper columns. My friend knew about it because (in those pre-Internet days) she had access to those columns when most of us in these parts had none. It seems that the new pastor of the parish had placed the Rectory off limits to teens, angering a close relative of Fr. Greeley's. Fr. Greeley took exception and he named names. And here was Fr. Greeley's now-controversial signature on the baptismal certificate that I needed in order to be wed.

Fortunately, I met with the assistant pastor for my pre-Cana paperwork, not with the pastor himself. Nevertheless, because I'd been warned, I slid my paperwork across the desk with some trepidation. "Does my baptismal certificate count here?" I asked, only half in jest.

The good father studied the paperwork awhile and frowned deeply. "Hmmmm," he said finally. "Well, let's see... Leyhane. Leyhane... are you by any chance related to Fr. Will Leyhane?"

I was indeed, I said (that was my father's uncle, the one who'd changed my father's name at the font). Well, the priest said, he'd been a Deacon at St. Ethelreda's many years ago (my granduncle's last parish); he'd gotten on well with my granduncle. "So I think we can get past this," he said, sliding the paperwork back. I think he was speaking at least half in jest too -- he was smiling -- but I've never been entirely certain.

Farewell, Fr. Greeley. Heaven may be enriched, but we are diminished, by your passing.

A talking head, yes, but does he have anything to say?

Herewith my recent interview for a forthcoming appearance on Avy Meyer's North Town News Magazine. Despite dire predictions to the contrary, Avy's program survived my 2009 appearance; I have every confidence it will survive this as well. In the meantime, I am grateful to Mr. Meyers for the opportunity to appear on his program.

With the continued permission of Mr. Meyers, judicial candidate interviews on NTNM are posted on Page One of this blog on or around their original air date.

Has Mark Buehrle made his last White Sox start?

This AP image accompanied Rick Gano's coverage this morning on Yahoo! Sports.

Toni Ginnetti's article in this morning's Sun-Times says it's uncertain whether the Sox will re-sign Buehrle. Which may mean there's hope. I know this much: If Buehrle's gone, it's a Dunn deal.

As if Mr. Dunn needs more pressure heaped upon him.

Just in case he doesn't come back, the Sox gave Buehrle a classy sendoff last night. Buehrle was even pushed out of the dugout (by Paul Konerko, according to Ginnetti) to take a curtain call in front of the sparse, but vocal, crowd present at the Cell -- and for those of us watching at home.

I have a personal reason to be grateful to Mr. Buehrle. It will take a small narrative diversion to explain why.

White Sox Opening Day is an annual highlight for me. I've attended almost every year since law school. I remember sitting in right field on Opening Day 1978. (Steve Stone was the starting pitcher that day.) It was the bottom of the 9th and I was making disparaging remarks about Ron Blomberg, the Rent-a-Player engaged by Mr. Veeck to make White Sox fans forget about Richie Zisk, the 1977 model. Blomberg had gone 0 for 4 in his debut to that point. Phil Zukowsky thought my criticisms unfair and expressed a desire that Mr. Blomberg hit the next pitch right at my head. And, sure enough, he did: White Sox 6, Red Sox 5. (And, no, I didn't get the ball.)

In the years that followed I had weekend tickets to the ballpark (which carried with them a right to buy tickets for Opening Day). After this luxury had to be sacrificed to the necessity of the kids' tuition payments, Mike McGowan has been kind enough to include me in his party. I was his guest on Opening Day in that magical year of 2005.

Mark Buehrle started that game and worked a quick eight innings (Shingo Takatsu had the 9th) for a 1-0 shutout of the Cleveland Indians. Quick? Baseball Almanac says the game ran only 1:51; you can look it up.

And that created an opportunity for me. My son Joe, then a senior at Notre Dame High School in Niles, was supposed to pitch for the Dons that day. I didn't know about his scheduled start until after I'd committed to the Sox game. Thanks to Mr. Buehrle's fast pace (he may not throw hard, but he pitches quickly) I had the chance to catch the Notre Dame game, too. Mike and I jumped in my car and we headed north.

I don't recall who the Dons were facing that day. It may have been Glenbrook North; that was a traditional early season non-conference foe. If so, that may have been the day that Joe struck out Jason Kipnis, then a senior at GBN, who now earns a paycheck from the aforementioned Cleveland Indians. In my imagination, that's probably how things went down. I have a very good imagination.

I won't claim that Mike and I got to see all of Joe's performance that day; even my imagination isn't that good. But we saw some of it, and, as I recollect, Joe (who was himself a soft-tossing southpaw) got the W.

Anyway, even if Mr. Buehrle does move on, I will remain forever grateful, not just for the no hitter and the perfect game and the amazing play on Opening Day 2010 and all the other highlights -- but also because I got to see some of Joe's game on April 4, 2005.

Insisting that sometimes a telephone be used for conversation

Ken Levine has adopted a radical new texting policy, one I am inclined to imitate. Writes Mr. Levine:

Text messages are great for short alerts.

I’m running late.

I’m at baggage claim.

I’m pregnant.

But they’re not designed to replace conversations. After a couple of quick back and forths, if you want to continue to converse with me I will CALL you. You’re obviously there. You just texted me two seconds ago.

Mr. Levine says he's encountered some resistance since implementing his new policy. Some people have been shocked. Levine asks, "Has it been that long since people talked to each other that it is now awkward?"

Maybe.

But I, too, will risk it.

Levine, by the way, is a writer and director whose many credits include M*A*S*H, Cheers, Fraiser, The Simpsons.... He's also been a baseball broadcaster, calling games for the Baltimore Orioles, the Seattle Mariners, and the San Diego Padres. His daily blog is a must-read. Levine was also a rock'n'roll DJ on a number of Top 40 radio stations in the 1970s. In other words, he's done all sorts of things I've always wanted to do... and never will.

And with all these accomplishments, there is yet one more: Levine has also formulated Levine's Laws. The best known of these may be, "The lead off walk will always come around to score...unless it doesn't." This one, however, is my favorite:

In every article that mentions you, no matter how complimentary the article, there will always be one thing said or misquoted that will prevent you from Xeroxing and sending it to your family.

Oh man, was I wrong!

I was so sure that this storm would pass us by.

"Oh, it might snow," I grudgingly conceded yesterday morning after listening to all the Prophets of Doom on the TV and radio, "but probably only six to eight inches. Just enough to make it miserable. Not enough to bring anything to a halt."

I checked the radar a few times while I was at work... and it began to look more or more ominous. Still, anyone who's lived in Chicago has seen storms that looked dangerous on the radar fade away or part like Moses parted the Red Sea, going south and north of Chicago.

And I have plenty to do at work. I was determined to finish a couple of projects yesterday, and I did, but by the time I was done I didn't need radar to see the deteriorating weather. The Mark One Eyeball glancing out the office window provided more than enough evidence.

The horns started shortly after the snow started yesterday afternoon. My office is above Wells Street. As the weather turned, all the drivers took immediate leave of their senses, blasting their horns incessantly. Perhaps drivers thought the cars in front of them might vanish like soap bubbles once they realized that they, The Honking People, were in a hurry. The good news was that The Honking People must have gotten to their destinations by early evening; it must have been only patient people who were left to get stuck on Lake Shore Drive.

I left the office about 4:00, an hour-and-a-half or so after it started snowing. Our building security guard was feeling a little depressed when I said good evening. Her night relief had already called in, she told me, and she had a bad feeling that she might be stuck in the building for quite awhile.

The symphony of horns had subsided by this point; already the streets were nearly deserted. I was one of a handful of shuffling pedestrians at a time of day when the sidewalks are usually filled to capacity with people heading for their trains. I needed to stop at the bank. I had to put some money on my CTA card. And I wasn't too upset that I'd be getting on the Blue Line south of where I'd usually board: Maybe I'd even get a seat.

These hopes were quickly dashed as I came down the stairs onto the Monroe Street platform. Now I knew where all the people had gone. I found a place to stand and squinted down the tunnel toward Jackson Street, looking for signs of a train. Although the CTA had promised to run additional trains yesterday afternoon, none of these were apparently allocated to the Blue Line Subway. A train eventually stopped at Jackson -- but its running lights were flashing as it pulled out of the station. It was running express.

There was no "immediate follower." The platform got more and more crowded.

Eventually another train pulled into Jackson. This one stopped at Monroe.

Fortunately, when it arrived, there was still some prime standing room in the center of the car. I got there in time to hear the motorman's announcement: "I have an immediate follower," he said. I wouldn't have bet on the truth of his assertion.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The storm only got worse after dark. A neighbor went out at 7:30 or 8:00 to try and use his snowblower. He put some snow up into the air, but it was hard to distinguish what he put up from what Nature was putting down. My wife watched from the window, trying to decide whether we should go out and take a stab at our own driveway. She watched for a couple of minutes before realizing that she could actually see the neighbor only sporadically. She decided it was best that we not go out. I did not disagree.

"If it stops right now," I said, "my prediction would still be right."

But, of course, it didn't stop.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fast forward now to early this morning: We couldn't even get out the door at first. The good news was that we had parked our cars in the driveway. Somehow, in the howling winds overnight, the snow didn't stick to the cars and they shielded some of the driveway beneath them. But they had to be dug out.

And so we did. Then the lake effect snow kicked in.

This time, because the winds weren't as strong, the snow did stick to the cars. But the winds now were from the north and east and not from the south and west -- and some of the snow we'd piled up in our initial removal efforts... redrifted.

The good news is that Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow.

The interesting thing is that, as much as I doubted the carefully plotted, scientific predictions of last night's storm, I readily accepted the prognostication of what my son-in-law refers to as an oversized, lying rat.

But who wants to believe bad news... or reject news that's good?

Happy Groundhog's Day.

Sometimes saying "I'm sorry" isn't enough

But it's all we can say or do.

William Cook, 57, defense lawyer who was well loved, dies suddenly (Chicago Daily Law Bulletin coverage; subscription required)

Acknowledgments and archives

The 2010 judicial primary campaign is over now and, before moving on, it's time for me to gratefully acknowledge those who helped me to get the word out about Cook County Circuit Court candidates.

I have to begin by thanking the candidates themselves. I was able to dig out a fair amount of stuff on my own -- but I could never have obtained and organized as much information as I did without the active cooperation of many of the candidates and their supporters. I suppose there may have been some stealth judicial candidates this time out -- people hoping to sneak by on the basis of a euphonious appellation or felicitous ballot position -- but, having looked closely, it is my opinion that most of the men and women who sought election to the Circuit Court in Cook County were trying their darndest to get word out about their campaigns and their credentials. I had regular email communications from several candidates about fundraisers and endorsements -- and when I got something wrong, as happened from time to time, oh my did I hear about it.

(Fine print on a sample ballot? Who ever heard of such a thing?)

I'm also grateful for all the assistance of Joyce Williams, who coordinates candidate evaluations for the Alliance of Bar Associations for Judicial Screening. Thanks to Ms. Williams, I was able to put up the evaluations by Alliance members as soon as they were released. Allen Adomite of the Illinois Civil Justice League was quick to share information he received; I hope I was able to reciprocate at least occasionally. Avy Meyers of North Town News Magazine allowed me to post candidate interviews he conducted. Albert J. Klumpp, PhD, a Research Analyst with the Chicago firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, has been generous with his comments and his suggestions. CBA members will recall Klumpp's article in the January 2010 issue of the CBA Record, "What Influences the Voters?" Klumpp has written on the subject of judicial elections before. See, "Voter Information and Judicial Retention Elections in Illinois," 94 Ill. B.J. 538 (October 2006), and "Cook County Judicial Elections: Partisanship, Campaign Spending, & Voter Information," CBA Record, January 2007. Dr. Klumpp's 2005 Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Illinois (Chicago) was entitled, "Judicial Retention Elections in Cook County: Exercise of Democracy, or Exercise in Futility."

Steve Levinthal, who started a Facebook page called Cook County - Know Your Judicial Candidates, was one of many people whose acquaintance I made during the course of this primary season. Actually, Facebook was a new acquaintance for me this primary season -- Judge William H. Hooks was one who nudged me in that direction -- and, thank heavens, all of my kids actually friended me.

This blog may actually have helped some voters make informed choices in judicial elections. There were over 8,000 hits on Page One of this blog in January -- and nearly 19,000 page views. People were stopping by -- and looking around. (Since I started tracking visits to Page One of this blog, over 71,000 visitors have viewed nearly 150,000 pages.) A lot of visitors seem to have emailed posts to others, increasing the 'reach' of this effort.

Anyway, it's time now to mothball the candidates' websites. I'll keep them here, on Page Two, for archival purposes. Some of these will still be 'live' in 2012; some are probably already gone. The only sites I'll leave up on Page One are those of the only two candidates who still have an election to worry about -- Daniel J. Gallagher and Maureen Masterson Pulia -- who will face each other in November in the race for the countywide McCarthy vacancy.

2010 Cook County Circuit Court candidate websites:

• James Michael Bailey
• Deidre Baumann
• Michael Ian Bender
• Eugene Joseph Berkes
• Steven James Bernstein
• Thomas David Bilyk
• Linnae Bryant
• John P. Callahan
• Joseph Chico
• David J. Coleman
• Ann Finley Collins
• Pamela Cotten
• Joanne F. Fehn
• Charles Francis Fitzgerald
• Michelle Hugghis Flagg
• Pat Flanagan
• Thomas Flannigan
• Daniel J. Gallagher
• Marvin W. Gray
• Jeffrey Greenspan
• John C. Griffin
• Edward S. Harmening
• Russell W. Hartigan
• William H. Hooks
• Linzey Jones
• Nicholas W. Karas
• Richard G. Karwaczka
• Peter M. Kramer
• Joan Marie G. Kubalanza
• Geary Kull
• Yehuda P. Lebovits
• Pamela M. Leeming
• William J. Luby
• Thomas V. Lyons
• Terry MacCarthy
• Daniel B. Malone
• Diann K. Marsalek
• Maritza Martinez
• Bonnie Carol McGrath
• Pamela McLean Meyerson
• Edmund Paul Michalowski
• Raymond W. Mitchell
• Kevin J. Murphy
• Thomas J. Murphy
• John Patrick Nyhan
• Thomas G. O'Brien
• Sharon Oden-Johnson
• Jesse Outlaw
• Sharon Finegan Patterson
• Nichole C. Patton
• Linda J. Pauel
• Maureen Masterson Pulia
• William Burnett Raines
• Sandra G. Ramos
• Abbey Fishman Romanek
• Frank James Ryan
• Tracey J. Stokes
• Susan Kennedy Sullivan
• Mary S. Trew
• Steven G. Watkins
• Thaddeus L. Wilson

Potholes in the road to pundithood

I got home late last Thursday and didn't even think about my scheduled appearance on North Town News Magazine until later... after the program would have aired. I mentioned this to my wife. She was not amused. "It's not like you're on TV everyday," she pointed out, accurately.

I immediately began my motorboat imitation. "But -- but -- but you saw the interview already on YouTube...." It was a losing battle. I set the DVR to grab the Friday rebroadcast.

I got home Friday and my son said he'd looked at the show and I wasn't on. So I looked: He was right. It was the Dorothy Brown/Dennis Fleming show; that show was supposed to air on November 5.

I wrote to Avy Meyers, the host and proprietor of NTNM, to inquire. He looked into it: Apparently the show ran as scheduled in the suburbs, but CAN-TV in Chicago apparently substituted the Brown/Fleming show.

Why? My guess is that someone at CAN-TV must have seen my interview. (And so can you, if you follow this link.) Actually, this was not my worst TV appearance. The worst was the time I got picked for the tug of war on Bozo's Circus: I mumbled so badly that Ringmaster Ned thought my name was "Jeff."

Anyway, Mr. Meyers has spoken with the powers that be at CAN-TV. Inasmuch as the others on that show, Brian C. White of the Lakeside Community Development Corporation and Cliff Carlson, Editor and Publisher of the Irish American News, were fine guests, CAN-TV has decided to show the program this week (click on image to enlarge):


And as for my appearance? Well... it is close to Halloween. Viewers may take one look at me... and figure it has something to do with the holiday.

FWIW profiled on NTNM

When "Saturday Nigh Live" debuted a generation ago, Belushi, Akroyd, Radner, et al. were referred to as the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players."

I have now learned an important lesson in life: Not only am I not ready for prime time, I do not appear to be ready for cable access.

Let's put it this way: For years people wanted to find out 'who killed Vaudeville?' If cable access dies anytime soon, I know who will be blamed.

Avy Meyers, the host of North Town News Magazine did the best he could, under the circumstances.

Have I sufficiently lowered your expectations? If so, then you are free to watch the following clip from North Town News Magazine.

In Chicago, this interview will appear on CAN TV Channel 19, on Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm and again on Friday, October 23 at 2:30pm. Evanston residents can watch on Cable Channel 6 on October 22 at 8:00pm.

NTNM also airs every Monday at 6:00pm in the following suburbs: Arlington Heights, Bartlett, Des Plaines, Glenview, Golf, Hanover Park, Mt. Prospect, Park Ridge, Prospect Heights, Northbrook, Schaumburg, Skokie, Streamwood and Wheeling (on Channel 35) and Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove Village, Hoffman Estates, Lincolnwood, Maine Township (unincorporated Des Plaines), Mission Hills (Country Club Properties), Morton Grove, Niles, Palatine, Rolling Meadows and Wilmette (on Channel 19).

Other guests appearing on the October 22 show are Brian C. White of the Lakeside Community Development Corporation and Cliff Carlson, Editor and Publisher of the Irish American News. They'll be on during the first 20 minutes of the show.

Concordia University Chicago gets NCAA bid

Concordia University Chicago's baseball Cougars swept the Northern Athletics Conference tournament this weekend in Rockford to claim an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

The 33-13 Cougars are headed to Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan where they will be the fifth seed in the double elimination Mideast Regional. Tournament play begins Wednesday.

The Concordia team also won the regular season NAC baseball title with an 18-4 record.

Former Notre Dame High School (Niles, Illinois) players fared prominently in the Cougars' success this weekend. Dan Linsner went 4-5 with a home run in Concordia's first tournament win, a 16-4 victory over Benedictine University of Lisle. Matt Kudlik was the starting and winning pitcher in the championship game, a 12-6 victory over Aurora Universiyy. Joe Leyhane started the second contest, also against Aurora, going 7.2 innings, collecting six strikeouts and issuing only three walks in a 3-1 victory over the Spartans.

Linsner, Kudlik and Leyhane were all on the roster of Notre Dame's 2004 state championship team.

They'll be reunited with another ex-Don at the Adrian regional: Keenan Long is leading the Fightin' Engineers of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with 10 homers to go along with his .355 batting average. Rose-Hulman has advanced to the NCAA for a second straight year and will be the number six seed.

The Cougars come into the tournament with strong senior leadership. Pictured above, from left to right, are Dan Linsner, Jack Walker, Zach Bickel, Joe Leyhane, Scott Stephens, Joe Kerke and Phil Seris.

Walker, Stephens and Seris all homered in the championship game over Aurora, Seris' blast far beyond the right field wall breaking what was then a 5-5 tie. Bickel went 5 for 5 in that game. Bickel and Stephens both had spectacular games in the field also, particularly in the Friday afternoon game.

The Cougars face the number two seed College of Wooster Fighting Scots in Game 2 on Wednesday at 3:30pm. The 35-8 Wooster team will be making its sixth consecutive NCAA Division III tournament appearance.

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Thanks to Mr. Art Hantel for the top and bottom photos; his came out better than mine.

More photos from yesterday's Norwood Park Memorial Day Parade

Original post on page one.

This is Parade Grand Marshal Raymond Gurga. According to the Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce & Industry website, Mr. Gurga served as a photographer for Allied bombing missions over German industrial targets. The Chamber site says he was stationed in Great Britain from 1942 to 1945. It specifically mentions Mr. Gurga's service in the 493d Bombardment Group.

Here's State Representative Michael P. McAuliffe (R-20). Forty-first Ward Alderman Doherty was at the parade also, working his way back along the route from Taft back toward Onahan School, where the parade stepped off. Doherty had a van with his banner on it at nearly the very end of the parade. The only other politician who participated this year was Water Reclamation District Commissioner Frank Avila.

And here are some other marchers....

Cougars start 5-0 on Arizona Spring Training Trip

The Concordia University Chicago Baseball Cougars have started their 2008 campaign by winning their first five games.

Playing in the Phoenix, Arizona area, Concordia has so far taken four games from two Pennsylvania schools, Gwynedd-Mercy College and Waynesburg University, and a fifth game from the University of Dubuque.

Junior shortstop Jack Walker is leading the Cougar offense with a .526 batting average, with 10 hits, including a triple. Senior catcher J.D. Rotzoll is hitting .458 and leads the team with 11 hits, including three doubles and two triples and 8 RBI. Sophomore Brandon Isaac also has 8 RBI.

Junior Matt Kudlik, sophomore Tommy Meyers and seniors Ryan Hantel and Carl Petersen have each notched wins for the Cougars during this streak. Peterson struck out 10 of the 28 batters he faced in Sunday's game against Gwynedd Mercy. Senior Ted Gernand has appeared four times so far, with four scoreless innings pitched. Junior lefty Joe Leyhane has the other Concordia win during this streak. Leyhane threw six scoreless innings in the second game of Monday's doubleheader against Waynesburg, giving up two hits, striking out four and walking two.

The Cougars have games Thursday, Friday and Saturday before leaving Arizona. Concordia opens its home season on March 26 against Wheaton College.